Quote from: nescac1 on July 07, 2025, 02:36:02 PMFormer CAC Coach, yes, that is my bad! 

There is no reason that Williams and Amherst can't return to the era of more consistent games like that -- both have great football traditions, prominent football alumni, tremendous football facilities, ample institutional resources, tons of recruiting pull, and established coaches each of whom has shown he can win a league title.  All it really takes is a few winks here and there from the admissions Dep't ...

As a Lord Jeff fan, I remain baffled by this drastic drop-off.   The drop-off in basketball was disappointing but reasonable with a new coach coming on board.   New hires don't always work out, which appears to be the case with Amherst hoops.   But Mills has been in the saddle for so long that the drop off had to be related to changes in admissions philosophy. One can only hope that the new president will provide a better climate for Mills than the disastrous former president did in her latter years.

Congrats to Trinity for the hoops title!   Great for the NESCAC to continue to perform at the highest level.

Four post-Hixon seasons at Amherst has yielded the following results:

Overall record   53-46
NESCAC record    18-22

The definition of mediocrity and irrelevance.  Wonder how long the Sears tenure lasts?

Additional kudos to Middlebury's Perry from todays article in The Athletic about players who impressed at the Shrine Bowl:

And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Division III Middlebury center Thomas Perry — or "Thomas the Tank," as offensive line trainer Duke Manyweather calls him. Simply put, he is one of the strongest players in this draft class. His college tape is dominant (as it should be against that level of competition), which made Shrine practices paramount for NFL teams taking him seriously as a potential draft pick.

Perry didn't disappoint, more than holding his own against SEC and ACC defensive linemen. His game resembles a more athletic version of A.Q. Shipley, and he can make it in the NFL with his talent and work ethic.

From another writer:

Perry is another guy I wanted to watch again but found it difficult — not because he struggled or anything, but because most of what you see is him just completely overpowering DIII competition to the point where it sometimes looks like high school tape. Perry also has a length problem and might be a center-only on some boards. But if this guy gets a combine invite, he'll challenge the bench-press record.

Amherst is toast, friends.  Love my alma mater but the recruiting philosophy is downright wrong. They go for mediocre big men far too often in a division that is built upon good to great guards.  If a big man is talented, he will go at worst Ivy or Patriot League ... he won't be going NESCAC or Division 3.  Which is not the case for good/great guards.   They simply might not be tall enough, or quick enough, but their talent level is excellent otherwise.   Amherst's former D1 coach - a fine man, I am sure - is simply building the wrong way.

Quote from: Greek Tragedy on January 18, 2025, 02:17:29 PM

Quote from: jumbomumbo on January 18, 2025, 10:50:03 AMI'm changing the Conn Williams prediction to 66-58 Conn.

You really hate Williams, don't you? LOL

Dont post often but what is this post supposed to represent?  I think Williams won it once in 2003.

What happened to Charlie Randall?

344 yards (net) on only 20 carries? Absolutely incredible.  Is there a reason they handed the ball off to anyone else?   One of the greatest performances in NESCAC football history.

The demise of Amherst football coincided with two new hires – a new athletic director and a new admissions director.   The only constant is a coach with one of the highest winning percentages in NESCAC history.  From folks I know at the school, this trio has not worked together effectively since the get-go.   The new AD does not have near the track record as his predecessor and the admissions director was hired from a school without football, both working for a president – now former – who in the last five years of her run moved the school as hard left as possible.  The opportunity for positive change is with the new president, an alum, who is trying his best to move the school back from the far-left side of the road.   IMHO he will not tolerate this kind of losing for too long on the gridiron.

Re giving, ironically the voices of alumni don't matter very much anymore when the endowment levels are so high.   The former president figured this out early on, allowing her to disregard the "common folk alumni" and driving alumni giving from the mid-60s% to the low-30s% during her tenure.

In terms of the here and now, Mills always took his best athletes and put them on defense, but he also had enough talent on offense to be highly competitive.   Now the cupboard is comparatively bare, and it isn't clear that any new game strategies would work.

The only strategy at this point is to work to get more "jimmies and joes" into the program.

Not clear that there are any Lord Jeff fans on this site anymore - no reason to, frankly - but the demise of this program remains staggering to watch.   For five plus years this team has the most ineffective lines in my history with the program, which goes back to the mid 1970s.   It is hard to figure out whether the skill players are any good when they have no time to try to make plays.   Hard pressed to believe that EJ has forgotten how to recruit but the results speak for themselves.   There might also be a correlation to the demise of this program with the new admissions director and the hard, hard left turn by Biddy Martin.  Whatever - this program just stinks right now.

Congrats to Ephs for beating my Jeffs today up in Billyville.   Not much doubt about the outcome of this game from the get-go.   The better team clearly was Williams as it has been all season.

As I was looking at the Amherst write-up, I was again reminded that a team with three starters at 6'8" or above - including a 7 footer - and one more at 6'6", is no way to win in Division 3 basketball. I believe that this coaching staff, which comes from the Ivy League, has a philosophy of "big/taller is better", which of course is completely the opposite of what is required at this level.   Curious whether the coach ever heard of the three best players in Amherst history - Toomey, Olsen and Rehnquist.  The first two were consummate guards while Rehnquist at 6'4" would today be a two-guard or maybe small forward. And I looked up the kid that NESCAC1 pointed out Amherst has signed for next year - kid must be 7'2" and based on his video will be of little value to the team.

Recruiting the wrong kind of players, coach!

Sort of feel that Amherst has a whopping coming its way this weekend after a season that met my expectations.  Mediocre team from the get-go.   They play hard and the defense has been very good - as NESCAC1 pointed out, along with the rest of the NESCAC - but offense is spotty at best.   The win against CC was a nice win as CC was seeded higher and thus had the home court advantage.   I still don't believe that the current coach understands that the NESCAC is driven by guards - especially guards who can hit threes - and not by decent but not great big men.

Damn it is good to be back!!  And of course the first post is from the always incredibly insightful NESCAC1!!!

Quote from: jumpshot on December 11, 2023, 04:16:29 PM
Just a note to express my gratitude, and that on behalf of many others, to nescac1 whose fair and balanced reporting on all aspects of NESCAC sports provides insight and pleasure to readers of this board. nescac1's knowledge, passion, and ability for communicating effectively, not simply about Williams College and its student athletes, includes many NESCAC institutions and members of other conferences. Well done, nescac1 !

Completely agree!  NESCAC1's objective reporting puts us all to shame but even more important is how detailed his analysis is.   Great work, NESCAC1!

Anyone care to comment on Amherst getting absolutely screwed by that non-call on the goalie grabbing the ball outside of the box?