Re: Middlebury. The Panthers have been garnering less and less attention on the boards in recent weeks (and years). Perhaps rightfully so. Our days as a perennial conference contender graduated with Sobel and have't returned since. It's been a challenging start to the conference season, but between the less than ideal conference record and difficult offensive and defensive spurts, there's reason for optimism.

The pros:
Player development: Coming into this year, it was largely unclear who was going to shoulder the load of offensive production. The senior group (Flaks, Witherington, McKersie, etc.) have extensive experience playing meaningful basketball deep into the doldrums of Winter, but none have been historically relied on to artificially manufacture points or scoring opportunities outside the bounds of the offensive scheme. Each have been positive contributors this year, but from the upperclassman, it's been predominately Cwlanina, and perhaps more surprisingly, Murray, who have developed into dependable and formidable offensive weapons this year. We're all familiar with what Cwalina brings to the table in the form of scoring and outside shooting (believe he gave Emory a run for their money last year), but Murray's been a rarity of sorts in his ability to attack downhill and finish around the rim - something the Panthers have been acutely lacking in recent years. He played sparingly as a freshman and was used to fill minutes his sophomore year (2.3ppg). He's been the most consistent player for the Panthers this year and has clearly come into an identity of his own. These are two guys you can build off. Morrison has also been a bright spot this year.

Freshman: Ducree jumps off the board from a statistical standpoint. He's fearless in all offensive aspects of the game - Goldsmith has clearly given him the leash to hunt for his own opportunities - he takes (and makes) low-percentage shots, and will develop a feel for the game over time that will allow him to turn into a true offensive force. JF has an endless motor that converts loose balls into scoring opportunities and half court defensive rebounds into fast break opportunities. I trust Goldsmith is keeping a few of the freshman in his back pocket until they can develop. In terms of freshman production across the league, I think Midd stacks up nicely.

Offensive capabilities: I can't recall the last time I saw a team make 15+ threes a game with such ease. They have 5-6 players who are dangerous marksmen - the problem has been identifying which is in rhythm each game. The impressive (sometime frustrating) piece is that they all seem to be either (i) collectively in rhythm or (ii) collectively out of rhythm. I suppose that's the sort of team unison that you hope for. Not often can teams score both 100+ points in regulation and follow it up with an uninspiring 60 pt slogfest. The Panthers have an objectively dangerous background, that's deeper than it looks. Rarely does a team bring their two leading scorers off the bench. I was skeptical at first but have come to terms with it.

The bad:
Defense: I originally thought it was effort. But it's not. They try! They just cannot seem to stop the ball from going in the basket. They play as five individuals, each trying, but not as a units. Their rotations are slow and often wrong. They get beat on the perimeter constantly. It's not a recipe for success in the low possession NESCAC games that adhere to the play style of the better teams in the conference. That said, Middlebury has had some great teams in recent years that played generally lackluster defense. I envisioned that Goldsmith would wring this out upon arrival (and am sure he's trying his hardest), but this is clearly embedded into the fabric of the team. Not having a great rim protector hurts them as well.

Consistency: Like I said above. I'm frequently impressed how easy this team scores points - the three point line turns into the land of milk and honey in most out of conference home games. Sometimes, they have nothing going whatsoever. It hurts that regardless of the game, they take difficult shots regardless. That said, I don't think we'll be afflicted with the same offensive plague that seems to have infected Williams.

I do think this team makes the NESCAC playoffs, and I do think they drum up some chaos in the midst of that. They've played the hardest four games (I think) and I think need to go 4-2 going forth - which is doable. A big one this weekend with Williams for senior night - we are firmly in "must win" territory

Quote from: jumbomumbo on March 06, 2025, 01:59:16 PM

Quote from: NESCACBBALLFAN on March 06, 2025, 01:42:39 PM

Quote from: jumbomumbo on March 06, 2025, 01:00:14 PM

Quote from: NESCACBBALLFAN on March 06, 2025, 12:50:46 PMI have played against Teja Singh and he is a great player. But that is ridiculous to include him on those splits and if I was any other guard in the NESCAC I would feel slighted. You have to feel for Alex Lee - had objectively a superior year.

