MBB: NESCAC

[nescac1]

These historical rankings of the top 50 D3 college hoops programs are pretty interesting:

https://x.com/D3SportsData/status/1810796336587079782

NESCAC did very well - Amherst 2, Williams 4, Hamilton 44, and Middlebury 50 despite being at a pretty big disadvantage since NESCAC wasn't eligible for the post season until 1994 (the rankings compile data beginning in 1973). 

Here are the criteria used:

https://x.com/D3SportsData/status/1810796340403658883/photo/1

It will be interesting how some of these rankings shift over time ... Wittenberg (first overall), Amherst, F&M, Scranton, Augustana (IL), North Park, Potsdam, and Salem State are highly ranked programs that have slipped in recent years relative to historic performance, while most of the southern schools listed in the top 50, none of whom are yet in the top 10 (Christopher Newport, Virgina Wesleyan, Randolph Macon, Hampden-Sydney, Guilford, Roanoke, Mary Hardin Baylor) look to be ascending quickly.  If ranking top overall D3 programs as of this moment, I'd say that RMC and CNU would be the top two.

[SpringSt7]

Of note: Trinity assistant coach Trey Witter has moved onto the same position at D2 power St. Anselm's. Joined staff during the pandemic, time at Trinity overlaps with the recruitment of Henry Vetter, Jarrel Okorougo, Jared Berry, etc, and a whole lot of offensive plays they weren't running before he got there. Wonder if that is a big loss for Trin

[toad22]

Speaking of assistants, Williams' assistant Damani Myers has accepted a position as an assistant coach at West Point. Damani is a very talented coach and I think he will continue to do well in his career. Williams is looking for a replacement.

[nescac1]

A few tidbits from around the league:

- Tufts received an early commitment from Ian Randall, a 7 footer from the Hotchkiss school.  Like anyone that size at the D3 level, I imagine he will take some time to develop, but he has the luxury of sitting and learning for a year behind Josh Bernstein.  And you can't teach height!  Speaking of 7 footers, Max Klitschko, the boxer's son who was committed to Amherst for this year, seems to have erased all mention of it from his bio, so I wonder whether he will turn up on the Amherst roster once released.   

- Williams and Bates have rosters posted.  No big surprises for Williams, the key for the Ephs will be getting major production from the multiple players who ended last season on the DL.  For Bates, Jahmir Primer is back after skipping last year.  Last year's league ROY Marc Begin is now listed at 6'4 190 (he was 6'3 180 last year).  Bates won't be good or likely even mediocre this year, but I guarantee a more veteran team will have more than three wins! Primer, Begin, and Pouye are at least three guys they can build around. 

- Middlebury posted its schedule on Instagram and it's a fairly brutal non-league slate, including Clark, Stevens, Keene State, St. Joe's, Brandeis, Carnegie Mellon, Endicott, and Emory.  Tufts also plays its typically difficult non-league slate: Keene State, Rochester, Brandeis, Clark, WPI, Nichols, Yeshiva and Widener are the highlights. 

- Williams brought in Trey Livingstone as an assistant coach.  Looks like a great hire as he has a lot of experience at strong programs.  Wesleyan brought in a familiar face as an assistant - Noah Tyson. 

- Trinity looks to keep right on rolling after last year's Final Four run, despite some big losses, as they return a ton of talent and bring in yet another stacked recruiting class led by Will Davis and David Ayles (the two highest-ranked D3 recruits on NERR) and a D1 transfer.  But Tufts should be right there with them and Williams will be somewhere in the mix as always. 

- Look for Henry Vetter and Scotty Gyimesi as locks to be pre-season all-Americans.  Hank Morgan, Shane Regan, and Nicky Johnson could be in the mix as well. There won't be many backcourts better, nationally, than Regan and Johnson, so if Wesleyan gets a bit more from its more experienced frontcourt this year they could be dangerous.     

