MBB: NESCAC

[jmcozenlaw]

Beat. Dead. Horse. Revive. Dead Horse. beat. Dead. Horse. Again. Revive Horse. Beat Horse. Revive. beat. Revive. Beat.

This story might never end if real sports don't start soon. I love D-III. I live D-III. I might get D-III put on my tombstone someday........BUT.........my Holiest God (who I went to see, live, at Church today after months of "Facebook Services"........trust me, it's not the same!!), we are not talking about who replaced Bill Belichick with the Patriots, Coach K at Duke nor Nick Saban at Alabama.

Perspective people, perspective. I know that stir craziness has given way to abject boredom but for the love our Lord.........let it rest!!!

[Pat Coleman]

https://www.d3hoops.com/notables/2020/06/amherst-names-new-mens-coach

New HC for Amherst.  Anyone know anything about Coach Sears?

For ephoops' research on the Sears hire - https://www.amherststudent.com/article/amherst-names-four-new-head-coaches-as-college-prepares-for-canceled-fall-sports-season

Curious to get d-mac's sheepish take on the fact that returning volleyball and squash players were part of the hiring process, but seemingly not the hoops players.

Is this because of some other facts discussed and supported elsewhere, or is this a conclusion you've drawn from the fact that the article did not specify that players were consulted?

Some other facts discussed and supported elsewhere.

So ... to revisit this ... not actual facts.

[ThumannsOwn]

. . .

This period of time is very different. There is a better understanding of the virus, protocols in place, and many other things in the "known" category of things that in March were completely unknown. There is also more time to make decisions instead of concern about the very next day as many had in March. There is also an understanding of how shutting things down in March for the rest of the spring impacted institutions, conferences, etc. that many are going to try and mitigate or keep from happening this fall ... so they will make every effort possible to help make things happen this time around. Also, some sports have already started to restart, so there are models and examples out there for institutions to look at including from Europe as they try and make decisions. March, there was nothing to model after.

I am certainly not saying nothing else will shutdown, but I am not of the mentality that suddenly things come to a crashing end because the Ivy League, which has a ton of money in reserves and less influence than others, decides enough is enough. If the SEC or BIG10 had made this decision, I might be of a different mindset. I am not sure we hit critical mass - AT THIS TIME - for things to follow what happened in March. Now, if next week or the following we realize that something has changed with the virus or with infections, especially deaths (though, long-term impact of this virus is the scariest unknown), then things might change including my thinking on the matter. But right now, while some institutions won't have sports or classes or the like, I am not sure we hit a majority or at least a number that forces the NCAA (member schools specifically) to shut everything down.

Heck, I already know of conferences making decisions that are not unanimous by any stretch of the imagination ... the NESCAC being one of them. I do not think this conference's presidents are in agreement this time around.

It turns out that the presidents are in agreement has they have unanimously voted to shut down all fall NESCAC intercollegiate sports. I wish it were not the case but this decision was predictable once we heard from Bowdoin and then Williams. They may have jumped the gun but likely knew that this was where things would end up in the NESCAC.

https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/29455357/source-patriot-league-cancel-fall-sports

[nescac1]

It will be interesting to see what senior hoops players (especially stars on top programs) decide to do.  They are in a really impossible situation because they have to make decisions based on tremendous uncertainty -- there may be no hoops season at all, something resembling a full (albeit likely somewhat delayed) season, or a half season, there may be a NESCAC tournament, or not, an NCAA tournament, or not, and if there is an NCAA tournament, there is no guarantee NESCAC will participate.  Some of bigger / more athletic players may be able to parlay a fifth year of eligibility into playing at a D1 grad school (thinking Rogers, a healthy Grant Robinson, maybe Eastman, Che, or Farrell, among probably a few others, though none of them are sure things), so that is an incentive to return even if they end up not playing a full season.  Unlike a sport like football, you have to push your life back an entire year if you want to aim for returning in the 21-22 season, not just a mere few months.  It's an incredibly hard decision, and it will be interesting to see what players decide to do, and if they decide to act in concert together.   

