MBB: NESCAC

[D3BBALL]

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.
 

I agree, Strahorn was "solid" and didn't deserve to be fired.

As Whitmores career was winding down those 6 years maybe not be a truly representative sample of his overall successes. Believe he made the NCAAs at least 2 or 3 times along with some ECAC titles etc. Things were structured a little differently in his early years at Colby.

Looks like the present administration is setting the bar higher and creating their own expectations. I guess we'll see if they can elevate the program to new levels. Strahorn's successor does not seem like a big time hire but time will tell on that also.

Whitmore had a very good career and was well liked as did Strahorn.

It is going to be tough to consistently bring in the talent that is going to be needed to compete with the top NESCAC programs because of the area that Colby is in.

Colby IMO is going about it the wrong way, they have D1 level facilities, very good academics, but being in Maine and a D3 school, don't think they are ever going to dominate in any men's team sport on a consistent level.
They haven't really in Soccer, Lacrosse, Football, Hockey, Basketball, Baseball, at least not in like the last 10 years. But if you look at these 6 team sports, baseball/basketball has done the best over the last 5-6 years, at least on the men's side.

Trying to hire coaches that don't have a connection to the area or to the college, is not going to be good long term. Just look at the coaches present and their longevity to the school and their up and down records. Its hard to win year after year, Amherst did it (not recently), Brown at Middlebury had a very good 10-15 run, Williams has had a nice run, the rest up and down.

If the President and AD want to dominate in sports than get out of the NESCAC, get into a D1 conference and then shell out NIL money left and right, in the end they won't like that either. Be realistic!

[lumbercat]

Strahorn's successor does not seem like a big time hire but time will tell on that also.

I have bad news

They can bring Strahorn back

[midranger]

Dartmouth has hired Brett MacConnell to be their next head coach. Former Princeton Associate HC and most recently an assistant at Stanford. Seems like a great hire. His tenure at Princeton saw a sweet 16 run, a few POYs, and some elite recruits that transferred up to Power 5.

There was interesting dialogue on here a few days ago about how lower-level head coaches tend to get overlooked in comparison to D1 assistants, and from the trends I see, it appears to be true. As a recent player, I am not privy to the minds of Athletic Directors and University Presidents who make hiring decisions. But in my opinion, prioritizing a D1 assistant over a D2 or D3 head coach makes no sense. Winning HCs have a proven skillset to develop and lead a system, culture, and program--the same thing required at the higher level. Who cares if they did it with less athletic and smaller players? I'd argue that makes their success more impressive and indicates elite basketball knowledge, not just the ability to recruit high level talent.

Look at Ben McCollum's jump to Drake and then Iowa. He was one of (if not the?) winningest coaches at the D2 level. Imagine if last year Drake had opted for some 35 year old MVC assistant coach with no experience in building a program! McCollum is an extreme example as he's proven to be a truly special coach. But I still think the principle applies. It'd be very hard to convince me that any D1 assistant would be a better person to lead a mid-major program, regardless of division, than Landry Kosmalski in 2025. A D3 head coach has more overlap with a D1 head coach than a D1 assistant does in terms of the necessary skillset and experience.

Correct me if I'm wrong or if there are plenty of counterexamples, but I just don't think the talent gap between the divisions is a reason to not hire a coach. Just because the rosters he won with are not as long and athletic, doesn't mean his coaching is inferior. The one argument I'd understand is the unfamiliarity with the recruiting timeline and basically full-year training schedule at the D1 level. But again, it could be argued that working around the D3 restrictions and limitations makes guys like Landry's accomplishments all that more impressive.

[D3BBALL]

Great points, I think one of the biggest reasons D1 AD's don't look at D2 or D3 head coaches is strictly based on the recruiting. The D1 assistant coaches are out there recruiting these D1 players all the time whereas D3 coaches don't recruit D1 players. I don't necessarily agree with that, but it's one of the main reasons.

[SpringSt7]

I think knowledge of the NIL landscape and connections to agents/all things portal related is a big thing that has exacerbated the D1 and D3 gap. No one in D3 really needs to worry about those things at all, there are some relationships to donors but the fundraising piece is minimal. It really isn't about X's and O's anymore

[ImTold]

I'm Told Nolan Ames will be doing a postgrad year instead of enrolling at Colby

[CWM_42]

Really? Where?

[el_jefe_90]

Wondering if this is true or you wrote this on April 1st for a reason?? Hmmmm.

[SpringSt7]

Never checked his social media accounts out before but Colby is listed in his Instagram bio and not his Twitter

[lumbercat]

Really? Where?

I believe he was approached by Worcester Academy.