MBB: NESCAC

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

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remsleep

On a different subject...Maker one of three finalists for Furman job

madzillagd

Quote from: remsleep on April 10, 2013, 11:32:20 PM
On a different subject...Maker one of three finalists for Furman job

The gave it to a Colorado State assistant.

jayhawk

interview with Coach Hixon in Boston Magazine
Discusses DIII versus other conference and dialogue he had with Dave Paulsen former Williams coach

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2013/04/12/amherst-basketball-coach-david-hixon/

NEhoops

The NESCAC transfer deadline has passed so unless someone has already applied then they won't be getting in. Since the deadline is earlier than other conferences it's rare to see a transfer. The player basically needs to decide either before or during the season that they want to leave. At the same time when most players transfer, having gone through a year or two of college is a positive (academically) from an admissions standpoint. However, coming into the NESCAC that player better be one of the best students at their respective institution.

Coach Maker is definitely putting himself in a position to further his career at the next level. Very impressive what he has done in his short time at Williams.

Nothing better then looking ahead to next season less than a week after the season ends. I put the league into three tiers (alphabetically).

Amherst
Middlebury
Tufts
Williams
- No surprises with this group. The Lord Jeffs are the returning champs and have the best player in the country. Kizel will continue to keep the Panthers in the mix. The Jumbos will have great depth/balance, but will be on the road against Mid/Wil next year. Williams has the top scoring trio in the league and will look to battle for a conference title once again.

Bates
Bowdoin
Hamilton
- The Bobcats will be undersized, but historically have good success in league play; they also have a great trio to lean on as well. The Polar Bears won at home against the Bobcats in OT (Safford did not play). They have a strong group returning, but not really a breakout guy (a year older doesn't always equate to more wins – see Wes this year). Hamilton seemed to be competitive in every league game this year. Good experience returning along with one of the best scoring guards in the league.

Colby
Conn
Trinity
Wesleyan
- Colby will still be young and their guard play is average, Hudnut is a great piece to build around. Conn won one game in the last two conference seasons; they have the ability to score, but still have a lot to prove. Trinity again will be limited by an inexperienced and inconsistent play, haven't made the tournament the last two seasons. Wesleyan's leading returning scorer is Glen Thomas (5.8ppg); long way to go for the Cardinals.

AmherstStudent05

I wanted to post a few thoughts about the "legacy" of the 2013 Amherst team.  I know lots of posters either loathe or are simply uninterested in this particular topic, but since the Board seems to have slowed down considerably in recent days, I figured I could hazard a few thoughts/words of praise for this most recent Amherst team (what would you expect -- I am  an Amherst homer after all) without hijacking the conversation here.

Anyway, in my admittedly biased view, the 2013 Amherst team clearly put together the finest season in the history of the NESCAC.  Most obviously, they were the first team to win a national championship, a NESCAC championship, and the NESCAC regular season title all in the same season.  The 2003 Williams team won a national championship and a NESCAC championship, but were the number 2 seed in the NESCAC Tournament behind Amherst (though, Williams undeniably got its revenge in the postseason that year).  The 2007 Amherst team won a national championship and the NESCAC regular season (though not undefeated, having lost to the Bantams on the last day of the regular season), but lost the NESCAC Championship game in heartbreaking fashion to Williams.

Notably, both the 2004 and the 2010 Williams teams put together undefeated NESCAC seasons (though the 2004 team did get blown out by Amherst in the non-conference game), but each lost tight games in the NCAA Title game to superb teams from UWSP.

Not only did this 2013 Amherst team win these three "titles" in the same season, but, also of note, they put together an absolutely dominant run in the NCAA Tournament (which I think is also a useful metric to consider in evaluating a team's accomplishments during a season).  Apart from the NCC game, Amherst led by at least two possessions for the entire second half of all of its Tourney games.  The Jeffs also ended up beating NCC by 8 after leading most of the way.  Now, on this point, I can anticipate the criticism that Amherst's Tournament competition was not particularly strong.  Such a claim is obviously very difficult to evaluate -- especially across a decade of play -- but, I would concede that, at least in my amateur judgment, Amherst's Tourney road this year was not particularly strong relative either to other Tourney teams in 2013 or when compared to NESCAC teams of the past (e.g. 2010 Williams, 2007 Amherst, 2004 Williams, 2003 Williams)-- although I guess that is easy for me to say since I didn't have to beat any of these teams!

