MBB: NESCAC

[GoPanthers123]

Yeah I think Vetter, Gyimisi, and Morgan all have a reasonable case as the best player in the league and I wouldn't call any of them clearly superior to the other two.  Shane Regan has an argument too and could get into the conversation with a big year in league play. I expect all three will be at least honorable-mention all-Americans this year and all bring very different things to the table. 

If I was guessing at what all-league will look like this year, I'd say something like those four as first team locks if healthy, with Stevens, Morakis, and either Poulton or Hudson Hansen filling out the first team.

For the second team, Hansen/Poulson, Alex Lee, Nicky Johnson, Babacar Pouye, and Elias Espinosa seem like good bets for five spots.  That leaves two spots for Okorougo, Lawson, Kwalina, Singh, Schanfield, Dorion and Bernstein. 
[/quote}I think with some solid conference play, Brennan should also get some second team looks. While he doesn't score at a high clip, he is one of, if not the, best rebounder in the country.

Evan Flaks has put together a nice season as well, averaging 11, 3, and 3 on 46% from three and a good A:TO. If Midd has a strong conference showing, I can see an argument for him over Dorion or Schainfield.

[NESCACBBALLFAN]

Just want to come on here and clarify something because a lot of people on here seem to be confused, misguided, or simply aren't watching enough basketball. The best player in the NESCAC is not Henry Vetter, it is not Scott Gyimesi, or any of these other names I'm seeing. The best player in the NESCAC is Hank Morgan. I don't know if maybe you guys don't want to give him the credit he deserves because he gave your favorite team 20+ last year or what, but the kid is the best in the league. I have watched countless Division 3 games this year, probably around 50-75 full games as well as pieces of others, and there is not anyone in the country I have seen that is as good as him this season. Jair Knight of Emory and Toby Harris of Brandeis are the closest I've seen, but I still like Morgan.

P.S. Someone posted the mock NPI rankings yesterday, and Hamilton's only loss this season is to the number 1-ranked team on that list. They also have a 2-time all-league PG who hasn't shot it the way we know he can yet this season, and they're still 8-1. I don't know why they get so much disrespect on this page.

Having played against all three, can assure you that this is not true - though he is a very good player.

I would have to agree. Hank is very talented but also has the pleasure of sharing the court with 2 equally dynamic guards in Singh and Keyhani.  Teams have to choose who defends who when they play Hamilton, and it makes them seem tougher than their record as you can't just take 1 away with out the other 2 having a great night, for many teams. On tufts, scott is the guy in all categories and is the key matchup in that game 100% of times. Also, tufts is better than Hamilton-  another reason I agree with you. Vetter is also the guy on Trin you need to slow down in order to beat them. Hank is still a hell of a player.

Furthermore, "tufts is better than hamilton" yet Hank having great teammates makes it easier for him, but not these other two guys you claim have better teams? How does that make logical sense? Gyimesi is not the leading scorer on his team, and Vetter wasn't last year. This is now the 3rd year in a row that Morgan has led Hamilton in scoring. Including, I say again, on a team that won the league, share of the regular season and the tournament. Not that scoring is everything, I understand that, but if you are talking about diverting the focus of the defense, it seems these other two guys are benefitting even more from diverted defensive efforts than Morgan is. Your argument just seems backwards to me.

I could come on here and say that Gyimesi benefits from having a 6'11 teammate in the starting lineup that diverts attention in the paint on rebounding and scoring, but I won't because I know that it's because he's a great player, and everyone benefits from their teammates in some way, shape, or form.

We will have to see when the new year hits and we get to see all these guys on the same court. I must say, I am excited at the prospect of the NESCAC potentially being a 4-5 bid conference come March, and I get more and more excited the more success I see out of all the teams in the conference. Wish everybody regardless of who you're a fan of the best of luck.

I don't even think that Morgan is definitively better than Singh. Both are great, and probably the best backcourt in the conference (thought I think Trin / Midd are competitive). My opinion of somebody's capabilities as an offensive player are largely dictated by their ability to create a high quality / percentage shot for themselves. Anybody can learn to shoot off a screen / catch and shoot / other off ball action, but when the shot clock is at 6 seconds, are you able to create a quality look for yourself in a 1v1 situation? It is not my intention to create controversy within the Conts. locker room (as I will reiterate, both are great), but Singh is definitely more capable on this front than Morgan.

