WBB: NESCAC

[nescac hoops]

NESCAC should be fun next year. I predict more of a pack than a one-horse race.

feces, what teams do you think will make up this pack. obviously, bates gets infinitely better with the return of coffin, though it will be interesting to see if she recovers 100% from her injury. as i understand, she did quite a number on it and tore multiple ligaments. bowdoin, tufts, and williams lose A LOT. it seems like bowdoin loses a lot every year but always seems to remain on top - williams and tufts will be a different story. i think wesleyan will be back up there next year with such a young team this year that managed to have a pretty strong season. reliable sources at amherst tell me that bill mcbride has been "fired" - i.e. "promoted" to a different postion in the athletic department. this move immediately makes amherst more of a contender. i think amherst, bates, wesleyan, and bowdoin (in no particular order) will make up the top 4. however, the bants might be able to sneak in there with such strong younger players and a very solid coach.

[feces monkey]

reliable sources at amherst tell me that bill mcbride has been "fired" - i.e. "promoted" to a different postion in the athletic department. this move immediately makes amherst more of a contender.

Ahh, a NESCAC classic. Look for a "Scheduling Assistant," "Squash Court Facility Manager," or "Buildings & Grounds Liasion" to show up on the Amherst human resources chart, only to be filled quickly by McBride (if the rumors are true).

In all fairness, McBride is product of bygone era -- a football assistant filling a position for what was once viewed as a throw-away sport. While it is probably not delineated anywhere, I would imagine McBride's recruiting priority would lie with his fall sport, not the winter. And he's obviously done an excellent job in football.

The fact that the Amherst women's ice hockey team went from joke to a Frozen Four team in about four years under its new coach (former Bowdoin asst.) probably expedited McBride's "promotion." If there is a change, Amherst will get a lot of excellent candidates applying and should be a real contender soon.

I thought Williams was going to be the shoe-in NESCAC champ this year, so I won't predict who will be in the final pack. I just don't see a run-away winner.

Also, I would be remiss without congratulating Mary Washington. Well done and good luck.

[pgc6655]

Small bit in the Portland paper today reported that Coffin would be rejoining the team "for the 2nd half of the season."  If that's accurate, it would raise some interesting challenges for Murphy and the team.

[nescac hoops]

i know that meg coffin only has one semester left of academic work. i wonder if her "joining the team 2nd semester" is a result of any rule that only allows a player to participate when he/she is enrolled in classes or if this is a time frame of her projected recovery. does anybody know if there is such a rule? interesting to say the least...

[speedy]

I'm not sure of the nuances of the rules but I believe the NCAA limits the number of semesters of sports participation in D3 to 8 so Coffin probably used up her 7th semester while playing soccer in the fall of 2006, leaving her with only one remaining semester of eligibility.

[bearsonocow]

From what I've seen this year, I believe Williams is going to have a tough year next year.

Reason for the post is a conversation I just had with an Amherst alum about their men's win last night and their impending victory today.  As I've followed the women closer, I asked about the coaching change and he sees this as a seismic shift and they're thinking the women will be challenging for late NCAA appearances in as little as two years.

[remsleep]

I'd like to hear some of you weigh in on the WABC selection of Eileen Flahertyof Bowdoin as Division III Women's National Player of the Year.

[Balder Eagle]

I'd like to hear some of you weigh in on the WABC selection of Eileen Flahertyof Bowdoin as Division III Women's National Player of the Year.

Congrats to Eileen Flaherty, she is a class lady as well as excelling in Womens Basketball.

[Perseph]

As we all know, basketball is a team sport and while awards such as "player of the year" or MVP are not as absurd as academy awards for acting (as if actors were actually competing with each other for these awards) they are particularly problematic in basketball and furthermore in D3 ball where perhaps only a very few would have actually seen the 50 possible "nominees".
Nonetheless, if awards are to be presented as such for a job well done then I can think of none more deserving the Flaherty.
A member of a particularly successful class, she helped bring Bowdoin up to four Elite 8's and one Final 2. She played in every game and became a starter in her freshman year after only a few games into the season. She isn't big, but was assigned a defensive role against the bigs on the other team and furthermore was a prolific rebounder and broke every record in scoring at Bowdoin with more than 1700 pts on a team that isn't known for its offense. She rose to play each game as the sun rises. She was a significant member of a class whose record was 112-9 over four years.
If awards like this one are to be given, who better than Flaherty should be singled out? 

[feces monkey]

Individual and team basketball awards are temporal. In two months Flaherty will receive a diploma from a NESCAC school, which puts her among the nation's overall elite, past and present.

Diplomas are always heavier than trophies, no matter the material from which each is made.

[speedy]

I'm afraid that there are some poor sports in the state of Maine who have gone public with their complaints about the grant of this award to Flaherty instead of their favorite USM player. Read on .  .

http://sports.mainetoday.com/college/basketball-women/070317womenstop.html

[Balder Eagle]

I'm afraid that there are some poor sports in the state of Maine who have gone public with their complaints about the grant of this award to Flaherty instead of their favorite USM player. Read on .  .

http://sports.mainetoday.com/college/basketball-women/070317womenstop.html

USM was very tasteless to allow that interview.

[Pat Coleman]

...  to allow that interview.

I'm not sure I'm going to be able to tell Gary Fifield what to do. He's been there more than a quarter of a century, if I do my math correctly.

Interesting that three awards went the other direction: D3hoops.com (decision made prior to this news article's release), DIII News and the New England Women's Basketball Association coaches all voted for Marble as their player of the year.

[Pat Coleman]

I read this quote and I don't see what the problem is.

"I know I'm probably not taking the high road here, but I have to defend (Marble). Compare the numbers across the board -- points per game, rebounds per game -- and look at the supporting cast surrounding (Flaherty)."

Is that what you're so aghast about?  Seems pretty matter of fact. Is he not allowed to state the facts or defend his own player?

[feces monkey]

The most amusing quote is from Curt Smyth of UNE. What a pimple. His team hasn't been within 37 points of Bowdoin (37 this year, 46 in '05, 52(!) in '04) since Flaherty's sophomore year and he's surprised Flaherty got the award. No wonder -- she probably hasn't been in past the 10 minute mark against UNE.

UMF doesn't have a dog in this fight and their coach spoke accordingly. If Pemper wasn't so classy, I'd expect the Polar Bears to "Pull a Lincoln" on UNE next winter.

The silver lining for Fifield and USM players: whatever they lack in national recognition, they'll surely make up for through work-study payroll 'bonuses.'