They look AWFUL.  Cannot make a shot. All out of sorts.

Quote from: jumbomumbo on March 05, 2026, 08:42:23 AM

Quote from: ImTold on March 03, 2026, 04:44:17 PMI'm Told Scott Gyemesi has a broken ankle

I'm told this is incorrect.

So is he playing on Friday??

I agree with D3BBALL on Civello - I think he is the perfect D3 player given his size and skillset.  Going D1 would be a tough adjustment considering his (lack of) athleticism.  He could become a solid player at the Ivy/Patriot league level I'm sure, but I think he would really thrive staying D3. He's got All-American written all over him.

I don't know what his options are or where he is thinking of possibly going, but FWIW, word on the street is when he went to ask Coach Rutigliano about the possibility of entering the portal to explore his options, the Coach told him if he entered he wouldn't take him back.  Which, IMO, is a WILD move by the coach to not only not support him as a player, but possibly not take back a 6'11" player with his skillset!! Especially given Colby underperformed this year. If that is true, that likely means Civello is as good as gone and also a massive, massive blunder by the Colby coach.

Colby's Dan Civello is also in the transfer portal. Would be a huge blow to the Mules if he left.

I got Trinity over Wesleyan today, 74-70.

Saturday picks (3-1 last week, 41-18 on the year)

Trinity 73 vs Tufts 66 - does anyone know if Gyimesi is fine?
Wesleyan 77 vs Bates 70

Cuevas has heard from the following schools since entering the portal (source: Evan Applebaum, reporter for the Eagle Tribune):

Brown
Cornell
Columbia
Harvard
William & Mary
Bucknell
Boston University
Albany
Quinnipiac
Siena
Drexel
Mercyhurst
Citadel
Mercer
FDU
UC San Diego
Holy Cross

As a D3 and NESCAC fan, it's a bummer to see him potentially leave but looking forward to following his career wherever he ends up.

Quote from: NEhoops on February 24, 2026, 07:33:59 PMGreat insight all around on this.

I think Gyimesi is the front runner and deservedly so.

If Cuevas was to win, it would be 2nd time in conference history that the player of the year was from a team that didn't finish 1st or 2nd (or at least tied for that place) in the standings. Someone can fact check me on that.

I also think the players in contention for Trinity and Wesleyan could ultimately split votes.

There has never been a Player of The Year who's team finished worse than 7-3 and 3rd in the league since they've been tracking it from 2001.  The fewest wins was back in 2001 when Sam Clark was Player of the Year for a Colby team that went 6-3 in league play and was the 2nd seed (Trinity finished in 1st at 6-3 also).  So judging by history, team success most certainly is accounted for by the coaches.

Furthering the point, no sophomore has EVER won POTY and only 6 times has a junior won it (Andrew Olson in 2007, Aaron Toomey in 2013, Lucas Hausman in 2015 and then James Heskett, Kena Gilmore and Luke Rogers in 2018, 2019 and 2020, respectively).

I agree with jumbo - Cuevas is great but not POTY great (not this year at least).

Quote from: NEhoops on February 23, 2026, 01:49:01 PMThe coaches are definitely noticing the play of Gyimesi, particularly after his last two games (against Bates and Colby) where he averaged 23 points and 12.5 rebounds, while shooting 68% from the field. Hopefully he is healthy heading into this weekend.

Regarding a bid, I think Amherst is in good shape, in large part because of their wins against Tufts and Wesleyan. Hoping to see the NESCAC get five teams in!

Beating Wesleyan will be a tall task for Bates. I agree that it will likely be a closer game, partially because it won't be a back-to-back for Bates. They played at Trinity the night before their last meeting in early February.

Bates was on the Friday/Sunday conference schedule this year so their earlier game against Wesleyan wasn't actually a back-to-back.  Even if it was, the back-to-back scheduling is part of the fabric of NESCAC hoops and shouldn't be  used as an excuse.

With about 2 mins left in the Tufts-Colby game, Scott Gyimesi made a great play and blocked a shot but looked like he fell into the basket support on the way down.  Couldn't  tell exactly what happened or what got hurt, but appeared to be holding his knee while on the ground and came hobbling off without putting any pressure on it. I hope he isn't injured and is good to go for next week against Trinity.

Saturday Quarterfinals Picks.  8-2 last week, 38-17 overall.