[jumbomumbo]

Morakis should be getting more love from these boards - averaging 18.2 ppg on a 9-1 team. He's got such a solid frame and unique body movement when handling it. can confidently say that about 95% of guards who have tried guarding him have had bad luck.

[SpringSt7]

I like Morakis and think he is one of the reasons that Tufts is the best team in the league at this time. However I am a little skeptical at how much of his production will translate over to league play against more length, more scounting, familiar opponents, etc, given the iffy shooting - he's not a bad shooting but he's not a deadeye either.

With that being said, WPI, Keene St, Rochester, and Brandeis are all pretty good teams and he had no problem with any of them so maybe it won't be a huge drop off. But we have seen it before especially from guards, a big non conference showing that just tails off in conference play

[RollConts25]

Just because someone is a leading scorer doesn't make that player the best player in the league. Morgan is not close to the best player in the league. Vetter, Regan and Gyimesi are better. 2 Years ago during conference play Morgan was the 4th leading scorer on his team and shot 37% from the field and 21% from 3. That is not great, it is not even good. Last year he shot 41% from the field. Look at Regan last year he shot 47% and 35%. There is no way he is close to the best player in the league. Good player yes.

My updated league ranking
1) Trinity - They just don't lose and they have the best 1-8 in the league.
2) Wesleyan - Now 3 scorers, and they are getting enough from their bigs. Huge win at Williams and Williams has way more talent upfront. And Regan hasn't shot well yet
3) Tufts - Gyimesi is is so good, their depth is good, can their guards shoot and defend consistently will need to find out. If they do, watch out and they have played a tuft schedule.
4) Williams - so disappointing, just soft and they have problems defending at times. Bad pick for preseason #1
5) Middlebury - 2 losses both against top 25 teams, but they are tough and Stevens looks like he is back. Need more help off the bench
4 of of this 5 have a shot at NCAA
6/7) Amherst and Hamilton - Neither has enough to stay with the top 5 consistently, they can pull off some upsets.
8) Colby - still a year away
9) Bates/Bowdoin - Both have played better than last year and keep improving, but not enough talent.
10) Conn - finding out what life is like without Murray on both ends of the floor.

First weekend of conference play Williams/Middlebury against Wesleyan/Trinity, 2nd weekend Tufts at Williams/Middlebury, Wesleyan/Trinity at Hamilton/Amherst.

Will know a lot after just 2 weeks,

You are correct when looking at conference only numbers which I agree should be weighted heavier. That being said, I watched Morgan against all three of those guys last year, and he was the best player on the floor in two of the games, Tufts and Wesleyan. I think that anyone who watched those games would agree. He was player of the week the time they played Tufts. Hamilton vs. Trinity I will admit was never a game and if I had to guess both Vetter and Morgan played around 20-25 mins in the blowout and probably had pretty similar individual performances. I guess we will have to wait and see, but of all the guys you named, I'd rather have Morgan every day of the week.

[RollConts25]

Just want to come on here and clarify something because a lot of people on here seem to be confused, misguided, or simply aren't watching enough basketball. The best player in the NESCAC is not Henry Vetter, it is not Scott Gyimesi, or any of these other names I'm seeing. The best player in the NESCAC is Hank Morgan. I don't know if maybe you guys don't want to give him the credit he deserves because he gave your favorite team 20+ last year or what, but the kid is the best in the league. I have watched countless Division 3 games this year, probably around 50-75 full games as well as pieces of others, and there is not anyone in the country I have seen that is as good as him this season. Jair Knight of Emory and Toby Harris of Brandeis are the closest I've seen, but I still like Morgan.

P.S. Someone posted the mock NPI rankings yesterday, and Hamilton's only loss this season is to the number 1-ranked team on that list. They also have a 2-time all-league PG who hasn't shot it the way we know he can yet this season, and they're still 8-1. I don't know why they get so much disrespect on this page.

