Quote from: nescac1 on Yesterday at 03:55:32 PMI saw that Clark's Shay John is entering the portal.  Big loss for them if he goes, I imagine.   Iscandari seems like a guy who might get some higher-level interest too? 

I've been wrong before, but I can't see John at the D1 level.  D2 possibly.  He can dominate smaller/weaker 4/5's at D3, but against equal size I question whether he can survive.  He doesn't have an outside game and isn't a good ball handler.  He needs the ball on the low block and finish after 1/2 dribbles. I don't see him as skilled as John Adams (WPI) who went on to The Citadel.  But maybe someone wants a 10 mpg backup.
Iscandari is probably the quickest guard in the NEWMAC and likely was ROY runner up to Ferdinando.  Gets to the rim in tight spaces.  I think he'd need another full year and show improvement before drawing interest.  Lots of upside if he keeps working.

Like I said, I've been wrong before and the world is changing In college hoops.

Quote from: nescac1 on March 09, 2026, 12:34:03 PMTransfer list starting to grow, some new names (not sure what's up with Augustana but seems like something!):

Shaun Kelley, Augustana - 1 year
Andre Klaver, Augustana - 3 years
Jake Williams, Augustana - 2 years
Jude Wilkins, Elmira - 1 year
Moussa Berete, Dean College - 1 year
Noah Brumfield, Wheaton (IL) - 1 year

That's the 2nd from Elmira as well.

Disappointing ending, but it doesn't detract from a great season.

Gutty win over a tough St. Joseph's team.  They were a handful trying to keep them off the offensive boards.  It felt like every defensive rebound was heavily contested.
That said, Timmy O'Toole had a monster game 18/8, Timmy Mulvey had a huge, contested 3 to regain the lead 69-67 with just over a minute left, and the team dug in and fought their way to victory.

Ferdinando had a quiet game from long-range, but finished with 13/6/6 and played with poise and didn't force his game.
Ryan Frauenheim (10 pts. 3 steals) continued to be a big contributor as the 6th man and create havoc on defense.

Statistically, a lot of things went wrong for Babson:  they were out-rebounded 41-29, outshot 48.3 - 41.5, and gave up more 2nd chance points 13-8, but they won the turnover margin 16-4 and none of their own turnovers led to easy points.

It's still a tall mountain to climb to beat Trinity on their own court, and the memory of the 77-44 thrashing earlier this year is still out there.  I think it's an advantage for Trinity that they got a wake-up call in the first round.  Postseason basketball has a lot of examples of teams righting the ship after an early stumble.

Here's how I think tomorrow has to play out for Babson:

Again, O'Toole and Lauder have to stay out of foul trouble.  There's just no reliable interior board/defensive depth beyond those two.  They each had 4 fouls today.  Against Trinity's depth you've got to concede some easy buckets without fouling and being uber-aggressive jumping over screens 35 feet from the basket won't cut it.

Again, keep the TOs under 10.  I can dream of another game with just 4 TOs, but under 10, and limiting easy transition baskets will be key.

Murphy needs to continue to hit spot up 3's, drive when the defense over-commits, and play the underrated defense that keeps him on the floor for 30 minutes a night.  He did not play a single minute of the earlier meeting.  Now he's starting in place of Begin and playing a better all-around game imo.

Frauenheim played sparingly in the earlier matchup and then in garbage time.  He's been a huge factor in the run the team is on, coming off the bench, being a pest (3 steals today), and hitting key shots.

And if Okorougo doesn't play that too could be a big factor.  All he did in the earlier matchup was score 27 on 12/15.  Ridiculous.

Let Ferdinando and Mulvey cook.  They need to be taking 50% or more of the shots.  I love the patience of both these guys and their willingness to be facilitators.

Still, Trinity is the heavy favorite, Okorougo or not.  Even if things don't go well for the men in green we'll always have the overtime thriller from 2015 leading to the first Final Four in school history.

You know, I don't want AI running all aspects of my life anymore than the average Joe, but with advancements in technology there's just no way a human can do a better job than AI in constructing a tournament bracket.  AI should be used to construct the bracket going forward and a human can validate its accuracy.

Feed it the NPI, mileage restrictions, flight limitations, etc. etc.

There were no egregious errors in this year's bracket, but there were plenty of misplaced 2 & 3 seeds, lower ranked (NPI) teams getting better placements, etc.

Why are we settling for 'pretty good' for no good reason?

By next year the technology will be exponentially better.  Put ego aside and let the computer do the work.  In fact, if anyone hasn't already done so I'd be interested to see what AI would come up with for this year's bracket.

Quote from: nescac1 on March 04, 2026, 05:59:00 PMI realize the top tier vs. the rest category is subjective and may seem arbitrary, but basically the guys I think belong in top tier are either (1) D3 all-Americans; (2) guys who fall just a bit short of that level, but put up nationally elite production at a lower-tier conference or are all-conference level guys at a higher-tier conference, and have at least two years of eligibility remaining; and/or (3) announce with credibility that they have received D1 interest from multiple schools.  Just to share my thought process there ... 

All very reasonable criteria.  Turns out Ferguson from Augustana is from D2 Augustana University and not D3 Augustana College.  I've removed him.  Color me embarrassed.

Another strong candidate (already listed) from the mid-west.  The roster lists him as a junior, but the announcement says grad xfer:

Ty Lenhardt 6'4" G Illinois College

18.7/3.3/1.7

Says he's looking for his MBA.  Hmm, I might know of a school.

