Tag: Harry Rafferty

Caution! Potential for Chaos: Weekend Preview 1/16

We are predicting (even hoping) that this weekend is the one that officially throws the league into chaos. There is a very good chance that after this weekend not a single team will be undefeated in conference. Bates, Trinity, Colby and Tufts are the four teams still unbeaten. Bates plays Trinity tonight while the Jumbos head to Hartford for a matchup with Trinity on Saturday. Bates and Tufts both play Amherst in their other game this weekend. Meanwhile, Colby plays Hamilton and Williams at home. While the Mules looked good last weekend, we can’t call them an elite team just yet and Williams presents a big challenge for them. In almost every game this weekend there is a good case to be made for either team winning.

Three Players to Watch

1. Forward Tom Palleschi ’17 (Tufts): An injury to fellow big man Hunter Sabety ’17 for the Middlebury game contributed to Palleschi scoring 18 points on 8-11 shooting as the Jumbos sprung a big upset on Middlebury. Well, the term “upset” is contingent on the idea that Tufts early season struggles are unfixable. Sabety’s status for this weekend is still unclear, and Tufts has to go on the road and play Amherst and Trinity. If Sabety is out then Palleschi will once again be the focal point of the offense. After an uneven start, he is now averaging over 10.0 points per game. He is tough to guard because he has a very good mid range shot but can also go into the post and get buckets from there.

2. Guard Jake Brown ’17 (Middlebury): Last week Bates coach Jon Furbush made a bold tactical decision to have one of the Delpeche brothers guard Brown. Brown was goaded to shoot from the outside and had no way of getting into the lane and distributing. He finished the game with nine points, but he went 1-7 from deep. I would not expect Wesleyan to put Joseph Kuo ’17 on Brown, but whoever does guard him will give Brown all the space he wants to shoot. Brown knows that he does not have to be a scorer either. On Tuesday he went 0-5 from the field, but still had a good game because he passed out nine assists. Expect him to pass up outside shots and just try to get into the lane time and time again.

3. Guard Mike Boornazian ’16 (Bates): Another huge weekend for Bates as they go on the road to play Amherst and Trinity. Graham Safford ’15 is the leader for the Bobcats, but Boornazian is the player who makes them special if he plays well. He averages 14.2 PPG, but that comes on only 38.9 percent shooting. His importance is derived in large part from his ability to guard positions 2-4. Boornazian slowed down Dylan Sinnickson ’15 when he guarded him last week, and he will have a similar task against either Johnny McCarthy ’18 or newly minted 1,000 point scorer Connor Green ’16. Boornazian needs two stellar performances if Bates is going to pull out two tough road victories.

Three Games to Watch

1. Friday 7 PM: Wesleyan (11-4, 1-1) at Middlebury (10-2, 0-2)

No game is a must win this early in the conference season, and Middlebury knows that they don’t need to press, but there is still a sense of urgency for the Panthers. Falling to 0-3 is far from a death sentence, but the way Middlebury played at Tufts set off a lot of warning bells. How much of last weekend was a result of a stomach virus that ravaged the team is as of now unclear.

On the other side Wesleyan just got run out of the gym in the second half against Amherst. The game was much closer than the final score of 69-46 made it appear, but the Cardinals never really threatened the Jeffs. Amherst did a really good job of closing down on Jack Mackey ’16 and Harry Rafferty ’17 and without that outside shooting, the Cardinals offense was simply unexplosive. Wesleyan can live with a meh offense so long as their defense holds its own, but first Colby and then Amherst were able to find holes in the Cardinal armor. Sinnickson is a matchup problem for a lot of teams, and Wesleyan will likely have Rashid Epps ’16 on him. Epps is stronger than Sinnickson, but Sinnickson is also a dead-eye shooter. Against Bates, most of the threes that he missed rimmed in and out. He and Hunter Merryman ’15 will rely on Brown to get them open looks from deep.

2. Friday 7:00 PM: Bates (11-2, 1-0) at Trinity (12-3, 2-0)

Trinity just saw Merchant Marine, of all teams, snap their 10-game winning streak. The offensive struggles that Trinity always has to worry about reappeared. Because of an off game from Jaquann Starks ’17, they could not create anything and shot poorly from the outside. The loss takes a good deal of the shine away from the Bantams and could possibly haunt them in a couple of months if they are looking to get an at-large bid.

