MBB: NESCAC

nescac1 · May 27, 2008, 11:42:54 AM

I think Paulsen was a pretty unique case ... unless someone has ties to Williams, I can't imagine any coaches from a higher division (at least someone who is a head coach) moving down to D-III. And I'm not sure that would be a good move for Williams, in any event -- recruiting at the D-III level, especially for a NESCAC schools, and in particular for Williams (which has the toughest admissions standards of any D-III school that also aims to be nationally competitive) is so different that it would be tough for a higher-level coach to adjust.

Good luck to Trinity baseball today in their effort to cap off the first ever undefeated baseball season. Quite a year for NESCAC athletics overall -- national championships in men's soccer, women's tennis, the usual squash championships for Trinity, women's cross country, field hockey, probably baseball and women's crew as well, likely another Sears Cup title with two other teams in the top 5-6, national runner-up in men's basketball, a great year for the league in men's and women's hoops with lots of teams making each NCAA tourney, the college gameday at Williams, and on and on ...

walzy31 · May 27, 2008, 04:22:37 PM

Quote from: Marty Peretz on May 24, 2008, 12:25:19 AM
Luke Flockerzi would be an awesome choice. Has great familiarity with the UAA and NESCAC, is a great recruiter, has learned under two of the best, and knows what it takes to recruit and win at this level. He'd be an A plus hire.

I echo Marty's sentiments.
Williams would be lucky to get a coach like Flockerzi, who has lots of experience recruiting, scouting and winning in the NESCAC.

walzy31 · May 27, 2008, 04:25:42 PM

Quote from: nescac hoops on May 23, 2008, 09:35:46 AM
I don't know about anybody else, but I am equally as interested to see who Paulsen names as his assistants at Bucknell. Former players/assistants players in the coaching ranks include Jim McCarthy (assistant at Northeastern), Dane Fisher (asssitant at Rider), John Fitzgerald (former player, director of operations at University of Denver), Mike Crotty (player development for the Celts), and many others. He could also keep some of the current assistant coaching staff from Bucknell. I think it will be interesting.

Crotty is too busy high-fiving Eddie House in the player's tunnel after games to take a coaching gig.

toad22 · May 27, 2008, 04:55:47 PM

I think that Williams will bring in a young, aggressive new coach. Right now the Ephs are being passed by most of the rest of NESCAC in terms if talent. I don't know exactly what a new coach can do about this except recruit harder and rarely make a mistake with a recruit. Dave Paulsen was a really skilled coach, but he made too many recruiting mistakes in the last three years. Even with that, they have a fair amount of talent coming back next year. Watch for Joe Geohegan to have a monster year. He will be a much stronger, 6'8", 3 year starter next year. No Williams big guy has ever been as advanced going into his junior year.

toad22 · May 28, 2008, 12:09:11 AM

My last post was really confusing. My point is that Amherst, Trinity, Middlebury, Bates, etc now all have really talented squads, much more quality & depth in the league than a few years ago. Williams needs more real talent or they will struggle to be 5th or 6th in the NESCAC from now on. In the old days it was Amherst, Trinity and Williams and the others were pretty ordinary most years.

ILive4This · May 29, 2008, 01:36:59 PM

Now I am going to preface this by saying I know I make a number of spelling and grammatical errors in my daily life, but it gets me when a school such as Williams does so. Proof read people, proof read.

The following is the job posting for the new head coaching position at Williams (oh and professorship of PE too).

Williams College invites applications for the position of Assistant Professor (three-year renewable appointment) of Physical Education and Head Coach of Men's Basketball. The appointment will begin with the academic year 2004-2005.
Responsibilities include coaching men's basketball, recruiting qualified student-athletes, budget administration, supervision of assistant coaches, assistant coaching in another sport, teaching Physical Education classes, and duties as assigned by the Chair.

The department invites applications from candidates with a Bachelor's degree; Master's degree and previous college coaching experience preferred.

