MBB: NESCAC

[JeffRookie2]

for the record, i agree that rhoten is poy.

i dont think that a few minutes of hot shooting proves that young is a better play than cas. he cooled of significantly in the second half and i think that casnocha is a better all-around player. (i admit that i havent seen much of young, but im a big fan of casnocha's game, even in relation to the other jeffs)

as for coulibaly, you are right, an amazing talent, and could be an all-NESCAC player eventually. that being said, he still doesnt look comfortable in the system, and isnt particurally the style of player that works well in the hixon game plan- i think mclaughlin does more with his minutes.

speaking of which, projected next year's amherst starters-

OShea
Wheeler
Goldsmith
Olson
Mclaughlin

Coulibaly sixth man
Baskauskas, Hopkins, Jones all get significant pt

I think Goldsmith and McLaughlin start over Coulibaly... could be wrong, we'll see.

real quick going back to the CC game, i agree that the refs called too many little fouls down low on Stone and the Kosovan Krusher (who by the way, looked really good in the post). i felt kind of bad for the camels, they really came out playing well, but they had no chance once those two guys got into foul trouble

[formerbant10]

Everyone knows that Coulibaly is a top of the line athlete, but how have his fundamentals improved?

Can he hit the 3?  A 15 footer off the dribble?  How is his passing? 

These are all very important things in Hixon's offense and if they don't improve his minutes will not go up too much.  Especially with McLaughlin playing as well as he is defensively.

Hopefully I'll be able to see for myself this weekend.

[qbsfinest]

Does anyone know if Tufts, Trinity and Bates have all earned a Pool C berth in the NCAA tournament if they don't happen to win the conference tournament?

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I think Tufts has for sure.  Trinity is pretty close and Bates would be my on-the-fence choice.  We'll have to see how the QOWI and the regional rankings pan out.

[CCsalive]

Jeffrook, I can be objective on this Young v. Cas debate...Young is younger and got hot early but he also had three drive/lay-ins in the first half and if I'm not mistaken Amherst has some decent team D behind Casnocha who shoots great set shots and does what else? Do you think its easy to score 12 first half points against your Lord Jeffs if your a lowly Camel with not much else to go around, especially when Stone is on the bench(thank you for acknowledging some tough calls...I was front row, mid-court, opposite the benches ready to strangle the zebras in my ConnColl blue t-shirt).

Formerbant and Jeffrook, I respect the fundamentals, but you guys are nuts. I did see McGlaughlin's steals...one leading to a break-away dunk, but when Amherst loses to Carnegie Mellon in the Elite Eight you'll be wishing for more Coulibaly. By the way, who advised him to go to Amherst to sit the bench? Humble kid if you ask me and the truest of team players if he's sitting there watching Cas chuch set-shots all year when he can do it all...of course he can hit the pull up, which I've never seen Cas do....what are you guys thinking?

[dman]

pretty scary line-up for amherst next year, with coulibaly as the sixth man...will you let me out of my bet??? i wouldn't be surprised if the 'herts brings in three or four more studs, so guys who are riding pine now, will stay there.  what is "significant pt" on a team where only six people play more than 15 minutes per game??   good point, cc.  i would think that coulibaly "assumes" he's getting a starting job by transferring from a d1 school, and this is a lost year for him. as long as they keep winning, can he really question his role there, no matter how talented he is???  right now, i think the league tourney is a formality, and amherst is poised to host the ncaa regional again...and the real question is how far will that team go in the ncaa's......

[JeffRookie2]

if you happened to listen to WAMH during halftime, you would know that I was VERY laudatory of Young's first half play. That being said, one half of outstanding play doesnt prove anything. Cas is consistently the better player, and i cant help but wonder if your vendetta against him has anything to do with the 17 points he scored in 18 minutes of play the last time CC played amherst. (in new london)

[formerbant10]

CC,

Relax a little bit with Coulibaly.  The last time I saw him play was when he was still in High School, which is why I'm asking those questions to the Amherst guys who have seen him play all year. 

Some of the coaches have also said that he is still a little raw skill wise, and once he polishes that part of his game off he could be great.

And there is no shot Carnegie Mellon is getting to the Elite Eight.  Not out of the Great Lakes region.


As of now Tufts is #1 Pool C contender, Bates #8, Trinity #9 by QOWI only.  Trinity and Bates would most likely switch because of head-to-head matchup.  All 3 are pretty safe barring a disaster in the Great Lakes/Midwest.


And the best part of Coulibaly's game is still his artwork.

[JeffRookie2]

as for young being younger, i grant that he could end up being a better player than cas.

