No Longer the Road to Salem, but the Road to Redemption: Middlebury Season Preview

PG Jake Brown '17 is the engine that makes the Panthers go. (Courtesy of Middlebury Athletics)
PG Jake Brown ’17 is the engine that makes the Panthers go. (Courtesy of Middlebury Athletics)

Editor’s Note: Things can be a little confusing now that the season is underway. Consider the rest of our previews as season predictions based off of a compilation of conversations with coaches and players and observations from the first couple of games.
All statistics that appear next to players’ names are from the 2014-15 season.

One word describes Middlebury’s 2014-15 season: disappointment. I know that’s terribly harsh, but there was no one around the league that would have predicted that the Panthers would miss the NESCAC tournament for the first time since 2005 – especially after the team’s 9-0 start to the year. Once NESCAC play began, though, it was all downhill, and fast. Panther-killer Graham Safford ’15 once again finished off Middlebury in the NESCAC opener. In 2013 Safford drilled a three-pointer with 11 seconds left to steal a win in Pepin Gymnasium, and last season it was four made free throws down the stretch to ice a home win for Bates. Next came the Tufts Jumbos, who sent the Panthers back to Vermont with a 80-63 loss.

The Panthers finished 17-7 and 4-6 in conference. The rotation lost forwards Hunter Merryman ’15 and Dylan Sinnickson ’15 (now playing with UVM), who accounted for 40 percent of Middlebury’s points last season. Without those two in the lineup, there is a serious lack of outside shooting, and the biggest question will be how to replace two 6’5″ bodies with range and the athleticism to get to the rim.

Middlebury’s reign of dominance – eight consecutive NESCAC appearances from 2007-14; six consecutive NCAA appearances from 2008-13; NESCAC titles in 2009 and 2011; an Elite Eight trip in 2013; a Final Four in 2011 – feels pretty far in the past these days. The Panthers are going to be fighting to finish in the top half of the NESCAC this season.

2014-15 Record: 

17-7 overall; 4-6 NESCAC (t-8th); did not qualify for NESCAC tournament

Coach: Jeff Brown, 19th season, 291-174 (.626)

Returning Starters: Two

PG Jake Brown ’17 (7.2 ppg, 6.3 apg, 1.5 apg)
SG Matt St. Amour ’17 (12.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.8 apg)

This should really say 2.5 returning starters. The “.5” comes from F Connor Huff ’16. Huff had a 12-game stretch last season where he started every game, and early on this year he’s come off the bench in the Panthers’ first two contests but played 19.5 mpg. Huff is a bit undersized in the front court, but plays with heart and has a high basketball IQ. That’s about as cliché as it gets, but Huff is dependable and you know he will play smart basketball. He’s efficient from the field and from the stripe and will rarely turn the ball over.

Projected Starting Five:

PG Jake Brown 

Brown is a traditional pass-first point guard. His quickness and ball handling skills are unmatched, and with the way uncle and Head Coach Jeff Brown likes his teams to run, Jake Brown is perfect for this offense. He learned under the tutelage of future Middlebury Hall of Famer Joey Kizel ’13, and even though Brown is a much different style of player, he’s made this team his the way Kizel once did. I think he’s the most critical piece to the Panthers’ success, but the passing, running and defense are a given. It’s the shooting that’s the issue. Middlebury fans have heard about how great of a scorer JB was in high school, but he seemed to have lost his jumper before arriving in Middlebury. He’s worked extremely hard on that part of his game, and the early returns are great – Brown is 10-16 (62.5% FG) from the floor and 2-3 from deep. He needs to be an outside threat to make up for the losses of Merryman and Sinnickson.

SG Jack Daly ’18 (2.2 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.7 apg)

The two and three guard positions are interchangeable, and if you want to stretch the definitions a little bit, the point guard position is fluid, too. Middlebury will probably run with four guards on the floor at points this season, and they’re able to do it because they have another true point in Jack Daly. At this point, Daly is a bit like a Brown-light. He was hampered by an ankle injury for most of last season, which lead to some pretty poor shooting numbers, but is now healthy and has stepped into a major role. He’s a strong perimeter defender, too, which might provide Coach Brown with an opportunity to take Jake Brown off the toughest match ups sometimes, which could further lead to an offensive boost for the younger Brown.

