MBB: NESCAC

[toad22]

I have no issue with Cuevas but the more time goes by the more strongly I feel about Vetter POY. We can pretend like that Trinity team is absolutely loaded with offensive talent but it really isn't. Ayles and Davis are nice role players but nothing more yet. We talk Lazarre up a lot and he's probably worthy of a 2nd team all league spot but that is more defense than offense. Neither he or Okorougo make anyone better offensively or really make the defense work. Vetter is the straw that stirs the drink offensively, sets their entire tone as a leader, etc, two year captain. Has the ball in his hands at the end of the game and is the most likely to come through (see: national championship winning 3 with 10 seconds remaining)

He is my POY and it really has nothing to do with Cuevas or anyone else. I just think he is the most deserving and the best player

Vetter for POY is probably the choice of fans who believe that the most important player on the best team should get the award. He is the obvious leader of Trinity, and a very fine player, on one of the best, if not the best team.

[quicksilver]

Ray Cuevas announced on X a short while ago that he has entered the transfer portal . .

[nescac1]

Huge blow for Bowdoin. What a bummer. But he has earned what will surely be a full ride.  I guess D1 coaches will have the final word on the interminable Cuevas debate! 

[lumbercat]

There is strong mutual interest from at least 2 Ivy League schools at this point but the list will probably grow.

[booyakasha]

This was an embarrassing season from The Colby Mules.

Not the players at all, nor really the new coaching staff, but a complete embarrassment from the administration, new athletic director, and basketball related donors propping up the new facility and exerting influence on the administration.

President Greene and Colby hired a new athletic director, Amanda DeMartino, in the summer/fall of 2024. DeMartino came to Mayflower hill with a recent accolade as AD of the year while at The College of New Jersey. What I learned is over the course of the 2024-2025 year, DeMartino had two meetings with Strahorn - one friendly introduction at the start of the season, and one two months after the season asking him to step down due to performance related issues. Even though he had a year on his contract left, the administration tried to have him step down and not be paid for the remaining year. Once the word was out the admin was going in a different direction, Strahorn faced the impossible task of fighting and risking his contractually obligated payments over some drawn out process. I don't blame him for settling and getting paid what he was owed on the contract.

Waiting until two months after the season to backstab your coach (an alumni and well respected among his 14 classes of players he coached) essentially forced him to the sidelines of the 2025-2026 season as all the hiring had come and gone. This treatment taints and lessens the position of coach of any sport at Colby College.

Then comes the incoming hire, an up and comer Rutigliano, who I know nothing about personally, but am told has no connection to the area. I suspect this will be a steppingstone job for him. My guess is the minute he sniffs any success that comes close to the 2019-2020 season Strahorn had, he will be off for greener pastures. That season Colby went 24-4, lost in 2OT in the Nescac championship with their All American on one ankle, and lost in the first round of the NCAAs. After that performance, Strahorn could have taken any pick of jobs climbing the coaching ladder - but he did not, he remained committed to Colby and enjoyed another 5 years of success, including another Nescac Finals appearance, in the face of long odds being in Waterville and the Nescac.

The first four years of Strahorns Colby tenure were rough... he got handed a dumpster fire from Whitmore, but built the program up to a level of respectability and was consistently the best team in Maine over his last 10 years. Maybe most importantly to some alumni was Strahorn's 25-12 record against rivals Bates and Bowdoin over his last ten years, never dipping worse than 2-2. Rutigliano went 1-3 this year and was handed off a lot of talent from Strahorn.

Word got back to some of the younger alumni upset with the way the school treated Strahorn that some of the deeper pocket donors had the ear of the administration. When Whitmore retired, there was a split between the younger alumni backing Strahorn and the older a different candidate. We heard that it played a role in ultimate outcome to let Strahorn go.

I suppose it's no surprise that money talks. But shame on you President Greene, AD DeMartino, and the basketball alumni involved for going about it the way they did and waiting two months after the season.