I know it's been touched on before, but looking at tenure across the board, crazy to think that Tufts, Trinity, and Wesleyan will be largely comprised of the same roster. Would be either frustrating or motivating depending on the mental fortitude of other teams (or players) in the conference. That Trinity - Wesleyan weekend on the road has to be the hardest two game stretch in D3.

Singh is great, but agreed. I have played against all these guys and probably you too. I think Espinosa is a great player but there's an opportunity cost here. No James Morakis on first team is strength blasphemy.

Are you insinuating that Morakis is better than Espinosa?

Sure. I haven't seen a guard in D3 with his size, athleticism, skill. He puts kids in a blender

Understand and appreciate the affinity for your alma mater, but Espinosa is a much better offensive talent - and it's easy to be a good perimeter defender when you have two rim protectors inside (I thought I was Tony Allen on the perimeter - turns out Sobel just had 110 blocks in a season). For me it's not close. Don't think Tufts would be much worse if they had a different person running point. Espinosa gone kills Conn.

And if Shane Regan knew what's good for him, he would remained station in Middletown. Outstanding player but much easier to score against 6'2 2/3 than 6'7.

Quote from: jumbomumbo on March 06, 2025, 01:00:14 PM

Quote from: NESCACBBALLFAN on March 06, 2025, 12:50:46 PMI have played against Teja Singh and he is a great player. But that is ridiculous to include him on those splits and if I was any other guard in the NESCAC I would feel slighted. You have to feel for Alex Lee - had objectively a superior year.

I know it's been touched on before, but looking at tenure across the board, crazy to think that Tufts, Trinity, and Wesleyan will be largely comprised of the same roster. Would be either frustrating or motivating depending on the mental fortitude of other teams (or players) in the conference. That Trinity - Wesleyan weekend on the road has to be the hardest two game stretch in D3.

Singh is great, but agreed. I have played against all these guys and probably you too. I think Espinosa is a great player but there's an opportunity cost here. No James Morakis on first team is strength blasphemy.

Are you insinuating that Morakis is better than Espinosa?

I have played against Teja Singh and he is a great player. But that is ridiculous to include him on those splits and if I was any other guard in the NESCAC I would feel slighted. You have to feel for Alex Lee - had objectively a superior year.

I know it's been touched on before, but looking at tenure across the board, crazy to think that Tufts, Trinity, and Wesleyan will be largely comprised of the same roster. Would be either frustrating or motivating depending on the mental fortitude of other teams (or players) in the conference. That Trinity - Wesleyan weekend on the road has to be the hardest two game stretch in D3.

Middlebury drops the first NESCAC showing of the year to Trinity - as a Panther fan, no loss is "to be expected", but I would encourage any aspiring college coach to sneak a camera Connor Stallions style into a Bantam practice and learn how Cosgrove coaches defense. They simply do not get beat on the perimeter - even if they pick up a few hand checks here and there, it ultimately deters the offense from making an aggressive attempt to get downhill. I felt like the moment the Panthers got into their offensive sets in the half court, the possession was a wash - they guard offensive actions so well. The Bantam offense is often stagnant (outside of a few key guys, they don't have an absurd amount of talent), but they are suffocating defensively. Vetter was effectively a non-factor scoring tonight, but the Bantams still controlled from start to finish.

For the Panthers, I think they should look to incorporate an offensive scheme far more reliant on "run-and-gun" principles. That 2019-2020 team was admittedly poor on defensive (that team conceded like 70pts a game), but Farrell and Kornaker were so fast up and down the court it never mattered - they would just beat you down the floor. The back court of Flaks and Joseph are far better suited to get up and down than rely on hard-nosed, low possession games. They rarely, if ever, go into a low post player in the half court, so who cares if you leave one of the big guys in the dust - they probably weren't going to be involved in the possession anyways. I think they need to spend a bit more time in the short corner instead of the paint to clear up some room for guys to get downhill - it's too clogged to drive. I think that, even two years out, the Panthers are still clinging to some (now detrimental) tendencies they developed when Sobel was there. With that being said, I still have the upmost confidence that this team can figure it out - might take some soul searching amongst the players / coaching staff and some challenging "we might just not be a great defensive team" conversations, but there are ways to put makeup on deficiencies. But that is what Coach Brown is best at - letting his players be his players. I expect them to beat a solid Cardinals team tomorrow afternoon (though it's been a minute since we've came away victorious in Middletown - that's a longgggg bus ride back to VT)

