MBB: NEWMAC

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

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Hugenerd

#735
Quote from: eclinchy on April 03, 2008, 01:47:11 AM
Quote from: basketball on April 02, 2008, 10:00:27 PMwhat happened to Bracht anyway?... He had such a good freshman year.

MIT players take years off all the time... I'm guessing it's because their schoolwork is kinda hard?

Quote from: nescac1 on April 02, 2008, 02:33:11 PMhugenerd, any chance of Bracht coming back to the team?  If he does, you add him to Bartolotta, 6'8 Soumare, 6'8 Johnson, incoming recruits (6'10 Eby and I heard they may be getting a 6'8 shooter from Ohio who was also looking at Williams and Amherst, unconfirmed on that though) and that will be a national contender.  Even without Bracht, that has got to be the most intimidating front court in New England, if not all of D-III.  MIT should be right there with RIC, Middlebury, Amherst and Brandeis as the early favorites for top New England contenders next year ... the rest of the top NEWMAC teams seem to lose a lot other than Wheaton, who could be a dark horse.

I like that top 5 a lot.  Not a big fan of Johnson from what little I've seen of him -- he doesn't seem like a very physical 6'8" guy, and he needs to shoot well to be effective.  But Soumare is a total beast, and Jimmy B is obviously a great player.  MIT should be solid regardless of their recruits -- although I thought they'd win the NEWMAC this year too, and I was way off. They're a tough team to predict.

Brandeis seemed like a weird pick to me at first, given all the talent they're losing, but on second thought they still have Olson, Hollins and Roberson.  Downright scary how deep that team was... they can lose a great five-deep senior class and still contend.  What's the latest on DeLuca?

RIC should be absolutely dominant. Amazing what they accomplished this year without a single solitary senior.  Looking forward to seeing how far that team can go next year.

I think Middlebury's the early favorite to win the NESCAC.  Smith and Rudin are two of the league's top five seniors (along with Pierce, Baskauskas, and either Bowdoin's Kyle Jackson or Colby's Artie Cutrone) -- can't beat senior leadership like that.  Amherst has a lot of hype surrounding their young big guys (Kurt Bennett, Billy Butler et al), but I'll wait til I see it to believe it.  The Panthers are the team to beat.

Another team I'd throw out there is Trinity -- they lose a lot but return arguably their two best defenders in NESCAC DPOY Aaron Westbrooks and Paul Rowe, both rising seniors.  Tufts will also be strong, but I'm obviously biased there.

From what I hear, there isnt much hope of Bracht coming back.  I dont think its the schoolwork, he just doesnt seem to want to play.  Soumare didnt play last year because he studied abroad.  Bracht, on the other hand, was on campus and decided not to play.  MIT also lost another big man to lack of motivation to play basketball. Adam Juneau was a solid 6'9" - 6'10" big man who played decent minutes when MIT won 21 games a few years back.  He would be a senior next year,  but hasnt played since his freshman year.   On top of that, MIT also had this past years top recruit, who was also a forward, quit after the first week of practice.  It is also worth noting that this years backup center, Alex Bagley, played basketball only his freshman and senior years (he didnt play his sophomore or junior seasons).  For whatever reason, MIT has had problems retaining their big men.  In my opinion, this has more to do with the players themselves and not much else.  The program has just been unlucky to get players that arent mentally tough enough to play basketball and go to school at MIT.

Johnson may be 6'8", but if he, Soumare, and Eby (for example) were on the court, Soumare would play the 4 on offense and guard the other teams 3 on defense.  Johnson isnt really a post presence on offense, although he has size, he is a very good shooter and creates alot of matchup problems.  He is most effective when he is shooting well, getting setup for shots by his teammates, and, most importantly, when he is healthy. 

MIT has lacked depth the last couple of years.  This year they had a solid top 6 or 7, but they were always one or two injuries from having an average to bad year.  Unfortunately for them, they had a bunch of injuries the last half of the season, causing several key players to miss games or play hurt.  When they were healthy, I think they were one of the top 3 teams in the conference. With the new recruits, they will have much needed depth in the post and some additional scorers.  I am sure Bartolotta will still play at least 35 minutes per game, but next season they should be able to have a better rotation of their big men and not be so dependent on Soumare.

nescac1

Deluca is coming back for Brandeis.  He, Hollins, Magee, and Yemga should form the best front court in New England if he is fully recovered from injuries, and Roberson / Olson are a solid back-court: I think Brandeis may be the team to beat.   

