MBB: NESCAC

[booyakasha]

1. Uh-oh, sounds like Rutigliano is, indeed, gone.  What a disaster for Colby:

https://x.com/samurai_hoops/status/2036827713667801392

https://hoopdirt.com/d3-dirt-colby-opens-rutigliano-taking-d1-assistant-job/

Civello in the portal, a second head coaching search in two years, and you have to wonder given the timing if a few of the very much in demand Colby recruits will try to find an alternative option (might be difficult if they have not applied to any other schools, of course).

The best thing Colby could do right now is deliver an incredibly introspective apology and offer a raise to bring back Strahorn. Just an absolute tragedy what the new AD, President, and a few donors have done to the program.

[Colby Hoops]

I would imagine David McLaughlin (former Dartmouth coach and Colby alum) would be the top candidate for the Colby job if he wants it.

Moving on from Strahorn was very surprising, and the timing of it was unfair to him. To do it for what turns out to be a 1-year coach is particularly brutal. And I think the new AD (coming from outside the Nescac) didn't understand the alumni connection to a guy who is an alum, former player and all around good guy.

I do think Rutigliano did a solid job in his 1 year and seemed to be recruiting well. His former boss at Belmont got the K State job and I don't really blame him for taking an assistant job that is probably 3-5x a Nescac coaching salary. Still, that's the risk with going with someone with no D3 or Nescac connection.

This leaves Colby in a rough spot, and Civello is very likely gone. But, with the new facilities, and a commitment to athletics I think Colby will bounce back within a couple of years.

[nescac1]

Man, if Colby lucked into McLaughlin falling into their lap, no one will be crying any tears for Rutigliano leaving.  And he (or any other coach) really would inherit a good situation with a lot of talent on the roster as well as (presumably still) incoming, plus the elite facilities and institutional commitment that Colby Hoops mentioned.  If I'm a 50 year old guy, with a chance to move my family from one idyllic New England college town to another, who is pretty much to be able to finish up my coaching career with limited pressure at my alma mater after a decade in the D1 grind, that has to be pretty darn appealing.   

[SpringSt7]

Anybody other than McLaughlin for Colby, from an optics standpoint, is a really bad look. Once/if they win all will be forgiven like it always is, but on paper the whole thing is just really ugly.

And I'm not really sure McLaughlin is some slam dunk game changer either. He did a lot of really nice things in a really hard league at Stonehill 15 years ago. Dartmouth is a hard job but the Ivy really weakened during his tenure there and they never really made anything happen. I don't think he would just come in and start coaching laps around Cosgrove, Reilly, Linton, etc

[D3BALL13]

I think Tyler Ackley is someone who deserves consideration for the Colby job. He's done an impressive job rebuilding Saint Joseph's College of Maine into a consistent contender (back to back championships) in the GNAC while also changing the entire culture of the program in just a couple of years. He was also part of a top-5 team at Colby College, contributing to that program's success alongside Damian Strahorn. He has carried the experience and basketball expertise he gained from legendary Nebraska Wesleyan coach, Dale Wellman wherever he has gone and showed that he can make a difference, whether it is in one year as an assistant at Colby or what he has done the past five years at SJC. I know he isn't the "D1" guy but he is most definitely capable of bringing Colby to the next level.

[Stickthe3]

It goes without saying that this is a huge hire for Colby and the direction of the program.  They've already messed up bigtime with the Strahorn situation that completely fractured the (formerly) very tight alumni base in exchange for hiring a coach to what amounted to ~8 months.  I think everyone knew Rutigliano wasn't the answer for the long haul, though even I didn't anticipate it ending THIS quickly.  Here's hoping they get someone who either has Colby ties, and/or at least a connection to the Maine/New England region, as well as the NESCAC, and lead this team and program for the next decade plus.

[Colby Hoops]

I think Tyler Ackley is someone who deserves consideration for the Colby job. He's done an impressive job rebuilding Saint Joseph's College of Maine into a consistent contender (back to back championships) in the GNAC while also changing the entire culture of the program in just a couple of years. He was also part of a top-5 team at Colby College, contributing to that program's success alongside Damian Strahorn. He has carried the experience and basketball expertise he gained from legendary Nebraska Wesleyan coach, Dale Wellman wherever he has gone and showed that he can make a difference, whether it is in one year as an assistant at Colby or what he has done the past five years at SJC. I know he isn't the "D1" guy but he is most definitely capable of bringing Colby to the next level.