Wesleyan 78 vs Conn College 69
The Cardinals get their revenge on their only conference loss of the year at home against the Camels.

Tufts 82 vs Colby 72
I'd love to see the Colby upset here, but I think Tufts will be too much for them to overcome.  In the previous matchup up in the 'Ville, Dylan Reilly was lights out for 27 points.  I think Colby will have a hard time dealing with Gyimesi, who has been a Colby killer for his career.  The X-factor in this game could be Theo Pow. Since Marcos Montiel went down with a season ending injury and Mitch Humphrey's minutes seemingly disappearing, he has brought a lot of energy and an athleticism they lacked in that spot to bring a different dynamic to the lineup.  Guarding Gyimesi could be a tough ask for the freshman on the defensive end, however.

Trinity 76 vs Bowdoin 62
The Polar Bears just don't have enough ammunition to help Cuevas against a stacked and experienced Trinity team.

Amherst 69 vs Bates 57
In their earlier game, Amherst went full belt-to-ass and limited Bates to 15 (!!!) second half points to win by 21 points.  I'm sure Coach Furbush will try to make some adjustments but I think Amherst is too deep and too good defensively for a different outcome this time around.

Now that the regular season is over, here are my league awards:

First team
Henry Vetter, Trinity
Jarrel Okorougo, Trinity
Ray Cuevas, Bowdoin
Zach Wolinski, Wesleyan
Scott Gyimesi, Tufts
Sam Pohlman, Wesleyan
Dan Civello, Colby

Second team
Babacar Pouye, Bates
James LaFrance, Conn College
Elias Chin, Amherst
Drew Lazarre, Trinity
Jon Medley, Tufts
Dylan Reilly, Tufts
Elias Espinosa, Conn College

Player of the Year
Henry Vetter, Trinity.  This really comes down to the fact I think he is the best player on one of the best teams in the league/country.  He does everything well and is the catalyst for that team.  It was a toss up between him and Okorougo, but I think Vetter does a little bit more overall so I'm going with HV with JO getting DPOY.

Defensive Player of the Year
Jarrel Okorougo, Trinity

Rookie of the Year
KJ Neville, Amherst

Coach of the Year
Joe Reilly, Wesleyan

For POTY, I could not give it to Cuevas, who is an unbelievable offensive talent but was on a 5-5 team and the 6 seed.  I think there is certainly a team element that is necessary for that award.  He would be my Offensive Player of the Year if the award was given.

The last 3 on the second team could be fluid with other honorable mention guys such as Poulton, Coyne, Watson, Hammond among some others.

My player of the year rankings would go:
1. Vetter
2. Okorougo
3. Gyimesi
4. Cuevas

With one league game left, this is what we're looking at for the playoff seeds and matchups. Seeds 1 (Wesleyan), 5 (Bates), 6 (Bowdoin), 7 (Colby) and 8 (Conn College) are secured due to records and head to head tiebreakers.  Seeds 2, 3 and 4 (a combo of Tufts, Trinity and Amherst) are dependent on the outcome of the Tufts-Bates game on Sunday afternoon.

Scenario 1 - with a Tufts win vs Bates on Sunday
#1 Wesleyan vs #8 Conn College
#2 Tufts (as a result of their win against Trinity) vs #7 Colby (as a result of their win against Conn)
#3 Trinity vs #6 Bowdoin
#4 Amherst vs #5 Bates (as a result of their win against Bowdoin)


Scenario 2 - with a Tufts loss vs Bates on Sunday
#1 Wesleyan vs #8 Conn College
#2 Trinity vs #7 Colby
#3 Amherst (as a result of their win against Tufts) vs #6 Bowdoin
#4 Tufts vs #5 Bates

Weekend picks. 8-2 last week, 30-15 overall.

Friday
Bowdoin 68 at Wesleyan 78
Amherst 72 at Middlebury 57
Colby 62 at Trinity 78
Hamilton 64 at Williams 67
Conn College 75 at Bates 71

Saturday
Hamilton 70 at Middlebury 65
Colby 67 at Wesleyan 74
Amherst 71 at Williams 59
Bowdoin 55 at Trinity 73

Sunday
Tufts 78 at Bates 70

I agree with you SpringSt, and I would also add I can't imagine giving the POTY award to a player that is on a 5-5 team (assuming Bowdoin loses both this weekend. We'll see how the games shake out and can revisit once league play concludes).