I don't mean any disrespect to any of the programs I am about to talk about -- in most cases I saw each of them play only once on a webcast -- but I do think that Plattsburgh was an excellent draw for Amherst in the second round.  As for RMC, Cabrini, and UMHB, I have reasons for thinking that each of these teams might be much better than they showed against Amherst, but to my eye they were not as strong as teams Amherst has played at similar points in previous tournaments.  NCC was definitely a legit team though -- easily the best defensive team I have seen Amherst play since that 2011 Panther squad anchored by Locke.  Anyway, Amherst obviously could only play the teams they were matched up against, and I think they clearly established themselves as the best team in Division III basketball this year -- even nescac1 was declaring us to be the prohibitive favorites heading into the Final Four down in Salem!

Finally, this Amherst team ended the season on a 24-game win streak (no losses this calendar year) and was undefeated when its preferred starting five (Kaasila, Williamson, Workman, Killian, Toomey) all dressed. 

Now, just because I think this was the most impressive season, it does not necessarily mean that I think that 2013 Amherst was the best team in the modern NESCAC era (since 2001).  This is a topic I confess a weakness for even though it is obviously impossible to quantify in any rigorous way.  Ultimately, I do think that our two National Championship teams (2007 and 2013) were our best teams, but we had plenty of great teams that never cut down the nets in Salem/Atlanta.  Indeed, we also had some phenomenal teams (03, 04, 11) that ended up having losing records to Williams and/or Midd that I still think could have given our 07 and 2013 teams a run for their money.  Where is the simulator when you need it?

AmherstStudent05

On a separate, but related note, I did just want to pay tribute to our departing seniors: Willy Workman, Pete Kaasila, and Allen Williamson.

They were each outstanding, long-term contributors to Coach Hixon's program and their skills and leadership will be sorely missed.

Their freshmen year was a low-point for Amherst basketball -- I believe it was the only year this century where we did not get a Tourney Invite.  Since that time, they have each been key figures in Amherst's recent success.  All three have been four-year contributors, and Workman and Kaasila have been regular starters for the past three years (Williamson only became a regular starter this year).

Of course, Amherst has had a phenomenal run over the past few years -- the past two in particular.  Over the past two years, Amherst is 26-0 in NESCAC play with two undefeated regular season "titles" and two NESCAC Championships, and has one Final Four appearance and, of course, one national championship.  Outside of Williams, I am not sure that another NESCAC program has accomplished as much in the entirety of the modern NESCAC era, let alone in any two-year period.  Obviously, lots of individuals played a key role in securing these accomplishments, but Willy, Allen, and Big Pete deserve plenty of credit.  I wish them well in their post-Amherst careers. They will certainly be missed.

AmherstStudent05

Final post for me for now. First off, I hope posters will forgive my gloating, Amherst-centric posts above.  In that spirit, I wanted to post briefly about an interview Coach Hixon gave down in Salem (that I only recently saw). Coach Hixon went out of his way for thanking other Northeast coaches for making Amherst a much better team throughout the course of the season.

I would really rather not re-hash the NESCAC/Midwest battle that took place recently.  For my part, I do think NESCAC schools unquestionably benefit in early rounds due to the fact that the Northeast has several conferences that are not particularly strong.  However, the Northeast also has a LOT of strong, top-notch teams year in and year out -- it is not just the top NESCAC schools.  Therefore, the best Northeast teams are usually all plenty battle-tested and prepared come Tourney time, a fact which I would argue contributes greatly to the relative success Northeast teams have had in Salem over the past decade (that said, Midwest teams consistently seem to play a more physical brand of basketball than NESCAC teams are accustomed to, and this does take some getting used to).

toad22

I don't blame you for gloating. Winning, as Amherst just won, is a rare occurance. Amherst has been good for a long time, and I expect that they will be good for a very long time. This year's team was special, because they came to their peak, only in their senior season. Alan Williamson became a star, and Amherst rose to very high heights. My congratgulations to Amherst. They have done very, very, well.

pick and roll

Can't get enough of this stuff - please provide more details Amherst Student 05!!!

