Something of note for Tufts last night, maybe a Jumbo fan has some info as to why. James Morakis wasn't in the starting lineup. He's gotten off to a bit of a slow start shooting, though he's scored 30 points over the last two games. He was also coming off a game where he turned it over 6 times. Perhaps this was coach Linton trying to switch things up and give the team a spark? We'll see if it's for one game or see it become the norm.

Another thing to add to the Williams vs. Oneonta game last night, there were 22 ties and a ridiculous 48 lead changes! That's not something you see everyday. Through the first 37-38 minutes, neither team led by more than 5. It was a fun game to watch.

Quote from: jayhawk on November 13, 2025, 03:59:53 PMOn Amherst Men Basketball website there is a preseason video of the team practicing
There is one frame of the team huddling and it is very easy to see that Charlie Randall is practicing maybe

Hard to miss that height! Still very surprised given what happened last year when he announced he was in the transfer portal in January. I'm guessing he either didn't get much interest in the portal or he didn't get what he was looking for. We'll see how valuable he can be given the fact he will essentially miss 1.5 years ie Declan Porter at Williams.

Should be an interesting year in the 'CAC.

Quote from: Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan) on October 23, 2025, 11:07:55 AMI really thought long and hard about voting Tufts #1.  I think they and Trinity were very even last year.  Trinity doesn't lose much, but they lose a little bit more and the weight of a repeat season is a tough one.  Ultimately, you want to give a team like that the benefit of the doubt, but it's going to be a competitive season, for sure.

I certainly respect your opinion, but I don't believe Tufts was on Trinity's level last year, not even close. Trinity beat Tufts twice by an average of 29.5ppg (81-45 and 74-51). The Bantams also beat up on the Jumbos pretty good the previous year by 16, 12 and 17 in their three games. Until they can at least be in single digits with Trinity, I think they are a distant 2 in the NESCAC. They have the lineup to compete with Trinity, they just need to finally put their feet to the floor.

I think Jumbos fans may agree, this needs to be the year they breakthrough and make an Elite 8, Final 4 run. Three straight NESCAC semifinals appearances with 0 Finals appearances and losing by 23, 12 and 23 those three years. They had that big win over NYU in the 2024 second round but just haven't been able to take that next step. If they can stay healthy, an Elite 8 appearance is the floor for this team. Of course, it's easier said than done in October than March!

@Greek - Slight correction for 2015-16 preseason. Virginia Wesleyan was ranked #2 behind Augustana. Amherst did receive the other two first place votes however.

https://d3hoops.com/top25/men/2015-16/preseason

@stlawus, I'm not 100% sure but I wouldn't think so. He put his name in the portal in January of 2025, after the 24-25 season had already begun, which leads me to believe he no longer wanted to play at Amherst. Just my opinion. Guess we won't know until rosters come out.

His younger brother, Ian, is on the Tufts Men's Basketball roster as a first-year. He's also a 7 footer who can shoot from the outside.

@toad22, you may have heard that Trinity is going to be okay again. Facetious of course as they are going to be one of the top teams in the country given what they're bringing back. I would say Tufts is a solid #2 choice bringing their starting 5 back.

After that, it certainly looks up in the air! I expect Hamilton to have a down year compared to last year given what they lost. Bowdoin and Bates are bringing back a lot of players from 1-9 NESCAC seasons so we'll see how they roll. Conn College loses their second leading scorer and starting C. Their zone always causes problems though. Amherst loses 58% of their scoring, and they weren't exactly an offensive power. They did get a D1 transfer. Their success may depend on how their young guys progress, both from last year and the newcomers.

There's some intriguing storylines too. Wesleyan brings back a lot of defensive talent, but it will be interesting to watch how they play after losing their two star players. Both such huge impacts on the offensive end.

Colby brings back all of their talented guards and will fill the C position Lawson left behind with Civello. Of course, they have a new head coach. We'll see how the veterans adjust to the new coaching style.

Middlebury also has a new coach. They lose Stevens and Brennan to graduation and a reserve to the transfer portal, but they bring back some ballers from an injury plagued season. Expect Tristan Joseph to have a big offensive year if he can stay healthy. We'll also see how the offense plays out without Brennan being a terror on the offensive boards, over 5 per game last year.

Williams bringing back Lee, Hansen and Yates will certainly help the offense, but that has been a struggle for Williams the past couple years. The key question might be who the starting C is on this team. Van Gorp and Dickens played a combined 17 games last year. Another is will they have an impact first year player like Yates from a year ago?

Less than two months away from great basketball action!

Not sure if this was mentioned as it was rather quiet, but a surprise move in my eyes. Sophomore Matt Leaver, a F/C from Conn College, transferred to UAlbany to play football. Played 19 games for the Camels last year.

Former Tufts G Khai Champion posted on his Linkedin that he stepped away from the team his senior year for a more meaningful college experience. He has enrolled in a grad program at NYU but sounds like he will not be playing basketball.

Kenneth Rogers Jr. has seemingly updated is X bio to say "WESTFIELD STATE." When he announced he was in the portal, I don't believe that was there. Looks like he may remain at Westfield for at least one more year.

It was posted on another board, but former Trinity (TX) star Christian Green follows his former HC to Stephen F. Austin

According to HoopDirt on X, NYU Head Coach is heading to Florida:

https://x.com/HoopDirt/status/1912154266807984636

Hampton Sanders of NYU is in the transfer portal. Likely will be heading elsewhere. If that's the case, NYU loses 96% of its scoring from this past years team. Much different at the D1 level with high recruits and big use of the transfer portal, but I'd think it would be much harder for a D3 school to reload after losing so much.

This is obviously under the radar given the fact that Trinity is celebrating winning the National Championship, but as expected, the Bantams finish the season ranked #1 in the country. First #1 national ranking in school history.

You may recall Wesleyan also was ranked #1 for the first time ever this season. Wonder how many instances two teams from the same conference had their first ever #1 rankings in the same season.

Congrats again to the Trinity Bantams. Well deserved!

Quote from: nescac1 on March 19, 2025, 11:13:14 AMNEHoopsScoutPH, good analysis of the rookies.  I'm curious what happened with Cameron Perkins on UMass Boston (from Region 2, but also New England-area), he had an insane first six games, averaging 26 ppg on ridiculous shooting splits, but then didn't play again - not sure if it was an injury situation, or something else, that ended his season.  It will be interesting to see if any of these guys who had huge frosh years look to transfer up ...

https://umassmedia.com/37807/sports/mens-basketball-sinks-low-on-lec-rankings/

According to this article, during their exhibition game against UMass-Amherst, the Beacons "lost" Perkins. I'm assuming it was an injury.