WBB: NESCAC

[goubears89]

floorgeneral, I have to disagree with you on Pemper's game management. She relies on her players' abilities, yes, but to suggest she only cares about minutes played is absurd. And to trash her intelligence is to diminish someone who has immersed herself in the campus culture, is visible at myriad events, and supports her players' interests outside of basketball.

Why is there all this Pemper bashing on here? Is it because she's had a strong program for so long and the team is "just" having a good, solid year? Is there something more? I don't get it.

[Balder Eagle]

Never underestimate Coach Pemper, she gets the most out of her girls as Coach Finney does at Marymount (CAC.)

Sorry, typo in last post

I meant to say in the last sentence, " that has convinced many that smart coaching decisions are NOT being made by the person in charge."

three cheers and hearty congratulations to Marymount's coach Bill Finney for victory number 500 last night

[Pat Coleman]

The alternative was not showing up for the tournament. First available flight they could've gotten was Monday, after the tournament was over.

[wbbhoopsfan]

Was surfing around for info on the weekend games and stumbled across this blog on the Colby site.  Nothing out of the ordinary, but thought I'd post it here anyway:  http://colbywomensbasketball.blogspot.com/

My prediction in Brunswick: Bowdoin 74, Colby 60

Huge win for Bates over Williams tonight; Trinity continues with close losses but falls to 0-7.  Ouch.

[JeffRookie2]

Congrats to Stef Reiff who reached the 1,000 point plateau last night for the Jeffs.

[goubears89]

floorgeneral, I'm not enough of a student of the game to go head-to-head with you on each of Pemper's coaching decisions and I no longer get to see them regularly enough to comment on your questions. My earlier post also was not as eloquent as I would have liked. However, what I was trying to say is that Stef in a short time has turned that program into one of the country's elite and transformed women's hoops status at the school. I began following that program in 1986 when you'd be lucky to see 10 fans at the games, which were played in decrepit Sargent Gym, not even Morrell. Her players are active parts of the campus, go on to be successful, well-rounded individuals, and she herself, like many of Bowdoin's coaches, are supportive of students in a variety of pursuits. THAT's what I want to see out of any extra-curricular activity. I am not a Stef Pemper apologist, although I love what she has done for the school and her student-athletes. I too have heard some stories about treatment of certain players or situations, but I've heard those stories about all kinds of coaches.

Would I like to have seen them win on '04? Absolutely. Do I wish they could have moved on from their seemingly yearly Elite 8 exit? Of course. Do I care about an internal decision on how to get to a game, given budget constraints, players' desire to play the tourney, and the uncertainties of a Maine winter? Well, not really. To identify specific mistakes in games is certainly your right, but you can't really on the one hand say "her coaching decisions and not knowing how to manage the talent of her team personnel is glaringly apparent" given the team's overall success during her tenure. 

All I know is that there are an awful lot of smart, talented women who have benefitted from the Bowdoin basketball experience and who in turn have given a great deal of excitement to hundreds if not thousands of fans.  Thirty years ago, the ticket in Brunswick was to go watch the men's hockey teams play championship-level hockey under Sid Watson. Now you've got two championship-level hockey teams, an elite women's hoops program, an ever-improving men's hoops program, and, that's just the winter sports. Morrell Gym has been by far the hottest ticket in town for the last 5-7 years. Oh, by the way, check out what our field hockey team has done in the last three years.

All this is to say I think Bowdoin does it right in balancing athletics within one of the most competitive conferences in d3. I think it's safe to say that more varsity programs than ever before are in the upper reaches of their sports while admission to the student body (one of the smaller ones in NESCAC, by the way) continues to be increasingly difficult.

[JeffRookie2]

Williams beats Tufts leaving Bowdoin in control of their own destiny. If Tufts were to beat Bowdoin next weekend, and there were 5 2-loss teams, who would host?

[goubears89]

JeffRookie2, here are the tie-breaker procedures from the NESCAC women's basketball handbook:

The following tie-breaking procedure (listed in priority order) will be used to determine participants and seeding.
2-way tie:
1. Head-to-head result (if teams play each other more than once during the regular season, the game that appears on the
league schedule will be the game that is counted).
3-way or more tie:
1. Best record among tying teams, against one another (head-to-head).
2. Most conference wins (in games that are part of the conference schedule and count toward league standings).
3. Comparison of results of conference games played against top 4 teams (including all teams at the 4th spot).
4. Comparison of results of conference games played against top 8 teams (including all teams at the 8th spot).
5. Comparison of results of conference games played against conference teams in rank order. Comparisons shall be
made one team at a time starting with the highest ranked team.
6. If the tie remains after comparing results against the highest ranked team, the results against the next team in rank
order shall be used. This process is continued until a winner is determined.
7. Coin flip (or similar random action involving all tied teams).

So in your scenario,

[JeffRookie2]

In my scenario, if Tufts beats Bowdoin and Williams beats Wesleyan (and no upsets) it would be:

1. Bowdoin (2-1 against top 4, beat Williams)
2. Williams (2-1 against top 4, lost to Bowdoin)
3. Amherst (1-2 against top 4, beat Tufts)
4. Tufts (1-2 against top 4 lost to Amherst)

OR if Tufts beats Bowdoin and Wesleyan beats Williams (and no upsets):

1. Amherst (2-1 against top 4, beat Tufts)
2. Tufts (2-1 against top 4, lost to Amherst)
3. Wesleyan (1-2 against top 4, beat Bowdoin)
4. Bowdoin (1-2 against top 4, lost to Wesleyan)

Did I do that right? Now, if Tufts losses to Bowdoin, I'm still not sure who gets the #2 spot, understanding that it depends on who wins the Wes/Williams matchup.

[bobcat44]

Does anybody know what is wrong with the Bates Bobcats this year?  They had high expectations at the begining of the season and just have not produced.  They have two 1,000 point scorers in Coffin and Kostakis.  Val Beckwith will also be there by seasons end.  Then you add in Sarah Barton who has over 650 assists and over 800 points and you get 13-9 overall and 3-4 in the conference.
I was one picking bates to win nescac this year but after a loss to middlebury this weekend i'm just not sure.  I still believe that they can win the conference but they got to change something if they want to get that done.

[tothehole]

Saw the Middlebury Game
Any team willing to push will always get a 5 on 4 with the Bates line up .
Some of them have trouble walking. I don't think they're at full strength.
Its been a long season. They will have zero chance to do any damage.
Any news on their recruits

[feces monkey]

There may be something more to it, but could you shed some light on why Pemper made the decision to drive the team all the way to Atlanta in Bowdoin College vans when their flight out of Portland was canceled the night before their Christmas tournament game? Do you think that was a smart coaching decision?

It's called handling adversity and honoring commitments.

Tell me, floorgeneral, how would you rate yourself in these areas?

[goubears89]

There's a wonderful piece from the Bowdoin alumni magazine a few years ago that gives some detail on the team and on Pemper's coaching philosophy. I do not think it mentions her thoughts on travel arrangements. 

http://www.bowdoin.edu/bowdoinmagazine/archives/features/000056.shtml

[goubears89]

floorgeneral, even if what you say is correct, I would think that the athletic director and/or dean of students would have been involved. If you have a beef about this, have you brought it up with them?

[pureshooter]

floorgeneral,

didn't you get the message that you can't criticize the polar bears program in any way or you'll catch the wrath of the alum?