Having played against all three, can assure you that this is not true - though he is a very good player.

I would have to agree. Hank is very talented but also has the pleasure of sharing the court with 2 equally dynamic guards in Singh and Keyhani.  Teams have to choose who defends who when they play Hamilton, and it makes them seem tougher than their record as you can't just take 1 away with out the other 2 having a great night, for many teams. On tufts, scott is the guy in all categories and is the key matchup in that game 100% of times. Also, tufts is better than Hamilton-  another reason I agree with you. Vetter is also the guy on Trin you need to slow down in order to beat them. Hank is still a hell of a player.

Furthermore, "tufts is better than hamilton" yet Hank having great teammates makes it easier for him, but not these other two guys you claim have better teams? How does that make logical sense? Gyimesi is not the leading scorer on his team, and Vetter wasn't last year. This is now the 3rd year in a row that Morgan has led Hamilton in scoring. Including, I say again, on a team that won the league, share of the regular season and the tournament. Not that scoring is everything, I understand that, but if you are talking about diverting the focus of the defense, it seems these other two guys are benefitting even more from diverted defensive efforts than Morgan is. Your argument just seems backwards to me.

I could come on here and say that Gyimesi benefits from having a 6'11 teammate in the starting lineup that diverts attention in the paint on rebounding and scoring, but I won't because I know that it's because he's a great player, and everyone benefits from their teammates in some way, shape, or form.

We will have to see when the new year hits and we get to see all these guys on the same court. I must say, I am excited at the prospect of the NESCAC potentially being a 4-5 bid conference come March, and I get more and more excited the more success I see out of all the teams in the conference. Wish everybody regardless of who you're a fan of the best of luck.

I don't even think that Morgan is definitively better than Singh. Both are great, and probably the best backcourt in the conference (thought I think Trin / Midd are competitive). My opinion of somebody's capabilities as an offensive player are largely dictated by their ability to create a high quality / percentage shot for themselves. Anybody can learn to shoot off a screen / catch and shoot / other off ball action, but when the shot clock is at 6 seconds, are you able to create a quality look for yourself in a 1v1 situation? It is not my intention to create controversy within the Conts. locker room (as I will reiterate, both are great), but Singh is definitely more capable on this front than Morgan.

You are preaching to the choir if you want to talk about Singh. I think when he gets it going he is the best scorer in the entire country. There is no shot he can't hit. I won't ever disagree with Teja Singh love, he is a killer. If I really wanted to say my true belief, Morgan and Singh are 1a and 1b in the conference this year in my eyes. Respect to you and this take.

[nescac1]

While I very much like Singh's game, I do think "best scorer in the entire country when he gets it going" is juuuuuuust a bit of a stretch (as is, less egregiously, Hamilton having the two best players in NESCAC in a league with Vetter, Gyimisi, Regan, and at least 2-3 other guys I'd definitely take over Hamilton's second option). 

On another note, here is what I have seen for the first round of NESCAC recruits (guys who have announced publicly, at least):

Amherst:

Sherron Woodberry, 6'3 G, Olathe West (KS)
Brandon Margolin, 6'5 W, Xaverian
Ryan Hempfling, 6'10 C, Blair Academy

Bates:

Charlie Williams, 6'7 Kimball Union
Chris Camozzi, 6'4 F, Dexter School

Bowdoin:

Benedek Maly, 6'6 G, Trinity-Pawling
Jules Varin, 6'4 G, Hotchkiss

Colby:

Ian Schnable, 6'7 F, Blake School (MN)
Theo Pow, 6'3 G, Kennebunk (ME #2)

Hamilton:

David Melson, 6'5 G, Cushing Academy

Middlebury:

Devin Merker, 6'3 G, Pascack Valley (NJ)
Justin Fuerbacher, 6'5 F, Christian Brothers (NJ)

Tufts:

Deacon Barratta, 6'6 W, Phoenixville (PA)
Ian Randall, 7'0 F, Hotchkiss (CT #30)
Ricardo Nieves, 6'4 G, Williston Northampton (MA #27)

Wesleyan:
Jalaan Watson, 5'10 G, Olathe North (KS)

Williams:

Solomon Marshall, 5'10 G, Phillips Andover
Khalil Carlson, 6'4 W, Darrow School
Ty Kuehl, 6'6 W, Parkway West (Missouri)


Very nice early classes for Williams, Amherst, and Tufts.  Amherst desperately needs a huge and impactful class with only five underclassmen on the roster, only two of whom are currently regular rotation players.  With the bigs they lose, Hempfling may need to start right away.  Tufts keeps adding size, Randall can develop behind Bernstein for a year, and Baratta looks like an early-impact wing scorer in the Thoerner mold.

