MBB: NESCAC

[FisherDynasty]

Having seen both Amherst and Wooster play this year, I will take Amherst by 7-10.

[Friar T]

Glad to see people's faith in Amherst over Wooster. The Scots are a very storied team and the program has been to a Final Four or two over the years. Teams just have to come ready to play at this point. With the experience of last year's semifinals and this being the third trip for Wheeler, McLaughlin, O'Shea and Salerno, I think the Jeffs and Virginia Wesleyan have a distinct advantage. Everything's easier when it's not the first time...

For those who didn't catch the webcasts, Olson threw a LEGIT 2/3rd-court alley oop to Hopkins, which was reverse dunked on the back end. It's rare that this type of play is seen in college basketball at all, let alone division III, and I think that it speaks volumes on the skill levels of both players. Now I know that the haters will call this "fluff" and say things like "Wow! A six foot ten guy who can dunk! who would have imagined that!", but the fact remains that anyone who's ever tried to throw or finish an oop knows it's no easy task regardless of height or hoop height. It takes serious timing and accuracy, and to complete one of that flair and distance in a game this big is amazing and should be recognized as such.

Have fun in Salem boys, act like you've been there before...

Oh wait, you have.

[mrmike88]

I'm so excited to be heading back to Salem.  I hope the guys get the Final Four monkey off their backs this year.

I don't know if I'd go so far as to call Amherst the favorite, but on paper at least they do seem to match up better against this Woo squad than they did against Witt last year.  It was the height of Witt that killed them in the Final Four last year.  The Jeffs had no answers down low.  Woo doesn't have a two-pronged low-post attack, per se.  They seem to have a much more balanced offense.  That in itself should help the Jeffs out on D this year.

With O'Shea, Wheeler, and Hopkins all seeing significant minutes down low in last year's Witt game, they should be accustomed to more physical Midwest-style play, and it should be less of a factor than last year.

This Scots team is super-talented.  I don't think you can call this Lord Jeffs squad a favorite until they actually go down and win one at the Final Four.  But I certainly feel better this year than I did last year heading down to Salem...

[imderekpoe]

I visited the 4 team websites this morning and compiled their stats into one file.

Its available here in Excel format
http://www.jtaswell.com/D3BB/2007_FinalFour_Stats.xls

And here in html
http://www.jtaswell.com/D3BB/2007_FinalFour_Stats.htm

[nescac1]

I saw the Hopkins play and it was incredible, both the pass and the finish.  Olsen is playing at an incredibly high level and should be a first team all america candidate.  He seems to have a knack for hitting 25 foot 3's just as the half / game is winding down.  Clearly the top player in New England.  McLaughlin had a great all-around game against RIC as well.

Hopkins finishes as well inside as, I imagine, any Div-III big man as he can dunk it, has nice post moves, good touch, and hits free throws.  He still does not have a great feel for rebounding considering his size and jumping ability ... Baskauskas is a much stronger rebounder.  He is an awesome, intimidating help defender but can be beat one-on-one by quicker, smaller big men.  Vandervart may give him problems if he has good footwork. 

Amherst seems to have a big size advantage on a fairly short Wooster team, with 2-4 inches advantage at every spot but point guard.  Not many teams have ever had to play against a team with not only a 6'10 center but also wing players all in the 6'4-6'7 range.  Amherst used a similar size advantage to really punish RIC inside and on the boards.  But Amherst's big perimeter players definitely have trouble staying with quicker guards, so I figure Wooster's backcourt will give them a lot of problems.  I bet Salerno will play a lot of minutes because they need his one-on-one defense on Cooper. 

I think in the end, Wooster will have to sag down to help on Amherst's big guys and on McLaughlin and Baskauskas who are very effective at cutting back-door to the basket for easy looks, which should open up 3's for Amherst's shooters.  As long as they are hitting open shots, and they usually are, that should be enough to win a high-scoring game ... 80-76 Amherst.   To win, Wooster needs to keep the rebounding about even and hold the Jeffs under 35 percent from the perimeter, doable but difficult. 

[NY hoopster]

Both Olson and Hopkins are without question, great players. My prior comment on this post about not being surprised or awed that a 6' 10" guy could dunk meant no disrespect to Hopkins. My comment was in reponse to a prior poster using the dunk as evidence that Hopkins is a better player than another center who is 4 inches shorter than Hopkins. I didn't see the dunk in question, and don't doubt that it took great athletic skill on the part of Hopkins to complete the play. I have seen Olson play enough to know that he is an incredible point guard. I'm not a "hater" of either player or their talented team, and wish them the best of luck in the final four.

