MBB: NESCAC

[SpringSt7]

Linton's 5 years at Army are better than Kosmalski's 1 at Campbell but Kosmalski's job at Swarthmore is leagues better than what Linton has done at Tufts. The jump he made to Campbell is just so that he can get hired as a current D1 assistant which looks better on a press release than current D3 head coach. Pretty silly but is what it is and has been the theme for quite a few years - Loeffler, Crispin, Klatsky eventually, 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.

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.

You're correct. SJC Maine has always been pretty successful when it comes to having an above .500 record, but with that being said, they have 4 conference championships in the 2000s... those coming in 2002, 2009, 2025, and now 2026. So, you are telling me there isn't a culture change in the program because the prior coach posted a .591 winning percentage and won one championship in 18 years as the head coach. I am sorry, but you kind of just proved my point. Ackley has posted a .61 winning percentage in 5 years and made it to three straight GNAC championships and won two straight. As everyone knows, the GNAC isn't the greatest conference, so you have to schedule tough non conference opponents to even give yourself a chance at a bid, and Ackley has CHANGED SJC's program to have the respect of teams like WPI, Nebraska Wesleyan, Middlebury, NYU, Stevens, and many more to invite them to early season tournaments and build their season resume. If you go take a look at SJC ME schedules prior to Ackley arriving, it is all the Maine teams and respectfully, below average New England teams. It is obvious he has changed the culture to winning championships and not just winning records. No disrespect to the prior head coach as he was a good coach, but Ackley has already done much more for the program in his 5 years than those 18 years prior.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

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?

I'm not sure we've had enough evidence to know one way or another.  The coaches I talk to all talk about the direct jump - D1 assistant to D1 head coach.  I've talked a to a number of super successful D3 head coaches, who would, basketball-wise, be shoe-ins at D1 - they all seem to believe unless an AD has 100% job security, they're not going to get a call.

Linton's past experience may or may not factor in - often times they're just looking at the last job.  I'm really not sure how it would play out, since its really more about the headline than anything actually basketball related.

[nescac1]

The three D3 coaches I'd definitely try to poach if I was a D1 person are Krikorian, Merkel, and Kosmalski (well I guess former D3 coach in his case).  Krikorian and Merkel just always get their teams to maximize every ounce of talent - and they are very good at bringing in talent, to boot! - especially on the defensive end, where they are always super prepared and a bear to play no matter how good you are offensively.  And the national titles plus multiple other deep runs speak for themselves.  If you are getting one of those two, you at least know you will get maximum effort and a super intense D-first philosophy. 

But Kosmalski to me is truly unique in terms of what he accomplished.  He inherited a three-win Swarthmore team that had not had a winning season in 15 years, and only three years with more than 7 wins in that 15 year period. Before him, Swarthmore had NO hoops tradition at all, with no 20-win seasons in 100 years!  And it's not like Swarthmore lowered standards for him or anything, about as restrictive a school in terms of recruiting as any school in D3, and to the extent recruits could meet Swarthmore standards, it's pretty hard to sell them on Swarthmore over a decades-long D3 powerhouse with more of an athletic campus culture like Williams, Amherst, WashU, etc..  Within four years, he coached them to over 20 wins (led by a good number of players he inherited from the 3-win program), and within three more, they were in the title game.  And while he usually had 2-3 very high level players on the roster after those first few years, those uber-successful teams were not stocked with elite recruits or anything close to that.  They were usually undersized and not terribly quick nor especially deep behind a few key players, and won with great outside shooting enabled in part by a smart offensive system and close attention to detail on both ends.  It's just crazy how much success he had relative to the caliber of players he was able to recruit. 

If I'm a school like Dartmouth, and I know I'm almost surely going to have to compete without getting the same level of hoops talent as Penn/Princeton/Harvard/Yale, all of which have big advantages in hoops pedigree, geography, resources, and/or facilities, I'd jump at a guy like Kosmalski who has shown he can find diamonds in the rough who might be overlooked as players but fit his system, develop them into great players by the time they are upperclassmen, and compete at a really high level. 

