MBB: NEWMAC

Started by nehoops4life, March 03, 2005, 10:39:13 AM

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Pat Coleman

Just eight minutes? Sheesh. Why'd they bother to bring him out there?
Publisher. Questions? Check our FAQ for D3f, D3h.
Quote from: old 40 on September 25, 2007, 08:23:57 PMLet's discuss (sports) in a positive way, sometimes kidding each other with no disrespect.

Hugenerd

#1096
Quote from: Pat Coleman on April 03, 2009, 08:54:42 PM
Just eight minutes? Sheesh. Why'd they bother to bring him out there?

I agree, Bruce Weber seemed to play the members of his team much more evenly, alot of times he would just sub in a new line (each team only had 10 players), therefore everyone played 20+-4 minutes (6 players played exactly 20 minutes, including the D2 player, and 1 each played 24, 22, 18, and 16 minutes, respectively). It seemed  like Nolan Richardson was really playing for the win and managed it more like a regular season game, playing his first team for 24-27 minutes, although Bartolotta did play the least of anyone.  The spotlight and interview with him in the second half were really nice though.

remsleep

That's why "Coach" Richardson has "progressed" from being an NCAA DI Champion to the prized position of coaching the Mexican National team.

Hugenerd

Yeah, the game wouldnt have been close if Weber would have played Heytvelt and Rice the whole game.  The reason the game was close because both those players only played 20 minutes each.

Hugenerd

#1099
Just saw this:

http://www.boston.com/sports/columnists/bob_ryan_blog/

Looks like Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe agrees with what I said about Bartolotta's minutes and his overall play.

Hugenerd

#1100
MIT picks up a top 150 in NE recruit (based on newenglandrecruitingreport), Mitchell Kates.  He apparently had interest from some Ivy League schools (http://cornellbasketball.blogspot.com/2008/12/recruiting-news_19.html), but chose to go with MIT.  He will have the oppurtunity to compete immediately for the starting point guard position, after the graduation of Brad Gampel.  From what I hear, he is the real deal and should be the starting PG by the end of the season, if not immediately. 

If everything holds as expected, MIT will also get back one of their top scorers from two years ago, Dan McCue, who sat out last season with injury.  He should fill some of the void left by the departure of Jimmy Bartolotta.  Billy Johnson is also expected to return for a 5th year, because he had a medical redshirt two years ago.  Johnson could start at the 4 or 5, depending on the size of the other recruits MIT has coming in (I will provide more details as I receive them).  Jamie Karraker is the leading candidate to start at the shooting guard spot, while Eric Zuk could also start compete for a starting spot.  Billy Bender, who really emerged as a cluth performer for the team last year, could also compete for a spot. 

I cant see coach Anderson playing a small lineup like last year unless he absolutely has to.  Therefore, I think any good incoming post player could have a shot at significant minutes or a starting spot (along with Bender).  This would allow Billy Johnson to play closer to his true position of small forward, rather than having to play the 5 like he did last season.  That could mean, however, that a starter from last years team would have to come off the bench.  That is, unless Coach Anderson plays McCue at the point, but I think Kates will end up winning that job.  Therefore, with McCue definitely starting at the 2 or 3 and Johnson starting ath the 4 or 5, either Karraker or Zuk will likely come off the bench (unless they go small like they did last year and play Johnson at the 5).  It will be interesting to see how the rest of MITs recruiting class will look like.  They will obviously have a huge void, losing two top seniors, but I think they have a good nucleus coming back to lead this team and some potential top-notch recruits that could really contribute.

Pat Coleman

Do they still have guys enrolled who aren't playing and might come back?
Publisher. Questions? Check our FAQ for D3f, D3h.
Quote from: old 40 on September 25, 2007, 08:23:57 PMLet's discuss (sports) in a positive way, sometimes kidding each other with no disrespect.

jamiejohn

From what i hear ted eby, and Erich Bracht the former ROY are still in school

Hugenerd

Quote from: Pat Coleman on April 07, 2009, 11:53:19 PM
Do they still have guys enrolled who aren't playing and might come back?

There is a whole bunch of players who are still in school that arent playing, but I doubt any of them will come back.  Eby and Bracht are two of those players.  There are several other players who never played or quit before seeing any game action (Paul Burkard, Garrett Fritz, etc.).  I would be surprised to see any of them come back.

From what I hear, though, the MIT coaches are trying to take these past experiences into account when recruiting and trying to get players who are more passionate about the game and a bit tougher.  It also helps recruiting that the program is getting more exposure, so they may have players consider them who in the past would not have (previously, they may have just been going with whatever they could get). 

Coach Anderson always does a great job regardless of the players he has.  I hope that this past year is just the start for MIT and that they continue to get the players that will make them a contender in the NEWMAC, the northeast, and nationally for years to come.

massd3fan

Not much noise on the recruiting front so far this year.  I would expect that will change in the few weeks as all the Financial Aid packages go out.

With the current economic mess, I guessing most people lost a good piece of whatever they had been able to set aside for college bills.  This year, I am sure that those aid packages will have more to do with where most kids end up than a basketball program.  This is especially true for the D3 landscape.


Hugenerd

#1105
More recruiting news from MIT.  I did some more research and here some more MIT commits, including what sound like some really good players.  These are in addition to Mitchell Kates, whom I wrote about earlier (ranked a top 150 recruit in NE by newenglandrecruitingreport.com).

