nice article on Pierce on the front page of today's sports section in the Globe


http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/mens_basketball/articles/2010/02/12/starting_forward/

Pierce has two combined techs the past two seasons, i believe. so id take the under. under on selby too...hes usually on the floor now so he can just join the fight from there. as for the rest...who knows

top, i agree with just about all of your argument. would just point out that tufts actually LOST pierce's 40 point game this year against babson.

and pierce doesnt? haha again, no one has pointed out a single reason why pierce is so terrible on d. i guess ill stop asking anyone to illuminate their point.

o and last thing...far as i can tell, pierce joined a list that includes one other player in kanem johnson in 03-04 in leading the league in scoring and rebounding in the same year. i went back as far as the nescac stats do so thats only 8 years and im not that informed...just saying. clearly someone deserving of second team recognition. clearly...

correction: i meant CHOICE outplayed pierce

boo, you are correct that pierce did outplay choice in the head to head matchup. and i respect your opinion that choice is a more complete player. i just respectfully disagree . and nescac hoops, ill pose the same question to you that ive already posed twice and no one seems to be able to answer for me...what lack of effort on the defensive end are you referring too? again, just give me some validation, please. because his team defense sucks, he must suck on d as well? i just dont get it. ive provided some pretty valid stats, in mho, to back up that he in fact is an above average defender. yet apparently his "attitude and lack of defensive effort" stand out. did you see a lot of tufts games this year as well? just curious where you are coming from. still waiting for eclinchy to chime in and either refute or back me since i think hes in the best position to know...

and booyakasha, choice is more efficient offensively? how so exactly? pierce shoots a higher percentage from the floor and scores more points per game. while clearly taking more shots. Pierce shot nearly 50% from the field this year. for someone who takes the shots he has too, against defensive schemes designed against him, thats pretty ridiculous. and again, i want to understand why the hating on pierces defense. his team defense is terrible, thats for sure. but what post players killed the jumbos this year? porter is the only one i can think of. i guess i just dont understand why pierce gets hated on for his lack of defense when he has been among the league leaders in blocks, rebounding, and this year steals, and post players never really seem to kill tufts? sooo....what isnt pierce doing on defense? clearly his d isnt on par with his offense. but thatd be pretty difficult, seeing as how hes about to shatter every record at tufts.

so i have been absent from this board as far as posting goes. I have been abroad second semester and havent been able to follow Tufts as closely as I would like. Ive seen the box scores, watched the jumbo cast games, and now that all league has been posted, i wanted to chime in. its absurd to me that pierce isnt on the first team. ABSURD. yes, i know he played on the last place team in the league. to me, that only strengthens his case. because when you look at his numbers and then realize teams didnt have to game plan for anyone else on the floor, it elevates his 22 and 9 even higher in my mind. apparently not the league coaches though who based their scouting reports on #1. let me repeat that he averaged nearly 22 and 9, leading the league in both and is not a member of the first team. dman, he plays no d? are you are tufts? do you watch any of the games? because im fairly certain, that this year, much like last year, guards who are athletic and seem to drive middle against the jumbos at will seem to be more of the defensive issue. in conference, pierce was top 15 in steals and blocks. noooo d at all. pierce guards post players, id say in 80% of the games. so im not really sure your basis for his "no d" comment. he also led the league in DEFENSIVE rebounding by a huge margin. eclinchy, i think you were around tufts this year, can you comment on any of this? like i said, i wasnt around to see as much of this season. and i am not trying to disparage what anyone on the first team did. however, someone shouldnt be there in favor of pierce. no matter how you cut it, pierce is one of the top five players in this league. i feel bad for him because hes surrounded by talent that cant seem to get on the same page. and apparently coaches in the league decided thats his fault somehow? idk, sorry this has dragged on but again, pierce not being first team is nuts.

A little inspiration for anyone who has gone through similar circumstances or knows of anyone who has...


http://tuftsjournal.tufts.edu/2008/11_2/features/01/

eclinchy, any extended thoughts on the tufts babson game/the outlook for the season? i missed the game, have only seen the recaps

eclinchy,

pierce is listed as a junior. he still has a year left of eligibility and plans on using it, apparently. so that makes the Tufts team even younger. Only one senior in Gallant. Gallant has been a sold contributor and obviously there is Pierce, but other than flashes from Dave Beyel last season, this team is extremely untested and unproven. They will need to come around quick.

top, sheldon is still at tufts. tufts had no coaching changes, even in the assistant ranks as far as i know. i was referring to the williams, bates, trinity, and wesleyan changes. as far as chemistry problems, i dont really know specifically but in watching them, it sure looked as if they werent on the same page in many instances. and they were extremely inconsistent all year. as noted, played some very good teams very tight and then lost to teams like wesleyan on their home floor.

long absence from these boards for me. The collapse of Tufts down the stretch last season, a summer away from civilization, and lots of school work have kept me away from the nescac board. excited for the season however. Congrats to all the players from the northeast who received All American recognition. Especially Pierce. i am interested to see how he responds to the pressure. and i am interested to see how the team comes together behind him. They are extremely young and relatively inexperienced, save for Pierce, Beyel, and Gallant. If they can figure it out and avoid the chemistry issues that destroyed this team last season, I am very excited for the possibilities, especially in a conference that will have a new look this year with the coaching changes and the graduation of last years senior class. Looking forward to another exciting season and hoping Pierce, with the help of all the talent around him, can lead Tufts to what would be a surprising strong finish. Because no one really expects anything out of them. And tbh, after last season, they shouldnt.

Walzy, early line on Williams/Keene State? My bookie here in Medford is getting anxious

eclinchy, pierce will be playing his junior season. he didnt play his freshman year, still has two years of eligibility left and last i heard, plans on using them both

tufts webiste is reporting pierce is second team