WBB: NESCAC

[sumfun]

Senator....I had a theory about the midwest thing....but George Fox shot that one down last year.  It seemed like for the last number of years the championship is held in the midwest.  The Northeast teams have a 2 hour early morning bus ride to major airport.  Land in major airport in midwest and another long bus ride to the site.  If they aren't on Spring Break they've got to arrange to make up class and lab time etc.  BUT, George Fox came from Oregon to Holland last year and took care of the Northeast (NJ) and midwest (Wash U).

Agree with you on other points about Amherst.  Fiorentino and Daigneault are now heathly and could provide a spark off the bench. 

[amh63]

SenatorFrost...your comment with respect to Voight, the first-year player, was right on.  In the first half, she rushed her shots a little and she tends to dribble into trouble along the baseline too much for me.  However, during the 2nd half warmup, I watched Voight take a series of 3-point shots "around the horn" and hit all of them.  In the second half, Babson went into a zone defense that stymie Amherst a bit.  Voight was put in and I was waiting for her to shoot the long ball.  The shot you saw in the corner was indeed the key.  It was followed by another Amherst 3 and Babson's zone was ineffective.  Voight gives Amherst depth at the point guard spot as well as Renner
I bring up the guard play because, I believe in college at all levels, the guard play is critical.  Williams' close game with Amherst was IMO due to the improved play of the Williams' guards.  I know that the discussion has dwelled on the front court.  The front court rebounding, etc. is vital.  However, the guards get the ball to the front court and the outside shoots open up the passing lanes.  Somewhere in the postings, I remember that someone commented that Amherst's Final Four defeats last year was in part due to Amherst's smaller size guards who were "controlled" in their play by their opposites.  I know that Amherst had faced teams on their way to the Final four last year with large front courts (i.e. Tufts, NYU).  It was the guard discussion that stuck with me.  However, I believe, that Amherst is bigger, has more experience and stronger guard play this year!  Oh yes, with Voight, more depth.  Go Amherst!

[farmboy]

Defense wins or loses tournaments.  It doesn't matter if Div. I,II, or III.  But I have noticed Div. III seems infatuated with shooting.  The Williams Guards made virtually none of the points where it mattered, however they did assist well, and move the ball.  But that begs the question...was the Amherst defense found wanting in the early going?

[Title9Fan]

Midwest plays a much more physical game under the basket than most NESCAC teams ever encounter.  Teams that try to turn high school guards and small forwards into 4s and 5s find that it doesn't sell in Peoria.  You can't go deep into the tournament without a solid front court that has years of experience in those positions.  It isn't about height or even size (although they both matter) it's about experience playing with your back to the basket in areas where the refs call loose games until they get to the NCAA tournament.  It's a different game.  Centers and power forwards out west are fearless by this point in the season while NESCAC's typical 4 and 5 are playing a finesse game.  

I was at the Depauw v. Amherst game Senator Frost mentioned and Gromacki understands this - you can tell from his recruitment and player development over the past two years.  McCormick is an example of that effort.  Colby's front court is also much more serious than in the past, but not quite in the Wash U league yet -- so Amherst will have to bring it's best inside game of the year against McFarlin and Evans.  

[Title9Fan]

Defense wins or loses tournaments.  It doesn't matter if Div. I,II, or III. 

"Defense wins" get so much press....yet here we are, with Rochester in the Final 4....

"If you can't shoot, nothing else matters" might trump the "d wins" quote this weekend.  We'll see.     

[farmboy]

Well you see...that went right by your left ear.  If there is great defense, the shooter doesn't get the ball, gets off a hurried shot, just gets frustrated and is knocked off their rhythm, or most commonly are too exhausted to follow through properly.  But I don't blame you, not many examples are out there to illustrate the point.  What we need is a new statistic...the forced turnover..FO:)  Then more players would be interested in being tight on their player.

[farmboy]

"Old Dominion Pulls Off Tourney's First Upset, Downing No. 6 Seed Notre Dame, 51-50
Monarchs hold Irish star Luke Harangody scoreless until the final minute"

Copied from NCAA recap site.

Yep....defense is dead.

[WUPHF]

"Old Dominion Pulls Off Tourney's First Upset, Downing No. 6 Seed Notre Dame, 51-50
Monarchs hold Irish star Luke Harangody scoreless until the final minute"

Yep....defense is dead.

I think Defense wins championships is an interesting, but very generalized statement about how games and championships are won, but the game is much more complex than that.  The truth is that in addition to defense, Old Dominion had to find a way to score 51 points to win yesterday.

Defense is very much alive, but it would not bother me at all if the Defense wins championships mantra moved on in to the after life.

