Quote from: nescac1 on March 23, 2024, 12:57:01 PMDavid Murray to D2 Merrimack:
https://x.com/adamfinkelstein/status/1771562018828419268?s=46&t=f6sxXDdfYkdSSeU0Te9c9A
Merrimack is D1 now...
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Show posts MenuQuote from: nescac1 on March 23, 2024, 12:57:01 PMDavid Murray to D2 Merrimack:
https://x.com/adamfinkelstein/status/1771562018828419268?s=46&t=f6sxXDdfYkdSSeU0Te9c9A
Quote from: NESCACBBALLFAN on March 08, 2024, 04:54:07 PMQuote from: D3BBALL on March 04, 2024, 05:15:49 PMVery good weekend for all NESCAC teams and not surprising at all, that all won 2 games. Unfortunately for Tufts/Trinity they have to play for the 3rd time in sweet 16.
Williams has been heading in the right direction for the last 2 months. Beat Trinity in a close one and then lost in a close one. They have the most talent in the league top to bottom. They may have the best shot to get to final 4, they just seem to have someone different step up each game. If Roughley and Karren play well, they will be tough to beat.
Tufts/Trinity should be another close one, will be interesting to see what kind of defense Tufts comes out with. In 2nd meeting they went with box and 1 against Callahan-Gold, held him to 4 points but still gave up 80 points. They had no answer for Okorougo and got out rebounded by 10. Gyimesi played much better in 2nd game and will need a repeat performance if Tufts is going to win.
Regarding the awards, whether it was the coaches or someone at the conference, the reason to change from 10 to 14, had to be about trying to give credit to players on bad teams and having the awards be shared throughout the teams. I think 100% wrong, it just waters down the entire awards process. Usually, we can argue about 1 maybe 2 selections, this year way more than that. As stated by someone in an earlier post, if anything, they should have gone with 3 teams of 5 players. The first team I don't think anyone can argue with those 7, except whether to be on first or second team, but they all belong. I still think Johnson should definitely be on 2nd team. That would have left 2 spots if only 10 players. All of the rest you can make an argument one way or the other. But to say that because they play on bad teams, that hurts their chances, I would counter it is simply an eye test. And Hamilton had 4 wins and got 2 players. I have watched enough league games this year and I don't believe there is one decent coach in the league that would take Poulton, Schainfeld, Singh, Espinosa, Osher, Scherer over Roughley or Smith or even Okorougo. All 3 do some much more for their teams on both ends of the court than any of these. And if they didn't have to defer to the talent of their teammates, their stats would be even better, it's a simple eye test. While Scherer was certainly a defensive force, offensively he didn't do a lot in conference (and you can argue that is not his fault). But Bernstein then should get a look as well, both are about the same. I might have taken one of them along with Roughley or Smith if it was just 10 total players. But all of the 6 mentioned should not be part of the 14, maybe 2-3, but all 6 it's all about keeping everyone happy and that is not what the awards are about. Both Roughley and Smith are simply better players. Leaving them off a top 10 list is ok, leaving them off a 14 list, is wrong.
Go NESCAC this weekend!!
I have been an avid reader of these message boards for quite some time, and am pleased to say that I agree with roughly 75% of said in any given comment (perhaps a conservative estimate). However, to say that Smith, Roughly, and Okorougu are definitively, objectively better players than the six players in this years second team (and that any "smart" coach would trade one for the other in a heartbeat) is blatantly incorrect. In the case of Smith and Okorougu, their offensive performance this season has been heavily dependent on the emergence of Vetter and BCG as first team all conference players (maybe all region). They command so much defensive attention that players such as Smith, Okorougu, and Dorion are able to find seams in the defense to exploit. If you took these players and put them on the rosters of the Maine schools (where they would immediately be the primary offensive weapons), I would guess that they struggle. I do not think that Smith or Okorougu- both incredible perimeter defenders - have taken a difficult shot the entire year. Roughly, one of the best post scorers in the conference, might also experience a decline in production if he isn't playing alongside Karren. The players on the second team this year - specifically Poulton, Singh, Osher, etc, require far more defensive attention and are still producing. They may not have experienced as much team success, but I am more inclined to respect impressive offensive performances from players who are able to perform when the entire gym knows who is going to shoot the ball as opposed to players who shoot uncontested shots because the primary offensive weapons on their teams are being doubled/tripled.
There is a reasonable possibility that I am absolutely incorrect in my assumptions, as I often am. But to say that the three players you mentioned are objectively better than four 15+ ppg guys on the second team seems to be a miscalculation.
Quote from: nescac1 on February 29, 2024, 11:26:41 AMI know these are individual awards, but it's also a bit odd to see Conn with the (deserved) POTY as well as TWO other guys on all-league teams, while Williams only has one all-league player on even the expanded all-league roster, despite finishing first in the regular season and making it to the title game, while Conn's season ended in the first round of the conference championship. If you are going to go to 14 guys, either Alex Lee or Brandon Roughley would have been deserving.
