MBB: NESCAC

[lemonjello]

Steve's bigger than his brother, who wasn't exactly a power forward either.  He'll do just fine, I think.

[hoopjunkie]

Is Wheeler any good ?I don`t remember seeing him getting any time last year. How do you compare him to his brother , who I thought was good but not great .

[JeffRookie2]

There was no way any freshman was getting playing time on last year's team. All reports on Steve are that he is at least as good as his brother.

[WestCoast21]

Trinity has posted their schedule. Besides their opening tournament in Maine, it appears the Bants have more or less jammed their schedule with some tough teams including RIC, WPI, and the Oglethorpe tournament.

[La Verdad]

It's embarrassing how misinformed some of the Amherst faithful are...

Steve Wheeler is not a 4, nor is he as big as Dan.  Steve is slasher with a good jumper and a lot of athleticism (one of, if not the best dunker on the team).  Dan had a great post game and a deadly shot from 3, but wasn't as good at making shots for himself.  Look for Steve to be a 2 or 3.

If the season started now the back up pg would be Marcus.  The only way DJ gets in regularly is if Marcus plays himself out of the lineup.

As for Fuggett and Mano(the Greek kid), there is no guarantee that they make the team.  The same goes for any freshman besides Meehan, Butler and Bennett.  I played with Fuggett the other day and was impressed with his touch and athleticism.  He's got nice range on his jumper and could handle the ball a little bit.  A source told me he's got all the talent, but tends to be lazy.  Mano has been making progress from what I hear.  Decent shooter who can block some shots.  Major negatives are his like of strength and athleticism.  Bennett is going to be very good.  The coaches were thrilled to get him away from some of the smaller D1s in cali and the ivys (and williams).  He's accustomed to being one of the biggest guys on the court, so I'd expect him to take some time to adjust.

Glenn Wong is NOT a pg, although I have heard that the Chinese National team has expressed some interest in him for the next Olympic squad...

Here are the top 9 for this year in no particular order:

Jones, Hopkins, Olson, Walters, Goldsmith, Bausko, Bradley, Coulibaly, Wheeler.

I apologize for any confusion my Amherst brethren have caused you all.

[walzy31]

Let the truth be heard. Thanks, I needed some sanity.

Steve Wheeler will be in "This year's 9." That is a promise not a prediction.

[lemonjello]

I don't think anyone said that Steve was a 4.  Jeffrookie put him in the 4 spot saying that he wasn't really a 4 but couldn't think of anyone else to go there.  My point was that I didn't think Dan was really a 4 either, but he did fine at the position.  I certainly haven't seen enough of Steve's game to comment on his playing style, but I do know he's a great shooter and very athletic.
According to last year's roster, Steve was 6'5" 210, while Dan was 6'4" 218, so one could say they were about the same size (though Steve has a few years to fill out, so he could end up bigger).  So maybe he's not bigger, but he was around the same size as his brother 3 years younger with room to put on weight.
I apologize for any confusion, but I don't think there was any misinformation there.

[JeffRookie2]

Watch out, you can get bitched out on this board for suggesting that Glenn Wong could play point. Been there.

Also, before anyone tells me that Wheeler is not a power forward, I'm aware of this, but who else do you put there?

Also, I had Wheeler in this year's nine.

[nescac1]

Several NESCAC guys listed below.  These national magazines usually aren't all that accurate when it comes to D-III, but the first team here is spot-on, and most of the rest of the New England honorable mentions (Kathan, DeLuca, Rose, Shalvoy, R. Martin) are pretty solid as well.  You could make an argument for Weitzen or Kevin Hopkins, but considering how Shalvoy played at the end of last year and what you'd expect from a healthy Rose, not a stretch for either to be included above them.  The only change I would make would be to exchange Bartollota for Craig Johnson, as he is clearly the top returning guy in the NEWMAC.   Williams faces Nick Shattuck of Ursinus in its opening game, so that should serve as an interesting barometer to start the season. 

Sporting News/Street & Smith's 2007-08 Division III Preseason All-American Team:


1st Team

James Cooper, Wooster
Andrew Olson, Amherst
Troy Ruths, Wash U
Ben Strong, Guilford
Larry Welton, Aurora

2nd Team

Sherod Harris, Brockport St
Chad McGowan, York (Pa)
Kent Raymond, Wheaton (IL)
Nick Shattuck, Ursinus
Anthony Williams, Plattsburgh St

Honorable Mention:

