Quote from: NEHoopScoutPH on March 25, 2026, 09:31:45 PM

Quote from: D3BALL13 on March 25, 2026, 03:25:10 PMI think Tyler Ackley is someone who deserves consideration for the Colby job. He's done an impressive job rebuilding Saint Joseph's College of Maine into a consistent contender (back to back championships) in the GNAC while also changing the entire culture of the program in just a couple of years. He was also part of a top-5 team at Colby College, contributing to that program's success alongside Damian Strahorn. He has carried the experience and basketball expertise he gained from legendary Nebraska Wesleyan coach, Dale Wellman wherever he has gone and showed that he can make a difference, whether it is in one year as an assistant at Colby or what he has done the past five years at SJC. I know he isn't the "D1" guy but he is most definitely capable of bringing Colby to the next level.

I do think Ackley has done a good job at St. Joe's - particularly over the last three years.

I also think you're overselling the "cultural turnaround" just a bit. In the 40 years prior to Ackley getting the job, St. Joe's had a .672 winning percentage. The coach prior to him went 275-190 (.591) and was a 3x GNAC Coach of the Year. The coach prior to that went 466-176 (.726) and was the league's coach of the year 10x. If anything, Ackley (86-54, .614) has continued the proud tradition of Monks basketball. (Shout out to the old GNAC - anyone who knows about those 2010 through 2019 Albertus teams, plus a couple of unreal groups from Johnson & Wales, knows what I'm talking about).

Now - Ackley's connection to Colby and prior success at Nebraska Wesleyan, in combination with what he's done at St. Joe's, certainly beef up that resume.

I'd expect there to be TONS of interest in the position and hope Colby can make less of a near-sighted decision this time around - that program has everything it needs to succeed for quite some time if it gets the right person in those doors this summer.

You're correct. SJC Maine has always been pretty successful when it comes to having an above .500 record, but with that being said, they have 4 conference championships in the 2000s... those coming in 2002, 2009, 2025, and now 2026. So, you are telling me there isn't a culture change in the program because the prior coach posted a .591 winning percentage and won one championship in 18 years as the head coach. I am sorry, but you kind of just proved my point. Ackley has posted a .61 winning percentage in 5 years and made it to three straight GNAC championships and won two straight. As everyone knows, the GNAC isn't the greatest conference, so you have to schedule tough non conference opponents to even give yourself a chance at a bid, and Ackley has CHANGED SJC's program to have the respect of teams like WPI, Nebraska Wesleyan, Middlebury, NYU, Stevens, and many more to invite them to early season tournaments and build their season resume. If you go take a look at SJC ME schedules prior to Ackley arriving, it is all the Maine teams and respectfully, below average New England teams. It is obvious he has changed the culture to winning championships and not just winning records. No disrespect to the prior head coach as he was a good coach, but Ackley has already done much more for the program in his 5 years than those 18 years prior.

I think Tyler Ackley is someone who deserves consideration for the Colby job. He's done an impressive job rebuilding Saint Joseph's College of Maine into a consistent contender (back to back championships) in the GNAC while also changing the entire culture of the program in just a couple of years. He was also part of a top-5 team at Colby College, contributing to that program's success alongside Damian Strahorn. He has carried the experience and basketball expertise he gained from legendary Nebraska Wesleyan coach, Dale Wellman wherever he has gone and showed that he can make a difference, whether it is in one year as an assistant at Colby or what he has done the past five years at SJC. I know he isn't the "D1" guy but he is most definitely capable of bringing Colby to the next level.

No way they called that!!!!!!!!!

Friday picks for NESCAC teams

Bates 76 Yeshiva 70

Tufts 80 Penn St Harrisburg 65

Trinity 86 Keuka 58

Wesleyan 83 Lehman 68

Amherst 64 WPI 60

Quote from: BaboNation on March 03, 2026, 03:18:31 PMIt 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.

This is a tough game because you know in the back of both SJC ME and Babson's mind is that they have a chance to knock off the #1 overall seed the next day, which is exciting but each team has to focus on winning Friday first, of course.