Quote from: RollConts25 on December 12, 2024, 12:20:46 AM

Quote from: jumbomumbo on December 11, 2024, 10:23:13 PM

Quote from: NESCACBBALLFAN on December 11, 2024, 09:05:18 PM

Quote from: RollConts25 on December 10, 2024, 11:58:52 PMJust want to come on here and clarify something because a lot of people on here seem to be confused, misguided, or simply aren't watching enough basketball. The best player in the NESCAC is not Henry Vetter, it is not Scott Gyimesi, or any of these other names I'm seeing. The best player in the NESCAC is Hank Morgan. I don't know if maybe you guys don't want to give him the credit he deserves because he gave your favorite team 20+ last year or what, but the kid is the best in the league. I have watched countless Division 3 games this year, probably around 50-75 full games as well as pieces of others, and there is not anyone in the country I have seen that is as good as him this season. Jair Knight of Emory and Toby Harris of Brandeis are the closest I've seen, but I still like Morgan.

P.S. Someone posted the mock NPI rankings yesterday, and Hamilton's only loss this season is to the number 1-ranked team on that list. They also have a 2-time all-league PG who hasn't shot it the way we know he can yet this season, and they're still 8-1. I don't know why they get so much disrespect on this page.

Having played against all three, can assure you that this is not true - though he is a very good player.

I would have to agree. Hank is very talented but also has the pleasure of sharing the court with 2 equally dynamic guards in Singh and Keyhani.  Teams have to choose who defends who when they play Hamilton, and it makes them seem tougher than their record as you can't just take 1 away with out the other 2 having a great night, for many teams. On tufts, scott is the guy in all categories and is the key matchup in that game 100% of times. Also, tufts is better than Hamilton-  another reason I agree with you. Vetter is also the guy on Trin you need to slow down in order to beat them. Hank is still a hell of a player.

Furthermore, "tufts is better than hamilton" yet Hank having great teammates makes it easier for him, but not these other two guys you claim have better teams? How does that make logical sense? Gyimesi is not the leading scorer on his team, and Vetter wasn't last year. This is now the 3rd year in a row that Morgan has led Hamilton in scoring. Including, I say again, on a team that won the league, share of the regular season and the tournament. Not that scoring is everything, I understand that, but if you are talking about diverting the focus of the defense, it seems these other two guys are benefitting even more from diverted defensive efforts than Morgan is. Your argument just seems backwards to me.

I could come on here and say that Gyimesi benefits from having a 6'11 teammate in the starting lineup that diverts attention in the paint on rebounding and scoring, but I won't because I know that it's because he's a great player, and everyone benefits from their teammates in some way, shape, or form.

We will have to see when the new year hits and we get to see all these guys on the same court. I must say, I am excited at the prospect of the NESCAC potentially being a 4-5 bid conference come March, and I get more and more excited the more success I see out of all the teams in the conference. Wish everybody regardless of who you're a fan of the best of luck.

I don't even think that Morgan is definitively better than Singh. Both are great, and probably the best backcourt in the conference (thought I think Trin / Midd are competitive). My opinion of somebody's capabilities as an offensive player are largely dictated by their ability to create a high quality / percentage shot for themselves. Anybody can learn to shoot off a screen / catch and shoot / other off ball action, but when the shot clock is at 6 seconds, are you able to create a quality look for yourself in a 1v1 situation? It is not my intention to create controversy within the Conts. locker room (as I will reiterate, both are great), but Singh is definitely more capable on this front than Morgan.

Quote from: RollConts25 on December 10, 2024, 11:58:52 PMJust want to come on here and clarify something because a lot of people on here seem to be confused, misguided, or simply aren't watching enough basketball. The best player in the NESCAC is not Henry Vetter, it is not Scott Gyimesi, or any of these other names I'm seeing. The best player in the NESCAC is Hank Morgan. I don't know if maybe you guys don't want to give him the credit he deserves because he gave your favorite team 20+ last year or what, but the kid is the best in the league. I have watched countless Division 3 games this year, probably around 50-75 full games as well as pieces of others, and there is not anyone in the country I have seen that is as good as him this season. Jair Knight of Emory and Toby Harris of Brandeis are the closest I've seen, but I still like Morgan.