Tufts, Amherst and Midd in particular all have absolutely loaded senior classes, three of the better aggregate senior classes we've seen in recent years in NESCAC, and it would stink for any of those groups to forego a run at a NESCAC title / NCAA appearance, but there are real risks / unknowns with whatever decision the players might choose.  I feel especially bad for the Tufts players, who lost a chance to compete for the national title when the NCAA tourney run was stopped due to COVID.  Anyone here any word on what players are likely to decide? 

[ephoops]

IMHO ... I do not believe that current players should have any part of a coaching interview process in any sport.  Not enough perspective.   

JEFFFAN - I respectfully disagree.

After my junior-year season Williams (several years ago), I was part of the search committee for the hiring of the new hoops coach.  My fellow co-captain and I reviewed all the resumes in the initial applicant pool, participated in all meetings of the search committee and participated in all the on-campus interviews.

It was an invaluable learning experience for me.  I believe that my fellow co-captain and I added value to the process conducted by the search committee.

[JEFFFAN]

EPHOOPS - I agree with you in general and respect your sentiments.   The intent of having current players involved to provide a different perspective makes good sense.   I admit to being jaded because Amherst did this with this year's lacrosse hiring process and the school disregarded every view and perspective offered by the team.   In that case, inclusion of the team members backfired.    I am glad to hear that your experience was a positive one.

[ronk]

Question for Middlebury grads in particular or NESCAFers  generally:
what does a prospect's announcement(my commitment to the admissions process @ Middlebury) mean?
Is it: If I'm admitted, then I accept? If so, what's in it(the commit) for the prospect? Does it afford the prospect an advantage in getting admitted if admissions know they'll accept?(something akin to early decision)

[ephoops]

Question for Middlebury grads in particular or NESCAFers  generally:
what does a prospect's announcement(my commitment to the admissions process @ Middlebury) mean?
Is it: If I'm admitted, then I accept? If so, what's in it(the commit) for the prospect? Does it afford the prospect an advantage in getting admitted if admissions know they'll accept?(something akin to early decision)

Ronk,

My daughter played lacrosse at Midd.  In early July after her junior year of high school, the wlax coaches met with admissions to review her academic file.  Admissions notified the coaches that if my daughter applied to Midd she would be accepted.  She applied early to Midd. She was also a high school All-American as well as a very good student.

I assume the current process is similar to when my daughter applied.  A prospect who says he/she is "committed to the admissions process at Midd" is a recruited athlete whose file has been reviewed by admissions and will be admitted to Midd if he/she applies.  Coaches strongly encourage recruited athletes to apply early decision.

[ronk]

Question for Middlebury grads in particular or NESCAFers  generally:
what does a prospect's announcement(my commitment to the admissions process @ Middlebury) mean?
Is it: If I'm admitted, then I accept? If so, what's in it(the commit) for the prospect? Does it afford the prospect an advantage in getting admitted if admissions know they'll accept?(something akin to early decision)

Ronk,

My daughter played lacrosse at Midd.  In early July after her junior year of high school, the wlax coaches met with admissions to review her academic file.  Admissions notified the coaches that if my daughter applied to Midd she would be accepted.  She applied early to Midd. She was also a high school All-American as well as a very good student.

I assume the current process is similar to when my daughter applied.  A prospect who says he/she is "committed to the admissions process at Midd" is a recruited athlete whose file has been reviewed by admissions and will be admitted to Midd if he/she applies.  Coaches strongly encourage recruited athletes to apply early decision.

Thanks - sounds like the commitment by the prospect means that the prospect will proceed with the process(apply, receive that  admission offer, and accept). IOW, the prospect will be going to Midd barring unforeseen happenings.

[nescac1]

Pretty snazzy hoops newsletter from Conn College, including announcing all of the incoming recruits (all but one of whom were previously posted here):

https://spark.adobe.com/page/Z0yYZPsHDd2K7/

Conn is certainly bringing in a lot of talent (three players ranked in New England's top 150, the most of any D3 program, only Williams also has more than one) and size (6'10, 6'9, 6'8, 6'7, 6'3, 6'0). 

[JEFFFAN]

Conn College starting to take hoops seriously - good for them!   Nice to see newcomers climb the ladder in terms of competitiveness.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Conn College starting to take hoops seriously - good for them!   Nice to see newcomers climb the ladder in terms of competitiveness.

