MBB: NESCAC

[SpringSt7]

I don't work in Amherst admissions but talent acquisition has not been their problem. Chris Hammond, Ryker Vance, Charlie Randall, Elias Chin, Drew Martin, Will Scherer, and probably others that I can't remember because it's June are players that Williams was interested in in some form or fashion and are players that I have watched and think would have been rotational pieces in the last three years.

From the outside, their issue is player development, roster fit, and scheme. Talent is not an issue

[nescac1]

I mostly agree with SpringSt7 on Amherst hoops. Amherst basketball definitely has more talent relative to its peers than Amherst football over the past few seasons.

The players Amherst brought in during the first two Sears recruiting classes were certainly good enough to compete at the top of the league.  Losing Randall (I assume, I've heard no update since he entered the portal early in 2025), a very high-level recruit, after two years was a big blow as he could have been a major factor as an upperclassman.  The senior class that just graduated had a ton of talent - Canin Reynolds was a guy who originally committed to Columbia but his playing time steadily decreased over time (possibly in part due to an injury issue), Scherer and Vance could be dominating in the paint at times (though again it's not Sears fault that both seemed to struggle with injuries as upperclassmen), and CJ Mitchell was solid.  And the rising senior class also had some highly-regarded recruits.  But the bigger issue is that no one has made a dramatic leap over the course of their careers the way most of the stars in the league do.  If you look at Tufts and Trinity, some of these players who are all-American level guys now had fairly small roles as FYs. 

But the last two years Amherst just hasn't brought in enough dudes: only five total recruits over two years and several of them haven't played more than spot minutes so far.  Only one non-perimeter player in those two classes and he was the Ukrainian kid who ended up going pro before ever attending (maybe just bad luck, maybe something that should have been foreseen, I don't know).

Amherst does seem to have a very nice class coming in next season, and the entire class will need to play big minutes right way, but the roster is going to be very small for the next few years because of those two thin classes back-to-back, even assuming there is no more attrition.   

[stlawus]

Talent development is certainly some of it, but from what I saw in the few games I tuned into that is secondary to the X's and O's, or lack thereof.  Every game I watched Amherst was chucking up bad shots early in the shot clock and committing extremely poor fouls. The substitution patterns were all out of whack and never consistent. No player seemed to really know his role. 

Talent can get you far, but at some point there are diminishing returns.  The loss of Klitschko to the pros was just bad luck I think.  He didn't do much in prep school but he had a really good showing in the FIBA u-19 Euro tournament the summer before matriculating.

[nescac1]

Per BaboNation, Marc Begin is transferring from Bates to Babson.  While one of Bates' most talented players for sure, it didn't really seem to work out for him last year and I imagine he wasn't going to have the sort of role he wanted going forward. 

[D3BBALL]

On Amherst, I agree have watched them a ton, they have/had talent and shouldn't be close to the bottom of the league.
Coaching is their biggest issue. The substitution patterns and changing starters doesn't make a lot of sense. Keeping a 6'10 center, who is not quick and not a shooter 25 feet from the basket never made any sense.
This being said they did beat Middlebury, Williams and had the ball  with 25 seconds left down by 2 against Wesleyan in the quarterfinals. My guess he is on short lease, as many alums are not happy.

[Sabrina76]

I agree that coaching is the biggest issue but I still don't see any mention of Amherst players on all-league predictions.

[Maine Hoops]

Any news on a new coach for Colby or on if Coach Strahorn has found a new job?

[ImTold]

I'm Told that amongst the finalists for the Colby job are the HCs at Clark, Franklin & Marshall, and Gettysburg

[nescac1]

If those are the finalists for Colby, I'd bet on Tyler Simms, who would certainly be a great hire.  A NESCAC alum with NESCAC and Ivy assistant experience, he did an amazing job quickly turning around a Clark program (that I imagine recruits from a roughly similar pool of programs to Colby, but I think Colby is likely easier to recruit to) that was in the absolute gutter before he arrived, and quickly bringing them back to the top tier of NEWMAC.  Clark plays a very fast perimeter-oriented style that would work well with the personnel Colby has on hand, so it would not be a very difficult transition for the players on hand. 

Would also be a smart time to leave Clark, which I believe is having some financial difficulties and probably can't do much better than it has on the court the past few years, realistically. 

B.J. Dunne would also be a strong higher after a great run at Gettysburg, and given his ties to Maine would not surprise me at all. 

Nichay being on the list, if accurate, is pretty surprising to me, he has deep ties with F&M and in NJ/PA and I don't really see Colby as a materially better situation that F&M, which has a stellar hoops tradition and is in the sweet spot of a pretty strong league that F&M is well-positioned to compete in every year. 

[ephoops]

While Dunne is a Bates grad, his wife is a Gettysburg alum who was an All-American on the women's lacrosse team.

[Colby Hoops]

Hearing job has been offered to Belmont assistant Sean Rutigliano.