P.S. Someone posted the mock NPI rankings yesterday, and Hamilton's only loss this season is to the number 1-ranked team on that list. They also have a 2-time all-league PG who hasn't shot it the way we know he can yet this season, and they're still 8-1. I don't know why they get so much disrespect on this page.

Having played against all three, can assure you that this is not true - though he is a very good player.

Joseph. 30. Witherington. 20. Panthers 3-0.

Quote from: D3BBALL on November 18, 2024, 02:06:35 PMInjuries are always going to change things, so will start out that my picks are with healthy teams:

1) Williams, they just have so much talent and if Hansen plays like he did in the first game all year, he will be in consideration for all league. He has so much talent and could be one of the toughest players to guard in the league, bigs shouldn't be able to stay with him on the outside and wings shouldn't be able to guard him down low. Roughley, IMO is the best all around big in the league. But as stated by others they need to get healthy and in shape. If they do, best talent in league, will that correspond to wins, will see.

2/3) Trinity/Tufts - Tufts will be looking for payback and have a well rounded team, can they score consistently from the outside will be the key. They can guard and have size. Gyimesi is a beast and Reilly can get his shot off against most defenders, just needs to be consistent. Key for them will be Morakis, needs to bring it on both ends, but he is so strong and tough to defend. Trinity will be interesting to see how they deal with the loss of Smith, he could defend anyone last year and was their stopper. Do they have that person this year or multiple players to handle what he did. Watching them they went with 3 guard offense, Vetter will be guarded by bigger players, will see how that works. Dorion great defender, look for him and Orokougo to have big years. And Davis is a beast. Wouldn't want to play center in the league the next 3 years. They seem to play a little tougher non conference schedule this year, and last year it was one of the easiest in D3, will be interesting to see how they do before conference play.

4) Wesleyan - If healthy I think Regan will be player of the year, he can score at all levels. As stated above, Lyttle is strong and had a great game, if he keeps that up, they will have 3 headed monster. They get any sort of consistent big play they will be right there contending for the league title. Johnson, well we all know how good he is on both ends.

5)  Middlebury - Health again, Stevens is very good when healthy. If he stays healthy, they will have a shot at all league games. Brennan is a beast down low and can rebound with the best of them in the league. They need a healthy Mckersie and has not been in any of his 3 years so far. They play hard and are well coached.

6) Colby - they can just shoot, which makes them dangerous. Poulton as good as he is a shooter, he is also very smart on both ends. They need their bench to be more consistent as well as their bigs. I think this team is 1 year away from being very good.

7) Conn - tough team to figure out this early. They lost a ton, while Zene is a good pick up, and a better shooter than Murray, he doesn't defend or rebound, which is a huge loss. Their zone will mess with teams, but not sure without the big guy down low, they can shoot well enough to get higher than 6-7.

8/9) Hamilton/Amherst - Hamilton has a lot of good players, I am just not as high on them as others are. Not sure on their depth either, not sure they are strong or tough enough. Last year they had 1 good win (Tufts) from Jan on, rest were all teams they should compete with or win, the loss to Bowdoin was bad. Amherst like others here, is just an enigma. The have a ton of talent, how good it is, will depend on whether the coach decides to stick with a lineup and bench. He is just too inconsistent. Love Scherer, but he needs to play on the block. Seems every time I watch them he is outside the 3 point line setting screens or passing from their as well, doesn't help his game. If he is hurt they are in trouble. I like Hammond, but he has to raise his shooting percentages. But with them it comes down to coaching, its not good.

10/11) Bates/Bowdoin, give the edge to Bowdoin. McGowan is good, just can't do it alone. McBride good young shooter and will see if Rey helps any, but didn't play much the first 2 games, so guessing not ready after taking year off. Cuevas seemed to play well first 2 games, but the team is at least a year away. Bates they play hard, they can shoot some, but they need size more than anyone in the league and more talent.

