I almost never write about who the best players are, because I'm more into who the best teams are. Since Williams is out so early I will give you a perspective about individual players from the opposing team's perspective. In the ten games of league play (who cares how many points get scored against mostly inferior teams?), the best performances against Williams were in no order: Wolinski, Okorougo, Espinosa, and Cuavas. All were really good, and greatly contributed to their victories. Based just on their statistical performances, Espinosa was the best, followed by Wolinski, Okorougo, and Cuavas. The most important player against Williams was Cuavas, simply because he had little help from his teammates. He had to do it all on his own, so our defenders really dogged him. Looking at the league numbers, Cuavas and Wolinski are even in scoring. Okorougo is somewhat below in scoring, but he does so many other things, that he might be the most responsible for his team winning of any player in the league. I like Okorougo for MVP.

Union used to be a NESCAC member. Babson and MIT were both asked, but said no.

Quote from: D3BBALL on January 22, 2026, 08:55:52 PMIf you are the odd team in the league, there is 1 weekend you don't have a conference game. This weekend the teams that travel together play each other, so the odd team doesn't play.

Thank the Presidents for letting Hamilton back in the league.

I know the Eph trip up route7 to Middlebury this Saturday doesn't carry the weight of many other years, but I am still hoping to make the trip, enjoy the great beauty of Vermont in the winter, and chat with Bucket, one of the great D3 people I have come to know. Many have passed on, Russ Reilly, Butch, and others. The experience of the rivalry between the Ephs and the Panthers remains. I once texted Duncan Robinson about the Middlebury game in 2014. He remember every detail of that game. The rivalry remains - though the stakes may not be quite as high this year.

To 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.

Quote from: jumbomumbo on January 13, 2026, 10:16:26 AMAlumni weekend in Medford coming up. Will be great times and hoping to see the jumbos take care of business. Last year I took many shots at Williams, but this year it will just be this one today. They never beat us. Someone please fact check, but I don't think we've lost to them since 2018.

True, the Jumbos have owned the Ephs for the better part of a decade. Ahhhh!

The "odd man out"rotates around the league changing every two years. It started out west at Hamilton and has been through 4-5 schools so far. Hamilton, Midd, Williams, Conn, and Bates. Maybe one more I have forgotten.

Man, that Trinity-Williams game was really rough. A lot of blood was spilled, and a bunch of stitches too! Congrats to Trinity. The Ephs played together, and quite well, except for 6 minutes in the middle of the second half, where more than all of Trinity's lead came from. The Ephs can't play partial games, they're not that good.

I agree with the D3 Datacast prediction of the Eph-Wes game as essentially an even bet. The Saturday game vs Trinity is predicted by everybody on this board as a runaway. I doubt that, and I would point out that in Trinitys' two best years ever, the Ephs have won two of three games. They fell asleep for 5 minutes of their one loss or they would have won that too. Big upset possible?

The Bates loss was initially a bit shocking, but less so when you consider they were off for 14 days. Usually you travel on December 26, have a short, unsatisfactory practice, then practices on the 27th and 28th, and play the next day. Williams has had so many poor games after Christmas with that schedule, I can't count them all. I would write this one off to the schedule and move on. Hopefully, they play better today.

Notice that in situations like this one, most D1 teams schedule a poor D1 or even a D3 team to be sure they don't lay an egg and lose.

[quote author=SpringSt7 link=msg=2148496 date=
The man of the match was sophomore wing Jackson Rein who paced the team with 19 points and 8 rebounds. I know a lot of people are high on his classmate Aidan Yates but I personally think Rein just oozes potential. He was 5-9 from 3 and I think he has future shooting performances like that in his future but his game is so solid, he can get to the rim, he has a little bit of a post game, just very Williams wing prototype that they have not had for a few
[/quote]
There are a number of people close to the Williams program who think Yates and Rein will form an historically significant tandem over the course of their careers.

A couple of comments on Williams. First, D3BBALL had it right that the the Ephs need to avoid injuries. Last year, and the year before as well, the season was severely impacted by injury. If they can avoid so many bad injuries, they should be very good, and very deep. Alex Lee and Hudson Hansen will be the senior leaders. Both had good junior seasons, and look to be improved, based on scrimmages I have observed. Other seniors who will be very helpful, are Sammy Cooley and Isiaha Dickens. There is also a chance that Onyera Chibuogwu, a junior year walk-on will see significant time. Most everybody calls him O, and he has come out this year with fire in his eyes. He is a very tough, explosive guard, who love to play against tough opponents.

Look for both juniors, neither of whom have played many minutes in their careers, to make strong bids for playing time. Tyler Van Gorp is a 6'10" center, who came to Williams with only a couple of years of basketball under his belt. He has improved each year, and now I believe that he could be a strong back up. Matt Devine has been hurt for nearly all of his first two seasons. He seems to be healthy now, and playing great in scrimmages. He is a 6'4" G/F with outstanding athleticism. He shoots the 3 well, and seems to me to be the best 1-1 and 3-3 player on the team. The only question is whether he can play 5-5 as well. To be determined.

There are three sophomores that played a lot last year. Aiden Yates started from the beginning of the league season onward. As a starter, he averaged in double figures, while shooting 41% from 3 and 46% from 2. I see him as a future All League player. Jackson Rein is a 6'7" wing, who had a good FY season, but with many ups and downs, as befits most freshmen. Rein has come back to school very much improved. He is a lot stronger, perhaps a bit taller, with a much improved shot, both from the midrange and from 3. Rein should be a very significant player this year. Justin Belcher, a very quick guard, should play a lot. He shoots and scores well, and loves to play aggressive defense - in his first year, sometimes a bit overly aggressive. The last sophomore that seems to have a good chance to play this year is Matthew Nachamkin, a 6'7" wing with a great shooting touch and fine overall basketball skills. He has looked great in scrimmages.

I'm not going to single out First Year players. As a group, these five are very talented and I expect great things for all of them. There is not a single one that I doubt will be on the court during their careers, perhaps several this year. There are no "program players" in this group.

 I hope, and expect, that Williams will be severely underrated to start this season.

I am worried that all the pundits on this board have gone away. I rely on you guys to spill info and opinions about non-Williams teams in the league. I only know one team - Williams. What about you guys who follow other teams? I will start off by saying that the key to Williams will be good health. They have had very bad health going back several years. If the Ephs can stay healthy, I am confident they will be near the top of the league.

Interesting that even Cosgrove tightened his rotation as the tournament went on. I know that is standard stuff across the basketball world, but it was pretty dramatic even at Trinity. Against NYU, only 7 guys played 10 minutes. I guess some aspects of basketball are near universal.

Defense, defense, defense. Once again, Trinity wins with defense. Congratulations to Trinity and my younger brother, a good player for the Bantams in the '70s. Question: is that a reason for me to want Trinity to win or want them to lose? Ah, Family dynamics.