How much the referees let these two teams play could have a major impact because of the possibility for foul trouble. Both teams love to play physical, especially on the boards. Bates is more than happy to slow the game down just like Trinity so this could be a game that ends up somewhere in the 50s.

3. Saturday 3:00 PM: Williams (10-4, 1-1) at Colby (9-5, 2-0)

You should watch this game because Williams has decided that every game they play in this season is going to be awesome. Counting their December clash against Wesleyan, the three games the Ephs have had against NESCAC teams have combined for three overtimes, and then of course the one game that did not go into overtime ended on this crazy Ryan Kilcullen ’15 buzzerbeater.

These two teams are at the very bottom of the NESCAC in defense and near the top in scoring so that should make the game a wide-open, fun one to watch. Though Kilcullen and the Ephs held their own against two physical frontcourts in Trinity and Amherst, Chris Hudnut ’16 is a much more skilled offensive player than anyone on those two teams. Colby came back against Wesleyan because Hudnut came alive in the second half. With Hayden Rooke-Ley ’15 still out, Dan Wohl ’15 will once again have to make a ton of plays on offense. Wohl is now the front-runner for NESCAC Player of the Year and after averaging 30.0 PPG last weekend. For Colby to keep pace with the potent Williams offense, they need their supporting players like Sam Willson ’16 and Ryan Jann ’16 to make outside shots.

Composite Power Rankings 1/9

Hunter Merryman '15 and Middlebury are the cream of the crop, for now. (Courtesy of Middlebury Athletics)
Hunter Merryman ’15 and Middlebury are the cream of the crop, for now. (Courtesy of Middlebury Athletics)

As NESCAC season swiftly approaches tonight, we decided to get some of our staff members involved in this week’s power rankings. Everyone should feel pretty comfortable about the top team, but after that there was a huge amount of disagreement through the middle of the ranks which, I believe, is a testament to the depth in the league this season. On the other hand, it is probably also a result of a lot of impressive records against mediocre competition. That being said, the NESCAC continues to be one of the best Division-III hoops leagues in the nation, and we don’t see that changing any time soon.

Team Average AD SM AL JM PL
Midd 1.4 2 2 1 1 1
Amherst 2.6 1 1 4 5 2
Bates 3.4 6 3 3 2 3
Williams 4.2 3 6 2 4 6
Trinity 5.2 5 4 7 6 4
Wesleyan 5.6 4 5 5 7 7
Bowdoin 6.8 9 8 6 3 8
Hamilton 7.4 7 7 9 9 5
Colby 8.6 8 10 8 8 9
Conn 10 10 9 11 10 10
Tufts 10.8 11 11 10 11 11

(Contributors to the rankings: AD = Adam Dulsky; SM = Sean Meekins; AL = Adam Lamont; PL = Pete Lindholm)

1. Middlebury (9-0)

Adam, Pete, and I agree that the Panthers appear to be the class of the ‘CAC this season. Has this team returned to the level that the program was at from 2008-2013 when it lost 18 games over the course of five seasons? Probably not. I think that if Ryan Sharry, Andrew Locke, Nolan Thompson and the rest of the 2010-11 squad walked into Pepin in their prime they would dispatch the current edition of the Panthers with relative ease. But this team is no pushover, and in what appears to be a slightly down year for the usual suspects in Amherst and Williams, Middlebury could just grab its third NESCAC title.

For me personally, this ranking was less about the 9-0 record than the fact that I’ve felt since the preseason that this was a championship-worthy roster, and with the promising early season play of a few youngsters and the recent return of Matt Daley ’16, this team is only getting stronger.

2. Amherst (8-2)

Amherst and Williams will always gain respect just based on the name, but this team looks pretty good on the floor in its own right. In watching Amherst back in early December, we had some concerns about their perimeter defense.