There has got to be some cognitive bias involved if Williams is still ranked 1 (maybe even moving up the rankings) after this weekend! I would love to have the inside scoop on Declan Porter's status. He changed the dynamic of the Eph's offense when healthy. They were able to execute a "half" fast break style offense - he would just sprint to the opposing three-point line off a defensive rebound and shoot before his own teammates crossed the half court line. McGraw has certainly had a few good outings, and I will look for him to progress. I still feel like Alex Lee is better as a scoring guard than distributor. Hansen had a good first game but interested to see if he has the offensive capacity to be the "guy" as a focal point of the opposition's defensive strategy. Outside of that, I wasn't massively impressed with their offensive aptitude. With that being said, I do say that exact comment every year, and every year they are 20-5 or better. So maybe I will shut up.

Shane Reagan being out for Wesleyan is perhaps the most concerning tidbit from this weekend. He's a lot of fun to watch - good basketball IQ and moves very well off the ball. As impressive as Johnson has been over these last few years, he'll need a host of supporting characters to get over the hump in his final season - especially against a few nationally ranked foes (specifically Tufts and Trin). Not much unexpected to say about them - still very good teams.

Middlebury! I am one of the few that has not forgotten that Sam Stevens was the first rookie to be voted as an all league guy since DR. Still of the belief that he is likely the largest matchup problem in the league on his good days. The ball moved with a purpose on Saturday afternoon and individuals stepped up and made plays. Cwalina is a dangerous guy to bring off the bench. They'll need to improve their post presence (offensively and defensively) going forward.

Darn. Frustrating game all around. Credit to Trine.

I think we can agree to disagree on the Williams and Middlebury discussion, NESCAC1. If Stevens career has been "ruined" by injuries, then Porters career has been decimated to a greater extent. Stevens had 28 and 13 in Midd's first game this year against a very good St. Joes team, and followed it up with a 21 pt performance a few games later before hurting his ankle in the fifth game of the year. He was never the same after that, but still made big plays down the stretch in the Amherst and Maine weekend. We speak fondly of many freshman on these boards (Medley, Begin, Vetter last year, Poulton last year, Lee last year just to name a few). None of their freshman years come even remotely close to what Stevens did his freshman year. When healthy, he is a top three scorer in the conference. Williams is unproven around the horn. Talented freshman are great, but I would bet money I don't have that none will have the immediate impact Stevens had.

With that being said, App is a great coach and the purple elephants play tough. When the going gets rough, they seem to find a way to get going. If Dinkins develops on offense he could be a load - he is already a force on the wing defensively. If you venture down to the end of their bench you are struck by the sheer size of Van Gorp. One would have to think that App would find him a spot near the rim (but the 6'11 senior last year on Williams never really materialized). Oh well. Time will tell. Only 250 more days until basketball season.

Don't mean to jump the gun here, but a quick look ahead to next year. 3-7 are an absolute toss up to me.