Application deadline is June 27, 2008. Applicants should submit a letter of application, resume, and the names of three references to:

Harry C. Sheehy III, Chair Department of Physical Education, Athletics, and Recreation 22 Spring Street Williams College Williamstown, Massachusetts 01267 (413) 597-3511 (phone) (413) 597-4272 (fax)

Williams College is a coeducational liberal arts institution, offering undergraduate education to its 2,000 students. The College has built its reputation on a long tradition of outstanding teaching and scholarship and on the academic excellence of its students. Among the opportunities that Williams offers its students and approximately 260 faculty members are interdisciplinary programs and centers, including the Multicultural Center, the Oakley Center for the Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Center for Environmental Studies as well as extensive library and museum collections, expanding theatre and dance facilities, a center for information technology, well-equipped laboratories, and a broad-based athletics program. See also Williams College website (http://www.williams.edu).

In addition to fully meeting its obligations of nondiscrimination under federal and state laws, Williams College is committed to developing a diverse and inclusive college community and especially welcomes and encourages applications from women and historically underrepresented groups.

It is good to know that their appointment will begin four years ago.... interesting. They simply used the posting from when they hired Paulson. If one of their students did this they would be kicked out for plagiarism.

frank uible · May 29, 2008, 02:03:57 PM

Paulsen's last name is spelled with an e, not an o.

Working SID · May 29, 2008, 03:09:58 PM

Quote from: ILive4This on May 29, 2008, 01:36:59 PM
Now I am going to preface this by saying I know I make a number of spelling and grammatical errors in my daily life, but it gets me when a school such as Williams does so. Proof read people, proof read.

That's funny -- I was just reading a feature story on Amherst's site in which the VERY FIRST WORD is misspelled.

I didn't read any further. No credibility, still.

https://cms.amherst.edu/athletics/teams/spring/baseball/articles/2008/0528_thurston

Working SID · May 29, 2008, 03:34:16 PM

I guess I should document the error, just in case.

"Their's was a typical small New England dairy farm – 12, maybe 15 head of cattle, a few acres of corn and string beans, an old pickup truck and some horses for plowing."

Unless there is some "their is" contraction I'm not aware of, this is just not a word.

gordonmann · May 29, 2008, 03:46:19 PM

See that. I learned something new from your nitpicking. I thought their's was a word, too.

http://englishplus.com/grammar/00000262.htm

Old Guy · June 03, 2008, 09:06:35 PM

"Their's" is not a word, but "theirs" is.

I think "Working SID" is a bit too smug. Obviously, "Their's" is not a contraction - it's a possessive and doesn't need an apostrophe (like "its").

I think it's a forgivable error, because the rest of the sentence is so good, not just balls and strikes, assists and turnovers. Diction and syntax are important too. I commend him for the effort. I wouldn't dismiss the whole piece for a mistake on this scale.

dman · June 05, 2008, 04:35:09 PM

really curious who the new williams coach will be. i'm happy for dave paulsen. he's leaving the program in pretty good shape, and i think its good for williams that, "our last coach went to d1". that should help recruiting a little bit. also, pretty psyched that the ephs managed to pull out another director's cup(i think). at some point, midd or amherst will surpass them, but for now, we just win, while they just try... also happy for trinity baseball, very impressive...nescac is just a great conference for athletics.....

Marty Peretz · June 05, 2008, 04:38:54 PM

Neither Midd nor Amherst will pass them. Wash.U. or Emory might, but the odds favor NESCAC schools since they compete in so many more sports.

frank uible · June 05, 2008, 06:08:26 PM

The poop is that the new Williams coach will be publicized by mid-July.

nescac1 · June 05, 2008, 06:23:56 PM

The poop? Is that some old-school slang Frank?

Anyone hear any word on other NESCAC schools -- recruiting, transfers, new Bates coach, players ready to break out next year, etc.? Seems like Trinity brings in the most talent with a D-I transfer and two big time recruits, with Amherst close behind with a huge haul of quality big guys who should vie for immediate playing time. Williams and Bowdoin, and to some extent Bates, all seem to have strong classes coming in as well. Radio silence on Tufts, Colby, and Wesleyan recruiting ...

Seems like Midd (most returning veteran talent) and Amherst (always reload and lots of experienced talent on the perimeter) will be pre-season favorites, with Williams (likely biggest, deepest and best front court in the league, but huge questions at point guard and of course at coach) and Bowdoin possible contenders as well, plus Colby as the dark horse. Trinity is the least predictable as they will have to replace the top three veteran scorers all of whom won all league accolades at some point, plus their sixth man, but bring in guys who should be ready to step in immediately. Bates should be solid but did lose its top gun plus its coach. Tufts, Conn College, Wesleyan all lose a lot of talent from bottom-of-the-pack teams ...