SF Matt St. Amour

St. Amour is quite the enigma in Vermont. A two-time Gatorade Player of the Year and 2,000-point scorer in high school, coming from a high school so small it wouldn’t even fill up an intro econ class at Middlebury, he couldn’t have had much higher expectations. St. Amour got a good amount of playing time as a freshman, but he struggled to adapt to the college game and his shooting percentages were ugly. Then his season ended prematurely with a torn ACL in February. His sophomore campaign started off decently, but it was a miracle that he was even able to play 20-plus minutes just nine months after blowing out his ACL. It was an up-and-down year for St. Amour … until the last six games of the season. Something clicked for the sophomore, and, in the words of Coach Brown, St. Amour “dominated”. For Middlebury to be competitive in the NESCAC this season, St. Amour might have to be the team’s top scorer and be a multi-faceted threat on offense. He has the ability to shoot from deep, mid-range, and get to the hoop. He has a tendency to get into awkward positions when finishing, though, which has resulted in some brutal landings. If he can stay on the floor, 2015-16 could be St. Amour’s coming out party.

PF Nick Tarantino ’18 (3.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 0.9 bpg)

Tarantino reminds me of the guy below, C Matt Daley ’16. Tarantino has a bit more range in his game, but they’re both long and athletic. Right now, Tarantino is effectively splitting time with Huff, and I think that continues pretty much all year, but with such a guard-heavy rotation, it’s almost necessary to keep Tarantino’s height out there on the floor. At 6’7″, he can adjust shots and discourage interior passing. Can he guard thicker big men, though? And will he be able to slow down the stretch-4’s of the league? I don’t envision that being much of a problem, because there aren’t really many of those guys established in the league right now (maybe Williams’ Kyle Scadlock ’19 is that guy, but only time will tell), but it could definitely be a problem in non-league games.

C Matt Daley (8.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 56% FG)

Matt Daley, the perennial X-factor for the Panthers. I don’t think that he’s had a month during his entire career where he’s been healthy the entire time. He dealt with a lower-body soft tissue injury at the start of the preseason, but for now, at least, the athletic big is cleared and ready to go. Daley has a lot of finesse in his offensive game – think Tom Palleschi ’17, but more style – but he can get feisty, too. His frame reads as pretty slender (6’8″ 215 lbs), but he’s not an easy matchup for any opponent. My favorite example – the Middlebury game versus Tufts two years ago. Daley was – predictably – battling back from an injury, and so was only able to play 15 minutes, but 10 of those were some of the hardest fought minutes in the second of a game that I’ve ever seen. Hunter Sabety went 8-8 in the first half with a bevy of defenders failing to stop him. He went 0-1 in the second half and got so upset with Daley’s defense that he nearly spear tackled the Panther at one point.

Daley can be one of the game’s best offensive big men and rim protectors … or he could get hurt and miss a long stretch of games. He’ll be needed if Middlebury is to return to relevance this year.

Breakout Player: C Matt Daley

Daley has probably been my pick for Middlebury’s breakout player four years running. I think this is the year he finally makes me look good. Health is really the only question. If healthy and able to play hard for 30 minutes, he will put up numbers. Big ones.

Everything Else:

In case you didn’t figure it out, Middlebury has a lot of guard depth, but not much when it comes to the front court. Expect a deep rotation until New Year’s, as Coach Brown tries to figure out the best combination. Other guys in the mix will include guard Bryan Jones ’17, guard Hilal Dahleh ’19, guard/forward Zach Baines ’19, forward Adisa Majors ’18 and forward Eric McCord ’18.

Jones is another very athletic player. He was great for short stretches last season off the bench, coming in to provide energy, and he can shoot pretty well. However, Dahleh is more likely to amass minutes in the backcourt. The freshman can stretch the floor with a nice, lefty three-point shot, and can handle the ball if Brown and Daly need a breather, but his defense might be a question.

There is a lot of hype around the super-athletic Zach Baines. We throw around the term “athletic” a lot when talking about “student-athletes”, but if there was some kind of superlative suffix that I could throw on that word to describe Baines, then I would. Baines is “athletic-est”, if you will. He throws down with ease. He’s got about a 10-foot wing span. But he’s skinny and his game might take time to develop. With Baines at the four, Middlebury will have a tough time defending opposing frontcourts, but as the three Baines could be a matchup nightmare.