Amherst is still allowing too many points per game (eighth in the NESCAC with 67.2), but NESCAC Rookie of the Year candidate Johnny McCarthy ’18 is a defensive force, leading the NESCAC in steals per game to date, and David George ’17 is still fantastic at discouraging points at the rim, so it’s curious that the Lord Jeffs have allowed so many points. What they are great at, though, is scoring. When they match up with our number one team, Middlebury, it will be a must-watch just for the ability of everyone involved to put the ball in the hoop.

3. Bates (9-2)

I like Bates more than most at this point in the season. Am I just jumping on the hype train? Maybe. But it seems like senior leader Graham Safford ’15 has elevated his game both on the stat sheet and in terms of his intangibles, and has really become a Kizel/Toomey type of transcendent player. In terms of numbers, he has improved on his field goal and three point percentages while also racking up almost two more assists per game. I think Safford leads the Bobcats deep into the NESCAC tournament.

4. Williams (9-3)

I know Ephs’ fans are sick of hearing it, but imagine if they still had Duncan Robinson. That would be scary. Even without Robinson, Hayden Rooke-Ley ’15 and Dan Wohl ’15 are just filling it up. Both are above 19.0 points per game. Rooke-Ley is like Ray Allen from the line right now, which you should read more about here. Wohl is not only one of the league’s best sharp shooters, but the 6’6″ guard/forward leads the league in defensive rebounds. The one thing this team lacks is depth, as six players chew up most of the minutes for first-year coach Kevin App. Perhaps to say that the team lacks depth is the wrong way to word it, because a lot of those bench guys could get big minutes elsewhere around the league, but it could cause a problem if one of the Ephs’ stars were to go down with an injury because his replacement would lack experience. Take Rooke-Ley for example, who was only able to play 10 minutes in Williams’ last game against Endicott because of a minor injury. Unfortunately, Rooke-Ley has a long injury history at Williams, so we have to hope that nothing more serious materializes for the senior.

5. Trinity (10-2)

With the Bantams it comes down to whether or not you believe that this uptick in scoring is for real, or if they will return to their anemic offensive ways once the competition stiffens up. I think they will regress some, but Jaquann Starks ’16 is a much better offensive player than he was last year, as is Shay Ajayi ’16, someone I thought could break out for the Bantams before the season began. I think this middle of the pack prediction is pretty accurate, and I could see them stealing a game in the NESCAC tournament on the road.

6. Wesleyan (10-2)

As we mentioned a few days ago, Wesleyan is off to an historic start to the season.

Guard Harry Rafferty ’17 has become less of a distributor and more of a scorer, leading the Cardinals in points per game. He and Jack Mackey ’16 make for a scary three-point duo. Rashid Epps ’16 has continued his maturation, averaging nearly a double-double so far this season, and Joseph Kuo ’17 is a force inside, turning away more than one shot per game. There’s a lot of experience on this roster, so even though this level of success is new to this Cardinals’ roster, they should be able to stay competitive throughout conference play.

7. Bowdoin (8-3)

I ranked Bowdoin much higher than the rest of the crowd. Even Lamont, a Polar Bear himself, had Bowdoin down a few notches more than I did. But this is a team with NCAA tournament experience, and I think the presence of John Swords ’15 gives them a chance to win any game, on top of the continued strong play of point guard Bryan Hurley ’15, who I think will continue to get better and more comfortable as he gets further away from the knee surgery that kept him out for most of last season.

8. Hamilton (10-2)

Hamilton fans aren’t going to like this one. The Continentals are 10-2 and we have them ranked eighth? Well the fact of the matter is that as much as we’ve talked about soft early season schedules for NESCAC teams this year, Hamilton might take the cake. Their best win came at home by just four points to 8-5 Lycoming. Joseph Lin ’15, Peter Kazickas ’15 and Ajani Santos ’16 have all taken huge steps forward this season, but there’s not much production coming after the starting five.

9. Colby (7-5)

It will hurt me if this team fails to make the playoffs, both because they are fun to watch and I have a few personal connections to the team. But they just don’t play any defense, which is key in conference play. Opponents are shooting 41.5 percent from the floor against the Mules, and Colby has the second-worst rebounding margin in the NESCAC. They really miss power forward Patrick Stewart ’16 and the defensive presence he helped bring besides Chris Hudnut ’16. If they can’t remedy these issues then they can say good bye to their chances of playing into late February.