Ton Ton Balenga, VA Wesleyan
Damien Brown, Averett
Matt Brynes, Rowan
Steve DeLuca, Brandeis
Jason Foster, Puget Sound
Travis Gorham, Plattsburgh St
Nate Hainje, Chicago
Steve Hicklin, UW-Stevens Point
Craig Johnson, Coast Guard
Tyler Kathan, Keene St
Kyle Kuenstling, Coe
Jeremiah Lawrence, Shenandoah
Russell Martin, Trinity (Ct)
Onyie Onunaku, Shenandoah
Jonathan Onyiriuka, Rochester
Anthony Pettaway, Defiance
Pete Rortvedt, UW-Stevens Point
Chris Rose, Williams
Chris Shalvoy, Williams
Jeff Skemp, UW-Platteville
Nate Stahl, Capital
Ryan Symes, Whitworth
Brandon Todd, Muskingum
Derek Van Solkema, Hope
Caleb Veldhouse, Calvin
Sean Wallis, Wash U
Kyle White, Loras
Brandon Williams, Brockport St
Andrew Zimmer, Wabash

[nescac1]

Oh, and here is the top ten.  This also looks pretty good.  I'd say Amherst should be number one as defending champs, considering how much they return (Coulibaly / Goldsmith / S. Wheeler are more talented overall than the guys they replace in the rotation), but otherwise the top five looks exactly right.  If P. Martin is returning, Trinity certainly belongs under possible breakthroughs.  Nice to see Williams' strong season-ending play recognized with a top-ten billing, now the team has to go out and earn it. 

Sporting News/Street & Smith's 2007-08 Division III preseason top 10:

1. Wash U.
2. UW-Stevens Point
3. Brockport St
4. Amherst
5. Augustana
6. Brandeis
7. Virginia Wesleyan
8. Guilford
9. Rochester
10. Williams

"Possible Breakthroughs":

Alvernia, Aurora, Averett, Calvin, Capital, Defiance, Elmhurst, Hampden-Sydney, Heidelberg, Hope, Keene St, Lewis & Clark, Loras, Mississippi College, Plattsburgh St,  Puget Sound, Rhode Island Coll, Rowan, Stevens Institute, Ursinus, Wheaton, Whitworth, William Paterson, UW-Platteville, UW-Whitewater, Wittenberg, Wooster, Worcester Poly, York

[formerbant10]

Congrats again to Olson....barring disaster he should be the best guard in D3 again.  I'd take him over Cooper and "Hot Rod" Harris to play with any day.

Agreed 'herst should be on top till they lose it. After seeing Brockport play last year, I wouldn't have put them above the Jeffs.

[eclinchy]

Two Ephs and no Jake?  Weak.

Other than that though, I like what I see from New England.  From what I've seen of Martin, DeLuca and Kathan, all three are definitely deserving.  It's pretty scary how good Kathan was last year, considering he was just a sophomore... really physical, tough player.  Wouldn't be surprised to see him break into the second team a year from now.

Congrats to Williams on being top-10 again.  We'll see if they can hold onto it though...

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Congrats to Williams on being top-10 again.  We'll see if they can hold onto it though...

Hold your horses there.  They're not really top ten until the d3hoops.com poll comes out.  Street & Smith might have been getting better over the last few years, but it's certainly not the preeminent poll out there.  It's like saying you're a decent team because you're #23 in the Harris Interactive poll for football.  It might be accurate, but we have to look for confirmation from more reliable sources.

[hoopjunkie]

Good post  ElClinchy .  2 Ephs No Jake ?  Very weak .  Also congrads on sports writer award at Tufts . Keep up the good work .

[nescac hoops]

Hold your horses there.  They're not really top ten until the d3hoops.com poll comes out.  Street & Smith might have been getting better over the last few years, but it's certainly not the preeminent poll out there.  It's like saying you're a decent team because you're #23 in the Harris Interactive poll for football.  It might be accurate, but we have to look for confirmation from more reliable sources.

HAHAHHAHAHAH. Since when is there a "be all and end all" poll in d3 sports. Let me start out by saying that I am also skeptical of Williams being ranked 10th and believe that they are getting the "Notre Dame football treatment" of having a strong tradition and perhaps being overrated. However, d3hoops rankings are also VERY flawed as are most d3 polls due to lack of exposure on tv/espn.com/etc. and less money for inter-region play. I don't know who has the best poll or if there is such a thing, but I definetly know that the d3hoops poll disappoints a number of fans. Especially for d3 (and in all sports at all levels), I don't think you can rank teams until after the season when the tourny plays out. In defense of Street & Smith, they at least did some homework to know that teams like Williams and WashU didn't lose much if anything from their previous year's tourny team and will most likely do even better this year. However, I still think Amherst should be #1 until they lose even though Wash U may be the team to beat this year given how young they were last year and the run they were able to make in the tourny.


If I had to vote, I would probably have the ephs ranked somwhere in the 15-22 slots, but that's just my opinion.

Great article about Coulibaly on the front page.