The point I was inartfully making is that you can't compare centers in a league based upon a spectacular dunk, especially when there is a significant height differential between the centers being compared. The debate can go on forever about who the best center in the league was this year, but I believe that the ability to dunk an alley-oop pass isn't the deciding factor in any such comparisons. Points, blocks, assists, rebounding and defense are my points of comparison, as well as the individual's ability to come through in clutch situations for their team.

[VigoTheCarpathian]

Vigo would like to point out something to the masses.  Why is it that of all the games that d3cast have broadcast recently, only the one that Amherst lost remains on the archives.  While d3cast broadcasted Colby, Williams, Stevens and RIC...only the Williams game remains...

The third shot, frame 232, takes Kennedy in the back pulling him downward and forward. Connaly you'll notice shows no signs at all of being hit. He is visibly holding his Stetson, which is impossiable if his wrist has been shattered. Connaly is turning here now, frame 238 the fourth shot. It misses Kennedy and takes Connaly in the back. This is the shot that proves there were two rifles. Connaly yells out "My God! They are going to kill us all." Somewhere around this time another shot that misses the car completely, strikes James Tague down by the underpass. The car brakes. The sixth and fatal shot, frame 313 takes Kennedy in the head from the front. This is the key shot. The President going back and to his left. Shot from the front and right. Totally inconstant with the shot from the Book Depository. So what happens then? Pandemonium.

Back, and to the left... back, and to the left... back, and to the left.

[Pat Coleman]

Vigo would like to point out something to the masses.  Why is it that of all the games that d3cast have broadcast recently, only the one that Amherst lost remains on the archives.  While d3cast broadcasted Colby, Williams, Stevens and RIC...only the Williams game remains...

The NCAA prohibits archiving of NCAA Tournament games.

[JeffRookie2]

Hey Pat, I really enjoyed the podcast, you even did a decent job pronouncing Amherst, with the silent H. I was at the Colby game though, and I dont recall which pass you are talking about. Could you descibe it in a little better detail?

I think my personal most memorable Olson pass was last year in the regular season game against Bates. Olson used a spin move to cause his defender to fall down, then drove into the lane where two bobcats collapsed on him. He then fired a behind-the-back no-look pass to Hopkins, who was completely taken off-guard, not expecting that olson would be able to get him the ball, but still managed to finish with a slam. I had a friend visiting who was a very good high school point guard and he remarked that if he ever did that, he would immidiately walk off the court with no explanation and never play basketball again. This was a guy who had once had to try to guard TJ Ford in AAU, so its not like he was easily impressed. It's incredible that plays like that are almost routine for Olson.

[mrmike88]

I'm pretty sure I know which pass Pat and Coach Hixon were talking about.  In the Colby game, Baskauskas took the ball into the corner for a look at a 3.  Instead, he hit a trailing Olson at about the free throw line, who, without looking, immediately redirected the ball to his left, towards the baseline, where he hit a cutting Hopkins for the easy dunk.  What impressed me the most about the pass was how quickly it was executed.  It was almost as if it never really touched Olson's hands.  If he had waited even a second before making that pass, the Colby defense would have recovered along the baseline and the passing lane would have closed...

[mrmike88]

FYI to all Amherst fans:

"Tickets for this weekend's men's basketball Final Four will be sold in the Amherst College Athletics Office Tuesday and Wednesday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. (Adults: $20/Students: $10)"

I hope to see you guys there!

[nescac1]

Article on Ryan Wholey (any relation to the guy on Bates with the same name?), headed to Middlebury next year:

http://www.eagletribune.com/sports/local_story_019094535

Seems like Midd has done a very good job bringing in top-flight players of late.  They should definitely be in the mix for the next few years. 

[Pat Coleman]

I'm pretty sure I know which pass Pat and Coach Hixon were talking about.  In the Colby game, Baskauskas took the ball into the corner for a look at a 3.  Instead, he hit a trailing Olson at about the free throw line, who, without looking, immediately redirected the ball to his left, towards the baseline, where he hit a cutting Hopkins for the easy dunk.  What impressed me the most about the pass was how quickly it was executed.  It was almost as if it never really touched Olson's hands.  If he had waited even a second before making that pass, the Colby defense would have recovered along the baseline and the passing lane would have closed...

Yes, this is exactly the pass I was referring to.

I know how to pronounce Amherst and Wooster, yes.

FYI for those who don't remember -- that $20/$10 price is for both days, all four games are covered.

[JeffRookie2]

Actually Pat, I was wondering, is Wooster pronounced like the Massachusetts town Worcester? Or is it WOO-ster?

Wow, it says Wholey chose Midd over Dartmouth, Williams and Bates. I can see Dartmouth, since they are always at the bottom of the ivy league, but i cant imagine why you would chose Midd over Williams, a great sports school with a terrific basketball history.

[Pat Coleman]

It's pronounced like Worcester but without the Boston accent.