Majors and McCord round out the frontcourt rotation. I’ve gone back and forth on my prediction for McCord. Hampered by an injury in the preseason, McCord hasn’t had much of an impact in the team’s first two games, but he’s unique to the Middlebury roster at 6’7″ 254 lbs. Since the graduation of Pete Lynch ’13, the Panthers haven’t had a strong interior presence to both score the basketball and play tough defense. McCord, who hails from the same high school as Lynch, could become that player. However, with Tarantino and Daley both healthy – and strong minutes from Huff cleaning up the boards – there might not be a need for McCord right now. The Panthers have actually out-rebounded their opponents in the first two games. The bigger issue has been perimeter shooting and stopping their opponents from putting the ball in the hoop.

The beginning of the season is always tough for NESCAC teams, with games against opponents already three weeks in to practice and with two to three games under their belts. Heck, NESCAC Champion Wesleyan lost to Lyndon St. in its opener. Lyndon State! The 2013-14 Williams team that went to the National Championship lost to Southern Vermont in its season opener that year. Something about those pesky little Vermont schools … Panther fans, don’t be too disheartened just yet, but if shots still aren’t falling at the end of Christmas break, they might want to start figuring out what it will take to get Sinnickson back from UVM and Merryman from Spain. Furthermore, one front court injury for Middlebury and it could be a field day for teams like Tufts, Williams, Amherst and Bates that have talented front courts.

And lastly, I know I’m going to catch some heat around campus for being so critical … good thing it’s almost Thanksgiving break.

The Rich Get Richer: Amherst Season Preview

Connor Green '16 is the key to Amherst's season. (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)
Connor Green ’16 is the key to Amherst’s season. (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)

I was considering just copying and pasting last year’s preview since Amherst’s roster is pretty much identical to last season’s, but I decided they deserved a write-up. Seriously though, Amherst lost nothing. They only graduated one senior and the main rotation is completely intact. This is one of the situations where Amherst’s biggest strength is also its weakness – depth. The coaches don’t anticipate many players (if any) playing 32-35 minutes, but rather most will play 18-24 minutes. It can be tough on a player’s psyche if he’s not allowed to get into a rhythm. It’s critical that the squad gets used to playing as a team and not as individuals if they want to be successful this year.

The returning Lord Jeffs had the opportunity to travel to Italy as a team this summer, giving them a chance to gel together and get a head start on learning how to play with such depth. Amherst won’t be the quickest team in the league, but they have an experienced, mature group, and their basketball IQ will carry them throughout the season.

2014-15 Record:

21-8 overall; 6-4 NESCAC (t-5th); lost NESCAC Final to Wesleyan 74-70; Lost Second Round of NCAA Tournament to St. John Fisher, 87-70

 

Coach: Dave Hixon, 38th year, 741-265 (.737)

Starters returning: Five

PG Reid Berman ’17 (4.5 ppg, 5.4 apg, 2.9 A/TO, 47.9% FG)
G/F Connor Green ’16 (16.0 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 37.3% 3PT)
G/F Johnny McCarthy ’18 (11.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.7 spg, 0.9 bpg)
F Jacob Nabatoff ’17 (6.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 38.2% 3PT)
F David George ’17 (10.6 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 1.9 bpg)

The entire rotation is back, and that includes alternate point man Jayde Dawson ’18. Dawson began the year as the Jeffs’ point man, but halfway through the season he and Berman switched roles, and both men played better basketball. Dawson came down from D-I Fairleigh-Dickinson, but it looked like he was pressing too much last season. He has the physical ability to be one of the league’s best guards. He just might have to do so off of the bench this season, unless he can wrestle the starting gig back from Berman…

Projected Starting Five:

PG Jayde Dawson

Point guard was the toughest position to predict, because Jayde Dawson is so evenly matched with fellow point guard Reid Berman. At the end of the day, however, I feel that Dawson’s physical attributes are more enticing out of a starting point guard (Dawson is 6’2” 190 lbs. while Berman is 6’0” 175 lbs). However, this year the coaches are stressing the fact that their starting lineup doesn’t really matter. Berman and Dawson will get their minutes determined by how each is playing. Where Dawson needs to improve this year is his focus on taking care of the ball; he averaged 1.8 turnovers per game last year and just 2.0 apg. I don’t doubt that these numbers will improve in Dawson’s second year at Amherst. As one of the very few exceptionally quick players on Amherst, Dawson’s athleticism will allow him to play at a high level against teams that are more athletic than Amherst overall.