The irony is the results they got after claiming performance was the issue... a mediocre 16-9 record, but 4-6 in the Nescac during a down year for the depth of the conference (WIL, HAM AND MIDD STUNK!) and being unceremoniously dispatched in the quarterfinals. I guarantee you Strahorn doesn't go 1-3 against Bates and Bowdoin and 4-6 in Nescac with the roster as talented and deep as Colby had this year... I also heard the team may have included one more top 5 scorer in the conference (a transfer who was accepted at Colby but went elsewhere once the coaching situation became muddy).

As an alum, I am worried for the program, ashamed of the administration, and saddened by the treatment of my friend Damien Strahorn.

End Rant

[D3BBALL]

Not a Rant at all. Very good post. Not sure anyone has posted all the info you just did.

Colby was probably my disappointing team in the league. I thought with their talent, they could have been a top 4 team. When the season started with the exception of Tufts and Trinity, I think 3-11 were pretty wide open. Preseason I think you could have stated that Colby had 2 players for 1st team or really close. In the end Civello 2nd team from me, and Poulton, not on either for me, was inconsistent and might be because he took by far the fewest shots of his career about 80 less than his Sophomore and Junior seasons. Your best offensive player, so not sure how much sense that makes. Civello averaged 4.4 rebounds/game in 17 minutes per game as a freshman and averaged 5.7 rebounds/game in 27 minutes per game this year. Zero rebounds in 27 minutes against tufts in quarter finals. That is just as much on the coach as it is the player. Hinman numbers all down from last year as well. Some freshman played well, will be interesting to see how they develop going forward.

Whenever there is a coaching change, you have to feel for all the players. Just don't know who the coach wants on the team and who he doesn't etc. I just didn't see a team that was anywhere better in coaching from the year before. Their offense was a little worse their defense was a little better. But as you say new coach, have to give him time and not his fault. But next year's Juniors and Seniors, watch out as he will be wanting to prove that his incoming class is good enough to play and play right now.

Colby has a D1 athletic type facilities, but they are in Maine, so harder to be in the mix with other schools recruiting wise. Almost like BC in the ACC, just tough to get kids to come up to the NE area if they want to play in the ACC.

Strahorn, IMO got a bum deal. I thought he was very good on offense, not so good on defense, pretty good at the end of games. But if I had to list him at the end of last year, with the talent he had, I would put him anywhere from 4-7 best coach in the league. Why they just didn't fire him at the end of March makes no sense. Almost like she was out looking for someone and wasn't going to do it until they had a person in mind, then they wanted the money too. The President had to know this as well, which makes the Admin look really weak. Even if you were someone that didn't like him as a coach and wanted him fired, I would bet most of those would agree this was handled poorly. Shame on the school, the AD and the President. Forget just for coaches, if I was a teacher I would be worried how they might force me out. Not sure how any potential coach for any sport would want to take a job at that school knowing the way the AD and Admin handled this situation. Again, this is hearing one side of the story, but if Strahorn got his money, hard to think any of this was wrong. From what I was told the players liked him as a coach, and the majority did not want him let go. My guess and just a guess the AD wanted him gone, went to the President saying the program could do a lot better, and with the idea she could get the school out of paying the money. It didn't work, he hired a lawyer and the school was going to look bad, so they settled and he got all or most of his money.

As you stated there are a number of other teams in the NESCAC that would have liked to have his record the last 5 years and the number of players that received awards during that time as well.  5 schools in the last 9 years have not made it to the NESCAC finals, his teams made it twice.

Hopefully he finds another spot and is given a chance. Seemed like a good person. I met his dad or father-in-law at a game last year, and I think they said he had just bought a house in the area, shame.

[Stickthe3]

Cuevas has heard from the following schools since entering the portal (source: Evan Applebaum, reporter for the Eagle Tribune):

Brown
Cornell
Columbia
Harvard
William & Mary
Bucknell
Boston University
Albany
Quinnipiac
Siena
Drexel
Mercyhurst
Citadel
Mercer
FDU
UC San Diego
Holy Cross

As a D3 and NESCAC fan, it's a bummer to see him potentially leave but looking forward to following his career wherever he ends up.

[nescac1]

That's a very impressive list after only one day in the portal for, what, the sixth best player in NESCAC !  Sorry, could not resist ...