For Williams, Carlson is a local player who deferred so he could attend prep school for a game, he should have a big fan base from the area.  Marshall looks like a complete guard who can really score it, with him plus Belcher (and one more year of Alex Lee), the Ephs should have a quick penetrating guard group who can also shoot at the point of attack for years to come.  Kuehl, a wing shooter, has great bloodlines - both his father and uncle were 1000 point scorers for Illinois Wesleyan, and his brother is a highly regarded sophomore there too, so definitely impressive that the Ephs stole him away from IWU. 

Sherron Woodberry and Jaalan Watson are high school rivals in Kansas and will continue that rivalry in the Little 3.  Woodberry was second-team all league last year, and Watson first team.  Watson looks like an incredibly fun player to watch, he is explosive and dunks with ease even at 5'9, who should step in for Nicky Johnson, possibly right away:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CdGzmmUSwQ

NESCAC teams, including Midd, have had a lot of success with Jersey players and Midd went to the well twice.  Fuerbacher looks like a gritty player and a good fit for a Jeff Brown team.  Colby after years of focusing on the perimeter brings in another post player to bolster the paint after finally bringing in some big guys this year as well. 

[jayhawk]

I am not here to defend Amherst coaching

I see at least four and sometimes five underclassmen who play in the rotation

always hard to translate how good a high school player will be as freshman
Ryan Hempfling at 6'10" center for Blair is rated as a 78 by ESPN, I think it is unusual that an incoming freshman gets a rating by ESPN -usually reserved for future D! players
He is a fifth year senior so probably ready for playing time

Brandon Margolin -incoming small forward very talented and strong

one of Amherst better recruitng and balanced classes
I will have to wait for next year to see what happens
Freshman Elias Chin is a talented point guard but it seems they do not encourage him to attack on offense --surprising considering his high school career
signing off till next year

[nescac1]

Jayhawk, three of the five underclassmen on the roster combine to average under 5 ppg and under 14 mpg and none of those three have played in every game.  Hence my characterization; they are not major contributors.  Next year's frosh are gonna play right away almost certainly. 

[Conts Fan]

Tufts:

Deacon Barratta, 6'6 W, Phoenixville (PA)
Ian Randall, 7'0 F, Hotchkiss
Ricardo Nieves, 6'4 G, Williston Northampton

Wesleyan:
Jalaan Watson, 5'10 G, Olathe North (KS)

Williams:

Solomon Marshall, 5'10 G, Phillips Andover
Khalil Carlson, 6'4 W, Darrow School
Ty Kuehl, 6'6 W, Parkway West (Missouri)


Very nice early classes for Williams, Amherst, and Tufts.  Amherst desperately needs a huge and impactful class with only five underclassmen on the roster, only two of whom are currently regular rotation players.  With the bigs they lose, Hempfling may need to start right away.  Tufts keeps adding size, Randall can develop behind Bernstein for a year, and Baratta looks like an early-impact wing scorer in the Thoerner mold.

For Williams, Carlson is a local player who deferred so he could attend prep school for a game, he should have a big fan base from the area.  Marshall looks like a complete guard who can really score it, with him plus Belcher (and one more year of Alex Lee), the Ephs should have a quick penetrating guard group who can also shoot at the point of attack for years to come.  Kuehl, a wing shooter, has great bloodlines - both his father and uncle were 1000 point scorers for Illinois Wesleyan, and his brother is a highly regarded sophomore there too, so definitely impressive that the Ephs stole him away from IWU. 

