MBB: NESCAC

[nescachoopsfan]

every year someone is raving about conn college and how their young players are going to step it up.  so far it hasnt happened, and quite frankly i dont think its the players fault necessarily.  although, it isnt good for  the program, and probably not a great sign of dedication when 2 players, including stone get suspended from games due to off the court problems.  im not 100% on what they were exactly so i wont even mention what i remember them to be.  and i dont think conn is a very good shooting team, they are just very selective with their long distance attempts, which is why they shot a good percentage.  im not looking at the stats, but i believe that was the case, and i dont really think the princeton offense was clicking last year, but we shall see.  i feel like that is a bad offense for that group of players to run anyway.  they have such good athletes, that they should have an offense that exploits that instead of trying to read team defense and screen and back cut.  just my humble opinion

[CCsalive]

"and i dont think conn is a very good shooting team, they are just very selective with their long distance attempts, which is why they shot a good percentage."
-Brilliant analysis

"Every year someone is raving?" Its a program rebuilding after losing their coach who took them to the Final Four and left for Brown and now UPENN. They had a terrible successor and now Tom Satran has them back above .500, and in the NESCAC tourney. Its not exactly like the league is easy. Conn took care of Wesleyan, Bowdoin, and Middlebury last year and lost at the buzzer at Williams...that is called improvement.

[CCsalive]

Nescachoopsfan.

Conn does have good athletes, as does everyone else. How do you define "they have such good athletes"...?
Should the Camels have run the floor with Amherst and Trinity? Or Tufts and Bates?
Are they more athletic than Williams?
Good athletes don't need to to read screens?

[thunder32]

CCsalive 

I am going to have to agree with nescacshoopsfan, he is right now the money I think that Stone is one of the more athletic big men and could be a more of a threat if he is able to get down the floor and the defense not have time to set up a double team.  Also about the outside shooting I know we never really even went over Conn's perimeter shooter because we knew that they were not going to hurt us and they didnt.  I do believe that Conn has an anthletic team in general also it may take them a season to get it down but I think that style of play would suit them better

[nescachoopsfan]

What thunder has to say was exactly my point.  do you think tufts was practicing how to stop conn's 3 point game?  doubtful in my opinion.  they arent a team like williams amherst or tufts that prefers to shoot from downtown.  they have a very good post player in stone.  and come on, u think the nescac teams are considered athletic teams?  i saw tufts play salem state, and umass boston.  those teams have athletes that can get out and run, and beat their men going to the rack off and on the dribble.  the difference between tufts and amherst to conn college is the dicsipline in which they run with.  and i wont even put tufts on the same level as amherst.  amherst will run you out of the gym but not because they play above the rim or have quick penetrators, more because they know what they are doing when they run.  that is the difference.

and btw i wouldnt say it is an accomplishment to beat wesleyan bowdoin or middlebury, bowdoin the only team with more than 1 win.

[dman]

glad to see the ephs with a challenging non-conf. schedule that includes games against montclair state on a neutral court, at occidental, at keene state, along with the traditional rivals- rpi, union, hamilton, springfield, and lasell......

[nescac1]

That is a rough schedule ... if memory serves Occidental beat Amherst last year, also on the road, so they must be pretty tough.  D-man, any guess as to how the Ephs will stack up this year? 

[CCsalive]

Thunder and nescachoops,

I agree that a controlled fast-break is a beautiful thing. Up-tempo is the way the game should be played, but you over estimate certain things like "athleticism" and you underestimate the basketball IQ's of some of the players on the top tiered nescac teams.

Conn is getting there, but other than Stone and Young the team is less athletic than you give them credit. And, Conn is less of a "destination" for the Ridgefield, NJ crowd that learns how to hedge screens in middle school.

I'm telling you that Conn COULD NOT go fast AND play smart last year.
Again, ask the coaches if they like preparing for the Princeton.

[formerbant10]

Just because a team is using the Princeton offense means that it is like preparing for Princeton. 

The "Princeton" offense is a pretty complex series of reads, much more difficult than most would think.  And it takes more than two weeks to master, that's for sure.

Occidental is definitely a tough opponent on the road.  But if scouted well, their offensive sets can be disrupted...and I'm sure that Williams will be able to do that.  Trinity played them twice since 2002 and beat them both times.  The first time Oxy was one of the better teams on the west coast.  The good thing for Williams is that if they do lose, it doesn't matter since it's a way-out-of region game.

Almost time for practices to begin...starting to get excited.

[nescachoopsfan]

formerbant explained what i was trying to say well.  but whatever we dont need to argue about it anymore.  also, on tufts schedule, they are playing two jersey teams in january, one of them being william patterson who i think bates played last year and made it in the ncaa tourney, a tough road game for the bo's, and they are hosting their own tip of tournement, the tufts invitational tournement or for short the t.i.....

[dman]

the ephs only have two seniors, but  three straight strong classes should make them competitive with everyone.....

[ajsnc13]

I just wanted to take a moment to highlight the deepest position in the NESCAC, the point guard position.  I think it is quite impressive the talent level throughout the NESCAC, but the PG's take the cake.

Bates- Ray, All League player, best player on team
Amherst- Olson, All League, best player on team
Trinity- Martin, possibly all League, tough, strong good player
Bowdoin- Bradley, possibly all League, best player on team
Tufts- Shepherd/Black, two solid guards who play both ends of the court
Middlebury- Rudin, rookie of the year
Conn College- WAshington, strong, smart guard, plays both ends of court
Williams- Shalvoy- smart, good player, fun to watch
Colby- Farrell- solid, gets the job done, plays hard
Wesleyan- ?

Many of these guards are 2, 3, 4 year starters that have made an immeidate impact.  It is going to be fun to watch these guards match up throughout the year.

[BigAceDuece]

Amherst...

O'Shea=Diesel
Salerno=C. Mullin
Wheeler=Dirk
Mclaughlin=Hinrich
Olsen=Nash
Jones=Melo
Walters=TayTay
Hopkins=Troy Murphy
Holsey=Sheed
Oshea=Austin Croshere
Goldsmith=Pau Gasol
Baskauskas=Morrison
Coulibaly=J. Shuttlesworth
Wong=Tony Parker
Bradley=Devin Harris
Holsey=Villenueva

[YoungSnukes]

an insightful post no doubt. I dont know if I would compare Wong to Tony Parker. Nah, i see him more as a Rajon Rondo. a defensive specialist who knows how to run teh point and distribute the rock. and lets be honest, there is only one Dirk Nowitzki in the league and i think we all know who im talkin bout. Nick Pelletier baby! the kid is a playmaker

[walzy31]

ajsnc13,

The Wes Tech PG is Jared Ashe.

Tufts fans,

Amherst will be hosting four tournaments this season:

The Ken Wright Tip Off Classic
The Pioneer Valley Classic
The Amherst Invitational (aka NESCAC tourney final weekend)
The Sweet 16 / Elite 8 round of NCAAs for 3rd straight year.

Please mark your calendars accordingly.