Will Tashman, Menlo School (CA)
6'8" Power Forward
Inside/outisde threat who can shoot the 3.  Named MVP of his league in California.  He was also recruited by: Cal Poly-Pomona, Claremont College, and Washington University in St. Louis

Fun Fact: Tashman went to the same High School as, and played on the basketball team with, Jerry Rice Jr. (yes, that Jerry Rice), who is playing football at UCLA next year.

Sources: http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=11754,
http://www.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?type=sports&id=106775,
http://www.menloschool.org/news/detail.asp?pageaction=ViewSinglePublic&LinkID=1914&ModuleID=26
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2EJvBCbar0



Ben Montgomery, Severn School (MD)
6'7" Power Forward/Center
He was also recruited by: Harvard and Princeton (see Source 1)

Source: http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/college/recruiting/2008/09/aau_summer_recap_marylandseverna_park_3d_2009.html,
http://www.hoopgroup.com/hoopgroup/hgh/hgh_latest.pdf



Jimmy Burke, Seton Hall Prep (NJ)
5'10" Guard
Was ranked as one of the Top 200 players in the country in the class of 2009 a year ago by hoop scoop (see source 1).

http://www.basketballforum.com/high-school-aau-basketball/385044-high-school-top-class-2009-updated.html
http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/recruiting/tracker/player?recruitId=43069&season=2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyStD83h2Rc


Devin Dee, Burlingame (CA)
6'2" Guard
Honorable-Mention All-league as a senior.

nescac1

Sounds like an impressive group -- now the coach just has to keep them on the team, as demonstrated in the past, no easy feat with the academic pressures of MIT!  Ya have to wonder how far MIT could have gone last year if a few of the big-time recruits had stuck with hoops ...

Tashman went to the same school as Williams' top player Blake Schultz (in fact, I am surprised Ephs didn't make a big push for him, or at least if they did, I didn't hear about it), who was likely player of the year in that conference -- obviously, that worked out pretty well for the Ephs, so I imagine Tashman will make a big impact. 

Hugenerd

Quote from: nescac1 on April 09, 2009, 07:49:13 AM
Sounds like an impressive group -- now the coach just has to keep them on the team, as demonstrated in the past, no easy feat with the academic pressures of MIT!  Ya have to wonder how far MIT could have gone last year if a few of the big-time recruits had stuck with hoops ...

Tashman went to the same school as Williams' top player Blake Schultz (in fact, I am surprised Ephs didn't make a big push for him, or at least if they did, I didn't hear about it), who was likely player of the year in that conference -- obviously, that worked out pretty well for the Ephs, so I imagine Tashman will make a big impact. 

I am not sure what Williams' interest was, but I have only heard really good things about Tashman.  It is also nice to see MIT win some of these recruiting battles.  Anytime you get a player that was recruited by a school like WashU or an Ivy, you know the kid you are getting can definitely play.

Hugenerd

#1108
Quote from: nescac1 on April 09, 2009, 07:49:13 AM
Sounds like an impressive group -- now the coach just has to keep them on the team, as demonstrated in the past, no easy feat with the academic pressures of MIT!  Ya have to wonder how far MIT could have gone last year if a few of the big-time recruits had stuck with hoops ...

Just to respond to this point, I really dont think academics had anything to do with the big name players that quit in the past.  These guys just didnt love the game.  Ted Eby, for example, quit basketball so he could do crew.  He didnt quit so he could sit in his room and study 24/7.  All these guys are doing other things besides just academics.  If they wanted to, they could be playing and doing just as well in school.  Some people may use the academics as an excuse to quit, but if they really wanted to they could make basketball and school work.  I am not trying to say the academics arent difficult at MIT, because it can be challenging.  You will obviously need to put in the the time in the classroom and studying, but its not like the 2 hours of practice a day is going to have a negative impact on your grades.  The people that quit just wanted to do other things in their free time more than they wanted to play basketball.    If basketball doesnt mean anything to you its easy to use academics as an excuse to quit the team.  However, you can see that the guys who really want to do both stay and are very successful.  I know I talk about Bartolotta a lot, but he double-majored in Physics and Business, has over a 4.6/5.0 GPA, and we all know what he did.  Same goes for Gampel and Johnson.  I am sure that the same can be said at any school.

I know for a fact  that every player that Coach Anderson recruits is recruited because he thinks that that player can be a contributor for MIT.  He doesnt recruit in the hopes of retaining a certain percentage.  He recruits players that he knows can play.  Therefore, from what I hear, due partly to the recent defections, MIT has shifted their recruiting practices slightly and are trying to find guys that really love the game (guys who played AAU, worked at or went to summer camps, etc.), not just players that look good on paper.   I think you will see that the guys that are coming in this year and over the next couple years will all remain on the team because they are guys that really love the game. 

Hugenerd

#1109
Article about Mitchell Kates going to MIT.  Apparently he had interest from not only the Ivies but other scholarship programs as well:

http://newenglandrecruitingreport.com/news/article/760/Kates-Distasio-Headline-Division-III-Commitments.php


I guess this was released a week ago, but I just saw it for the first time:

http://www.ecacsports.com/sports/winter/mbkb/AllStars/2008-09/ECAC_Mbkb_All-Stars_-_D3_NE.pdf?dec=


Jimmy Bartolotta picks up New England POY honors from the ECAC and was also named to the first team.

Brian Vayda was named New England ROY and Craig Johnson was named to the second team