Agree on this. Maybe wouldn't win the "press conference" the way Mclaughlin might, but he's clearly a very good coach.

[stlawus]

All this talk about Dartmouth not being a good job and not being right for Linton sounds like "cope" as the youth say today. I get nobody wants to see their coach leave, but this isn't some low major backwater.  Pretty much every coach would leap at the opportunity if they were in Linton's stage of their career to coach an Ivy League team. Their AD is pretty committed to athletics and all it takes is the right coach to start winning which Linton is more than capable of doing.  I find the arguments about recruiting quite unpersuasive.

[Patrick Coleman]

And just to prove I'm not showing my NESCAC bias here, as awesome a year that Shane Regan had, I would have swapped him onto the second team and Kye Robinson (or maybe even Zamet) onto the first. Robinson is just that good.  Very, very, very tough year for guards, Zamet, Geiger and Robinson all had legit first-team all-American years, and Vetter, Yarbrough, and Barnette are all guys who would have been higher up in the pecking order plenty of other seasons. 

Regan absolutely deserved 1st Team A-A spot. If he was in the championship game right now, he'd likely be up for National POTY, that's how much he has meant to UChicago's success. The Maroons hadn't done anything on the national scene in 20+ years, and he's the reason why they were as good as they were this year. His clutch play raised the ceiling and put them into the top 10 all season. Stats don't tell the whole story for him, the winning does.

100% agree on Regan, one of the best players in D3 the last 2 years. He did the same thing at Wesleyan last year and was great in close games both last year and this year. Samet can score, but doesn't belong on first team, he doesn't play defense.
Neither Vetter or Okorougo on 2nd team or better makes no sense. Almost like 1 bad game (and Okorougo was not bad) and they are not good enough for 2nd team or better.

Neither Vetter nor Okorougo ... nor, for that matter Gyiemesi moved after the semifinal games. The teams were locked in after the semifinals but only a couple of players changed spots in the final weekend.

[booyakasha]

Mclaughlin went 87-161 for a 35% clip at Dartmouth. 41-85 for an even worse 32.5% in conference. 10 years of worse than mediocrity.

I wouldn't be feeling like this would win the "press conference".

[Greek Tragedy]

Cleveland is listed as a sophomore, but he has freshman eligibility since he played JV last year.

He played not at all last year. Someone who played JV last year would not be eligible for our Rookie of the Year award.

OK, my apologies. I thought he played JV last year.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Cleveland is listed as a sophomore, but he has freshman eligibility since he played JV last year.

He played not at all last year. Someone who played JV last year would not be eligible for our Rookie of the Year award.

OK, my apologies. I thought he played JV last year.

Also, playing JV still uses a year of eligibility.

[D3BBALL]

And just to prove I'm not showing my NESCAC bias here, as awesome a year that Shane Regan had, I would have swapped him onto the second team and Kye Robinson (or maybe even Zamet) onto the first. Robinson is just that good.  Very, very, very tough year for guards, Zamet, Geiger and Robinson all had legit first-team all-American years, and Vetter, Yarbrough, and Barnette are all guys who would have been higher up in the pecking order plenty of other seasons. 

Regan absolutely deserved 1st Team A-A spot. If he was in the championship game right now, he'd likely be up for National POTY, that's how much he has meant to UChicago's success. The Maroons hadn't done anything on the national scene in 20+ years, and he's the reason why they were as good as they were this year. His clutch play raised the ceiling and put them into the top 10 all season. Stats don't tell the whole story for him, the winning does.

100% agree on Regan, one of the best players in D3 the last 2 years. He did the same thing at Wesleyan last year and was great in close games both last year and this year. Samet can score, but doesn't belong on first team, he doesn't play defense.
Neither Vetter or Okorougo on 2nd team or better makes no sense. Almost like 1 bad game (and Okorougo was not bad) and they are not good enough for 2nd team or better.

Neither Vetter nor Okorougo ... nor, for that matter Gyiemesi moved after the semifinal games. The teams were locked in after the semifinals but only a couple of players changed spots in the final weekend.

How many people vote on this? And the vote is done as a group? Everybody discusses the players almost like D1 picking the seedins, changes made to the last minute? Sure seems like there is a bias against the NESCAC players. How either at least one of Vetter or Okorougo or Gyimesi is not on the second team or higher very questionable.