Quote from: quicksilver on December 18, 2023, 09:18:40 PM
Am seeing the following Middlebury commitment on Twitter:
Sawyer Ramey, 5-10, PG, Deerfield (PG)
Quote from: nescac1 on December 15, 2023, 10:00:40 AM
Some info on the first round of NESCAC recruits. This information seems to have become harder to track down than it used to be, so I'm sure there are loads of others. Nice early recruiting group for Williams, which added a very smooth point guard who is quick with the ball, a bigger guard who is appears to be a three-point shooting specialist, and two big, skilled wings.
Beyond the Williams group, the most notable name here is likely Oscar Edelman to Wesleyan. Wesleyan should be loaded next season as it returns its entire rotation, including two frosh wings each with a ton of upside, other than its back-up big man, and Edelman should be able to fill in as the back-up big right away. Mitch Humphrey seems like a good fit for Colby as he's an ace three point shooter with the size to guard up a bit.
Amherst:
Jacob Blank, 6'4 G, Yavneh Academy (TX)
Bates:
Sean O'Leary, 6'4 W, Franklin H.S. (MA)
Bowdoin:
Liam McBride, 6'3 G, Deerfield
Colby:
Mitch Humphrey, 6'6 W, St. Viator (IL)
Dan Civello 6'10 C, BC High
Conn College:
Bo Moodey, 6'2 G, Malden Catholic
Middlebury:
Max Alberts, 6'4 W, Berkshire School
Tufts:
Isaac Friedman, 6'5 G, Millbrook School
Wesleyan:
Oscar Edelman, 6'8 F/C, New Hampton (#5 N.H.)
Williams:
Justin Belcher, 6'0 G, University School (OH)
Aidan Yates, 6'5 G, Charlottesville H.S. (VA)
Jackson Rein, 6'7 W, Ravenscroft School (NC)
Matthew Nachamkin, 6'7 W, Haldane School (NY)
Quote from: PaulNewman on December 04, 2023, 06:53:55 PM
EnmoreCat, safe travels and congrats to you and your son on another fantastic season.
Surely you do not believe that Amherst has the market cornered on providing a "life-changing" experience.
Quote from: camosfan on December 04, 2023, 01:50:52 PM
The refs in Vermont are the worst I have seen.
Quote from: PaulNewman on November 23, 2023, 10:56:14 PM
I will understand if Midd fans abstain from responding, but despite Midd not necessarily being one of my favorite teams I do feel a weird kinship (perhaps family connections to VT and the town but mostly because of Kenyon), and I can feel the massive disappointment. I wonder what folks affiliated with or who were there think happened. I know some including Amherst noted the Amherst lockdown defense, but was there anything else? Did having to come back from down 2-0 to Cortland take a toll? Did Midd get too caught up in making sure they didn't get punked...and maybe lost a little focus?
I thought it was a 50/50 deal with Amherst, but I thought Midd was going to get it done...exactly as I felt a few times with Kenyon, including last year after beating Calvin and W&L (7-1 on aggregate) back to back and only needing to get by Williams at home. That Kenyon team last year was really, really good...like "best Kenyon team ever" and national title good...but unfortunately they just didn't get to what clearly seemed in reach. It's a testament to how good Middlebury was to presume without any doubt that they are experiencing massive disappointment.
Quote from: Old Guy on November 27, 2023, 10:54:00 AM
Sam Stevens went down about halfway through the first half with an ankle injury, was helped off the floor, watched the rest of the game from the bench with his ankle wrapped in ice, and left after the game on crutches. We all hope it's not too serious as he was hampered last season with a shoulder injury and was off to a very good start this year. He's a good player and we need him. He hit the opening hoop, a three pointer, in this game, and looked free and easy. We'll see. Midd plays Chicago and Rochester this weekend in that UCC/NESCAC series and that will be challenging.
Endicott's pretty good (I seem to be saying that a lot about Midd's opponents this year). This game was a barnburner, 90-86, with Midd scoring 56 points in the second half to Endicott's 50. (the Gulls have a 6'7 frosh center, Elijah Kenny, from Nashville, who is a good player, had 25 points, including a 3-pointer, 6-7 from the line, and 15 rebounds. As NESCAC1 pointed out, it took career games from Osher (32 points) and Brennan (25 and 15) to get the win. Brennan is such a workhorse. He should find his way into some end-of-season acknowledgement. He gets every loose ball, it seems, and contested rebound. Inspiring to watch. Osher had a spell in the second half when he couldn't miss, six or seven buckets in a row (12-22, 5-7, 3-3). Tristan Joseph played 30 minutes, had 15 points (6-10, 3-5), and looks increasingly comfortable on the floor. Kuba Cwalina played seven minutes, hit a couple of shots, including a three pointer. He has a great stroke.
Jeff Brown continues to use the whole bench, figuring out which combinations are particularly effective. Important win, if only for confidence reasons. Good win. Nice home crowd, despite students being on vacation. Very entertaining game. It would be nice to pick up a win or two against these big shot schools coming to the hinterlands this weekend.
Quote from: Another Mom on November 20, 2023, 02:47:25 PM
How about Washington Collage or St. Olaf? We've had no discussion about them!
I'm still peeved at Massey. W&L is ranked lower than four teams we beat.
Quote
Curious... who was the gentleman with the beard in the YouTube clip also waiving to the Midd fans? He's not dressed to play, and he's out in front of the players at 1:32, taunting the parents. Is that Asst Coach Ortega?