I agree that Midd should be very solid, Amherst is not as experienced but still has the most talent in the conference, they are bringing in at least two D-I caliber big guys either or both of whom could potentially start as frosh, it really depends how fast those two along with Bennett can adjust to being the go-to players on the interior.   Of course Olson is irreplaceable but Meehan will still be one of the better points in the region.   RIC always seems to lose some guys you wouldn't expect, but I agree if everyone returns and they get a consistent rotation they will be scary good.  Seems as if outside of MIT and Wheaton, lots of Newmac teams should be down.  Same thing goes for NESCAC outside of Middlebury.  Trinity loses really its only three consistent scoring options for the last two years, there is still talent there but a lot of guys have to step up in a big way, and there is no experienced interior player on the roster.  Williams may surprise with a bounce back year amidst lower expectations.  Schultz and Geoghegan are a great starting point (I think both will explode as juniors), the question is how much will they get out of their hoard of talented young big guys (Whittington and Dodson in particular) and how fast will the incoming point guard adjust to college ball.  Colby brings almost everyone back and could be a dark horse out of NESCAC as well, and Bowdoin loses a ton but still has some talent left.  A long way of saying, New England should be pretty wide open next year ...

eclinchy

Quote from: Gray Fox on March 16, 2008, 12:44:24 PMJust a quick update/reminder that "Quantum Hoops" will
be playing for one week (March 28-April 3) in Boston
and Seattle.

The Boston location is the Landmark Kendall Square
Cinema - across the strett from MIT.

The Seattle location is the Landmark Metro Cinemas.

We will also be playing for one night only in San
Antonio (April 10) and Austin (April 24).

If you are in these areas or know anyone who is,
please pass this email on to anybody you think might
be interested.

Feel free to email me directly with any questions or
suggestions.


THANKS FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT!

Rick

Rick,

Enjoy the good press... you earned it.  Tufts Daily review

Great job with the film -- I really enjoyed it.

clarkie

Any summer NEWMAC news or updates?

T990

Quote from: clarkie on June 21, 2008, 11:30:21 AM
Any summer NEWMAC news or updates?

On nextplay.com there is this about Babson recruiting:

"In commitment news, Suffield Academy guard, Lambros Papalambros, is heading to Babson next year, and is already preparing for the game at the college level.  He has lofty goals, as he intends "to make Babson the best program in New England, period."  The 6'4" point guard sees the floor very well, and uses his size well as a scorer.  Papalambros is working on his stroke from three point land, as the college line will now be 12 inches deeper than the high school line to which he's accustomed.  Quick and athletic for his size, expect Lambros to make an immediate impact at the college level.  As a post-graduate player at Suffield Academy, Papalambros led the team to a 12-6 record and won the team MVP award.  He chose Babson over Bates College and Division II Stonehill College,as he felt his relationship with Head Coach Steve Brennan was better than with any other coach.  Overall, Babson brings in a talented freshman class, as Boothbay Regional High School banger Kris Noonan (Boothbay Harbor, ME) and Noble & Greenough (Dedham, MA) shooter Jake Gruber join the Babson class of 2012.  "

http://www.nextplay.com/news.aspx?id=19

Clark Basketball

Quote from: nescac1 on April 03, 2008, 07:07:12 AM
Deluca is coming back for Brandeis.  He, Hollins, Magee, and Yemga should form the best front court in New England if he is fully recovered from injuries, and Roberson / Olson are a solid back-court: I think Brandeis may be the team to beat.   

I agree that Midd should be very solid, Amherst is not as experienced but still has the most talent in the conference, they are bringing in at least two D-I caliber big guys either or both of whom could potentially start as frosh, it really depends how fast those two along with Bennett can adjust to being the go-to players on the interior.   Of course Olson is irreplaceable but Meehan will still be one of the better points in the region.   RIC always seems to lose some guys you wouldn't expect, but I agree if everyone returns and they get a consistent rotation they will be scary good.  Seems as if outside of MIT and Wheaton, lots of Newmac teams should be down.  Same thing goes for NESCAC outside of Middlebury.  Trinity loses really its only three consistent scoring options for the last two years, there is still talent there but a lot of guys have to step up in a big way, and there is no experienced interior player on the roster.  Williams may surprise with a bounce back year amidst lower expectations.  Schultz and Geoghegan are a great starting point (I think both will explode as juniors), the question is how much will they get out of their hoard of talented young big guys (Whittington and Dodson in particular) and how fast will the incoming point guard adjust to college ball.  Colby brings almost everyone back and could be a dark horse out of NESCAC as well, and Bowdoin loses a ton but still has some talent left.  A long way of saying, New England should be pretty wide open next year ...

Why is all the talk about MIT and Wheaton in the NEWMAC.  They finished tied for last in the league for the past two years.  It is the same talk every year about these teams, yet they have never gone to the dance.  I would be talking about WPI.  And Clark finished second in the league last year with all coming back plus probably the best recruiting class in the league coming in.  I would agree with the top teams in NE next year as stated above, but just thrown off with people putting MIT and Wheaton in the mix.

Pat Coleman

I posted similarly elsewhere, but if you want to talk about Clark, you might want to make more than 17 posts in three years. :)
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.

Clark Basketball

Pat, I wasnt asking people to talk about clark.  I was asking for the reasoning to people putting the 2 last place newmac teams in their conversation of top new england teams

Pat Coleman

And what I'm saying is that you might want to represent Clark a little more than once every six weeks if you want to change that. :)
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.