10. Conn College (7-4)

Conn has actually bounced back well statistically from the graduation of Matt Vadas ’14, as the Camels are averaging 71.9 points per game, actually up from last year’s 69.3 points per game. But those points aren’t coming efficiently at all, as Conn has the league’s worst shooting percentage. But be patient Camels fans. There are five first years getting double digit minutes, the team’s best player, Zuri Pavlin ’17, is but a sophomore, and Bryan Gross ’15, currently getting under 10 minutes per game, is the only senior on the roster. So there will be better times ahead.

11. Tufts (4-7)

What can we say about the Jumbos this season? Despite so much potential before the year began, exactly what we feared might happen has come to fruition. Like in years past, Tufts just can’t put the pieces together. Last year it was injuries to Tom Palleschi ’17 and Ben Ferris ’15. This year it’s simply ineffectiveness. Guys that formerly were money from beyond the arc have completely lost the ability to hit threes, Ferris looks like a shell of his Rookie of the Year Award-winning self, Palleschi is still shaking off the rust and it appears that coach Bob Sheldon can’t find a lineup he likes because almost the entire roster is getting into most games. The lone bright spot is the continued production of Hunter Sabety ’17. With him, Palleschi and guards Tarik Smith ’17, Stephen Haladyna ’16 and Vinny Pace ’18 back for 2015-16, the story will be the same next season. Loads of potential, but when will it come together for Tufts?

Wesleyan Team Preview: Overlooked Cardinals Return Everyone

Wesleyan Cardinals

2013-2014 Season: 11-13 (4-6 NESCAC), missed NESCAC tournament because of lost tiebreaker with Colby and Tufts.

Head Coach: Joe Reilly, 7th year, 72-76 (.486)

Starters Returning: 5

G Harry Rafferty ’17

G/F Joe Edmonds ’16

F Rashid Epps ’16

G BJ Davis ’16

G Jack Mackey ’16

Breakout Player: C Joseph Kuo ’17

All five starters for Wesleyan return, but that does not mean the Cardinals will employ the same starting lineup. Last year the Cardinals usually went with a small lineup with Epps often having to matchup against the opponent’s top post player. The emergence of Kuo into a starting role will make Wesleyan much better on the defensive end. The 6’9″ center played sparingly last year, but the early returns this season have been exceptional. Kuo is averaging 9.6 rebounds and 2 blocks per game. He will be able to battle the top big men of the NESCAC, something Wesleyan could not do before.

Projected Starting Five

Harry Rafferty (Courtesy of Wesleyan Athletics)
Harry Rafferty (Courtesy of Wesleyan Athletics)

G Harry Rafferty ’17

Rafferty started nearly every game as a freshman after taking a post-graduate year at Phillips Exeter. The southpaw does a good job initiating the offense but tried to do too much at times. He needs to cut back on the 46 turnovers he had. He was the leading scorer for Wesleyan in 2013, but he needed 10.5 shots to average 12.6 points per game. The maturation of players around him should help take the pressure off Rafferty and make him into the efficient smart point guard that he can be.

Joe Edmonds (Courtesy of Wesleyan Athletics)
Joe Edmonds (Courtesy of Wesleyan Athletics)

G/F Joe Edmonds ’16

The junior was the second leading scorer for the Cardinals, yet his role might diminish this season as other players rise to the front. A big reason for that is because Edmonds was not very efficient shooting the ball finishing the year below 40% from the field. He should still be an important part of the Cardinals success however if he reinvents himself as a solid all-around contributor instead of a scorer first.

 

Rashid Epps (Courtesy of Wesleyan Athletics)
Rashid Epps (Courtesy of Wesleyan Athletics)

F Rashid Epps ’16

The most dynamic player on the Wesleyan roster is a force down low despite only being listed at 6’4″. Epps scores all of his points inside of the paint and is relentless on the boards. He averaged 9.2 rebounds per game last year, more than half of which were offensive rebounds. After being overmatched on defense height-wise against some of the NESCAC big men, Epps will hound the opposition’s power forwards with Kuo beside him.