[CCsalive]

jeffrookie- you are correct. Cas exploded in New London. He just kept backing up. It was impressive. He is a great stand-still shooter.

I have to be honest. Why shouldn't this Coulibaly debate get me fired up? And I don't want to hear about the system, and it doesn't matter if we're winning ... I like Amherst and I really like your squad...I think you're better than the Williams teams of a few years back, but that is exactly it. There is a tremendous threat of underachievement. No Williams supporter would grant you that, because it would first imply that your team is great. This page is filled with loyalists, but we had to put up, for months, with Williams fans talking like there team was again first-rate which they clearly were not.

Formerbant-if you haven't seen Coulibaly play since h.s. then you must not have seen his 11 against Mizzou (nor I for that matter). If Amherst is keeping talent like that, deep on its bench, and we can throw in K-Hop and Jones for that matter, then anything less than a Final Four is a major disappointment.

[mrmike88]

CC - I'll give you the "talent on the bench arguement," but I wouldn't go so far as to say anything less than the Final Four is a disappointment.  Keep in mind that everything is relative, regionally.  Amherst might have more talent than anybody else in the region (and even then that is debatable), but anything can happen come tourney time.  Take a look at last year's squad, which I argue was no worse than this year's edition.  We were (at least at Amherst) speculating the same thing, that a Final Four was a gimmie.  Rochester came in to LeFrak, caught us cold from the field, and KILLED us on the boards with a much more physical brand of play that we hadn't seen all year.  With so few out-of-region games played by the teams, it is hard to compare across regions and to evaluate talent.  And just because it may seem like Amherst could blow most teams out of the water, they still need to bring their "A" game to win the big ones.  We're not looking at an undefeated squad, here, and everyone will be gunning for the Jeffs.

I hate setting the bar too high.  We should just sit back and enjoy the ride.

[D3Cast]

D3Cast to Webcast NESCAC Basketball Championships

MARBLEHEAD, MA — The New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) and D3Cast (http://www.d3cast.com) of Marblehead, MA, announced today that all three games of the semi-finals and finals of both the 2006 NESCAC Men's and Women's Basketball tournaments will be webcast on D3Cast on February 25-26, 2006. Live video and audio are planned for all webcasts.

"We're thrilled to have the opportunity to bring these two high-profile championships to an eager live audience," said D3Cast president Steve Clay. "We recognize that in the past three years, one national champion, four national Final Four teams, and eight sectional finalists have participated in these two tournaments, and we're proud to be a part of that legacy.

"In the past three years of the two NESCAC tournaments themselves," said Clay, "six games in the semis or the finals have been decided by four points or less, and we expect that our audience will be treated to some exciting games this year, as well."

The schedule:

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25
2 p.m.: Men: Bates at Amherst
2 p.m.: Women: Williams at Bates
4 p.m.: Men: Tufts vs. Trinity (@Amherst)
4 p.m.: Women: Wesleyan vs. Bowdoin (@Bates)

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26
12 p.m.: Men: Championship (@Amherst)
12 p.m.: Women: Championship (@Bates)

For more info, contact sbc@d3cast.com.

[geronimo]

Geronimo here, risen from the ashes until called back to the spirit world.  Enjoying my time among you daywalkers.  

Bottom line.  Bedford, best player on best team.  Player of the Year.  Duh.

• War bowl cuts, powder blue and copper (see Tufts) as the best color combination in the history of mankind, unless you're prone to seizures.
 


• War Spife, 'cause he's both a spoon and a fork.
 


• War Rafters, I'm out!!!


• War defensive team rebounds, the most useless stat in all of sports.


• War shell-toed Adidas and the Bantams who still rock 'em.


• War Walzy.

Seacrest out.

[formerbant10]

CC,

11 points against a D1 team doesn't impress me that much.  The gap between D1 and D3 is not nearly as big as most people think.  And has he even had that big of a scoring game this year? 

MrMike,

Absolutely right about sitting back and enjoying the ride.  Teams that have goals of playing late in March must make it through February first.  Overlooking games is always dangerous, but even more so at this time of year becauseof how focused and motivated other teams are to knock off the top teams.

Geronimo,

Some people have argued that Bedford is not even the best/most important player on Amherst.  Having Olson playing beside him takes away from his POY status, unfortunately.  But that title will still go home to Ridgewood, NJ so I wouldn't worry too much.

[CCsalive]

fair enough Mike. I happen to think the UAA is better than nescac anyway(oops that'll get folks fired up)...again, I like Amherst and don't feel a need to tarnish their season or pressurize their post-season...