MBB: NESCAC

[nescac1]

Yeah, I think Trinity probably has the most upside but is also relying on a ton of young (albeit high-end) talent.  To me, Wesleyan is the safest bet, since the guys they lost have obvious replacements on the roster.  I don't see any Nescac teams as pre-season top ten squads this year, more like three closely grouped in the 10-25 range.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Yeah, I think Trinity probably has the most upside but is also relying on a ton of young (albeit high-end) talent.  To me, Wesleyan is the safest bet, since the guys they lost have obvious replacements on the roster.  I don't see any Nescac teams as pre-season top ten squads this year, more like three closely grouped in the 10-25 range.

I did my ballot last night.  There are not very many strong teams bringing a lot back.  It gets quite speculative after five or six teams.  Anybody's guess at that point.

[Titan Q]

Thanks, everyone.

If I have one spot for Tufts or Amherst, any thoughts? Seems to me Amherst has a bit more coming back.

[D3BBALL]

Agree that no NESCAC team is probably a top 10 team to start the season (doesn't mean 1-3 won't be voted in top 10 to start the season), just too many main players missing from Tufts, Wesleyan and Trinity. I do think a NESCAC team or multiple will be serious top 10 teams by early January.
Wesleyan, Tuft, Trinity, and Bates would be my top 4. With Bates, Pouye has to stay healthy and play more consistently and to his potential. Include Amherst as well, but they lost a couple of players that were very key to their success, need to see them duplicate what they did last year. Then not in any order Williams, Middlebury, Colby. Bottom 3, Bowdoin, Hamilton & Conn not in any order either.

[SpringSt7]

Wesleyan is the clear 1 to me although it's not by a lot, I think they just have the least question marks. I would go Tufts 2 Trinity 3 and Amherst 4.

[Titan Q]

Thank you!

[nescac1]

About half the NESCAC teams have rosters up.  A few notes:

https://bantamsports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster?sort=class - two of the FYs from Trinity's highly touted incoming class ended up not joining the team, the big guy who was previously reported as ending up at URI, and Prosper Sonkoua, a wing from New Jersey.  They still have five highly regarded FYs in a loaded class, several of whom should make an immediate impact. 

https://camelathletics.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster - Conn College as expected loses a ton of guys.  They do bring in Max Portnoy and Jon Nalty, both of whom started last year for Begly and should at least help with depth issues.  Still, it's certainly looking like a few years of rebuilding ahead for Conn given all they lost in the off-season.

https://colbyathletics.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster - while Colby did suffer a huge loss to the portal, and of course has a coaching transition, they do return most of their roster, bring in a solid FY class, and also bring in three transfers to help right away ... Miller, Johnson, and Catchings.  Colby still has plenty of solid talent and looks very deep, and should remain a fairly strong, middle-of-the-pack NESCAC team, despite all the transition. 

Tufts and Williams both have rosters posted as well, but with no real surprises for either. 

On a non-roster note, Williams started a page for its forthcoming half-billion dollar athletic complex:

https://www.williams.edu/athletics-recreation-complex/about/

It's over four years away from completion, but in a few years they can at least start pointing recruits to it being on the horizon.  It will include an entirely new basketball arena.  It looks absolutely massive on the map, and will be in an ideal location at the base of Spring Street, right across from the still new-ish football complex and also near the Williams Inn and across from an existing huge parking lot.  Once this is done, Williams will go from among the very worst indoor athletic facilities in the conference to perhaps the best (or maybe second-best after Colby, but certainly top two), which hopefully makes a big difference for winter sports in particular.  I hope the hoops arena is built with the fan experience in mind, ideally with four sides of spectator seats packed in close around the court to create a real home court advantage. This really should have been built a decade ago, but better later than never!   

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Portnoy was definitely the most impressive player for Washington College last year.  Not sure he's going to be a noticeable presence in the NESCAC, but he's solid.

[nescac1]

Class of 2031 recruiting update.  So far, Midd (in particular) and Tufts seem to be doing well. 

