WBB: NESCAC

[amh63]

FrankU,  Your effort to be witty and to generate conversation is weak and negative.  There is another game this morning.  Will your comment apply after today's game.  On Amherst team's play, I felt that they looked flat and tired.   Mainly it was Wash.U's numbers and hustle/energy.  Though the rebounding difference was 11, it appeared more.  Wash. U was quicker to the boards and ball.  Wash. U had more foul shoots and made them.  Amherst's newest All-American had 4 points and very few looks at the ball...Wash. U's defense it appears.  To me, looking at the pt. guard and the leading scorer for Amherst, they looked like persons that had too little sleep; looked like runners that have "hit the wall" so to speak.  One more game to gain experience in the "bright lights".  It took the MBB team several trips to the final 4 to win it (three to be exact.)  Go Jeffs!

[Ethelred the Unready]

Possibly more important then how many players are on the team is the size of the school. Washington has approximately 6000 undergraduate students while most NESCAC schools are in the 2000 range. Amherst is 1600 +/- which would seem to be a huge liability in terms of the size of the pool you can draw from.

Pat's right and besides if that were true, NYU would dominate the UAA since its enrollment exceeds the next three largest schools combined, and is less than doubled by all other seven student bodies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_Athletic_Association

Mind you, a lot of those enrollment amounts are graduate students.  At least I know that to be true of WashU.

I think that's true at UR also.  I think the UG population is around 4200

[frank uible]

My comments always have universal application (retrospective, current and prospective).

[sumfun]

Congrats to all four teams.  George Fox was the real deal as Wash U learned the next day.  As for academics, why even get into that arena here?  Check out US News and World Report rankings of Liberal Arts Colleges....enough said.

[frank uible]

Very few people refer to, much less rely on, USN&WR in making their life decisions.

[gordonmann]

I don't know about that.  I looked at rankings in compiling my list of colleges to look at back in 2000.  It wasn't the only criteria, but it helped me survey the landscape.  And none of the colleges with rankings in their favor were afraid to trot those rankings out for people who were in the process of making life decisions.

[frank uible]

The man in the street doesn't know and doesn't care - and there are lots of men in the street for every person who looks at the USN&WR rankings.

[phil]

The popularity of U.S. News college rankings is reflected in its 2007 release:

Within 3 days of the rankings release, U.S. News website received 10 million page views compared to 500,000 average views in a typical month. The printed issue incorporating its college rankings sells 50 percent more than its normal issues at the newsstand.

While the average man in the street may not know or care, there seems to be plenty who do.

[Pat Coleman]

The man in the street doesn't know and doesn't care - and there are lots of men in the street for every person who looks at the USN&WR rankings.

The man in the street isn't applying for college.

[amh63]

Interesting discussion but it doesn't relate too much to WBB and especially NESCAC WBB.  This is just another of Frank U.'s  comments stirring the "pot".
My congrats to all four teams in the Final 4.  However, I will admit that I was rooting for George Fox over Wash. U.  It is nice to see a small school with a good program winning over a large school with a dominating type program.  With Wash. U men's program becoming a dynasty like the WBB program, I really am wondering if maintaining large squads of 20 plus has anything to do with it.  The UAA WBB conference was great this year, but has it been this balance over the last five years?  Two schools have large squads and one has a very small squad.  Do their records reflect this difference?  I believe the NESCAC is more balance in both play, quality of players and size of squads.  The academic quality of players are the same for both the UAA and the NESCAC in my judgement.

[tothehole]

Any bets the Jeffs are ranked outside the top 4 in the final poll.
What's the old saying what do Ephs and Jeffs have in common? They both got into Amherst,duh.
Congrats to the Lady Jeffs on a great run.

[pureshooter]

yes, people look @ U.S. News and World Report, but it's not the bible. You need to use it as one of many sources.

NESCAC has many schools high on the list( 09 list online), followed by a mix of NEWMAC and UAA.
But they are not Ivy League.

[frank uible]

Most of the people who make the world go around have not heard of the USN&WR rankings, and the remainder ignore them on the basis that status seeking is a petty venture not worthy of their time.

[amh63]

Frank uible,
  Your last post here.  I have pondered it and searched for a reason for it.  It can either be based on knowledge or ignorance.
 
Here is my response.  The majority of world movers and shakers, be they political or financial ones or even entertainers, all have something in common.  If they are family people, and have sincere concerns for the future of their children, they  have concerns about the education of their children.  Wherever they are, they want the best for their children.  They will prefer the "grey stone" universities in the UK, or Tokyo U. in Japan or Peking U. in China.  If it is the schools in the USA, they will seek info from friends and people in the know who in turn will seek data from references.  One such reference is the publication in question.

Having been involved in the admission/recruiting game for over 40 years in the Wash. D.C. area, I though not an "important" person but being acquainted with a number.  Like the political, financial leaders in NYC, the West Coast, the "college selection process" in the Wash. D.C. area is the same. 

Almost all the administrations officials from Ike to the present one, when schooling is involved, seek the best for their children.  Sadly, it even starts at times in Washington in the nursery schools.  The right lower schools in order to get into the right upper schools in order to get into the best colleges in order to get into the best professional schools.  The children of Presidents, members of Congress, Supreme Court Justices, Nobel Prize winners, hollywood powers, etc. have looked at and attended schools in the NESCAC.  Whether they personally referred to the same publications is another question.  They, however, all know about the best colleges and many such schools are listed in the subject mag.  The publication in question can be considered a reference to use for us "common folks".

[remsleep]

This is truly a senseless repartee.   Any hoop news?  Recruits, coaching changes?