Adding:

Alec Mercer 6'0" G  Elmira 10.8ppg  2 years
Roman Richards 6'5" G UW-Eau Claire 2.2ppg 3 years


Transferring from D3:


In the transfer portal (top-tier transfers, the majority will end up on scholarship):

Dan Civello, Colby (two years)
Ray Cuevas, Bowdoin (two years)
Alex Zakheim, Brandeis (two years)


In the transfer portal (the rest)

Matthew Cadogan, Brandeis (one year)
Ty Lenhardt, Illinois College (one year)
Alec Mercer, Elmira College (two years)
Ben Miller, Hartford (three years)
Roman Richards, UW-Eau Claire (three years)
Mikhali Roberts, Principia (one year)
Bryce Shoto, Illinois Tech (three years)
Nolan Waldon, Washington College (two years)
Tajh Williams, Warren Wilson (one year)


Playing a fifth year at current school:


Seniors / grad students of note with (I believe) remaining eligibility:

Jackson Cormier, Wesleyan (injury) (one year)
Alex Lee, Williams (injury) (one year)


Transferring to D3:

Not to step on the great work that Nescac1 does, but while the list is still small I find it easier to check for guys already listed if it's sorted by last name.
If this isn't a good idea I'll go back to my corner and be quiet.

Transferring from D3:


In the transfer portal (top-tier transfers, the majority will end up on scholarship):

Dan Civello, Colby (two years)
Ray Cuevas, Bowdoin (two years)
Alex Zakheim, Brandeis (two years)


In the transfer portal (the rest)

Matthew Cadogan, Brandeis (one year)
Ty Lenhardt, Illinois College (one year)
Ben Miller, Hartford (three years)
Mikhali Roberts, Principia (one year)
Bryce Shoto, Illinois Tech (three years)
Nolan Waldon, Washington College (two years)
Tajh Williams, Warren Wilson (one year)


Playing a fifth year at current school:


Seniors / grad students of note with (I believe) remaining eligibility:

Jackson Cormier, Wesleyan (injury) (one year)
Alex Lee, Williams (injury) (one year)


Transferring to D3:

Ben Miller 6'0" G University of Hartford

3 years remaining.  11.8ppg, but averaged 25ppg over the last 4 when given more minutes

Quote from: el_jefe_90 on March 03, 2026, 12:28:50 PMIn this day and age, I'm not too surprised to see Civello in the portal. That's the nature of the portal in today's world.

Civello had a great year and is looking to possibly capitalize on it. I see a lot of people saying D1 might not be for him. While I agree he may have troubles, there is still D2, which I think he will be fine at. I do think if he is not back at Colby and comes back to D3, I could see him fitting in at a UAA or NEWMAC school. Perhaps Babson could be on the look for him? He's from South Weymouth, 30 minutes from the school.

I think Babson was close with him the first time around.  They had him for a visit.  Obviously I can't get in his head on the decision he ultimately made.
I followed his career pre-Colby and marvel at the work he did to add muscle mass.

It would be foolish for Babson to take St. Joseph's for granted, but I hardly expect that to happen.  St. Joseph's is a formidable opponent, with a high-octane offense.

But the Babson guards have played against strong perimeter defenses in and out of conference.  I don't expect them to wilt.  And it's more than just  Ferdinando and Mulvey.  Logan Murphy stepped in when Begin got injured and is a deadly spot shooter and a better all-around player imo.  Ryan Frauenheim has also provided steady play at point guard and is a tenacious defender.

I expect Babson will play a fair amount of 4-guard sets with  Ferdinando, Mulvey, and Murphy playing 37+ minutes each, and Frauenheim and Fiore providing spot minutes.

Keys for Babson:

O'Toole and Lauder need to avoid foul trouble.  The interior defense gets shaky when they are out.  I'm less concerned about forward matchups than I am with dribble penetration.  Babson is 17-0  when they outrebound their opponents.

Keep turnovers to 10 or less.  I have confidence in their set defense, but they can't give away transitions that lead to easy baskets.

Hit the open 3's.  Babson is 16-1 when making at least 10.  Again, Mulvey, Ferdinando, Murphy, Frauenheim, Fiore are all capable of lighting it up.  Mulvey and Ferdinando are probably going to wind up #2 and #3 for most 3's for a single season in Babson history.  They're also 2nd and 8th in the entire country.

Worst possible draw for Babson.  I could understand going to Tufts, but not Trinity.  And the 1st round will be a tough one.  St. Joe's (ME) just blew out St. Joe's (CT).

Good Luck WPI

No favors to my guys placing them with the overall #1 pod @ Trinity.

Mathematically the 2nd round seeds, assuming chalk, would total around 33.  I realize they can't even things out as well as D1, but Trinity (1) and Babson (21) = 22.  And I realize the math for the first round comes out in Babson's favor with St. Joseph's (ME), who will be a handful now that they've got players back.

But how can you justify Catholic (23) not going to Trinity and Babson going to Tufts instead?  Is it mileage?

Congratulations to the squad on capping off an unexpected, wonderful season with another NEWMAC championship.  The 7th crown breaks the tie with MIT (6) and the senior class matches the MIT record of 3 championships in 4 years.

Tremendous job by the coaching staff developing a roster of 19.

Timmy O'Toole was a fitting MVP with 29 rebounds in the tournament and led a fierce defense.  It's going to be tough replacing the frontcourt rebounding and defense provided by O'Toole and Lauder over the last 4 years.  Both were 4-year starters except for the brief period last year when the focus shifted to a different approach without a natural 5.