SG Johnny McCarthy

Reigning NESCAC ROY Johnny McCarthy now has some experience under his belt, and he will lead this team from the shooting guard position this season. McCarthy asserted himself as the defensive MVP of this Lord Jeffs squad last year, guarding the best player on every team last year (as long as he was under about 6’6”), and his team leading 32.2 mpg forced him to get all the freshman year jitters out early. It’s hard to say anything bad about this kid – he was second in scoring, rebounding, assists, blocks and assist/turnover ratio last year, while leading the team in steals per game – AS A FRESHMAN. McCarthy will definitely be in the running for All-NESCAC honors this year, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s in the talks for Player of the Year when the end of the season nears.

SF Connor Green

If you’re not familiar with the name Connor Green at this point, you probably haven’t watched an Amherst College basketball game in the last three years. Green has been the center point of this squad’s offense for a couple years now, leading the Lord Jeffs in scoring last year, and taking a back seat only to D-III POY Aaron Toomey ’14 the year before. What makes Green so difficult to guard is a combination of two factors: his lightning fast release and his willingness to shoot from anywhere on the court. No matter what the situation, Green isn’t afraid to shoot, and his quick trigger often allows him to get shots off before the defense is ready to contest his shot. Defenses are aware of this, but they have trouble stopping it because of how well he gets to the hoop. He’s a matchup nightmare because he also has the ability to back down smaller defenders. There is a huge elephant in the room, though – his frighteningly cold play down the stretch last season. Between the NESCAC Semis and the Second Round of the NCAAs, Green shot 13-54 (24.1%) over four games, a shocking departure from the guy who lit up Middlebury and Tufts the two games before that for 29 points a piece. This team needs Green playing well to succeed. Hopefully the senior is back on track, and if he is, Green should lead Amherst in scoring again.

 

F Jacob Nabatoff

Jacob Nabatoff is an interesting player because he doesn’t light up any statistical category in particular; he’s just pretty solid across the board. At 6’8”, 215 lbs, Nabatoff is a big body that requires a lot of attention from opposing players on the boards. Though he was just fourth on the team with 4.7 rpg, his aggressiveness and toughness down low opened up rebounding opportunities for smaller players like Green and McCarthy, and those boards came in just 20.8 mpg. I don’t expect Nabatoff to have a very different year than last season, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing – he’s a smart player that seems to understand his role, and if he continues to stay within himself and buy into the team concept, his time on the floor will be very significant.

F David George

David George is one of those guys who doesn’t need plays drawn up for him. He’s active on the boards and on defense, and just makes plays happen. Though McCarthy is the best one-on-one defender on the Amherst roster, George is truly the anchor of this defense because of his shot blocking ability. George’s knack for protecting the rim allows his teammates to play more aggressively both on and off the ball since they know that he has their back if they get beat. I expect a similar year offensively for George, but defensively I expect him to take off.

Breakout Player:

 G Jeff Racy ’17 (10.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 42.3% 3PT)

Jeff Racy didn’t start a game last year for the Lord Jeffs, but he still averaged the fourth most minutes and points on the team. Racy is listed as a guard, but his 6’5” 210 lbs. frame makes him a swing man. His game is shooting the three, bottom line. The Amherst coaches are excited about how Racy has improved his jumper over the offseason, and his ability to shoot consistently from the arc pays huge dividends for this offense.

