MBB: NESCAC

Started by cameltime, April 27, 2005, 02:38:16 PM

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WPI89

+1 to Middhoops for his joy

amh63

WPI89....nice to hear from you on this board  AND this time of the year! 
Middhoops has been joyful  on several boards recently....though he and his CUZ at times are a bit confused.  Heard they were watching football in VT recently in the HEAT.
Are you still catching a game or two at Wesconn in Danbury?  If so, may join you in at a game in the proper season. :). My sons have moved into the area from Brooklyn Heights and may want to join me in a boys nights out...leaving the wives to do their thing.

P'bearfan

Quote from: middhoops on September 19, 2017, 11:08:24 PM
It's been a long wait since March.
Today I enjoyed watching the Midd players scrimmage.  Not giving away too many secrets, but one returning key player has improved notably.  One bench player also has taken a huge step forward.  And a fy player shocked me with his ability to score against anyone, in a number of ways.
Other than that, it was just basically my best day in 6 months.
Not sure why most people enjoy summer so much.  It may be because they have interests other than small college basketball.
Go figure.

Now there's a man with the right perspective!  Looking forward to the upcoming season.  Hoping I'll finally be able to breathe normally while watching a Bowdoin game.

nescac1

One bit of offseason news that I don't think was previously shared here: Tufts continues its string of D1 transfers (I believe now three in the last 4-5 years) by adding Manny Anderson, a swing man who played just a few minutes as a Seton Hall walk-on.  I'm not sure how much of an impact he is projected to make at this level.  The question for Tufts remains, who is gonna man the paint this year?

ContinentalDomer

For Panther, D3 and Irish basketball fans, it appears that Matt St. Amour has increased his scoring average a wee bit in Limerick (dropped 56 in the opener):

https://twitter.com/LITSports/status/911648963014651904

Quote from: Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan) on September 19, 2017, 07:01:24 AM
Quote from: P'bearfan on September 19, 2017, 06:54:17 AM
Quote from: Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan) on September 16, 2017, 08:48:54 AM
Quote from: Ubuntu on September 16, 2017, 07:39:07 AM
Not that it's all about the money but.... About does one make as a D3 stud going to Europe?

I wrote a piece about d3 players in Europe last year.  I don't think numbers were included, but generally, a d3 guy has to start at the bottom.  A first year salary might be room, board and 8-12k - that's if you're really a stud.

Money comes if you prove yourself the first year or two and get noticed by bigger clubs.  I suspect DiBartolomeo is doing ok for himself in Israel these days, but he had to work hard and struggle early.

Hausman signed in the Spanish 4th division.  The hope there is that a bigger club sees him and he performs well enough to move up the ranks.

Any links available to your article?  Sounds very interesting.

There's an archive of all the Around the Nation columns - http://www.d3hoops.com/columns/around-the-nation/headlines-featured

Here's this particular one - http://www.d3hoops.com/columns/around-the-nation/2016-17/going-pro-from-division-3

nescac1

#24020
Some other Tufts news, this time some early 2018 recruiting news as the Jumbos continue to add perimeter firepower with a commitment from 6'2 Tyler Aronson, who looks like a very good athlete.  Along with this year's star frosh Eric Savage and incoming recruits Will Brady and Brennan Morris, plus the previously-mentioned Seton Hall transfer, Tufts should continue to be strong on the perimeter despite graduating a tremendous group of senior guards after this season. 

http://www.newenglandrecruitingreport.com/news/aronson-makes-pick

Always nice to see the quotes from former Eph Mike Crotty!

amh63

Will have to admit....only my second post here, being it is still Fall sports now...though it feels like Summer.
Bit of basketball info found on the Amherst basketball website.  HC Hixon posted his 2017 newsletter..dated Sept. 17.  It gives the following info...Amherst graduated 8 seniors, welcomes 5 FYs and announced two seniors captain.  Total squad numbers 15 talented players.  An early placement of the players is also provided...inside/ interior, perimeter and point guard.  Appear to be depth in all areas.   Oh yes, the start of practice given, though I assume the players are getting in shape and getting to know each other presently.  Amherst will have an strong interior offense and overall solid defense this season, imho.
Now back to Fall sports :).

nescac1

Just curious, amh63, why you say Amherst will have a strong interior offense.  I'm sure that Hixon has talented players (Sellew and Schneider in particular got a lot of hype as recruits) to pick from, and I never expect that Amherst will do anything but reload, but the reality is that its only three returning interior players combined to average a total of six points per game last year, and Hixon didn't bring in, it appears, a star big man recruit.  The centers in particular seem more, at least at this point in their careers, like rebounding / defense guys as opposed to big-time post scorers.  And Amherst looks uncharecteristically thin on the inside, in the event of any injuries, etc.