[slufan]

This is the year Gromacki gets his title. It is the 3rd time he has been to the Final 4. People in the NESCAC forget that he was within 2 points of a title when he was at St. Lawrence, where he put them on the map. He made St. Lawrence a D3 powerhouse in the Northeast and is doing the same at Amherst. This is the year he wins it all...eventhough the team at St. Lawrence that lost in the finals was much better. They were a senior dominated team, and Amherst is a lot younger...the jury will be out on this discussion about the better team in a year or two. Gromacki is a great coach and Amherst fans better hope he sticks around and doesn't leave for D1. I will be cheering for (Gromacki) and  Amherst to win the title!

[WUPHF]

This is the year Gromacki gets his title. It is the 3rd time he has been to the Final 4.

I wish it worked that way. 

Coach Fahey and Washington University are in the Final Four for a record 9th time.  I thought last year, Fahey would get her 5th title.  Last year we had a great team.  And, we lost a very creative point guard and a potent offensive threat to graduation, but I think we have an even better team this year.

It should be a great game today.

[amh63]

WUH.....
In the end, it is all about the play of the players, guided by the coaches.   Wash. U has set up a great system within the UAA. Amherst within the NESCAC has no "JV" team, and therefore fewer asst. coaches, fewer players.  It also doesn't have a "university" system which can allow the benefit of bringing back its best front court player as a graduate student.  The best team play will prevail. Go Jeffs!

[WUPHF]

WUH.....
In the end, it is all about the play of the players, guided by the coaches.   Wash. U has set up a great system within the UAA. Amherst within the NESCAC has no "JV" team, and therefore fewer asst. coaches, fewer players.  It also doesn't have a "university" system which can allow the benefit of bringing back its best front court player as a graduate student.  The best team play will prevail. Go Jeffs!

Its so true what you say.  If you look closely, I was only responding to the previous post.  I do not necessarily view the fact that we have graduate programs as a major advantage though it did work that way this year.

The last two games I watched were among the best games I have seen.  Very competitive, very fun to watch.  I expect quite the battle this afternoon.

[Title9Fan]

Amherst within the NESCAC has no "JV" team, and therefore fewer asst. coaches, fewer players.  

Stats are dangerous when evaluating a game unseen but the Bench points are interesting -WASHUW 30, AMH 19 - which suggests that depth was a significant factor (it almost always is in an overtime game).  Gromacki said in an interview that they were worn down.  Which explains why their shooting didn't hold up in overtime.
Wash U is deep and both their JV team and their recruiting/scouting efforts paid off in the tournament games.  
 
Congrats to the Amherst team on a fantatic season and to Coach Gromacki for a fine job -- he has raised the bar yet again for NESCAC coaches --and for winning the WBCA national Coach of the Year award.  Hats off!

[amh63]

Amherst jumped out to a 11-0 lead with several 3 pt. shots.   Rochester came back with their outside shooting.  I thought it was going to be a repeat of the game with Wash. U.  HOWEVER, Amherst grinded out a double digit lead again and held the lead to win the game.  Amherst won this game due to their "bench" as Amherst rotated players  heavily in the first half.  In fact, everyone got in.  This helped Amherst stay fresh.  Rochester appeared slower and tired throughout the game as was pointed out by the announcers several times.  Seems that there was a power outage for the second game that resulted in the game ending around 11 PM. 
Though I would liked to have seen both teams fresh, etc. I believe that the double digit win reflected the difference between the teams. 
Amherst closed out the season 32-1!.     

[amh63]

Congratulation to Sarah Leyman who was selected All-Tournament at the Final 4.  Also to Stedman who was selected All-American by D3hoops.  I hope now that Gordonmann realize that Amherst has a great front court and can play with any team in any region.  Amherst had two front court players with double-doubles in the semifinal game.  Without too much pressure on the team, I expect next year, the "seniors" to lead the team back to the final four.
I am staying away from the men's board for awhile to let the dust clear away.   Instead, I will provide a story to follow and a hearty THANK YOU to the women's BB team from an old alum.
I enjoy visiting colleges in my travels. Last Spring found me in Rochester.  I took the time to visit the U.of Rochester.  There in the lobby of their field house/BB court on the left side is a glass case of important items of past athletic wins.  The basketball drew my attention.  It was inscribed with a Rochester win over Amherst during my college years.  The days of games in the now Coolidge Cage and an all male enrollment....the dark age.  I do not believe that Amherst has ever beaten the U. of Rochester in BB.  The men's BB team in 2005 lost to Rochester, I believe, in the regionals.  Though I preferred to have Amherst play Hope this past weekend, it is still nice to get "redemption" from the win over Rochester by Amherst in BB.   Thanks!..  for the win and a great season.