Everything else:

The other important pieces for Amherst this year are Eric Conklin ’17 and Michael Riopel ’18 (in no particular order). Conklin, who transferred to Amherst from Arizona last year, is maybe a bit undersized in height, but makes up for that with his physique. At 6’6”, 235 lbs., Conklin will be the primary backup for George down low, and will be expected to both bring energy to the boards and bang around in the post. Plagued by injury on and off last year, Conklin struggled to get into a rhythm, which is why his minutes weren’t quite as high as we expected them to be, but those numbers should increase this season. Conklin finally realized that D-I potential towards the end of the season, going off for 37 points on 18-20 (90%) shooting in the NESCAC Final and NCAA First Round game. Finally, Michael Riopel is a player to watch off the bench this year. It’s scary to think that this kid is somewhere between eight and 10 off the bench, but that’s just a testament to how deep this Amherst roster really is. Last year Riopel measures in at 6’5” 200 lbs., and the coaches say he has made big gains in the weight room during the offseason, and his improved strength and size will surely increase his effectiveness. Finally, don’t sleep on 6’10” first-year center Joe Schneider ’19 either. At that height, Schneider will immediately become the tallest center in the league.

With the amount of outside shooting Amherst has this year between Green, McCarthy, and Racy driving lanes should open up for Berman, Dawson and Riopel. The main thing to watch out for in Amherst this year will be their ability to play together. With so many weapons, it is certainly conceivable that they could struggle with finding the right mix, but the coaches are insistent that the players are buying into the team attitude, and if that’s true, this squad has as good a shot as any to win the league title.

Are the Jumbos Better without Their Big Man? Tufts Season Preview

As the only real interior presence for the Jumbos, C Tom Palleschi '17 will need to alter shots and rebound for Tufts - and stay out of foul trouble. (Courtesy of Johnson & Wales Athletics)
As the only real interior presence for the Jumbos, C Tom Palleschi ’17 will need to alter shots and rebound for Tufts – and stay out of foul trouble. (Courtesy of Johnson & Wales Athletics)

The biggest news in the Tufts offseason is, without a doubt, the loss of Hunter Sabety. Though he was injured on and off for the majority of last season, Sabety still averaged 14.9 ppg and gave the Jumbos much more versatility down low. The combo of Tom Palleschi ’17 and Sabety was arguably the most talented bigs combo in the NESCAC, but it also created some structural issues for the team. When Sabety was healthy, it almost felt like Tufts was playing three different styles during each game: one for Sabety as the lone big, one for Palleschi as the lone big, and one for a lineup that included both centers. Though deadly at times, this definitely led to inconsistency for the Jumbos, and the coaches believe that the squad will be much more in sync this year when they can maintain one offense throughout.

2014-15 Record:

13-12 overall, 6-4 NESCAC (4th); lost first round of NESCAC tournament to Williams in Overtime, 87-77; did not qualify for NCAAs

Coach: Bob Sheldon, 28th year, 386-289 (.572)

Starters returning: Four

G Stephen Haladyna ’16 (7.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 0.8 spg)
G Ryan Spadaford ’16 (7.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.5 3pt/game)
G Thomas Lapham ’18 (3.4 ppg, 1.7 apg, 41.8% FG, 46.9% 3PT FG)
C Tom Palleschi ’17 (12.0 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 2.4 bpg)

The Jumbos technically return four starters, but Palleschi is the only one who was a consistent starter last year. Spadaford and Haladyna split time pretty evenly in the starting lineup, and Lapham also started about half the games, splitting the other half with Tarik Smith ’17. Smith started the first 11 games of the season – Lapham started the next 14 in his stead. Drew Madsen’s ’17 name could also be thrown in the mix here, but the majority of his starts came when Sabety was injured last year, so his starting experience is also limited.

Projected Starting Five:

 

G Ryan Spadaford

Spadaford, a natural two guard, will see time at all three guard positions this year, as the Jumbos will look to play smaller and push the tempo. As a senior co-captain with Haladyna and Palleschi, it will be interesting to see Spadaford evolve as more of a leader on the court since the last two years he has played more as a quiet member of the supporting cast. He has shown that he can light it up for stretches, but consistency is certainly something to look for in Spadaford this year. If he can get his jump shot going, that will do wonders for the premier shooters on the team, Haladyna and Vinny Pace ’18.

