MBB: University Athletic Association

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Joe Nesci is retiring after 30 years at NYU.

Congratulations to Coach Nesci on a great career and best of luck in retirement.

http://gonyuathletics.com/news/2018/3/6/joe-nesci-retires-as-nyu-mens-basketball-coach.aspx

Coach Nesci did not coach at Brandeis a few weeks ago due to illness.  I am not sure that the illness is related to his sudden retirement, but I do wish him the best.

He missed games each of the last two seasons due to health concerns... I may be on a limb, but I am pretty sure those items are part of the decision.

[WUPHF]

It is a little early, but I thought I would post a few thoughts on next season.

Congratulations to Emory on a nice postseason run to the Sweet 16.  Emory is losing four key seniors this year including two first-team all-UAA players in Adam Gigax and Whit Rapp.  They are going to be much younger and much smaller next season, but I do think they will be favored to win the league.

Rochester returns more minutes and points per game than anyone and will have something to say about that.

Washington University graduates one of the best classes since the national championship seasons, but I do think they will be in the mix.

Here is a look at the programs including key seniors lost to graduation and players who played significant minutes this season, though there are certainly more reserves who will make a name for themselves next season.

Washington University 21-6, 12-2 UAA
Key seniors: Andrew Sanders, Matt Highsmith, Jake Knupp, Kevin Kucera, David Schmelter.
Key players returning: Marcus Meyer, Matt Nester, Jack Nolan, Hank Hunter, DeVaughn Rucker

Emory 19-8, 9-5 UAA
Key seniors:  Adam Gigax, Christopher Avant, Donald Avant, and Whit Rapp.
Key players returning: Romin Williams, Beau Bommarito, Matt Davet, Gebereal Baitey and Nick Stuck.

Chicago 13-12, 9-5 UAA
Key seniors: Jake Fenlon, Collin Barthel.
Key players returning: Noah Karras, Ryan Jacobson, Justin Jackson, Ryan Sustacek, Max Jacobs, Jake Berhorst, and Jordan Baum.

Rochester, 24-5, 10-4 UAA
Key seniors: Tucker Knox
Key players returning: Jacob Wittig, Ryan Clamage, Michael Mangan, Patrick Benka, Brendan O'Shea, Alexander Gamble, and Andrew Lundstrom.

Case Western Reserve 12-13, 6-8 UAA
Key seniors: T.J. Duckett.
Key players returning: Connor Nally, Monty Khela, William FitzPatrick, Ignas Masiulionis, Sam Hansen, Michael Hollis, Michael Volkening

Carnegie Mellon 7-18, 3-11 UAA
Key seniors: Ryan Maha.
Key players returning: Colin McNeil, Seth Henry, Zach Howarth, Patrick Ehland, Zach Watson, Trent Suddeth

Brandeis 7-18, 3-11 UAA
Key seniors: Nate Meehan.
Key players returning: Eric D'Aguanno, Jake Meehan, Latye Workman, Laurence Sabir, Chandler Jones, Semih Say, Akim Sanni, and Collin Sawyer.

NYU 3-11, 2-14 UAA
Key seniors: Ross Udine.
Key players returning: Ethan Feldman, Dom Cristiano, Jule Brown, Jimmy Martinelli, Cameron Moore, Doug Gertner, Ted Georgidadis.

Here is my prediction for how the teams will finish next season.  I have the league divided in to tiers as I did two years ago, though there certainly will be a lot more balance next season.

__________
1. Emory
2. Rochester
3. Washington University
__________
4. Chicago
5. Case Western Reserve
__________
6. Carnegie Mellon
7. NYU
8. Brandeis

[Mike Rejniak]

​Dear D3 Faithful ,
     I have read many of your posts throughout the years and even met some of you in person, but for those who I haven't met, let me introduce myself: my name is Michael Rejniak and I have spent over 14 years coaching Division 3 basketball and love what our division has done and continues to do for  the sport of basketball. One of the greatest things about Division 3 basketball is the brotherhood that we all have with one another (coaches and players alike). My wish is to showcase the talents of D3 on a national stage in The Basketball Tournament (TBT).  You may have heard me speak about this on the Hoopsville Marathon with Dave McHugh of D3hoops.com (at the 6:11 mark). The TBT is a national tournament that is televised in July/August on ESPN after the NBA season is over. My goal is to put forth an all-star D3 team (current players are ineligible) and have them compete in this tournament to take on Former D1 / semi-pro's to prove that D3 deserves the same respect as other NCAA divisions. The team is mostly complete with former student-athletes from all over the country competing. Once the roster is complete we will be sure to release it through d3hoops. Former Babson College National Champion Matthew Droney '17 will also be assisting me on this journey.

