Quote from: nescac1 on Today 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.

Yeah. A lot of us in Birmingham have scratched our heads over it. But... it is a ready made facility for boarding and teaching, with plenty of facilities for physical education. Building something like that from scratch to meet the Coast Guard's needs would be a lengthy and expensive proposition.

From a certain point of view, the old B-SC campus might actually be a square peg in a mostly square hole. There weren't many options for who could buy B-SC, and there probably weren't many options for the Coast Guard getting a mostly ready-made campus up and running quickly. It's not perfect, but it might have been the best of the less than perfect solutions.

Do I still think it's a little ridiculous? Sure.

Was planning to stream Ithaca/Wilkes baseball, but it's paywalled. Too bad

Since it's the offseason and news is slow, I thought I would share this post from Caltech, which really is what DIII athletics is all about. 

Quotecaltechmsoc
Junior goalkeepers Ethan Hamel and Alex Crowley competing in the Mechanical Engineering department's annual robotics competition!

I imagine the Caltech Robotics Competition is like the World Cup of Robotics.  No surprise that the goalkeepers are taking the lead on this one.  The strikers would probably keep kicking their robots until they started to work again 

I 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? 

MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY (Arlington, VA) is looking for one more team to participate in the Pablo Coto Tournament on November 21 and 22, 2026.

Guarantee
Post Game Meal
Tournament Awards
Discounted Hotel Rooms

Please reach out to Chris Rogers (hrogers@marymount.edu / 717-330-7439) if interested.

Early Cac Predictions:

1. Tufts
Hard to see them moving from the top spot. They lose Bargagna, who was an absolute menace, but they return the core of a championship-level squad. With fifth-years Pensky and Antic coming back, the experience and talent should keep them at #1. Dezotell's style of play confuses me a bit, but the overall depth and quality likely keeps them on top.
2. Connecticut College
Haberman and Perugini are magicians in midfield and probably play the most attractive soccer in the NESCAC. The backline pairing of Miles and Hoke is also tough to break down. If they can bring in one or two quality forwards, they could easily challenge Tufts for the top spot.
3. Williams
A bit of a sneaky pick here. If they can connect more than two passes in possession, they could be dangerous. Ruehlman has the tools to terrorize defenses next season, and the backline should be solid. For the sake of the beautiful game, hopefully they tighten up the build-up play.
4. Middlebury
A lot depends on Dugan's health. If he's fully fit, he might be the best player in the NESCAC (hot take). Losing Gonzales and Waterman in the backline is significant, but there's still plenty of talent in the squad. If Harder and Dugan click, Midd could climb higher.
5. Amherst
This group doesn't look particularly special right now. If Nuhu continues to create drama with Serpone, that could hurt the team dynamic. From an outside perspective, Amherst alums might start questioning things quickly. That said, Akanbo is a serious player and Dinzeo is someone I'm personally a big fan of.
6. Bowdoin
Very solid backline, but losing Huck is a major blow that might limit their ceiling.
7. Wesleyan
Quietly solid. If one of the teams above them underperforms, Wesleyan could easily move up the table.
8. Colby
They actually play some decent soccer, but the coaching situation makes it hard to know what to expect.
9. Bates
Huge turnaround from the Bobcats. The coach deserves credit for building an organized and committed group. They lack a true star player, but they could push into the top eight.
10. Hamilton
An average team overall. Hard to see them breaking into the top half of the conference.
11. Trinity
Tough outlook for Bantam fans heading into the season.

Quick Hope vs Chicago comparison:


                                                                       

Offense	% 2pt	% 3pt	% FT
Hope	45.3	36.8	69.5
Chicago	42.7	30.5	72.9
------
Defense	% 2pt	% 3pt
Hope	42.3	27.4
Chicago	39	28.2
------
Rebounding	Team	Opp	Margin
Hope	41.3	34.3	7.0
Chicago	39.4	32.0	7.4
------
Scoring	Team	Opp	Margin
Hope	77.0	55.3	21.7
Chicago	61.8	54.2	7.6
------
3 point shooting	Made/game
Hope	7.8
Chicago	4.7
------
Ball Control	Stl/game	TO/Game	OppTO/Game
Hope	11.4	13.5	19.4
Chicago	7.0	15.2	13.6
------
Ball Control	Asst/game	A/TO	Blks/game
Hope	12.3	0.91	3.6
Chicago	11.3	0.74	4.1
------
Efficiency - points per 100 possessions	AdjO	AdjD	AdjEM
from d3datacast.com	Offense	Defense	Margin
Hope	109.5	70.3	39.2
Chicago	100.4	67.2	33.2
------
Ranking & Prediction	NPI	Massey	Massey Predicts
Hope	7	4	64
Chicago	21	8	59

Or he'll get tired of PJ's persona and mediocrity...

I can't remember where all the conversation was going on a year or more ago when the future of Birmingham Southern was being discussed, so I'll just put this here.

https://joycevance.substack.com/p/bye-girl

"I'm not sure what all Kristi Noem did for the Coast Guard. I do know that she bought a new training facility for them... in Birmingham, Alabama...The facility Noem purchased was a small private college, Birmingham Southern, that went bankrupt about two years ago and has been vacant since May of 2024. The campus has been on the market since then."