 

BJ Davis (Courtesy of Wesleyan Athletics)
BJ Davis (Courtesy of Wesleyan Athletics)

G BJ Davis ’16

Davis pushed his way into the starting lineup in the second half of the year and developed into a great off-ball guard. His ability to shoot the ball from deep was a big reason why he ended up starting and he averaged 11.1 points per game in 2013. He was at times an inconsistent player with a lot of game with less than 5 points, but when he gets going Wesleyan becomes very hard to guard.

 

Joseph Kuo (Courtesy of Wesleyan Athletics)
Joseph Kuo (Courtesy of Wesleyan Athletics)

C Joseph Kuo ’17

We covered him already in our breakout player section. Although defense is what he brings immediately to the table, his potential offensively is what Wesleyan fans are really excited about. Last year every impact player besides Epps relied on the three point shot heavily for their offense. Kuo is a classic banger down low who will set screens and draw attention of help defenders on the roll. That should free up shooters on the outside. Kuo could be a Tyson Chandler like player for the Cardinals.

Everything Else:

The youngest team in the NESCAC last season, Wesleyan played almost exclusively sophomores and freshman in 2013. Now those players are back with another year of seasoning. The Cardinals lack any early season buzz because they did not manage to notch any signature victories against the top teams. Still their talent level is high and coach Joe Reilly has proven that he is the man for the job.

Jack Mackey ’16, although not predicted to be in the starting lineup has started every game so far for Wesleyan. The junior has done a great job distributing the ball around so far and has been the leading assist man for Wesleyan. PJ Reed ’17 is another perimeter oriented player who gives the Cardinals depth. Finally, Chris Tugman ’15 and Tim Gallivan ’15 are the primary backups on defense.

A key for Wesleyan is doing a better job of running offense without turning the ball over. Perhaps not too surprisingly for a young team, Wesleyan had the worst assist/turnover ratio in the NESCAC. If they take better care of the ball then they will be able to stay close against the best teams in the league. They showed Saturday they are capable of giving Williams a run for the money. They will get better as the season goes along also.

Getting Into the Groove: Stock Report 11/24

Hayden Rooke-Ley '15 talking to Coach Kevin App (courtesy of Williams Athletics)
Hayden Rooke-Ley ’15 talking to Coach Kevin App (courtesy of Williams Athletics)

Now that a full week of games is in the books, we can step back a little bit and dive into some of the early trends emerging. The first game between NESCAC teams happened over the weekend. If Williams’ overtime victory over Wesleyan was any indication, then the NESCAC regular season should be as wide-open as we are hoping.

A major theme is how the sophomore class is asserting themselves as the major playmakers around the league. From players like Zuri Pavlin ’17 and Harry Rafferty ’17 who were already starters from day one to others like Mike Greenman ’17 and Joseph Kuo ’17 who are delivering with increased playing time, sophomores are difference-makers on almost every team in the NESCAC.

Stock Up

Center David George ’17 (Amherst): The guard play for the Jeffs has been a little uneven, but George has delivered on the promise he showed down the stretch of 2013 to help keep Amherst undefeated. The sophomore’s 7.7 rebounds per game, of which 3.7 are offensive rebounds, are no surprise given his size and athleticism. His offensive game, while still undeniably still somewhat underdeveloped, is unbelievably efficient. He is averaging 13.7 points per game on 75% shooting, the second highest percentage in the NESCAC behind John Swords ’15. Unlike last year when George was often surrounded by shooters on the court, Amherst is playing with two bigs most of the time. He is working with less space to work with but is having no problems scoring with ease. Having two big men in the game at once is also a big reason why Amherst has a rebounding margin of +20 so far.

Guard Jake Brown ’17 (Middlebury): Last year Brown established himself as a dogged defender and player capable of getting into the lane. This year he is going full Rondo as a table-setter for the talented Middlebury wings. He leads the league with 6.5 assists per game despite playing less than 24 minutes a game because Middlebury has been involved in a few blowouts already. He is able to get into the lane with ease and kick it out to Matt St. Amour ’17 or find a cutting Dylan Sinnickson ’15. Though he isn’t scoring much, he showed himself capable of filling Joey Kizel’s role of hitting big shots at the end of games when he hit the go ahead jumper with 30 seconds left against Clark yesterday. Brown will likely play less than 30 minutes a game because of the presence of talented youngster Jack Daly ’18. That should allow him to continue his frenetic pace as he leads the Middlebury fast break game.