Clark Basketball

So you are saying the more I post the better the Cougars get? If I post everyday, people will start to put Clark in the top 10 in New England?  This is great!

T990

Quote from: Clark Basketball on June 25, 2008, 03:07:51 PM
...Clark ... with all coming back plus probably the best recruiting class in the league coming in. 

Clark Basketball, can you tell us about Clark's recruits coming in?  Thanks.

Also, I believe Clark has a JV program.  Will any of those players be moving to the varsity this year?

Clark Basketball

I know they have 2 kids coming from Proctor. One who is supposed to be an immediate impact player. Renshaw from wachusett, Vayda from Tantasqua and a wide body from East Catholic in Hartford.  And I heard a low d1 transfer is on his way too.  Dont know much about the JV guys.

Hugenerd

Quote from: Clark Basketball on June 25, 2008, 03:07:51 PM
Quote from: nescac1 on April 03, 2008, 07:07:12 AM
Deluca is coming back for Brandeis.  He, Hollins, Magee, and Yemga should form the best front court in New England if he is fully recovered from injuries, and Roberson / Olson are a solid back-court: I think Brandeis may be the team to beat.   

I agree that Midd should be very solid, Amherst is not as experienced but still has the most talent in the conference, they are bringing in at least two D-I caliber big guys either or both of whom could potentially start as frosh, it really depends how fast those two along with Bennett can adjust to being the go-to players on the interior.   Of course Olson is irreplaceable but Meehan will still be one of the better points in the region.   RIC always seems to lose some guys you wouldn't expect, but I agree if everyone returns and they get a consistent rotation they will be scary good.  Seems as if outside of MIT and Wheaton, lots of Newmac teams should be down.  Same thing goes for NESCAC outside of Middlebury.  Trinity loses really its only three consistent scoring options for the last two years, there is still talent there but a lot of guys have to step up in a big way, and there is no experienced interior player on the roster.  Williams may surprise with a bounce back year amidst lower expectations.  Schultz and Geoghegan are a great starting point (I think both will explode as juniors), the question is how much will they get out of their hoard of talented young big guys (Whittington and Dodson in particular) and how fast will the incoming point guard adjust to college ball.  Colby brings almost everyone back and could be a dark horse out of NESCAC as well, and Bowdoin loses a ton but still has some talent left.  A long way of saying, New England should be pretty wide open next year ...

Why is all the talk about MIT and Wheaton in the NEWMAC.  They finished tied for last in the league for the past two years.  It is the same talk every year about these teams, yet they have never gone to the dance.  I would be talking about WPI.  And Clark finished second in the league last year with all coming back plus probably the best recruiting class in the league coming in.  I would agree with the top teams in NE next year as stated above, but just thrown off with people putting MIT and Wheaton in the mix.

I am not familiar with all of the NEWMAC teams, like I was 2-3 years ago, but I think I can somewhat explain the reasoning for MIT getting mentioned.  MIT played very solid their first 18 games last year (12-6), and nearly beat Amherst on the road (one posession game with the ball under 30 seconds).  Unfortunately, they lacked depth and after incurring a few injuries, including to their best player, they were never the same and lost their last 8 games.   The excitement comes from the fact that they get nearly every one of their significant contributors back.  Their all-american, jimmy bartolotta, will be a senior and has shown the last two years that he can consistently play at a high level.  They get back their senior starting point guard, Bradley Gampel, "shooting forward", Billy Johnson (aka Fenway Flip), and significant freshman contributor daniel mccue.  The most surprising return is hamidou soumare, who with a year of eligibility, will do a one-year masters and return to the team.  On top of that, MIT is bringing in 6'10" Ted Eby (ranked top 140 recruit in new england and top 40 in massachusetts), Jamie Karraker (6'3" shooting guard, top 300 in new england), and a third player whos name is eluding me at the moment.  Anyway, if they can stay healthy, they will now have some depth at every position, a freakish athlete in soumare, an experienced senior point guard, a 6'8" small forward who can shoot from anywhere on the court, and arguably the best individual player in new england. Add to that a true center and a couple solid wingmen, and you have the makings of a good team. 

Also, I think the main reason MIT is getting mention on the nescac boards is because how well they played amherst last year and how well bartollota has performed against them.

senatorfrost

 Bartolotta was best player I saw last year. Against Amherst he played VERY well. He did everything, name it, he did it. I think however, he kind of wore down the last minute or so. He could have used more help.

T990

The MIT schedule is posted.

http://mitathletics.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/sched/mit-m-baskbl-sched.html

Apparently MIT is not playing Amherst this year, or these teams from last year's schedule: Conn College, Endicott, and WNEC.

But they are playing in the Engineers Classic in Milwaukee (RPI, Rose Hulman, MSOE), playing at Salem State (an excellent team), and playing at Yale (Division 1).