"Starting" might be but of an overstatement.  Didn't they make a Final Four in the '90s?

[nescac1]

They did in I believe 1999 under Glen Miller (the head coach in waiting at St Joe's, man that's some coaching staff).  The middle of a 5-6 year really strong run.  But soon thereafter, he left and they've since been a nearly 20 year **** show.  Several different coaches, loads of good players ditching the program after a year or two, and the last three years or so they've been painfully inept.  But Sweeney has been bringing in big time players from day one (including very late cycle recruits after he was hired in late Spring 2019).  They are definitely on the rise.  I'd say that Williams, Colby and Conn have brought in the most young talent of any Nescac schools over the past two years.  Bates, Tufts, Trinity and Hamilton, really solid classes too.  There could be a fairly dramatic changing of the guard in Nescac as soon as the 21-22 season. 

[SpringSt7]

Barring any catastrophic changes in approach and support, I'd be hard pressed to believe there will be a serious changing of the guard anytime soon. Although I suppose you could make the case that that is what is happening at Amherst, I just think them and Williams will always be poised to compete at the highest level more consistently than the rest of the league. With that being said, we always see other schools pop up and put together a few nice runs---such is life in a high academic conference with such deep pockets.

For example, in the last 6 seasons we've seen Hamilton advance to the Sweet 16 twice, Colby come a 40 foot prayer away from winning the NESCAC, Trinity and Bates playing against each other in the Sweet 16, and an additional 2 Sweet 16 appearances for Tufts, one of which could've continued had it not been for COVID. However, in that same time frame, Williams and Amherst also made two more Final Four appearances.

I'm sure plenty of teams will continue to make runs like that in the future, Conn potentially being one of them. But I'm going to need to see a pretty big sample size before the league changes hands.

[nescac1]

It's impossible to project the future, especially right now with, really, two very uncertain seasons coming up (including who decides to take a year off, etc.). 

Amherst has a huge recruiting advantage, I agree, given the history of the program and the profile of the school itself.  But even with that advantage, and even with a legend like Hixon in charge, the trajectory of the program has certainly trended down since the 2003-2016 period, during which Amherst was a legit national title contender more years than it was not.  From 2003-2016, two national titles, 5 NESCAC championships, in the NCAA tourney all but one injury-jinxed year, five more final four appearances, several other deep tourney runs, two national POYs.  That's just a ridiculous run of success over a 14-year period. 

From 2017-2020, one NESCAC title, two years in the NCAA tourney (two years out), only one 20-plus win season, one first round loss and one round of 16 loss, and no first or second-team all-American players (I believe).  That's a pretty dramatic difference.  And now, there is a new coach who the Amherst folks seem pretty meh on, he may work out great, but the odds of duplicating Hixon's success for ANY coach are very slim.  Will he hold as much sway with the administration over recruiting as Hixon did, for example?  Seems unlikely.  And hard to top Hixon's ability to get his teams to rise to the occasion in the post-season.  Moreover, last two recruiting classes, unless there are guys we haven't heard about, have brought in only five total recruits, most of whom look like good players but none of whom are hyped at the level of Amherst star recruits of previous era.  If there was an Olson or Toomey type, or even a Connor Greene, waiting to emerge, I would think the Amherst fans would have been talking about that guy a bit more.  Not to say that a young Mammoth won't turn into a superstar, but none of the Amherst underclassman has made a consistently big impact as of yet. 

Now, Amherst is still loaded for whatever this season looks like -- the senior class is one of the best anywhere, especially if Grant Robinson is back to full health.  But after that class graduates, there are a lot of question marks behind them, which is very much compounded by a new coach, with a new system, who may not see some of the guys he inherited as entirely part of his plan ... compare that to say Colby, which is coming off an appearance in the NESCAC title game, has two straight NESCAC ROYs around for several more years, brought in I think ten total recruits (many high-caliber) over the past two years, has a coach who now knows exactly the type of guys he needs to bring in to make his system work, and now has arguably the best (certainly one of the best) athletic facilities in all of D3 to draw in recruits.  Right now, I'd rather be Colby hoops for the next 5-10 years ...