Guard Hayden Rooke-Ley ’15 (Williams): The Ephs have struggled out of the gate, but there have been some bright spots so far. The fact that Rooke-Ley has become absolutely locked in as a shooter is one of the brightest. In a blowout of Johnston State, he set a Williams’ record by going 12-15 from beyond the three point line. He did not even attempt another shot from the field or a foul shot. Rumors have it he actually did not go inside of the three point line on offense all game (not actually). What makes the Johnston State game even more impressive is that two days before he went 0-9 from the field, including 0-7 from deep. He was able to fight through a couple of tough games at the beginning of the year before hitting his stride. Yet perhaps the best statistic Rooke-Ley has going so far is his free throw shooting. He is a perfect 28 for 28 from the stripe through four games. No other player has made more than 22 free throws and only one player has even attempted more than 28. That is crazy.

Stock Down

Tufts’ Shooting: The return of Tom Palleschi ’16 made Jumbo fans ecstatic over the idea of him teaming with Hunter Sabety ’17 as an unstoppable duo inside. The early returns for Tufts have been subpar, but that is not actually because of any problems in the interior. The Tufts offense is struggling because there is not enough shooting right now. The Jumbos are shooting 25.8% from three, the second lowest percentage in the conference. Ben Ferris ’15, Ryan Spadaford ’16 and Stephn Haladyna ’16 were supposed to supply most of the outside shooting. And while Spadaford has hit half of his threes through two games, Ferris and Haladyna are both below 25%. It gets even worse when you combine that with the Jumbos hitting less than 60% of their free throws.

Bates’ Depth: The Bobcats have gotten off to a great start beating two NCAA tournament teams from 2013 on their way to a 3-0 start. The reasons for the quick start are pretty simple. Mike Boornazian ’16 and Graham Safford ’15 are the best backcourt in the NESCAC and have played great so far. Yet, Bates might be overly reliant on those two players. They account for 51.6% of the scoring, 36.8% of the rebounding, and 65.8% of the assists overall for Bates. Throw in center Marcus Delpeche ’17, enjoying an uptick of production this season, into that equation and the numbers become even more ridiculous: 65% scoring, 56% rebounding, and 77% assists. A big reason for Bates slumping down the stretch was because Safford could not continue his high level of play down the stretch. Bates needs other players to step up in order to maintain better balance and not be overly reliant on the play of a few players.

Duncan Robinson Announces Transfer to Michigan

The announcement was made official on Twitter Wednesday afternoon. Duncan Robinson is leaving Williams to take a scholarship at Michigan. NESCAC fans everywhere, except for a certain corner of Massachusetts, had a little more pep in their step knowing their teams wouldn’t fall victim to Robinson’s devastating shooting over the next three years.

This was really an unprecedented offseason in NESCAC basketball because the two top underclassmen, Robinson and Matt Hart formerly of Hamilton, both transferred to Division 1 programs. Hart received a preferred walk-on spot at George Washington in the A-10 conference where he will have a chance to win a scholarship while sitting out a year because of NCAA transfer rules. Robinson’s transfer has received a lot more press nationally (SI.com and YahooSports.com have run stories) because he is receiving a guaranteed scholarship and Michigan is a much more high profile program. Writer Peter Lindholm covered some of the potential impact on the NESCAC 2014-2015 season, and we will have much more about the effect of those two leaving as we get closer to the winter.

How Robinson went from a lightly regarded high school senior to the NESCAC Rookie of the Year and subsequently a Big 10 recruit is a story of hard work and a different developmental curve. At this point it is pretty well documented how coming out of high school Robinson had offers from other schools but choose Williams early and stuck to that because none of those offers gave him nearly the combination of athletics and academics. His game, already underrated, kept getting better and better while playing for the Middlesex Magic and Phillips Exeter.He submitted one of the finest NESCAC freshman seasons ever last year. After Mike Maker left to take the head coaching job at Marist, Division 1 coaches knew they had one last chance to make right on their mistake of missing Robinson before.