[NEHoopScoutPH]

I think Tyler Ackley is someone who deserves consideration for the Colby job. He's done an impressive job rebuilding Saint Joseph's College of Maine into a consistent contender (back to back championships) in the GNAC while also changing the entire culture of the program in just a couple of years. He was also part of a top-5 team at Colby College, contributing to that program's success alongside Damian Strahorn. He has carried the experience and basketball expertise he gained from legendary Nebraska Wesleyan coach, Dale Wellman wherever he has gone and showed that he can make a difference, whether it is in one year as an assistant at Colby or what he has done the past five years at SJC. I know he isn't the "D1" guy but he is most definitely capable of bringing Colby to the next level.

I do think Ackley has done a good job at St. Joe's - particularly over the last three years.

I also think you're overselling the "cultural turnaround" just a bit. In the 40 years prior to Ackley getting the job, St. Joe's had a .672 winning percentage. The coach prior to him went 275-190 (.591) and was a 3x GNAC Coach of the Year. The coach prior to that went 466-176 (.726) and was the league's coach of the year 10x. If anything, Ackley (86-54, .614) has continued the proud tradition of Monks basketball. (Shout out to the old GNAC - anyone who knows about those 2010 through 2019 Albertus teams, plus a couple of unreal groups from Johnson & Wales, knows what I'm talking about).

Now - Ackley's connection to Colby and prior success at Nebraska Wesleyan, in combination with what he's done at St. Joe's, certainly beef up that resume.

I'd expect there to be TONS of interest in the position and hope Colby can make less of a near-sighted decision this time around - that program has everything it needs to succeed for quite some time if it gets the right person in those doors this summer.

[NEHoopScoutPH]

Soren Richardson vs. Ray Cuevas is an interesting all-American debate and I think Cuevas deserved a slight edge there (although it's hardly egregious, they were very, very close).  Their stats are almost identical, about as identical across the board as two players can be.  Both were the overwhelming focus of opposing defenses on mediocre teams in strong leagues.  But Cuevas did it in a conference with a substantially higher NPI this season, indicating that he faced somewhat tougher competition (especially on defense, NESCAC had teams 1, 3, 7, 16, 21, 36 and 43 among the defensive NPI ratings, CCIW had 6, 44, and no one else in the top 100).  In his six games against teams in the top 21 nationally in terms of defensive rating (including two vs. number one Trinity), Cuevas averaged right around 20 points. 

Richardson  - 22.4/4.2/2.8 on 48/36/84 splits plus 1.5 spg
Cuevas - 22.2/4.4/2.6 on 49/45/81 splits plus 1 spg

And just to prove I'm not showing my NESCAC bias here, as awesome a year that Shane Regan had, I would have swapped him onto the second team and Kye Robinson (or maybe even Zamet) onto the first. Robinson is just that good.  Very, very, very tough year for guards, Zamet, Geiger and Robinson all had legit first-team all-American years, and Vetter, Yarbrough, and Barnette are all guys who would have been higher up in the pecking order plenty of other seasons. 

You're right.  It's splitting hairs, for sure, at that point.  You've got, honestly, 10-12 guards who all are perfectly deserving.  For my part, when I've watched him, I've not been super enamored with Cuevas' defense - also, against good teams, when his shots aren't falling, he's not been super capable of scoring in other ways.  He's quite versatile against lesser defenses, but overly reliant on outside shooting against good defenses.

I know, super nitpicky, but that's kind of where we land at the end of these things.

As for Dartmouth, I think if Kosmalski wants it, he'll be ahead of all the d3 candidates.  We've seen - and in talking to coaches, they believe - you need to have a D1 job on your resume to get the D1 look.  So much of the hiring process is about perception now, "top D1 assistant" looks better to local media (who may not understand d3) than "top d3 HC."

This is the path we saw Shane Loeffler take from Hopkins to Cincinnati to Loyola.  It seems to be the path Landry is looking for as well.  I think he gets a HC gig this summer, whether it's Dartmouth or not.  The people hiring know his abilities from Swarthmore and the resume is burnished with the year at Campbell.

Wouldn't Linton qualify here with the 5 years at Army? Or are you specifically saying that the path is to make the jump directly from your D1 experience to the D1 head coaching level? Get it either way, but would have to think Linton's 5 years at Army look as good as Kosmalski's 1 at Campbell, no?