G Stephen Haladyna

Haladyna was rightfully disappointed after his junior campaign due to his step back in offensive production. Haladyna went from starting every game he played and averaging 12.4 per game as a sophomore to splitting time and putting up just 7.8 ppg. The biggest reason for this drop in scoring is that Haladyna struggled to get a rhythm from behind the arc, possibly because he was the only established shooter in the Jumbos lineup and was feeling the pressure. The senior co-captain needs to get hot early and stay hot throughout the season, proving to be one of the most important pieces of the puzzle on the offensive end for Tufts.

G Vinny Pace

Pace should without a doubt see an increase in production this season after a pretty average freshman year. Pace has improved physically and has developed much more consistency on his jump shot. Defensively, Pace’s wingspan and athleticism will surely prove valuable for the Jumbos, who I’m sure will look to pressure opposing teams with more trapping defenses than in past years. The coaches are very excited to see how Pace plays this year, and for good reason. Now that he has gotten used to the very different pace of college ball (I crack myself up), I am projecting Pace to be in the running for one of the All-NESCAC teams as we approach the end of the season.

F Ben Engvall ’18

This could be a bit of a surprising pick to some, but Engvall could see big minutes out of the starting lineup for Tufts this season. Madsen will likely switch in and out with Palleschi, leaving the four spot open. Meanwhile, the Jumbos will want their two quickest guards, Smith and Lapham, coming off the bench, where Smith had a lot of success last year and where Lapham won’t feel too much pressure: this is where Engvall comes in. Engvall’s value is that he is really the only true forward on this team, and he fits right into what the Jumbos are going to try to do this year: run. Engvall can play bigger than he is and is unafraid to bang around in the post, but he can also help spread the floor and handle the ball when he’s matched up against bigger opponents. Engvall is going to play a sneaky huge role for the ‘Bos this year.

C Tom Palleschi

As a redshirt junior, Palleschi is looking to follow up on a strong return to the court last year in which he was selected to the Second Team All-NESCAC. He led the NESCAC with an average of 2.4 blocks per game, while finishing 13th in rebounding and 16th in scoring with 6.1 and 12.0 per game, respectively. Much of the Jumbos’ success will depend on Palleschi’s ability to stay out of foul trouble since the Tufts roster is loaded with guards.

Breakout Player:

G Vinny Pace

How could I not like Vinny from New Jersey here? But seriously, Vince Pace is the real deal. He has shown he can put up big points at times, but his consistency didn’t fully develop last year as some anticipated it would. I’m expecting a big year from Pace on the offensive end of the court since Tufts will have to rely heavily on their guard play throughout the season. With so few true bigs on the Tufts roster, Pace will likely be matched up against bigger, less athletic players due to his length and size (6’5”, 180 lbs). The coaches are high on Pace this year, and if he can take advantage of the matchup problem that he is going to create, I don’t see anything stopping him from becoming one of the leaders on this team.

Everything else:

The Jumbos will almost surely be trying to push the tempo this year with their surplus of guards, and the sophomore class is the most important part of the picture. There are seven sophomores on the team (six returners and one transfer, G Kene Adigwe, from Claremont McKenna College), all of whom are guards besides Engvall. This class had their opportunity to gain experience last year, but they don’t have too much time to learn anymore as they make up the core of this team. I’ve already mentioned Pace and Engvall’s importance above, and Lapham clearly played a part in Tufts’ success last year, but a couple other names to watch this year are Stefan Duvivier ’18 and Everett Dayton ’18. Duvivier is an athletic freak who excels in pushing the tempo and getting to the hoop. He does triple jump and high jump for the Tufts track team in the spring, so you can imagine how hard Duvivier can throw it down. Duvivier could play an instant-offense role. Meanwhile, Dayton is a very solid, well-rounded guard. His length is important on defense, and I think his biggest asset comes in his versatility at both ends. Dayton will see time at the 1-4 positions, and will causes turnovers when the Jumbos go to press/trapping situations on defense. Though not a sophomore, Tarik Smith is very important to the Tufts game plan. He will probably be the primary point man once again, even if he technically comes off the bench. Smith went from averaging 6.6 ppg and 4.4 apg as a starter to 12.9 ppg and 2.6 apg. Once Coach Sheldon made that transition, Smith stopped worrying about being a true point, and started using his elite athletic ability to put the ball in the hoop.