Sherron Woodberry and Jaalan Watson are high school rivals in Kansas and will continue that rivalry in the Little 3.  Woodberry was second-team all league last year, and Watson first team.  Watson looks like an incredibly fun player to watch, he is explosive and dunks with ease even at 5'9, who should step in for Nicky Johnson, possibly right away:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CdGzmmUSwQ

NESCAC teams, including Midd, have had a lot of success with Jersey players and Midd went to the well twice.  Fuerbacher looks like a gritty player and a good fit for a Jeff Brown team.  Colby after years of focusing on the perimeter brings in another post player to bolster the paint after finally bringing in some big guys this year as well. 

Ricardo Nieves is super athletic and a lockdown defender. I've seen him many times at Williston and figured he'd end up at a D1.

[jumbomumbo]

Tufts:

Deacon Barratta, 6'6 W, Phoenixville (PA)
Ian Randall, 7'0 F, Hotchkiss
Ricardo Nieves, 6'4 G, Williston Northampton

Wesleyan:
Jalaan Watson, 5'10 G, Olathe North (KS)

Williams:

Solomon Marshall, 5'10 G, Phillips Andover
Khalil Carlson, 6'4 W, Darrow School
Ty Kuehl, 6'6 W, Parkway West (Missouri)


Very nice early classes for Williams, Amherst, and Tufts.  Amherst desperately needs a huge and impactful class with only five underclassmen on the roster, only two of whom are currently regular rotation players.  With the bigs they lose, Hempfling may need to start right away.  Tufts keeps adding size, Randall can develop behind Bernstein for a year, and Baratta looks like an early-impact wing scorer in the Thoerner mold.

For Williams, Carlson is a local player who deferred so he could attend prep school for a game, he should have a big fan base from the area.  Marshall looks like a complete guard who can really score it, with him plus Belcher (and one more year of Alex Lee), the Ephs should have a quick penetrating guard group who can also shoot at the point of attack for years to come.  Kuehl, a wing shooter, has great bloodlines - both his father and uncle were 1000 point scorers for Illinois Wesleyan, and his brother is a highly regarded sophomore there too, so definitely impressive that the Ephs stole him away from IWU. 

Sherron Woodberry and Jaalan Watson are high school rivals in Kansas and will continue that rivalry in the Little 3.  Woodberry was second-team all league last year, and Watson first team.  Watson looks like an incredibly fun player to watch, he is explosive and dunks with ease even at 5'9, who should step in for Nicky Johnson, possibly right away:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CdGzmmUSwQ

NESCAC teams, including Midd, have had a lot of success with Jersey players and Midd went to the well twice.  Fuerbacher looks like a gritty player and a good fit for a Jeff Brown team.  Colby after years of focusing on the perimeter brings in another post player to bolster the paint after finally bringing in some big guys this year as well. 

Ricardo Nieves is super athletic and a lockdown defender. I've seen him many times at Williston and figured he'd end up at a D1.

Based on his twitter account, it looks like Nieves had D1 offers in basketball from Albany, UC San Diego, as well as D1 Football offers from UNH and Fordham. Linton can recruit guys that other NESCACs cant - Boston's NESCAC school. Everyone in Jumboland is excited about the present and the future.

[SpringSt7]

Offers are not really offers anymore, they are just offers in the moment and sometimes don't mean anything in terms of recruitment. With all due respect to Tufts, if he could've gone to Albany or San Diego he would have.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Offers are not really offers anymore, they are just offers in the moment and sometimes don't mean anything in terms of recruitment. With all due respect to Tufts, if he could've gone to Albany or San Diego he would have.

I agree that offers don't mean much, but Albany and San Diego are the kinds of d1 programs that good d3 players turn down all the time, especially for an academically superior school.

[Stretch4]

To be fair, UC San Diego is an outstanding academic school that is ranked as high or higher than some really amazing national level D3 universities like Tufts, NYU, Case Western, Brandeis, RPI, Stevens, Rochester, WPI. A student-athlete is far less likely to turn down San Diego than Albany for academics. 

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Right, but in that case, if the academics are similar, they might choose to play some place they get more time on the court.  It's just not a super unusual situation.