grabtherim

To the victor go the spoils.  Please go on 05.  You should do three related posts every day until your hands go numb. 

jumpshot

Many former players as well as longtime fans view the 1997 and 1998 Williams teams as the best of the "modern era." The first "NESCAC" team to go to the post-season national tournament was the 1962 (?) Williams team. Certainly The Lord Jeff's had a fine year in 2013.

madzillagd

One of the Colby kids put together a short highlight video of the season

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MilBvWcwKIw&feature=youtu.be

grabtherim

Quote from: madzillagd on April 16, 2013, 12:05:36 PM
One of the Colby kids put together a short highlight video of the season

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MilBvWcwKIw&feature=youtu.be

The 2014 Oscar race for Best Editing has now been decided. 

lefrakenstein

Quote from: grabtherim on April 16, 2013, 12:46:44 PM
Quote from: madzillagd on April 16, 2013, 12:05:36 PM
One of the Colby kids put together a short highlight video of the season

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MilBvWcwKIw&feature=youtu.be

The 2014 Oscar race for Best Editing has now been decided.

The Hudnut no-look behind-the-back pass at the 0:30 mark is pretty sick though.

nescac1

Here is an updated NESCAC recruiting list, with some additions from various sources, including another Amherst recruit.  Again, nothing so far to suggest anything but Amherst, Midd, Tufts, and Williams continuing to load up with additional talent for next year.  Hamilton is bringing in a TON of badly needed size.  With Matt Hart around for three more years, Adam Stockwell may be building something there, although it will take a while for the big guys to mature. 

AMHERST RECRUITS
Jacob Nabatoff---6'8 C, Charlotte Latin HS,  Charlotte, NC
Reid Berman---  6'0 PG, New Trier, IL
Jeff Racy---6'4 G, Ridgefield HS, Ridgefield, CT
Diego Magana -- 6'5 SG, Desert Mountain H.S., Arizona
Possibly Christien Wright?   

BATES RECRUITS
Connor McLeod ---6'2 G, Needham HS, MA
Max Eaton -- 6'7 F, Phillips Exeter Academy, MA
Kenny Harringon -- 6'5 G St. John's Shrewsbury, MA

BOWDOIN RECRUITS

Jack Hewitt -- 6'7 C, Scarsdale H.S. , NY

COLBY RECRUITS
Myles Stephenson -- 6'0 PG, Poly Prep, NY

CONNECTICUT COLLEGE RECRUITS
Colin Pasco---6'5 F, Suffield Academy,

HAMILTON RECRUITS
Weston Wilbur---6'4 F, Wilton HS, Wilton, CT
Alex Addesi--- 6'8 F/C, Staples HS,  Westport CT
Carlos Fineman -- 6'8 F, College Prep HS, CA
Brett Busscher -- 6'7 F, Loyola Academy, IL

MIDDLEBURY RECRUITS
Bryan Jones---6'1 G, Loomis Chaffee/Christian Heritage, CT
Matt St. Amour --6'2 G, Missisquoi HS, VT
Liam Naughton---6'2 G, Darien HS, CT
Jake Brown -- 5'11 PG, Wallenpaupack HS, PA

TRINITY RECRUITS
Ken Yajima - PG, American School (Japan)
Brian Horn - PG, Pascack Hills HS (NJ)

TUFTS RECRUITS
Hunter Sabety---6'8 C, Oceanside HS, Oceanside, NY
Tarik Smith---- 6'0 PG, Cheshire Academy, Concord, NH
Drew Madsen--- 6'6 F, St. Augustine's HS, San Diego, CA

WESLEYAN RECRUITS
Harry Rafferty---5'11 PG, Berwick/Phillips Exeter, Durham, NH
Joe Connelly---6'2 SG, Beaver Country Day, Boston, MA
Davis Reid---6'2 G, Phillips Exeter, Kansas City, MO
Joseph Kuo---6'9 C, Governors Academy, MA

WILLIAMS RECRUITS
Duncan Robinson---6'7 F, Phillips Exeter/Governors, Newcastle, NH
Daniel Aronowitz---6'5 F, Columbus Academy, Columbus, OH
Mike Greenman--- 5'9 PG , St Augustine Prep, Linwood, NJ