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We gave our take on how we see Robinson’s game as he leaves Williams over at UMHoops.com so feel free to check it out here.  Robinson himself has said that he is still growing and definitely has a lot of muscle that can still be put on his lean frame. When news broke on Robinson possibly transferring we reached out to a couple of NESCAC players and coaches to get an idea on how they felt Robinson projected and the general level of play in the NESCAC. The responses we got back were remarkably similar in their assessment of Robinson. Both Bowdoin guard Lucas Hausman ’16 and assistant coach Brandon Linton noted Robinson’s high basketball IQ. Hausman added that “He was also a very smart player and he made very few mistakes. He knows how to space himself and use screens to get open shots even if the defense is focusing on him.” Everyone I talked to obviously touched on Robinson’s greatest strength as a player, his shooting ability. Linton put it simply after noting Robinson’s basketball IQ and shooting that “there is always room for players on any team with that skill set.” 

Their opinions of the jump that Robinson would face in moving from the NESCAC to the Big 10 centered primarily around the athleticism gap.  Colby point guard Luke Westman ’16 told us that “Division I players, for the most part are quicker, faster and stronger. Division III players may be just as skilled, but could lack the explosiveness of a Division I athlete.”  When we asked him exactly how the NESCAC level of play compares Westman said, “I think there are a few other NESCAC players that could play Division I basketball (primarily upperclassmen). I do not think any of them have the potential to be as good as Duncan though and achieve at a high level.” Hausman echoed this sentiment saying, “I think there are definitely some other players in the NESCAC that could be scholarship players at the D1 level (mostly Ivy or Patriot League), but have already used two or three years of eligibility”

At this point it is hard to project how Robinson will do at Michigan given the jump in competition, but merely the scholarship is a huge endorsement of the overall level of play in the NESCAC. Remember that Robinson was not even the best player on Williams at points last year. That would have been senior center Michael Mayer ’14 who caused NESCAC defense fits over the last few years. This isn’t an indictment of Robinson especially given the three year gap in college experience, but it shows how good some NESCAC players are.

Perhaps no player has seen Duncan Robinson grow quite like Wesleyan point guard Harry Rafferty ’17 has. They first played together way back in seventh grade, but they really became close friends when they played first together on Middlesex Magic and then at Exeter. Rafferty is very excited to see his friend take his game to a new higher level. Before he heard Robinson’s decision Rafferty told us, “if he leaves I think he will be great. He will continue to work hard and prove the doubters wrong. That’s just who he is. He loves being the underdog because he has been one his whole life.” He still thinks Duncan has a lot of room to grow as a player, and more importantly the desire and work ethic to achieve that level of play. “He is one of the hardest working guys I’ve ever met. He lives in the gym and takes a professionals approach to the game. Most importantly though, he is an absolutely GREAT person.” For Rafferty and others that have known Robinson for a while, there couldn’t have been a better person to have such a confluence of events happen to them.

Duncan Robinson and Harry Rafferty while at Exeter
Duncan Robinson and Harry Rafferty while at Exeter

We leave you with one final story from Rafferty about Robinson’s final game at Exeter in the NEPSAC Class A championship game. We wish Duncan Robinson the best of luck over the next four years at Michigan.

“We were playing Choate in the championship game. It was a pretty anticipated match-up. Both teams were good. A lot of scholarship talent. We had guys going to Wisconsin, Stony Brook, and San Francisco. They had guys going to Columbia, Yale, St. Mikes so there were a lot of guys who were theoretically suppose to be better than this D3 guy going to Williams. On top of that Duncan had his worse shooting game of the season the first time we played Choate. So he had a lot of motivation. I’ll never forget, we got off the bus at Endicott, and as we walked into the gym he told me he was ready. You could tell he was locked in. He went out and dropped 24 points and 11 rebounds on 9-9 from the field and 5-5 from three. He dominated and did it in the most efficient way I had ever seen. A lot of high level college coaches were at Endicott that day and I think that’s when a lot of people started to realize how good he actually is.“