MBB: NESCAC

[rdanie03]

The committee will have given Tufts two times for Saturday.  If you ask around the place, someone will know.  There will be a Yeshiva time, probably 8:30, and then a Tufts time (I'd guess 5:30ish by the way they staggered the other times).  They're not waiting to pick a time out of thin air.

As the head of production for Tufts broadcast team, I can confirm the Yeshiva time is 8:50 and the Tufts time is 5:15

[nescac1]

I have consistently thought that Morgan would and should win it.  It's an individual award, not a team award.  Of course team success goes into the equation but Hamilton finished a very solid fourth this year, took Wesleyan to double OT in the conference semis, made the NCAA tourney, and the reality is that every opposing team put all of its game-planning into stopping Morgan.  Yet, he still managed to have by a wide margin the best statistical season of any player in the conference.  Regan would be a very deserving POTY as well and he's clearly going to be, at worst, on one of the first three all-American teams, as he had a fantastic year and indeed did it all for Wesleyan.  But he also played next to the best point guard in the conference which gave him a lot more freedom to operate than Morgan ever had. 

And as I've noted before, Morgan had as far as I can recall the most efficient statistical offensive season in conference play history, on a team in which no other player averaged averaged double-digits in points in league play:

26-5-2 on 57/51/89 splits, against only 1.3 TOPG, plus 1.4 spg to boot. That's like Duncan Robinson level efficiency on much higher volume. 

Regan's league stats were stellar, but at 20-4-2 on 54/39/86 splits, there really is no case for him over Morgan other than, his team was better - but again, that cuts both ways, since Morgan had to do a lot more on his own. 

(I wrote this before seeing el_jefe's post but we are exactly the same page here). 

[jumbomumbo]

I sure hope Shane Regan puts "Jumbomumbo's NESCAC Player of the Year" on his resume. It just means more. He could find a job anywhere for whatever price he wants with that on his resume.

[SpringSt7]

The advantage that the voters ( the coaches) have over fans is that have watched hundreds of hours of play of all 11 teams in the league. They have analyzed the play of all the opponent players, and had to formulate game plans against them. They are in a far better position to judge their relative strengths and weaknesses. Though I don't always agree with their decisions, I know that the coaches have seen a lot more than I, or any fan has, and usually get it right. However, everybody gets an opinion.

I think the fallacy that we fall into is thinking that the coaches use all of this information to agonize for hours over getting their all-league teams right instead of just using some combination of stats and how they played against their team

[NESCACBBALLFAN]

I have played against Teja Singh and he is a great player. But that is ridiculous to include him on those splits and if I was any other guard in the NESCAC I would feel slighted. You have to feel for Alex Lee - had objectively a superior year.

I know it's been touched on before, but looking at tenure across the board, crazy to think that Tufts, Trinity, and Wesleyan will be largely comprised of the same roster. Would be either frustrating or motivating depending on the mental fortitude of other teams (or players) in the conference. That Trinity - Wesleyan weekend on the road has to be the hardest two game stretch in D3.

Singh is great, but agreed. I have played against all these guys and probably you too. I think Espinosa is a great player but there's an opportunity cost here. No James Morakis on first team is strength blasphemy.

Are you insinuating that Morakis is better than Espinosa?

Sure. I haven't seen a guard in D3 with his size, athleticism, skill. He puts kids in a blender

Understand and appreciate the affinity for your alma mater, but Espinosa is a much better offensive talent - and it's easy to be a good perimeter defender when you have two rim protectors inside (I thought I was Tony Allen on the perimeter - turns out Sobel just had 110 blocks in a season). For me it's not close. Don't think Tufts would be much worse if they had a different person running point. Espinosa gone kills Conn.

And if Shane Regan knew what's good for him, he would remained station in Middletown. Outstanding player but much easier to score against 6'2 2/3 than 6'7.

[jumbomumbo]

I have played against Teja Singh and he is a great player. But that is ridiculous to include him on those splits and if I was any other guard in the NESCAC I would feel slighted. You have to feel for Alex Lee - had objectively a superior year.

I know it's been touched on before, but looking at tenure across the board, crazy to think that Tufts, Trinity, and Wesleyan will be largely comprised of the same roster. Would be either frustrating or motivating depending on the mental fortitude of other teams (or players) in the conference. That Trinity - Wesleyan weekend on the road has to be the hardest two game stretch in D3.

Singh is great, but agreed. I have played against all these guys and probably you too. I think Espinosa is a great player but there's an opportunity cost here. No James Morakis on first team is strength blasphemy.

Are you insinuating that Morakis is better than Espinosa?

Sure. I haven't seen a guard in D3 with his size, athleticism, skill. He puts kids in a blender

Understand and appreciate the affinity for your alma mater, but Espinosa is a much better offensive talent - and it's easy to be a good perimeter defender when you have two rim protectors inside (I thought I was Tony Allen on the perimeter - turns out Sobel just had 110 blocks in a season). For me it's not close. Don't think Tufts would be much worse if they had a different person running point. Espinosa gone kills Conn.

And if Shane Regan knew what's good for him, he would remained station in Middletown. Outstanding player but much easier to score against 6'2 2/3 than 6'7.

Nahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[D3BBALL]

Morgan was a beast against Wesleyan but Wesleyan won and Regan is my Player of the year. He couldn't have done anything more for that team, and at the end of the day do you want to win or do you want an individual trophy.

 I like winners. Morgan is a winner too, but Regan embodies a "winner" more than anyone in D3. By no means a shot at Hank.

Side note:

HUGE CONGRATS to Hank Morgan's agent. I'm sure he's going to be receiving a massive bonus heading into the overseas recruiting cycle.