Amherst
LJ Reddicks, 6'5 F, Peddie School (NJ)

Bates
Thomas Behrmann, 6'1 G, Tilton School

Bowdoin
Zach Fallquist, 6'5 W, Green Farms (CT #34)
Freddie Bacon, 6'2 G, Northfield Mount Herman

Colby
Ben Edmonds, 6'1 PG, Episcopal (VA)

Conn College
Jake Reardon, 6'5 G, St. Paul's

Middlebury
Jack Millward, 6'4 G, Rivers School (MA) (MA #46)
Isaac Walsten, 6'8 F, St. Albans (D.C.)
Raul Cruz, 6'1 G, Noble and Greenough (MA #48)
Jake Wright, 6'4 G, Kiski Prep (PA)

Tufts
James Brenner, 6'7 W, Germantown Academy (PA)
Connor Noel, 6'7 W, Milton Academy (MA #40)

Wesleyan
Timmy Dennis, 6'9 F, Choate

Williams
Izzy Wane, 6'5 G/W, Austin Prep (MA)
Declan Beckette, 6'3 G, Iolani School (HI)

[nescac1]

Strong showing for Nescac in the D3 hoops top 25.  This year, after the top few is anyone's guess, but these all seem reasonable, if perhaps erring slightly on the high side, to me:  Wesleyan 9, Trinity 11, Tufts 14, Amherst 21. 

[Patrick Coleman]

When looking at who is coming back for the other top teams, it's pretty similar across the board. Not many teams aside from the top handful that a voter can have great confidence in.

[Stickthe3]

Class of 2031 recruiting update.  So far, Midd (in particular) and Tufts seem to be doing well. 

Amherst
LJ Reddicks, 6'5 F, Peddie School (NJ)

Bates
Thomas Behrmann, 6'1 G, Tilton School

Bowdoin
Zach Fallquist, 6'5 W, Green Farms (CT #34)
Freddie Bacon, 6'2 G, Northfield Mount Herman

Colby
Ben Edmonds, 6'1 PG, Episcopal (VA)

Middlebury
Jack Millward, 6'4 G, Rivers School (MA) (MA #46)
Isaac Walsten, 6'8 F, St. Albans (D.C.)
Raul Cruz, 6'1 G, Noble and Greenough (MA #48)
Jake Wright, 6'4 G, Kiski Prep (PA)

Tufts
James Brenner, 6'7 W, Germantown Academy (PA)
Connor Noel, 6'7 W, Milton Academy (MA #40)

Wesleyan
Timmy Dennis, 6'9 F, Choate

Williams
Izzy Wane, 6'5 G/W, Austin Prep (MA)

Conn College just got a commitment from Jake Reardon, 6'5 W, St Paul's (NH)

[nescac1]

It was kind of fun watching the Knicks-Pistons game, where Duncan listed Williams College as his alma mater in the lineup intros, and then Ed Flynn successfully flagged for challenge a call where a ball grazed off Duncan and went out of bounds.  And it made me think about just how crazy the Williams NBA presence has become.  I'm sure it's much bigger than all but a small handful of D1 schools at this point, to the point where it could even be a selling point for recruits.  All the Williams folks I know of with current NBA ties:

Focused on hoops side:

Duncan Robinson, Pistons guard
Rafael Stone, Rockets G.M.
Will Hardy, Jazz head coach
Ed Flynn, Knicks assistant coach
Nate Karren, Warriors video coordinator
Cole Teal, Hornets scout
Mike Greenman, assistant coach Windy City Bulls (and also U. of Oklahoma) and former video coordinator for Chicago Bulls

Strategy/legal/management:

Fola Folowosele, NBA Africa VP (country head Nigeria)
Alexandra Roth, VP and Assistant General Counsel, NBA League Governance & Policy
Kallie Saudek, Wizards strategy coordinator
Arianna Gerig, NBA basketball strategy and operations manager