1. Trinity. Obviously dependent on what BCG intends to do - as mentioned before, he could garner some low major interest - but Trinity has the distinct advantage of offering graduate programs. I believe Dorion can return as well. Smith is a big loss but they can certainly recover. Primed for another big year.
2. Tufts. Returning all but Dieterle and McClarren. Morakis is good defensively and handling the ball but struggles to get to his spots offensively against taller defenders. Gymesi is an early POY candidate - the outside shooting element of his game emerged late in the season and surprised many spectators (If I was an opponent - Yikes). Champion seems to be the only true perimeter scoring threat (Outside of Reilley, who is a quality player). I wonder if he will remain the sixth man next year and include Medley in the starting lineup. I'm not sure if that makes sense to  me, but Coach Linton looks to have a good grasp on his lineup. If Bernstein matures into a more consistent offensive threat, Tufts could be the team to beat.
3. Hamilton. An interesting down year for the continentals with two of the best scorers in the conference. Opposing coaches did a much better job game planning against Singh compared to last year - having a full year of film on hand helps in taking away his left hand. I expect them to rebound next year. They're very young and have size. Keyhani showed flashes of brilliance from beyond the arc but was derailed by injuries - he is a valuable third options for the conts.
4. Williams. Struggle to see how they can improve on this years unexpected success. I think CPS is the unsung hero of that team and his departure could be problematic. Outside of Lee (who I would expect to be an all conference player next year), the Ephs are losing their best perimeter scorer and playmaker. Shooters like McGraw and Porter (can Porter come back to Williams?) might be able to fill the gap left by Stoddard, but I'm of the belief that teams need players who can create instant offense on their own. I can't point out who that is next year. They will always be solid defensively and on the glass but the offensive woes could continue into next year.
5. Middlebury. A down year as well following the departure of Sobel. The good news is that a slew of injuries allowed young players to make strides developmentally. Joseph consistently paced the Panthers offensively down the stretch - he might go into next season as the primary option. Flaks was impressive in multiple outings, and it always helps to have a seasoned vet like Bobbett off the bench. Cisse graduating hurts them but expect Witherington and Mckersie to fill the void. Cwalina is one of the best young threats from distance in the conference. And lest we forget Sam Stevens - he can be the best player in the contest any given night.
6. Wesleyan. Returning their entire starting lineup. Offensively a very capable team but struggle guarding on the defensive end. I expect Reagan to follow up an impressive showing with another big year - he's one of the few players in the league who can score consistently on all three levels. Johnson impacts all aspects of the game but can hopefully take a leap statistically. Pohlman snuck into a starting role at the end of the year - he's got a good feel for the game but needs to be able to space the floor better at the two spot. Hauser was their best three point shooter - having a four who can shoot especially important to a guard like Johnson. 
7. Amherst. My prognosis entirely speculative. I have few expectations going forward, but know one few things for certain. Scherer and Hammond are their two best players and need the ball more.  Hopefully Garraud can make this happen. This is not an equal opportunities sport, regardless of how hard Spears tries to make it.
8. Conn College. Sweeney is an incredible coach who took a relatively undermanned unit and turned them into one of the hardest teams to beat in the conference, and perhaps the region. They play so hard night in and night out and should absolutely have made it into the tournament in my opinion - I think they could have given teams unfamiliar with their defense a true challenge. With that being said, they were paced by Murray's outstanding play this year and relied heavily on his presence down low. Losing your star five man hurts - ask Middlebury. Espinosa is very solid but teams will be keyed in on him defensively as the no.1 option. That defense will always be hard to beat, especially in New London.
9. Colby. Whenever you populate the court with high level shooters and take 40 3's a game, you can beat anybody. The dreaded reality is that you can lose to anybody just as easily.
10. Bowdoin. Was impressed by Kevin Reeves's performance this year. Most improved in the conference in my opinion. Chilson was one of the best shooters in the conference the back half of the year. Natrel Allen is a physical player with a very high ceiling. And McGowan can flat out score. I would refrain from counting out the Polar Bears.
11. Bates. The young talent exists as well. Begin is a scoring threat from anywhere, and Pouye is a load in the post. Cravitz and Psyhogeos are lengthy, talented shooters. Forget this season and move forward. The future is bright.

Some notes following the Trinity's game last night: Cosgrove and Co have the unique luxury of having a second five that executes a game plan that is both highly effective and noticeably distinct from the first unit. Having watched Trinity extensively this year, I might argue that the defensive intensity from the second group actually exceeds that from the starting unit on many occasions - they close out on perimeter shooters so fast and rebound well for an undersized unit. The opposing team might feel an inherent opportunity to close the gap when the (entire) first unit exits the game at the ~13 min mark in each half, but the second group does an outstanding job quelling whatever hope they might have. This is a big reason why Trinity closes games so well - their starters are well rested entering the final leg. Not many other teams have this ability, especially in the NESCAC.

The backcourt of Lazarre and Berry do an excellent job controlling the offensive pace and McDonald is tough down low - Macarchuk can shoot it on occasion. While the group is certainly more limited offensively, they make enough hustle plays around the rim and generate live ball turnovers to hold their own. This is in contrast to the first units dependence on setting a string of off ball baseline and wing screens for Vetter or BCG.

