Quote from: AmherstStudent05 on March 18, 2026, 01:05:10 PMFor me, Aaron Toomey is the Amherst GOAT but Andrew Olson is obviously also a solid choice.

For the related question of the Amherst Mount Rushmore, I think I would currently have it as Toomey, Olson, Willy Workman and John Bedford, with honorable mention to Brian Baskauskas. But I only started following NESCAC basketball in 2001 so I cannot evaluate Wilson or Rehnquist.

Toomey might be the Amherst GOAT - no argument for me - but when asked, Hixon stated that not only was Rehnquist the Amherst GOAT but also the best basketball player he had ever seen at the D3 level.  Lot of praise for a guy who either played or coached D3 from 1971 until his retirement five years ago. 

Just when you think it is safe to be encouraged by Amherst they crap the bed badly in the NESCAC playoffs.

If Amherst only has one player in the top 14 players in the league this year yet is seeded fourth in the playoffs, doesn't that point to Sears as the coach of the year?

Hard to believe I am typing this but he must be doing something right with so little top notch NESCAC talent ...

NESCAC1 - you nailed it in terms of my very high level of skepticism over Sears, but as one of the other posters has noted - and something I have been saying for two years - he has abandoned the big man model and the new one is certainly better.   I am pretty sure he was on his way out after his first contract ended, but this season has likely changed that scenario.  No one ever expected him to be Hixon - the GOAT at least at Amherst - but they had to show progress.   Regardless of how the season plays out, it is indeed progress.

Watched the second half of the Jeffs-Tufts game last night. Amherst played its style perfectly - hit threes at a higher percentage than its opponent, don't turn the ball over, and play good defense.   Win ugly.  The ghosts of Toomey, Olsen, and Workman are spinning in their graves over the style, but the coaching staff seems to have found a style that works with this roster.

Oh good Lord you guys have ruined my day!   I did not know that Maker was a finalist and lost to DEI.   What a serious bummer for my Lord Jeffs!

Quote from: toad22 on January 18, 2026, 04:03:43 PMTo add a bit to Nescac1s rant, as an alum and resident of Williamtown. I am sure that there is no strong institutional support for sports. The administration acquiesces to the existence of sports, but they don't care much if we win or lose. Up until about 10-15 years ago, a least some in the administration wanted a strong sports program. I used to view the college's "brand" as "great academics, great sports". We never thought it was good enough to be "among the best" or just competitive. Our goal in everything was to be the best, not just good. That has slipped a lot. It is concerning.

Regarding basketball, it is clear that the Ephs are struggling right now. In particular, our offensive play has been weak. That has impacted the fluidity of our offense, and has made it more difficult to generate as many quality shots, especially for the big guys. I think that has produced some frustration and rushed, low-quality shots. The season isn't over, there are plenty of opportunities to turn things around. We have a lots of players, especially underclassmen who have talent. I expect you haven't heard the last of Williams this year.

Toad and NESCAC1 - I am curious what you think has changed?  Williams used to crush that D3 points cup and now is an afterthought.   Something had to alter this because lack of inertia does not seem to be sufficient cause.

At Amherst, we were pretty happy with things until Biddy Martin decided to steer the boat from an aggressive left movement to insane left movement.  Putting politics aside, she was a national leader in the DEI movement and all that went along with it. She mandated that head coach jobs only be filled my minorities, qualifications aside.   Admissions started becoming less favorable especially for football.   (Soccer kept its numbers because most of their players are from abroad!)  Point being that Amherst grads can point to why several sports took a serious downturn.

So just curious what your views are on why the preeminent athletic program in the NESCAC - Williams College - took the nosedive.

Excited that Amherst got the win over Wesleyan, a program that got better while Amherst got worse.   So a good start to the year.   However, winning with so few points isn't a long-term way to win the NESCAC.   Defense is rarely a specialty that wins at the D3 level - need guys shooting and making threes.

Sort of wondering how many seasons Sears has left to get this Amherst program back to a semi-decent state.   Over his four full seasons - enough to have his recruits for a few of those seasons - the program has a winning percentage of 54% overall an 45% in the NESCAC.  Over Hixon's last 12 years, the overall winning percentage was 78% and 75% in the NESCAC.   I respect the reality of following a legend - as has been noted here many times, the only D3 coach in the basketball hall of fame - but when is enough enough?

Has to be good recruiting on the part of Tufts, right?   They don't get to transfer up unless the talent is there.

What a joke schedule for my alma mater!   I guess this fits into the "lets have a good overall record even if we stink in the NESCAC so we can keep our jobs" category.  Embarrassing.

ThumannsOwn -

It is burdensome to respond to super long strings so let me offer a few thoughts on Amherst hoops.

Yes, it is difficult watching Sears take an elite program down the tubes.  While I am sure he is a fine man, his hire never made sense ... one of those "hey look he coached at the D1 level so he will be great in D3" hires.  To this day he hasn't figured out that D3 basketball is a guard's game and not a big man's game, so his recruits continue to be mediocre (generously) big men who weren't getting recruited by the Ivies.  It is a formula for failure.

He was also part of a crew that included the since-terminated men's lacrosse coach, the squash coach, and the women's volleyball coach, all hired under the DEI umbrella that Amherst more than maybe every other school in the NESCAC lived under with the prior regime. None of these hires have worked, to say the least.   The current president is trying to reverse the remnants of the latter years of the prior administration's heavy-handed rule, but it takes time especially when the faculty is as deeply entrenched in the DEI culture as the president was.

Bottom line is that the basketball natives, the ones that matter, are VERY restless, as were the football natives. So Sears is probably safe for now but not for long.

As an Amherst fan, I am reasonably pleased with this past season.  Winning record, beating the Ephs in a close game, and the losses were not - unlike prior years - blowouts.   Four losses of inside ten points is progress considering the performance over the past 5-6 years. Quarterback should mature, offensive line played its best in a long time, always good EJ defenses.  Optimism reigns.

Does anyone know if there is a link to the Ephs game?  I would just like to see the returned two-point conversion play.   Thanks to anyone who has a link.

Yeah ... not really.  These schools have been trying to limit roster sizes forever.  Not a new phenomena based on a more challenging competitive environment, although certainly it is more challenging then before.

Having nothing to do with what happened yesterday, I applaud Williams for wanting a cap on the roster size.  I believe that Amherst has supported this as well.  It is bordering on insane for the smaller schools - all of them - to have to take up a higher percentage of their student body with football players. Even it out for everyone and go from there.  This coming from an insane sports fan, by the way.

Hard to type this but for a few minutes I actually felt bad for Williams at the end of the game yesterday.  I am no Wes fan but that comeback was special.   

Will be curious to see what the D3boards line will be for the Amherst-Williams game next week!   Both are good, not close to great teams.   Should be fun.