MBB: NESCAC

[ronk]

I think one thing that has really hurt Nescac the last few years is the increased fluidity of players which has accelerated due to the extra COVID year of eligibility.  While transferring more is probably here to stay, it won’t be nearly as commonplace in another year and certainly another two I suspect. 

Look at the two title game teams.  CNU had three transfers, including the final four MVP, who had major impacts in the title game.  Mount Union had two big-time transfers plus two other starters and a key reserve in their fifth year of eligibility.  Look who Nescac teams lost to in the tourney - Nichols, Keene, Hopkins and St Joe’s all had significant transfers and also (collectively) loads of guys taking fifth years. 

Nescac schools almost never take impact athletic transfers.  Can’t even recall the last one for hoops in the entire league.  Most don’t have grad programs at all which means guys have to take a year off to get a fifth COVID year (plenty did, but plenty didn’t).  And basically no one can take guys as grad transfers.  So guys like Spencer Freeman or Danny Frauheim or TJ Askew or Jakigh Dottin are never going to be joining a Nescac squad for a year or two of grad studies.  I mean imagine Midd last year if Eastman, Kornaker and Farrell had been able to attend grad school there for a fifth year - that team would have easily been a top five squad. 

Now it’s still possible to do really well in that climate.  Swarthmore certainly has managed.  And RMC hasn’t used transfers or many fifth year guys of note (Buzz excepted) during its big run.  But if you look at the final top 25 this year, 14 of the top 17 by my count had at least one MAJOR impact transfer, in many cases more than one.  That’s an eye-popping stat.  So at least for the time being, that puts Nescac a bit behind the 8-ball.

I do think a lot of this is a temporary artifact of COVID.  But some of it is endemic to how college sports works now.  Assuming that Nescac doesn’t change its transfer policies, I don’t see another run from 2003 through 2017 where Nescac had legit title contenders, often two, nearly every season. (Hixon retiring didn’t help either, btw!).  But I do think that once the era of extreme ease of enrolling stars for a fifth year for schools with grad programs ends in another two years, we will see Nescac teams start to make more of the deep runs we were accustomed to until just a few years ago. 

One other thing - Nescac has been killed by stars transferring up to D1 in a way no other league really has (yet).  Robinson, Peek, Hutcherson, Sabety, Hart, that’s a brutal talent drain (ten years of eligibility lost combined due to transfers).  I have to think that’s just random and we won’t see that kind of drain of the league’s elite tier of talent over an eight year period ever again.  No reason why Nescac in particular should keep losing stars to D1 opportunities.

 One would think that NESCAC coaches would have to play their frosh in enough games to use up a season of eligibility to lessen the ease of a late bloomer moving on as a grad transfer.

[nescac1]

Ronk, they do.  The extra year of eligibility is due to the free COVID year.  So guys graduate in four years but can effectively play five.  In two more years, no longer an issue …

[ronk]

 Separate from covid, I meant a frosh not playing in enough games(1/3 of the schedule(?)) to use up a season of eligibility, then moving on as a grad with that year of eligibility.

[nescac1]

Yeah, that doesn’t happen for virtually any Nescac players significant enough to be difference-makers.  The guys who have or are looking to move on to other schools (Peek, King, Maccoux, Kornaker, Eastman, maybe Thoerner) all only had eligibility left due to attending school during the COVID year. 

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Separate from covid, I meant a frosh not playing in enough games(1/3 of the schedule(?)) to use up a season of eligibility, then moving on as a grad with that year of eligibility.

If you play one game, you've used at least a semester of eligibility. The only way the 1/3rd thing comes in is if you're injured.

[Pat Coleman]

 Jeff, I checked into that site you gave. If I remember right Snyder is rated the #21 (Senior?) in Colorado. Bartolotta, from the same team is rated #6 in the state and is going to MIT?
 IF the ratings are accurate that means MIT might have the best player they have EVER had???

I unintentionally clicked on the first page of this board.

Can confirm, best player they have ever had.

[ronk]

Separate from covid, I meant a frosh not playing in enough games(1/3 of the schedule(?)) to use up a season of eligibility, then moving on as a grad with that year of eligibility.

If you play one game, you've used at least a semester of eligibility. The only way the 1/3rd thing comes in is if you're injured.

 Thanks, wasn't sure of that distinction.

[nescac1]

Congrats to Dave Paulsen on being named Holy Cross head coach.  Paulsen has some familiarity with the Crusaders, having beaten them when coaching Williams back in 2004. 

It’s been a great year for Eph coaches, with Will Hardy getting rave reviews for keeping a totally gutted Utah roster afloat (he won’t win but will get some votes for NBA coach of the year) and Pat Duquette being named district coach of the year and one of twenty finalists for national coach of the year after a big year at UMass-Lowell.

[nescac1]

There had been some speculation that Alex Sobel might be entering the transfer portal and apparently he is:

https://twitter.com/AlexSobel772843

I still am not quite sure why he is eligible as I thought the 11 games he played as a sophomore would have counted as a full year, but I assume he may have received a hardship waiver or is eligible for some other reason.  If so, he is definitely a D1-caliber player and it will be interesting to see just how high on the D1 ladder he climbs. 

[midrangepullup]

@Nescac1 I feel like you may know much better than me but what's realistic for his landing spot? Is Patriot or Ivy unlikely?

[nescac1]

I don't really have any knowledge to share, this is purely my opinion, but I CERTAINLY think Sobel could play big minutes for a lot of Ivy and Patriot teams.  I'd say mid-major is his absolute ceiling, depending on whether he can improve his outside shot.  I'd be shocked (if he does in fact transfer) and does not end up in D1 on a scholarship. 

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I don't really have any knowledge to share, this is purely my opinion, but I CERTAINLY think Sobel could play big minutes for a lot of Ivy and Patriot teams.  I'd say mid-major is his absolute ceiling, depending on whether he can improve his outside shot.  I'd be shocked (if he does in fact transfer) and does not end up in D1 on a scholarship.

A guy with his size, capable of running an offense from the high post would have a ton of suitors.  It'll all depend on who's got the program he wants.

[toad22]

I don't really have any knowledge to share, this is purely my opinion, but I CERTAINLY think Sobel could play big minutes for a lot of Ivy and Patriot teams.  I'd say mid-major is his absolute ceiling, depending on whether he can improve his outside shot.  I'd be shocked (if he does in fact transfer) and does not end up in D1 on a scholarship.

A guy with his size, capable of running an offense from the high post would have a ton of suitors.  It'll all depend on who's got the program he wants.

The Ivys don’t allow graduate students to play, so it will be somebody else.

[SpringSt7]

Congrats to Dave Paulsen on being named Holy Cross head coach.  Paulsen has some familiarity with the Crusaders, having beaten them when coaching Williams back in 2004. 

It’s been a great year for Eph coaches, with Will Hardy getting rave reviews for keeping a totally gutted Utah roster afloat (he won’t win but will get some votes for NBA coach of the year) and Pat Duquette being named district coach of the year and one of twenty finalists for national coach of the year after a big year at UMass-Lowell.

Remember when Paulsen didn't really come all that close to getting hired at Bowdoin? Don't want to reopen that whole can of worms, but that was weird.

[grabtherim]

From a Midd fan who rooted against his teams for years, Congrats to Dave Hixon on getting inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame along with a really impressive class.