Harvard makes a lot of sense for Cuevas.  He's from the north shore.  He torched basically this same roster when they played last year.  They are a strong team in the Ivy who potentially returns four starters (losing a starting guard, so a hole on perimeter) from a team that only played six guys significant minutes (now five with one injured) all season and has almost no shooting off the bench. 

Seems like a place where he can go and right away be the 5th / 6th / 7th guy, play as a needed instant-offense combo guard on an already-competitive team.  Plus, I mean, it's Harvard ... and anyone who can cut it academically at Bowdoin can do the same there.

[SpringSt7]

It was smart of Cuevas to enter the portal as early as possible. A lot of that list is likely due to the fact that so few other D1 players are in there yet. Not that he couldn't play at those schools but if a high academic dude enters the portal on February 25th he's going to get a lot of calls.

[Greek Tragedy]

Amherst is down to At-large 18.   

[nescac1]

Interesting Greek.  Checking in on NESCAC teams headed to the NCAAs:

Trinity is two overall in NPI, already a lock to host for the first two rounds and I think one more win vs. Tufts locks them in as a top seed hosting throughout the tourney (and honestly probably already a lock for a top seed no matter what).

Tufts is number 7 and Wesleyan number 8.  I think both are probably locks to host a pod at this point regardless of what happens tomorrow.  Two wins this weekend for either could conceivably put either in a position to host until the final four, but I think a few teams ahead of them would have to lose for that to happen.  Still, NESCAC having three first-round hosts (almost surely) is impressive.

Bates is at 26 overall, currently at large number 12.  I don't think a loss to Wesleyan hurts them very much at all and they should be a lock to make the tourney.  Probably would need two wins this weekend to potentially host a pod, even that probably does not do it.  But have a good shot at being a "2" seed in a pod.   It will be only Bates' second tournament, after making it all the way to the Sweet 16 in 2015.  By the way, is anyone better at hiring coaches than Bates?  Jeff Brown, Joe Reilly, Jon Furbush, not too shabby for the last three head coaches!  And going way pack, future Williams AD Bob Peck. 

Amherst is the one who has to worry at 32 overall, at large number 17 (Greek I think they are 17, not 18?).  The winners of Carthage-Elmhurst and Virginia Wesleyan-Roanoke almost surely move ahead of them.  So that puts them down to 19, getting very close to the bubble.  Still in pretty good shape for now, but if several of St. Thomas / Montclair / Endicott / Hood / Trinity(TX) / Gustavus get knocked off in their conference tournaments (any teams who win those leagues would be bid thiefs), then it starts getting more and more dicey. 

Speaking of the Bates Sweet 16 run, it inspired me to do a bit of research - every NESCAC team has made at least one Sweet 16 (since 1994, when they first became eligible) other than Colby and Bowdoin (both of whom have made it to the second round).   Colby certainly would have made a few in the Matt Hancock era but alas not yet eligible for the tourney.  Not too shabby! 

(Whoops edited after explained that I had tomorrow's match-ups wrong!)

[Greek Tragedy]

LOL. At the 8:17 update this morning they were 18th. The 9:51 update has them 17th.

[ziggy]

With no games left for Amherst to play, their final NPI is fairly static with just some shifts based one how favorably results around the country look once the trickle-through hits Amherst's resume.

The results of our simulations this morning for Amherst's final NPI
min = 61.349, avg = 61.578, max = 61.826

Compare that to the at-large cut lines within those simulations
min = 60.237, avg = 61.020, max = 62.189

Hopefully that helps shed some light on why we think Amherst is safe (97.7%). It does show there is a disaster scenario out there that keeps them out but the simulations see it as quite unlikely.

Those min/avg/max values will be something to keep an eye on to give additional insight into any odds shifts you may see through the weekend.

Also worth noting that the sims produced a min NPI of 62.090 for Bates. For Bates to hit their minimum it would be a combination of losing in the NESCAC semis plus other unfavorable results for teams on or interacting with Bates' schedule.

[nescac1]

You guys do really impressive work, wow! 

[ziggy]

You guys do really impressive work, wow! 

Honestly, current NPI rankings are boring. They tell us what has happened, not what will/can/might happen, which is what this time of year is all about and makes so interesting.