NAC

[BornBalla]

CSC is in Castleton, VT. That's gotta be tough in itself. It's not an academically elite school like Middlebury so why would out of state kids go? VT does not have enough talent to sustain a competitive program. The really good VT kids are gonna be out.

That being said, it looks like CSC wants to be legit. They have grad asstistants for every sport. Basically establishing a full time assistant coach. They have done work around campus to facilities. The question to ask is, does CSC have any kind of agreement with boarder states as far as tuition rates. If they do , with say NY , then there has gotta be a chance to overcome being in VT. I didn't look up this but maybe someone out there knows.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I'd say Castleton is a more desirable position than other similar positions in New England.  Balla did a good job looking at it.  Not the best location, but they have the tools to be competitive, especially within the conference.  That's always the first step.

[buck1053]

Well, Castleton has its new coach, Paul Culpo. He's been at Hartwick College for the last six years, winning the ECAC Upstate Championship this season. Here's the link to the D3Hoops.com story:

http://www.d3hoops.com/notables/2009/05/20/culpo-moves-from-hartwick-to-castleton.html

Thoughts?

[leelowlang]

Long time until Oct 15 but an early look at the NAC.

Teams to beat:

Husson...The road will go through Husson again.  With the return of seniors Bradford and MacKenzie, perhaps the best guard and best big in the league, and what looks to be a strong recruiting class, best of luck going to Bangor and getting a W.

Thomas...The best backcourt belongs to Thomas, the regular season champ of the league last year, with the return of Duncanson (POY) and Alexander, and don't forget the perimeter punch of Brathwaite and Burchill at 6'4" each.

Team to watch:

Farmington...The interior one-two punch of Tanguay and Taylor matched with the steady backcourt duo of Dean and Lelansky make them a legit contender.  They are always going to defend and rebound.

Which way will they go?:

Green Mountain...GMC had a nice year last year but lose their starting 1,2, & 3 in Bailey, Ferreira, and Pellew.  But they return a dangerous frontcourt led by Johnson and Carmo.

Johnson...JSC faded down the stretch and lose four seniors led by Shedd and Foley.  They will need role guys Passino and Dodge to setp up to join 3-pt ace Martinez.  Could be tough to continue climbing the NAC standings.

Lyndon...LSC loses frontcourt standouts Durr and Stoddard-Amari as well as dangerous wing Martinez.  They return a nice, young backcourt in Sackett and Fortunato but will need answers in the frontcourt.

On the rise:

Castleton...With the hiring of a new Coach, a DI transfer in UVM walk-on Hughes, and what looks to be a very solid recruiting class, CSC will be much better...but they have a ways to go.

Could be a long one:

MMA...Scratching their way to a 6th place finish, the Mariners graduate their top two players.  The Mariners are always dangerous way up in Castine but their best talent will most likely be very young.

09-10 Pre-Season Picks:

Champ - Husson
POY - Brock Bradford (HU)
ROY - Greg Hughes (CSC)
1st Team - Bradford, Andrew Duncson (TC), Matt McKenzie (HU), Eric Taylor (UMF), Gerard Johnson (GMC)

[beaner11]

I think you are dead on with hudson. Brock Bradford and MacKenzie can dominate a game, and don't forget about Jay Uhrin either. Expect him to have a bang up year too. Think you are underestimating Johsnon some though.

[leelowlang]

Good call on Uhrin.  With a year under his belt in the system he could flourish as well.  With some question if the ROY Rodgers is going to return at Thomas, Husson is the clear favorite in my mind.

JSC loses a high percentage of production from last year's squad.  Their entire starting frontcourt and point guard graduated.  Any program would have a hard time with that.

I think Farmington could be very scary by the time they hit league play.  Relatively big and experienced.  Vet backcourt as well.

[beaner11]

I could see Farmington, still Green Mountain may shock some people especially if the land a decent guard.  Who does everyone think the shockers this year? As in who do you think, player and/or team, that wll turn head?

[leelowlang]

Potential Surprises:

Husson - Daeshawn McMorrin.  They'll need him to fill the shoes of Perras/Meehan which won't be easy.

Thomas - Antonio Juco.  Ultra quick but might still be stuck behind the stable of talented guards the Terriers have.

Farmington - Kevin Leary.  Frontcourt X factor of sorts.  Similar to Ted Neil '09 in that he can really shoot the 3 and should fill those shoes.

Green Mountain - Travis Debreaux.  If he is back he is a horse.  Combined with Johnson and Carmo, could be the league's best frontcourt.