Babson is a very good team and program, however those guards have not seen the athleticism and length that SJC will bring on Friday. SJC ME has struggled against bigger and more physical teams which I don't see Babson as either of those. They have two of the best players on the floor at all times regardless of who they play in Remijo Wani and Wani Donato, which I also think will be the case on Saturday against Trinity when/if they get through Babson. Then you throw in one of the best shooters in the country in John Paul Frazier (over 40% for his career) and a freshman phenom Davis Mann who had to carry this team with the injuries early in the season. The supporting cast doesn't stop there as Tong Maiwen could be this teams most dangerous player on any given night, knocking down 3s and blocking shots left and right. After making the tournament a year ago and not playing their best against a good Redlands team, I believe they come in more prepared and control Babson throughout the game.

It will be tough, no doubt, but if you have seen this SJC team recently then you would understand. Not to mention, they are on a 17 game win steak with some of those wins coming against Bates, Colby, Albertus Magnus, and USJ twice. Lets get this tourney started!

Quote from: Stickthe3 on March 03, 2026, 09:29:24 AMI 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.

That is insane if that is true from Coach Rutigliano. Give the kid an opportunity to put his name out there for a D1 program and if not then he can come back and be a first team guy next year, unless he made them aware that he would leave them for another D3 program which would be a little different situation, I suppose. However, I don't believe he is D1 caliber, with no disrespect intended because he is a solid player at 6'11. Having 0 impact on the game down low on both sides of the court is an issue, and he just isn't athletic. I thought his freshman year he was on his way to the best player in the conference, but seems like he gained some weight and not much of it was muscle. That being said, he still had a great year, so who knows what he could do with high level training. He should go back to Colby, and pair up with incoming freshman Nolan Ames who is going to be a go to guy for the Mules right away. They could make some noise next year, and by his senior year should be top 3 in the conference.

I believe Babson is in trouble. SJC Me is a bad match up for them. They have to defenders and athleticism to take both of Babsons guards out of the game. Also, All-American Remijo Wani seems unstoppable at this point in the season, and with a supporting cast like his, I believe it will be too much for Babson to handle. Im excited for this match up!

SJC Maine will take on Babson in the first round which is taking place at Trinity. Weird to have the GNAC, NESCAC, and NEWMAC champions all in one pod, but you know what, why not? This should be a crazy weekend as I believe SJC ME can take care of Babson in a hard fought battle and then go to war with the #1 team in the country and reigning champs, Trinity. Can't get much better than March!

GNAC Semis Tonight!

SJC Maine hosts Emmanuel after they pulled off a miracle comeback at Lasell. SJC rolled against Emmanuel in the regular season matchup and I don't see much changing tonight. I got SJC Maine with a win 85-67.

USJ Conn hosts Albertus Magnus in one of the better rivalries we have in D3. USJ handled Albertus in the regular season relatively easily, even though Albertus clawed back a little bit. It is a tall task at USJ but I got ALbertus pulling off the win 82-77.

SJC Maine will host Albertus in the championship. Crazy to say, but I just don't think Albertus can figure SJC out and they will continue to struggle with it in the Championship. ALbertus just isn't discipline enough to guard their offense, although they will cause havoc and keep the game within striking distance. I got SJC with a 89-82 win.

SJC Maine will head to the NCAA tournament for the second straight year and now with experience, who knows how far they could go!

Weekend Picks

Trinity 75 vs Tufts 70

Wesleyan 80 vs Bates 76

Trinity 71 vs Wesleyan 77

Wesleyan gets pay back after last year! Even though they already beat em this year...

Quote from: HotDog on February 25, 2026, 12:14:48 PMAs long as Daniels for AMC is healthy he can really light it up for the Falcons. Division 1 transfer from Jersey City and St Peter Prep in New Jersey Ray Ford is only 6 points away from reaching 1,000 in only two years for the club.  The Falcons have had a very sucessful year thus far despite playing the whole campaign without the services of Siena and Sacred Heart transfer 6-5 Aidan Carpenter who injured himself during their first practice.

So thats what ended up happening to Carpenter? I was curious... so it was a season ending injury?