[stlawus]

A few tidbits from around the league:

- Tufts received an early commitment from Ian Randall, a 7 footer from the Hotchkiss school.  Like anyone that size at the D3 level, I imagine he will take some time to develop, but he has the luxury of sitting and learning for a year behind Josh Bernstein.  And you can't teach height!  Speaking of 7 footers, Max Klitschko, the boxer's son who was committed to Amherst for this year, seems to have erased all mention of it from his bio, so I wonder whether he will turn up on the Amherst roster once released.   

- Williams and Bates have rosters posted.  No big surprises for Williams, the key for the Ephs will be getting major production from the multiple players who ended last season on the DL.  For Bates, Jahmir Primer is back after skipping last year.  Last year's league ROY Marc Begin is now listed at 6'4 190 (he was 6'3 180 last year).  Bates won't be good or likely even mediocre this year, but I guarantee a more veteran team will have more than three wins! Primer, Begin, and Pouye are at least three guys they can build around. 

- Middlebury posted its schedule on Instagram and it's a fairly brutal non-league slate, including Clark, Stevens, Keene State, St. Joe's, Brandeis, Carnegie Mellon, Endicott, and Emory.  Tufts also plays its typically difficult non-league slate: Keene State, Rochester, Brandeis, Clark, WPI, Nichols, Yeshiva and Widener are the highlights. 

- Williams brought in Trey Livingstone as an assistant coach.  Looks like a great hire as he has a lot of experience at strong programs.  Wesleyan brought in a familiar face as an assistant - Noah Tyson. 

- Trinity looks to keep right on rolling after last year's Final Four run, despite some big losses, as they return a ton of talent and bring in yet another stacked recruiting class led by Will Davis and David Ayles (the two highest-ranked D3 recruits on NERR) and a D1 transfer.  But Tufts should be right there with them and Williams will be somewhere in the mix as always. 

- Look for Henry Vetter and Scotty Gyimesi as locks to be pre-season all-Americans.  Hank Morgan, Shane Regan, and Nicky Johnson could be in the mix as well. There won't be many backcourts better, nationally, than Regan and Johnson, so if Wesleyan gets a bit more from its more experienced frontcourt this year they could be dangerous.     

Looks like Klitschko decided to go pro. He's at training camp with Monaco. Had a good U20 Euro tournament performance that pro teams wanted to take a chance on.

[nescac1]

Thanks for the info stlawus.  Tough blow for Amherst - not this year or even next, as they are stacked with veteran big guys, but I imagine he was viewed as the next guy up after Scherer, Randle and Tam graduate.

[nescac1]

Quick roster note for a top NESCAC contender: Tufts' posted this season's roster and it omits Khai Champion:

https://gotuftsjumbos.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster

Tufts was a subpar three-point shooting team last year (8th in the conference in both three point FGs made and three point percentage) and the three players they graduated or (apparently) lost accounted for over half their three pointers made.  Tufts doesn't really return a single high-volume three point shooter.  I imagine Dylan Reilly will get the first shot to be this year's designated spacer if Champion doesn't reappear on the roster, and I expect he and Jon Medley will be launching a lot of threes from the wing with a slew of hesitant deep shooters around them in the rotation.  Tufts has everything else, and will be absolutely massive and super-physical across the starting five, but teams are gonna make them beat them from the perimeter for sure. 

Three point shooting was already a struggle throughout an otherwise strong league last season, and next season looks no better.  Even with three teams in the Sweet 16, no NESCAC team shot it particularly well from deep last year, and for many, the three point shooting stats were downright brutal.  The league is again stacked with what should be nationally elite defensive teams (Trinity, Williams, Tufts and Amherst for sure, Conn's zone despite the personnel losses is never fun to deal with, and I think Wesleyan has the length and athleticism to be dramatically improved on defense), particularly in terms of perimeter defense. And besides Tufts, Trinity (Callahan-Gold), Williams (Karren) and Middlebury (Osher) all graduated by far their biggest three point threats.  We could be in for another season with a lot of low scoring, physical, defensive grinds.  There are a fair number of good shooters in the league, but really no single returning player who I'd call a lock to be a high-volume, high accuracy three point shooter next season.  Where have you gone, Duncan Robinson?   

[Maine Hoops]

Nice to see Noah Tyson with an assistant coaching position with a NESCAC school.