Johnson - Nate Dodge.  Big kid with guard skills and sweet stroke and JSC graduates their frontcourt.

Maine Maritime - Rob Connolly.  With graduation on Manner they need him to be a presence.

Lyndon - Noah Fink.  Lost in the shuffle a bit late last year but should be the Hornets go-to big this year.

Castleton - Marcus Hass.  Good FY last year so maybe not a surprise but with significant perimeter help coming in he should have more space to do work.

[leelowlang]

11/15:

Solid win by Thomas at Wentworth 78-73.  Defending NAC POY Andrew Duncanson goes for 24.  Transfer Travis Dorsey impressive with 16 & 11 rebs.  Back and forth game all day.

Johnson falls at home to Daniel Webster 90-73.  Leandro Martinez scores 26 and Nate Dodge 15.  DWC canned 13 3's.  Was a 10-15 pt game most of the way.

Lyndon dropped at Plattsburgh 103-81.  A pair of freshman led the way for LSC with Jason Gray going for 16 & 12 and Avery King scoring 15.  Plattsburgh raced to a big halftime lead and cruised.

[leelowlang]

11/16:

Green Mountain goes down in double OT at St. Joseph's (Vt.).  28 turnovers and a 9-25 FT effort doom Eagles.  Rui Carmo 21 pts and 12 rebs for GMC with Gerard Johnson adding 15.  Rookie Vladimyr Sibera scores 18 off the bench.  CSJ gets 20 from three guys.

[leelowlang]

11/17:

Castleton sees a three get banked home at the buzzer as they fall 86-85 in OT to New England College.  Andrew MacDonald hadn't entered the game until the final five seconds to knock down the shot for the 'Grims.  CSC gets 15 from a foul-troubled Derrick Faragon and 13 each from UVM transfer Greg Hughes and Lynn U. transfer Jared Paul.

Maine Maritime wins their season-opener at Maine-Machias behind a solid perimeter attack and overcoming 28 turnovers as they forced a whopping 36.  Paul Campbell tallies 17 points, 8 rebs, and 5 asts while Jarred Sternbergh gets them 15 and 9.  Cliff McDonald leads UMM with 22.

[leelowlang]

11/18:

Husson, a nip and tuck affair, loses at Gordon 61-59.  GC's Aaron Trigg hits the game-winning 3-pointer with about four seconds to go.  HU's Matt McKenzie scores a team-high 17 points while Brock Bradford goes for a dozen.  Newcomer Josh Jones grabs 10 rebs.  Trigg finishes with a team-best 17.

Lyndon runs away from the Saints at St. Joe's (Vt.).  LSC scores 67 second half points en route to the 111-97 win.  The teams combine for 23 3's with Lyndon going 10-12 from the arc.  Rookie Avery King scores a game-high 31 points while Jose Fortunato scores 15, grabs 14 rebs, and hands out seven assists.  Another rook, Jason Gray, scores 21 for Lyndon while Ben Sackett goes 5-5 from 3 with 18 points.  CSJ's Doug Childs nets  a team-high 25 and Brad Drysdale just misses a double-double with 22 pooints and nine rebounds.

[leelowlang]

11/19:

Farmington hangs with Amherst for a bit before going down 76-51.  Josh Tanguay record's a double-double with 14 pts and 12 rebs while Eric Taylor scores 10.  The game was tied 30-30 at the half but a 14-3 run to open the half propels the Jeffs.  Freshman Peter Kaasila leads Amherst with 14 points.

Johnson gets dropped at Weleyan U 104-94.  The game was tied at 47 at the half with Johnson scoring the first six points of the second half but the Cardinals would surge ahead by as much as 19.  A 13-0 JSC run got the game back to six but the whole was too big for the Badgers.  The backcourt of Leandro Martinez (29) and Ian Passino (26) combine for 55 points.  Chuck Harper tosses in 17 points.  Jason Mendell leads WU with 26 while freshman guards Sasha Brown and Derek Beresford score 22 and 17 respectively.

Castleton pulls away from MCLA for a 80-69 win.  With the game tied at 53 the Spartans went on a decisive 8-0 run to spark the victory.  Derrick Faragon tallied a  game-high 28 points while freshman Mark Comstock went for 18 points.  Chris Harris, 20 points and 13 rebounds, and Jon Greenberg, 11 points and 16 rebounds, each recorded double-doubles for MCLA.