The other key for Tufts this year is going to be their ability to rebound the basketball. They will clearly be outsized (they only have three players over 6’5”), so if the Jumbos don’t gang-rebound they will run into issues. I know I mentioned it above, but it is absolutely vital that Palleschi stays out of foul trouble. Madsen does not present the same size as Palleschi, and rebounding becomes a lot tougher when your one true center is out of the game. Expect Duvivier, Pace, Engvall and Haladyna to present themselves as secondary rebounders to Palleschi and Madsen this season.

NESCAC Basketball is Awesome: 2015-2016 Season Introduction

Oh sweet lover, so nice to see you again. The transition from the gridiron to the hard court is a quick one this year, and we would be lying if we didn’t admit that we are a tad bit under-prepared at the moment. Make no mistake, that NESCAC work ethic is already in gear, and we are getting up to speed very quickly. Team previews are going to be rolling out starting tomorrow morning, and we have our biggest group of writers yet contributing on them. That large group of writers, which includes writers from Middlebury, Bowdoin, Bates, Tufts, Williams and Trinity is one reason why we are so excited for the coming season.

The other reason is the depth of quality basketball teams in the NESCAC this year. You can start with the fact that 97.7 percent of the minutes played in the NESCAC championship game between Amherst and  Wesleyan were done so by players who are back this year. Both the Cardinals and Lord Jeffs return practically their entire rotations from last year, and so one might assume that it’s a foregone conclusion that those two will once again meet each other in the NESCAC Championship game.

Oh, but you would be so so wrong. While those two, as well as Trinity, have to be considered the favorites out of the gate, other potential contenders are Colby and Tufts. Behind those teams are units like Bates, Bowdoin and Middlebury that have more than enough talent to beat anybody but also have significant question marks. Conn College, Williams and Hamilton are all also potentially dangerous.

I’ll avoid doing a brief overview of every team because you will learn so much about those teams in the Previews. Instead, here are what I think the biggest storylines for NESCAC basketball are this winter, presented in no particular order.

Still love this photo from the NESCAC championship game. (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)
Still love this photo from the NESCAC championship game. (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)
  1. How all that talent at Amherst works: Coach Dave Hixon has talent out of the wazzoo, and while there are obviously worse problems to have, it won’t be easy to figure out the rotation. If Amherst sticks to their rotation down the stretch last year, their backups will be PG Jayde Dawson ’18, SG Michael Riopel ’18, SF Jeff Racy ’17, PF Eric Conklin ’17, and most likely C Joe Schneider ’19. That unit could beat a lot of NESCAC schools straight up, no exaggeration. The lineup combinations are endless, and the Jeffs might spend the early parts of the season with playing Racy at power forward and having David George ’17 be the lone big man on the inside in charge of controlling the boards and protecting the rim.
  2. The amount of points Lucas Hausman ’16 scores: The reigning NESCAC POY and D3Hoops.com Preseason All-American averaged 20.7 PPG overall and 24.7 PPG in NESCAC games, and at times it feels like he was put on the earth to put the ball through the basket in small D-III gyms. The potential problem for Hausman is that teams are going to game plan for him like crazy because of the loss of John Swords ’15 and Bryan Hurley ’15. What happens to Hausman if teams go box and one or play man but double him whenever he gets the ball? This story might not become as important until January when teams really devote time to game planning opponents.
  3. Whether losing Hunter Sabety ’17 turns into addition by subraction: The talented big man for Tufts took his talents away from the NESCAC this summer and will be sitting a year off before playing at D-I Hofstra next year. Sabety was not healthy for much of last year anyway, and the Jumbos really only had one short stretch where they played well with him. His departure means that Tom Palleschi ’17 is the clear top dog on the roster, and the offense will flow through him. The Jumbos now need to find consistency besides Palleschi inside, but whoever plays there will not need to be an important part of the offense for the Jumbos to succeed.
  4. The possibility Middlebury is even worse this year: This blog began as an evolution of PantherNation which focused almost exclusively on Middlebury basketball and football. Our forerunners were so accustomed to a high level of Middlebury basketball that they called their season-long documentary of the Middlebury program in the 2013-2014 season “The Road to Salem“, where the D-III Final Four happens. The basketball gods disapproved of that hubris, and the past two years have seen Middlebury fall well back into the pack with last year’s shocking miss of the playoffs the crushing final blow. This winter the Panthers return just one player who averaged double digits. The talent is there, but the Panthers need massive statistical improvements from several players to be good.
  5. The number of impact freshmen: So much talent is back in the league this year, especially among the top teams, that freshmen might struggle to crack the rotation. Some schools like Williams and Bowdoin are relying on at least one freshmen to immediately contribute, but there are more teams that are already close to filling their rotation with just the players who are returning. I’m personally loathe to identify in the preseason what freshman are going to make a big impact because I’m not an expert at interpreting high schoolers’ tape, but a lot of freshman are entering with impressive pedigrees. We’ll see how long it takes for them to make it matter where it counts.
  6. The upside of Trinity: Even though they lost in the NESCAC Semifinals, the Bantams still had clearly the best season of anyone last year going 9-1 in conference and being 24 seconds away from going to the NCAA Final Four. The top three scorers – Jaquann Starks ’16, Shay Ajayi ’16 and Ed Ogundeko ’17 – are all back, but the Bantams lost a good deal of depth, particularly in the front court with George Papadeas ’15 and Alex Conaway ’15 graduating. Two young front court players are going to have to become rotation players in part because Ogundeko is frequently plagued by foul trouble. The Bantams will probably play everybody close, which will make them fun to watch.