In the second half against Wesleyan Regan was the best player, not even close.

[D3BBALL]

I have consistently thought that Morgan would and should win it.  It's an individual award, not a team award.  Of course team success goes into the equation but Hamilton finished a very solid fourth this year, took Wesleyan to double OT in the conference semis, made the NCAA tourney, and the reality is that every opposing team put all of its game-planning into stopping Morgan.  Yet, he still managed to have by a wide margin the best statistical season of any player in the conference.  Regan would be a very deserving POTY as well and he's clearly going to be, at worst, on one of the first three all-American teams, as he had a fantastic year and indeed did it all for Wesleyan.  But he also played next to the best point guard in the conference which gave him a lot more freedom to operate than Morgan ever had. 

And as I've noted before, Morgan had as far as I can recall the most efficient statistical offensive season in conference play history, on a team in which no other player averaged averaged double-digits in points in league play:

26-5-2 on 57/51/89 splits, against only 1.3 TOPG, plus 1.4 spg to boot. That's like Duncan Robinson level efficiency on much higher volume. 

Regan's league stats were stellar, but at 20-4-2 on 54/39/86 splits, there really is no case for him over Morgan other than, his team was better - but again, that cuts both ways, since Morgan had to do a lot more on his own. 

(I wrote this before seeing el_jefe's post but we are exactly the same page here). 

He got the award because he scored the most points, not because he was the best player. Votes are counted before conference play so you can't look at what happened in playoffs. Hamilton was 4th and in the losses to the top 3 m, the games were over with 5 minutes left against tufts it was over with 35 minutes left. Wesleyan game was tied or Hamilton was up a few at half lost by 16. Against Trinity Hamilton was up 8 at half lost by 12. 20 point turn around. Both games at home. Minus 36 in second half and they had a 2nd teamer as well.
They changed last year to 7 players for each team. Maybe now add offensive player of the year as a category. To not at least split the award is wrong.

[D3BBALL]

The advantage that the voters ( the coaches) have over fans is that have watched hundreds of hours of play of all 11 teams in the league. They have analyzed the play of all the opponent players, and had to formulate game plans against them. They are in a far better position to judge their relative strengths and weaknesses. Though I don't always agree with their decisions, I know that the coaches have seen a lot more than I, or any fan has, and usually get it right. However, everybody gets an opinion.

I think the fallacy that we fall into is thinking that the coaches use all of this information to agonize for hours over getting their all-league teams right instead of just using some combination of stats and how they played against their team

Agree they don't look at every game in conference, the look at stats and their own game.

[jayhawk]

Amherst College adds recruit point guard KJ Neville
complimenting present recruits for 2025 of  a 2 guard , small foward and a center to their recruiting class

[nescac1]

I don't know what Shane Regan is planning, but some former D3 guards with a pretty similar profile - Brody Fox, Aaron Nkrumah, and Miles Barnstable - have all had a ton of success as D3 transfers this year.  I think Regan could certainly be a starting guard at a lower-level D1 program if that's his desire. 

[jumbomumbo]

Below is from Ryan Scott's write up on the tournament. Support local small business and D3 hoops businesses!


"WPI head coach Chris Bartley owns a burger joint across the street from Harvard founded by his parents - check it out if you're in town for the Tufts pod..."

MUMBO'S INJUSTICE OF THE WEEK:
Ryan Scott, I love you, but I don't love your pick that Redlands escapes the Tufts pod. Firstly, St Joes hasn't lost in 18 games. Yes, I know their league isn't very strong, but they are. Secondly, Tufts is the far superior team in this pod and they are playing at home. Every player on the court will have at least one year of tournament experience and we ain't losing at home

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I think Tufts has the highest ceiling of any team in the country.  I love this squad.  They've been inconsistent, especially against good teams.  If Tufts gets it together, they win the pod.  I've been voting Redlands ahead of them for quite a while in the Top 25 poll.  That's a really good squad.  They're as good as any team Bridgeland's ever had AND they've got some decent size, which he's never really had.  Redlands isn't as big as Tufts and the Jumbos have the home court advantage, but I don't trust Tufts to show up two consecutive nights against good teams.  I sure hope I'm wrong.  I never root for any team to lose and I definitely don't want to see them under perform, but I have to call them like I see them.

[SpringSt7]

I think calling this team as good as any of Bridgeland's best is a little aggressive given how good those Whitman teams were but I do think they will give Tufts a handful - if they beat a really good St. Joe's team who will probably shoot above 70% from the field if they can get it over half court.

I would also feel comfortable saying Brandon Linton and Kevin App have almost definitely talked on the phone this week and talked about the press in some form or fashion because Williams played Whitman in 2019 and Redlands last season. The big difference is that Tufts won't get any practice time to prepare for that style

[D3boarder]

I think Tufts has the highest ceiling of any team in the country.  I love this squad.  They've been inconsistent, especially against good teams.  If Tufts gets it together, they win the pod.  I've been voting Redlands ahead of them for quite a while in the Top 25 poll.  That's a really good squad.  They're as good as any team Bridgeland's ever had AND they've got some decent size, which he's never really had.  Redlands isn't as big as Tufts and the Jumbos have the home court advantage, but I don't trust Tufts to show up two consecutive nights against good teams.  I sure hope I'm wrong.  I never root for any team to lose and I definitely don't want to see them under perform, but I have to call them like I see them.

I completely agree with this. The last two years I have thought that Tufts was good enough to win the league. Specifically, I thought they were well positioned to beat Trinity. And both years Trinity beat them handily in the playoffs, last year twice. Tufts can compete with anyone, but they can also lose games they shouldn't.