Lyndon is defeated by Wheaton 97-84.  Wheaton leads by as much as 26 in the first half but the Hornets fight back to make it respectable.  Freshman Avery King pours in 34 points for Lyndon while Ben Sackett knocks down five 3's en route to 18 points.  Turnovers, 27, doom LSC as Wheaton got 34 from Anthony Coppola while Brendan Degnan tallies a double-double with 16 points and 10 assists. 

Gordon cruises to a 91-59 win over Maine Maritime Academy.  The Mariners get 15 points from Jared Sternbergh while the Scots put five players in double-figures led by Greg Walker's 15.  Sam Bell adds 11 for MMA.

Green Mountain trails by 21 at the half and falls 68-59 to Rochester.  Gerard Johnson has a strong outing with 18 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists and Rui Carmo scores 15.  Abe Saccoh records a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.  Rochester is lead by Marcus Roberson's 11 points as they held GMC to 2-17 shooting from the arc.

[leelowlang]

11/21:

Johnson loses a tough double-OT game to Southern Maine at Wesleyan 99-92.  JSC forced OT with a bucket with :00.8 remaining in regulation.  USM's Cortez Isaac lit the nets up with 41 points.  Leandro Martinez scored 24 to pace Johnson with Nate Dodge getting 19 and 12 rebounds.  Ian Passino scored 17 and Chuck Harper 16.

Farmington also goes down in 2OT to Endicott at Amherst 98-95.  Eric Taylor, with 31 points and 12 rebounds, and Josh Tanguay, with 18 points and 19 rebounds both record double-doubles for the Beavers.  Farmington came back from a 10-point deficit at the half.  Erik Callo had a big game for EC with 24 points and 15 rebounds.

Green Mountain was outscored 35-16 in the second half as Brockport State came back from six down at the half to beat the Eagles 63-50.  Rui Carmo was the lone Eagle in double-figures with 20 points and he also had nine rebounds.  Jermaine Johnson led three Brockport players in double-figures with 17.

Lyndon State picks up a nice win over Salve Regina 85-68.  Logan Calkins led LSC with 22 points including four 3-pointers.  Ben Sackett scored 12, all-tourney selection Avery King had 10 points and seven rebounds, and Jason Gray scored 10.  Salve was paced by Jabreche Boyd and his 20 points and seven boards.

Castleton took home the title at the Tom Greene Memorial Tip-Off Classic.  Seth Harrington led five players in double figures with 17 points.  Jared Paul (15 points), Greg Hughes (14), Mark Comstock (13) and Derrick Faragon (11) also contributed for the Spartans who are now 2-1 after going 2-23 last year.

Baruch cruises by Maine Maritime 83-59 sparked by a 51-24 rebound advantage.  Tyler Pineo (5) and Paul Campbell (4) combine for nine 3's with Pineo finishing with 17 points and Campbell 16.  Baruch put four players in double-figures including George Kunkel with 12 points and 17 rebounds.

Husson picks up a nice non-conference win with a 75-68 victory over RIT at Plattsburgh State.  Newcomer Josh Jones scores 22 and grabs 12 boards while Matt McKenzie (18), Brock Bradfor (16), and C.J. Hodges (10) joined him in double-figures.  Husson trailed by 10 at the break but held RIT to 26% shooting in the second half.

Thomas got the third nice NAC win of the day with a 103-93 triumph at Keene State.  The Terriers scorched the nets at a 54% clip and 61% in the second half.  Andrew Duncanson exploded for 33 points while Isaiah Brathwaite added 24.  Newcomers Jarrad DeVaughn (14) and Francisco Alicea (13) were also in double-figures.  Keene got 25 and 11 boards from Cody Snow.

10/22:

Husson falls in a nail-biter at Plattsburgh State in their tournament Championship game 72-70.  Husson was down 10 with 6:22 to play but cut the lead to two before a pair of Errol Daniyan free throws with :23 essentially iced the game for Plattsburgh.  The big three of Josh Jones, 20 points, Matt McKenzie 19 points, and Brock Bradford, 18 points, paced the Eagles.  Daniyan and Chris Ruiz each scored 20 points for Plattsburgh.

[leelowlang]

10/23:

Despite another fine game from Eric Taylor who scored 22 points Farmington loses a tough one at home to St. Joseph (Maine) 59-57.  The Beavers did not have another player in double-figures and struggled from the arc going 4-18 (22%).  Tyler Kelly, behind a 4-5 3-point effort, leads the Monks with 16 points.  UMF's Andrew Dean missed a 3-pointer with :08 remaining and the score 58-57.