How YOU can help our former elite D3 basketball players

While the end prize of this tournament is a monetary prize, being a D3-lifer, the goal is not the money (we all know that's not why we get into coaching), the goal is to bring an end to the stigma of Division 3 basketball, an awareness of how talented our student-athletes are and that we can compete (and win) against the best. We do need to raise funds for an entry fee, travel, meal and housing expenses for the athletes. In order to do this, we are conducting a crowd-funding campaign through GoFundMe to help make this a reality. These athletes need your support! Just think -- if every Division 3 school donated just $10, we will have raised over $4,000!!!! The link to the GoFundMe Page is below and please SPREAD THE WORD and email me with any questions/concerns at WeAreD3TBT@gmail.com. Thank you in advance for your support and Dave and I look forward to this "D3 Dream Team" taking the court this summer.-Mike Rejniak

Support "We Are D3" In The TBT

https://www.gofundme.com/WeAreD3TBT

[WUPHF]

Congratulations to Andrew Sanders for the various postseason accolades including being named a first-team D3Hoops.com all-American.

http://www.d3hoops.com/awards/all-americans/men/2018

[WUPHF]

Coach Edwards is officially retiring after 37 seasons as the head coach of Washington University.

http://washubears.com/sports/mbkb/2017-18/releases/20180321iyp0oh

[Smitty Oom]

Wow. What a run for him and the Bears, too bad he didn't end on a better note but they had a great season overall.

Who do the UAA and D3 elite minds think will be the top candidates for the job?

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Wow. What a run for him and the Bears, too bad he didn't end on a better note but they had a great season overall.

Who do the UAA and D3 elite minds think will be the top candidates for the job?

Open the doors... it will be a flood of resumes there. Too hard to predict who would be good.

[Smitty Oom]

Wow. What a run for him and the Bears, too bad he didn't end on a better note but they had a great season overall.

Who do the UAA and D3 elite minds think will be the top candidates for the job?

Open the doors... it will be a flood of resumes there. Too hard to predict who would be good.

Yeah for sure. I assume that this will be a highly coveted job for a lot of coaches out there. Is there a veteran assistant on Coach Edwards staff that may get the promotion?

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Wow. What a run for him and the Bears, too bad he didn't end on a better note but they had a great season overall.

Who do the UAA and D3 elite minds think will be the top candidates for the job?

Open the doors... it will be a flood of resumes there. Too hard to predict who would be good.

Yeah for sure. I assume that this will be a highly coveted job for a lot of coaches out there. Is there a veteran assistant on Coach Edwards staff that may get the promotion?

I think that is also a very likely option. They didn't do it on the women's side, but I think the men have a more experienced option.

[WUPHF]

Wow. What a run for him and the Bears, too bad he didn't end on a better note but they had a great season overall.

I have been thinking about it and I would say that this has been one of the best regular seasons from the fan perspective in my 10 season following the team. 

Yeah for sure. I assume that this will be a highly coveted job for a lot of coaches out there. Is there a veteran assistant on Coach Edwards staff that may get the promotion?

The current assistant coach has been around for 11 seasons and will be a very strong candidate.

Coach Edwards did more this season to get him out in front with in-game coaching, or so it seemed to me.

The department has poached head coaches from elite programs before.  For example, the volleyball coach was hired away from the University of Chicago after she had made her mark there.  My guess is that there only a handful of Division III programs who could have made that hire.

It should be interesting.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

I was looking through pictures where we had staff at in this season... his assistant is running a lot of timeouts. That is usually a sign the head coach is at least helping them for something down the road... though, no guarantee ever as to where.

[Gregory Sager]

I'm not terribly surprised. Isn't he 70 already? If not, I think that he'll turn 70 this year. He graduated from college in '69.

I hope that he has a long, happy, and fruitful retirement. He's earned it.

[WUPHF]

I was looking through pictures where we had staff at in this season... his assistant is running a lot of timeouts. That is usually a sign the head coach is at least helping them for something down the road... though, no guarantee ever as to where.

Definitely.

Also, the head baseball coach is another example of the power of a Washington University to go out and poach another high profile head coach, though I could keep going down the line as far as new coaches and returning coaches who could have been poached by a Division I school.

[Mr. Mo]

Caleb Lawson is the assistant.  Many thought he was the head coach in waiting, but they have said they will do a national search.  Coach Lawson should be a strong candidate — having been the primary recruiter of the existing roster.

Whomever gets the job is inheriting a strong roster of juniors and a couple of seniors with significant experience — not to mention the Central Region freshman of the year.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Caleb Lawson is the assistant.  Many thought he was the head coach in waiting, but they have said they will do a national search.  Coach Lawson should be a strong candidate — having been the primary recruiter of the entire roster.

Whomever gets the job is inheriting a strong roster of juniors and a couple of seniors with significant experience — not to mention the UAA freshman of the year.

Well there is a good chance Lawson still gets the job, but I don't know many schools that don't say "national search" when they have an opening. It is rare to find wording otherwise, though it happens.

While Lawson may be a good choice, WashU would honestly be crazy not to do a national search. There could be a number of coaches that might be interested that may be good fits for WashU. They should at least look and see what is out there to make sure it is the right choice. If not, they can certainly choose Lawson if they are comfortable.