Quote from: HotDog on February 25, 2026, 12:28:17 PMThe Falcons lost only by three in a barnburner 99 to 96 to the Monks on January 31st without Tazhon Daniels playing after he was wrongfully ejected out of their previous game.  First things first is a quarterfinal game against a semi talented Regis Pride squad .

Well... I was at the game and it wasn't so much a barn burner. SJC maine was up 10-15 most of the game but Albertus clawed back but it was never necessarily close. They hit two bank threes and a half courter at the buzzer in the last two minutes to make it look closer than it was. However, I do believe Albertus is going to knock out USJ and it will be SJC ME vs Albertus in a good one Sunday.

This is a very tough year for POTY in the NESCAC...

There are a few different scenarios and I wouldn't be too mad at any of them.

Wesleyan (Two guys): We have Pohlman and Wolinski, who have both been very good on the NUMBER 1 (!!) team in the NESCAC. Pohlman averaging 13, 6, and 6, while Wolinski is averaging 18 ppg on pretty good splits. We have to remember Wesleyan lost two All Americans from last years squad after making it to the final four. They weren't expected to be top 3 in the NESCAC this year, let alone the 1 seed!!! Either of them would be worthy after what they have been able to accomplish, but I would probably go with Pohlman out of those two. Is this also a situation where it was more coaching > players? Reiley should be a lock for COTY.

Tufts (One guy): However the voting ends up getting decided, Gyimesi should be top two. Tufts was going to be good regardless, but the load Gyimesi has had to carry after basically losing their top scorer even though he is on the squad (Morakis) is pretty impressive. He is the clear go to guy on the second team in the conference and is basically averaging a double double (17 and 10).

Trinity (Two guys): Vetter and Okorougo, who are two very good players and all americans in my opinion. With that being said, they brought back their three best players from their championship team last year and were ranked 1 in the country, and ended with the 3 seed in the conference. Yes, I know the NESCAC is elite, but if you had those expectations coming into the year and end up losing to the 1 and 2 seed, who also have players in the running and are deserving for the POTY then I am not sure how either of them could get it. On top of that, Vetter averages 13, 4, and 3, which I know how Cosgrove does his rotaitions but those just simply aren't POTY numbers. I know Vetter would average 20 on Bowdoin so please no one mention that lol. Okorougo averages 16 and 6 and is an elite defender, so he would be ahead of Vetter for me. Both of these guys would be in the 2-6 range in the voting for me.

Bowdoin (One guy): Cuevas, Cuevas, Cuevas, the topic of the hour. This guy is undoubtably a top 3 talent in the conference and has carried this team most of the year as a sophomore. It is a tricky situation and I totally understand not wanting him to win POTY and vice versa. Would I be mad if he won it this year? No because he has been unbelievebale and is averaging 22, 4, and 3 on 48% FG, 45% from 3 which is unreal, and over 80% from the line. I mean those are crazy stats for a guy on a mid team that has the defenses mainly prepping for him every game. I don't think he will win it because he is young and they will use the logic of he has other chances, which I am not a fan of. In a year with no clear POTY, I don't think you could be mad at him getting it.

With all that being said, I am still not sure who I would go with. I would say either Gyimesi or Cuevas but it is tough this year, obviously.

How about them Bates Bobcats! Huge win at Amherst and are going to take on Wesleyan in the semis. I see this one being much closer then when they played a couple of weeks ago. It looks like they have found a groove, nearly beating Tufts and knocking off Amherst after not many believed in them. Dare I say Bates pulls it off? Probably not... but Wesleyan could be thinking about Tufts or Trinity a little too early and it could happen.

SJC Maine dominated USJ Conn over the weekend with a 84 to 61 win. I will say it again, SJC Maine is a top 25 team but won't get that respect due to their record from the early season injuries. Remijo Wani and Wani Donato are both all American players in my opinion, and this team could make a run in the NCAA tourney barring a upset in the GNAC tourney. They were just too talented offensively and physically dominant on the defensive end for USJ. I think Albertus has the best chance at upsetting them in the tournament as they can make the game hectic with their ability to turn people over and get out in transition, but they would have to knock USJ off in the semis to get to SJC. I think it ends up being SJC vs Albertus in the GNAC chip this Sunday. USJs years of dominance has caught up to them and they have to find a new identity.