I'm not sure if I've ever seen the "hockey shift" strategy be so productive. And credit to Cosgrove and Co for keeping the whole team engaged throughout the entire year - having played NESCAC basketball myself I know how difficult it is to keep ~15 young adults in a college setting committed to doing what is best for the team over a grueling 7 month stretch. The depth was apparent last night in a less than superb offensive outing for the first unit - the sign of a good team is being able to win games when your two best players struggle to get it going. Impressive stuff from the mad chickens.

Quote from: D3BBALL on March 04, 2024, 05:15:49 PMVery good weekend for all NESCAC teams and not surprising at all, that all won 2 games. Unfortunately for Tufts/Trinity they have to play for the 3rd time in sweet 16.

Williams has been heading in the right direction for the last 2 months. Beat Trinity in a close one and then lost in a close one. They have the most talent in the league top to bottom. They may have the best shot to get to final 4, they just seem to have someone different step up each game. If Roughley and Karren play well, they will be tough to beat.

Tufts/Trinity should be another close one, will be interesting to see what kind of defense Tufts comes out with. In 2nd meeting they went with box and 1 against Callahan-Gold, held him to 4 points but still gave up 80 points.  They had no answer for Okorougo and got out rebounded by 10. Gyimesi played much better in 2nd game and will need a repeat performance if Tufts is going to win.

Regarding the awards, whether it was the coaches or someone at the conference, the reason to change from 10 to 14, had to be about trying to give credit to players on bad teams and having the awards be shared throughout the teams. I think 100% wrong, it just waters down the entire awards process. Usually, we can argue about 1 maybe 2 selections, this year way more than that. As stated by someone in an earlier post, if anything, they should have gone with 3 teams of 5 players. The first team I don't think anyone can argue with those 7, except whether to be on first or second team, but they all belong. I still think Johnson should definitely be on 2nd team. That would have left 2 spots if only 10 players. All of the rest you can make an argument one way or the other. But to say that because they play on bad teams, that hurts their chances, I would counter it is simply an eye test. And Hamilton had 4 wins and got 2 players. I have watched enough league games this year and I don't believe there is one decent coach in the league that would take Poulton, Schainfeld, Singh, Espinosa, Osher, Scherer over Roughley or Smith or even Okorougo. All 3 do some much more for their teams on both ends of the court than any of these. And if they didn't have to defer to the talent of their teammates, their stats would be even better, it's a simple eye test. While Scherer was certainly a defensive force, offensively he didn't do a lot in conference (and you can argue that is not his fault). But Bernstein then should get a look as well, both are about the same. I might have taken one of them along with Roughley or Smith if it was just 10 total players. But all of the 6 mentioned should not be part of the 14, maybe 2-3, but all 6 it's all about keeping everyone happy and that is not what the awards are about. Both Roughley and Smith are simply better players. Leaving them off a top 10 list is ok, leaving them off a 14 list, is wrong.

Go NESCAC this weekend!!

I have been an avid reader of these message boards for quite some time, and am pleased to say that I agree with roughly 75% of said in any given comment (perhaps a conservative estimate). However, to say that Smith, Roughly, and Okorougu are definitively, objectively better players than the six players in this years second team (and that any "smart" coach would trade one for the other in a heartbeat) is blatantly incorrect. In the case of Smith and Okorougu, their offensive performance this season has been heavily dependent on the emergence of Vetter and BCG as first team all conference players (maybe all region). They command so much defensive attention that players such as Smith, Okorougu, and Dorion are able to find seams in the defense to exploit. If you took these players and put them on the rosters of the Maine schools (where they would immediately be the primary offensive weapons), I would guess that they struggle. I do not think that Smith or Okorougu- both incredible perimeter defenders - have taken a difficult shot the entire year. Roughly, one of the best post scorers in the conference, might also experience a decline in production if he isn't playing alongside Karren. The players on the second team this year - specifically Poulton, Singh, Osher, etc, require far more defensive attention and are still producing. They may not have experienced as much team success, but I am more inclined to respect impressive offensive performances from players who are able to perform when the entire gym knows who is going to shoot the ball as opposed to players who shoot uncontested shots because the primary offensive weapons on their teams are being doubled/tripled.
There is a reasonable possibility that I am absolutely incorrect in my assumptions, as I often am. But to say that the three players you mentioned are objectively better than four 15+ ppg guys on the second team seems to be a miscalculation.