From an outsider perspective, Amherst's perimeter firepower looks FAR more impressive with Riopel (who really needs more shots given how efficiently he scores the ball) and McCarthy both likely to be stars as senior, and loads of talented options to compete for wing minutes behind them (the three rising sophs, Clapp, Mobley, and Chery, in particular, are a real luxury to have coming in off the bench, all were highly-regarded recruits and should make big leaps as sophs).  PG is the other big question mark for Amherst but the two frosh PGs both look to be sufficiently talented to man the position; just a matter of how quickly they acclimate to the college game.

I do think that Amherst has the potential to be very tough defensively this year, led by the McCarthy and the center duo.  Loads of size and athleticism everywhere on the roster and a few guys who were defensive liabilities or at best were merely average on defense have moved on.  But who will do the scoring besides McCarthy and Riopel seems like a bit of a mystery until guys show it on the court. 

Ubuntu

How do you find the Amherst Newsletter from Coach Hixon?

amh63

Ubuntu...welcome to the board.  Go to the Amherst website...then to the Athletic website....then to the Men's BB website and look for 2017 Newsleter....middle volume.

amh63

Nescac1....there are two other interior players that were highly rated.  C.J. Bachman, a junior who can rebound and score inside....and a FY, Fru  Che who had higher division offers.  I'm not worried if Coach Hixon is not worried.  All the inside players have the bulk and talents to hold their own, imho.

Ubuntu

Got it, thank you.  Optimism abounds on this website and in the newsletter!

PeterEscobar

Quote from: amh63 on September 27, 2017, 05:27:36 PM
Nescac1....there are two other interior players that were highly rated.  C.J. Bachman, a junior who can rebound and score inside....and a FY, Fru  Che who had higher division offers.  I'm not worried if Coach Hixon is not worried.  All the inside players have the bulk and talents to hold their own, imho.
Who offered Fru Che?

jayhawk

Hixon visiting with former assistant Coach at Amherst and former Middelbury player, now general manage of Cleveland Cavaliers
Koby Altman

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZjSZomHEHc/

nescac1

While it's possible that Fru Che had D2 offers (which is not at all uncommon for NESCAC recruits, multiple recruits across the league turn down D2 offers every year) I'd be surprised if he had any firm D1 offers.  Indeed, it is very rare for ANY NESCAC player to ever turn down a D1 scholarship offer, although it does happen every so often when it's an offer from a bottom-tier D1 program.  NERR had him ranked as the 39th best recruit in Massachusetts.  None below the 24th (Che's high school teammate, who is headed for Brown) are playing D1 ball this year ... he seems like a very nice D3 recruit, but as a 6'5 interior player, it's hard to imagine him finding a role in D1.   

Now, if he ends up as good as LAST year's 39th-ranked recruit in Massachusetts, Middlebury's Matt Folger, I'm sure that Amherst will be delighted.  And of course, those rankings are not a precise science -- Trinity's Nick Seretta was ranked 27th, above D3 national freshman of the year Jake Ross (who was a massive steal for Springfield, that dude is clearly a D1 player in my view), the Ephs' Matt Karpowicz, and Folger.  While Seretta looks like he will be at worst a solid player, Ross is already a superstar and Folger and Karpowicz look likely to develop into star big men in the years ahead. 

http://www.newenglandrecruitingreport.com/rankings/massachusetts-class-of-2017

As for Bachman, I have no doubt that like most of Hixon's recruits, he has ample talent.  In two years of college ball, however, he has averaged 1 ppg on 37 percent shooting in 19 appearances.  My point is that Amherst has no proven interior scoring threats, while it has two proven, senior wings who have both consistently produced in big moments for several years.  And there is loads of potential on the bench behind them, to boot.  I'd be surprised if Amherst's offense, at least to start the year, was interior-focused.  First those big guys need to show they can score in game situations.  Schneider continues to scare me the most just because of his size and athleticism, he looked pretty nasty at times in his limited time on the floor, but the question remains whether his basketball skills have caught up to his imposing frame.