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

After the first few years, Swarthmore's guys were pretty highly sought after for high academics.  They may not have been the typical NESCAC NE Prep school guys, but they were known quantities.  Yes, getting to a level where those guys were willing to consider Swat was a big deal, but after some success, it really did start to snowball.

The one thing Dartmouth might consider a downside is that it's unlikely he'd stay there long term, but maybe they're in a position where that doesn't matter as much to them as getting somebody good in there for the right now.

[SpringSt7]

The one thing Dartmouth might consider a downside is that it's unlikely he'd stay there long term, but maybe they're in a position where that doesn't matter as much to them as getting somebody good in there for the right now.

Dartmouth hasn't had a winning record since they went 13-12 in 1999. That is the least of their concerns

[Colby Hoops]

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".

Also was very successful at Stonehill, including two D2 Final Fours. My point was more a Colby alum and former player might be more popular with alumni base.

I think Strahorn got hosed, but wildly unlikely they'd admit any mistake and bring him back.

[warriorcat]

What hasn't been mentioned is Landry's early background.  He was an all league player at Davidson in the 1990's (pre Curry) and then an assistant coach for Bob McKillop after his playing days. So he not only has loads of experience as a coach at highly academic programs he also was a player who thrived in a program that successfully blended high level academics with Division 1 athletics.

[lumbercat]

Strahorn did get hosed- although I was never a fan. Not sure how the Whitmore syndicate characterized him. Maybe negatively.

However, Based on conversations with the Colby loyalists I interpreted the Strahan firing as a direct result of the Athletic Administration embarking on an aggressive plan to WIN at substantial costs on the heels of the huge investment made in athletics on Mayflower Hill. The new AD has clearly been charged with the responsibility of enhancing win/loss records which they are counting on to validate this great investment varsity sports. Presumably, Strahorn was the first casualty. This move might be indicative of a much narrower tolerance in the evaluation of Mule coaches in a Blue and Grey Athetics culture which says we gotta win.

And by the way, they sold this fantastic new facility as a commitment to wellness and fitness which was admirable, but take a step back and give a closer look. I know there are workout areas and rock climbing and all these neutral areas but lets face it, the bulk of this investment was made in Varsity Sports---- MW Basketball, MW Hockey, MW Track, MW Swimming MW Squash and Football. I commend Colby and these generous donors for this great achievement. A complete home run for a great school. I say they are proceeding forward with plan to put a new value on winning. They've got a President on Mayflower Hill who gets it. Watch their very healthy endowment continue to grow.

[NEhoops]

I appreciate the expectations for Colby, but I don't think they align with reality, particular with the way things ended for Strahorn.

In his last 6 years (technically 5 if you take away the COVID season), they had 2 20-win season, 2 NESCAC runners-up and 1 NCAA tournament appearance. They didn't achieve any of that in the prior seasons between him and Whitmore.

It seems like the McLaughlin connection is not relevant based on the sole focus on winning (and being able to recruit high level talent), both of which he wasn't able to do at Dartmouth. 

[lumbercat]

I appreciate the expectations for Colby, but I don't think they align with reality, particular with the way things ended for Strahorn.

In his last 6 years (technically 5 if you take away the COVID season), they had 2 20-win season, 2 NESCAC runners-up and 1 NCAA tournament appearance. They didn't achieve any of that in the prior seasons between him and Whitmore.

Dont't understand your comments on Stahorn departure or you comment on Strahorn Whitmore comparison.  Suggest you take a look at Whitmores entire career which goes back to 1970.

[NEhoops]

I think Strahorn had a solid 6-year run and if he was run out, what type of success is the current administration expecting for the program going forward and it is actually realistic? Expectations need to meet reality.

Whitmore had a great career. Just noting that he didn't have any NCAA tournament appearances since 2000. All the more reason for the appearances by Strahorn to be that much more impressive.