MBB: NESCAC

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Babson and Endicott are going to end up being "good" losses.  Obviously you'd like to have those wins, but I suspect both of those teams will be 20 game winners or very close to it.

[JEFFFAN]

ThumannsOwn -

It is burdensome to respond to super long strings so let me offer a few thoughts on Amherst hoops.

Yes, it is difficult watching Sears take an elite program down the tubes.  While I am sure he is a fine man, his hire never made sense ... one of those "hey look he coached at the D1 level so he will be great in D3" hires.  To this day he hasn't figured out that D3 basketball is a guard's game and not a big man's game, so his recruits continue to be mediocre (generously) big men who weren't getting recruited by the Ivies.  It is a formula for failure.

He was also part of a crew that included the since-terminated men's lacrosse coach, the squash coach, and the women's volleyball coach, all hired under the DEI umbrella that Amherst more than maybe every other school in the NESCAC lived under with the prior regime. None of these hires have worked, to say the least.   The current president is trying to reverse the remnants of the latter years of the prior administration's heavy-handed rule, but it takes time especially when the faculty is as deeply entrenched in the DEI culture as the president was.

Bottom line is that the basketball natives, the ones that matter, are VERY restless, as were the football natives. So Sears is probably safe for now but not for long.

[jumbomumbo]

D3Bball, Zene did not play, maybe still recovering from injury? 

ThumannsOwn, pretty crazy re: Rein - Williams is certainly delighted to have him as he looks like he's primed for a great career for the Ephs.  Of course, to be fair that 10th place prediction was only an uneducated guess - after seeing the impact of their newcomers, I'd probably have pegged Amherst a few spots higher than 10th, they probably have more talent right now than Midd or Hamilton.  But certainly not in the top half of the league.  Amherst has not made the NCAA tourney since 2019, and if they don't this year - and I'd be very surprised if they did - we are talking about a 7-year run with no NCAA appearances.  From 2000 to 2019, they missed the NCAAs two times TOTAL.  So yeah, not exactly the level Amherst fans are accustomed to. 

A few other random early-season NESCAC thoughts:

Wesleyan seems pegged about right as a bottom-of-the-top-25 kind of team, playing TCNJ, which is also in that range, dead even after a game one blowout over an outmatched opponent.  Wesleyan has a lot of capable players but no clear star who is going to carry them every game, I'd say.  They do however have one of the top ROTY contenders in Jaalan Watson, an all-state player in H.S. who clearly is utterly unafraid to shoot it and is an elite athlete.  At a VERY generous listing of 5'10 155, he's putting up 13-5.5 in only 16 mpg and definitely is going to be a fun player to watch. 

Tufts, others have already made good points about, somehow this team loaded with talent has managed to lose four of its last five games going back to last season.  I agree with others that the early season schedule has certainly not helped.  I assume Tufts rights the ship and still ends up as an NCAA tourney team, but they've given themselves very little margin for error going forward if they want to end up as a high NCAA seed.  There is no way James Morakis stays on a 7 ppg pace and a return to his expected all-American level would by itself right the ship.  I note that Liam Kennelly has not played through two games, I assume injured, and he is someone who I suspect they really miss - one of my favorite guys to watch in the league, he really raises the energy level for the entire team. 

On another NESCAC note, Trinity's national title run is paying dividends in recruiting, they received a commitment from Rowan Introzzi, a highly ranked, physical wing/guard who looks like he has potential to give them a lot of what they will lose when Vetter graduates, similar profile of player at least. 

I believe Liam Kennelly is out for the year, unfortunately. Definitely a big loss and think he would have positively impacted tufts on both sides of the ball in both of those losses.