I expected to see him on the Colby bench last year but it did not happen

[Old Guy]

I would guess that the third (and tallest) Simonds brother will have an impact for Bowdoin.

In a visit to Maine last winter, I saw the "third Simonds brother" play in a game — and he's the real deal. He's big, 6'8" with a mature body, and has varied skills. It's a big jump, to be sure, but I would be surprised if he didn't have a major impact for Bowdoin. 

[jayhawk]

6'10" Ryan Hempfling Blair Academy
Amherst College commit

[middballer]

Looks like Middlebury's Alex Sobel and Amherst's Willy Workman are teammates on Israeli First Division team Hapoel Haifa. Roster looks pretty stacked. In addition to those 2, they have Matt Coleman, Tyler Bey and Slyven Landesberg. High Major All-Conference players.

Do the NESCAC historians know of any other instances of NESCAC players sharing a pro roster?

[lumbercat]

Marcus and Malcom Delpeche Bates '17 played together in Germany and possibly in the UK.
Believe Marcus is still playing in Germany.

[Bucket]

Welp, the NESCAC-Big 10 transfer pipeline remains strong.

Jaden Bobbett, formerly of Middlebury, is now an Indiana Hoosier.

https://iuhoosiers.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/jaden-bobbett/18944

[nescac1]

With most rosters up and practice about to begin, some thoughts on an x-factor player for each team:

Amherst - Charlie Randall: his stat-line was an upgrade over his FY but with his size, fluidity and shooting touch, has the potential to make a much bigger impact and score it with more efficiency and also be a bigger force on the glass.  May not see his best hoops until he gets to play his natural "5" spot as a senior.  If he has an all-league type year Amherst could make a long-awaiting return to the NCAA tourney.

Bates - Babacar Pouye: showed he was capable of big games against strong competition vs. Babson, Emory, and Williams, but was very up and down.  After a historically bad season, I expect Bates to at least double its win total this year and the a lot of the upside of this team depends on Pouye's growth.

Bowdoin - James McGowan: he was never all the way back from injury last year.  If he can return to his all-NESCAC level of play pre-injury, Bowdoin could be a sleeper this year.  If he's not an all-league player, hard to see who the go-to perimeter scorer for Bowdoin will be. 

Colby - Marcos Montiel: Colby badly needs a second perimeter on-ball playmaker to complement Poulton and he seems like the best bet on the roster to be that guy. 

Conn College - Dylan Watson: Conn loses a ton up front and he seems like the best bet among the returning players of who could make a leap to replace a lot of what Ben Rice did as a rebounder and zone defender (Murray is simply irreplaceable after his POTY season). 

Hamilton - Jalen Reese: 1-3 Hamilton is as good as anyone in the league, but last year there was a huge drop-off after the big three and they need more help to get back to the NCAA tourney.  Reese is one of several guys who needs to step up to mitigate that issue. 

Middlebury - Sam Stevens: the only way Midd can compete for the top half of the league this year is if Stevens is finally 100 percent healthy and looks like the elite player he seemed like he would be as a FY.  If he's not an all-league level guy, hard to see where Midd finds the scoring this year. 

Tufts - Jon Medley: Tufts graduates its two starting wings and Medley showed a ton of potential as a FY as a three-and-D type wing.  He will certainly have the top defensive assignment each game for Tufts.  Any juice he can provide off the dribble this year will be a bonus.

Trinity - Tristan Davis: Trinity is flat-loaded on the perimeter, two deep with high-level guys at every spot, but suffered big losses inside where it was already shallower.  Davis in limited PT showed flashes that he can give this team the physical presence it needs to continue to be a national title contender. 

Wesleyan - Jackson Cormier: Wesleyan has one of the best guard duos in the country but needs a consistent third option.  Cormier is already an elite defender and while up and down last year offensively, showed the potential to be a consistent third scorer. 

Williams - Hudson Hansen: the Ephs lose a lot of rebounding and rim-protection and Hansen if he can stay healthy this year is a guy who has the potential to step up in those categories, as well as provide some post scoring, as he plays (presumably) more on the inside this year.
 

[jayhawk]

https://x.com/BrandonMarg4