Also, our coverage will wane a little bit during the month of December. After all, not only is it non-conference games going on, but we also will have Finals to attend to. Just consider this a little forewarning. We will be full tilt January on though. Great Scott, are we excited!

Duncan Robinson: From the NESCAC to the Big Ten

Can you guys feel it? A certain crispness in the air, a sense of glorious excitement in your bowels? No it’s not Chicken Parmesan night at the dining hall, it’s time for NESCAC basketball again! Here at NbN we’re going to overload you with so much coverage of the 11 NESCAC teams that you’ll start to resent us and slowly push us away by acting out in school and getting in trouble on the weekends. Before we start that, there’s another NESCAC basketball story that we’d like to follow this year. At Middlebury football games, PA announcer (and assistant basketball coach) Russ Reilly often announces the score of the Michigan game, calling the Wolverines our “sister school.” Once I turned 16 and figured out he was joking because of how much bigger a school Michigan was, it always killed me. If Michigan football was our sister school, then we were Billy Riggins and Michigan was Tim. However, in basketball, Williams College has a much closer familial connection to the Michigan Wolverines. Longtime Williams head coach Mike Maker was an assistant under longtime Michigan head coach John Beilein from 2005-2007, and Duncan Robinson, Williams’ freshman phenom of two years ago, transferred to the Wolverines after his freshman year and is now eligible to play after redshirting last season. Robinson’s career in the NESCAC, while short, was undoubtedly impressive. He averaged 17.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game while setting a minutes record for freshmen at Williams. However, the numbers don’t tell the whole story. Robinson was a key cog on a loaded Williams team that went to the national championship before falling 75-73 to Wisconsin-Whitewater. The centerpiece of that team was All-American center Michael Mayer, which meant that Robinson was often the second option on the offensive end. However, he stood out like a sore thumb every time he played. Whether he was throwing down windmill dunks in warm-ups or moving the ball around in Williams’ beautiful motion offense, his every movement said “there is no one who is better at this than me.” It was clear to all NESCAC audiences that Duncan Robinson was not a Division-III player. It was clear to him as well. Soon after Maker departed to coach Division-I Marist College, Robinson called him to ask if he thought he was suited for Michigan, Maker said “HELL YES,” (not really, but I assume he was thinking it) and called Beilein to make a recommendation. Beilein watched Robinson’s highlight tape, and offered him a scholarship shortly after. Robinson accepted, and sat out last year due to NCAA regulations. The redshirt year may have been the best thing for Robinson’s success at the Division-I level. He comes into this season listed at 6’8” and 215 pounds, which is 30 pounds heavier and an inch taller than he was while at Williams. “The biggest focus of my redshirt was developing my body, putting on good weight and getting a lot faster and stronger,” Robinson told me. And the results are apparently noticeable. When a shirtless picture of Robinson happened to appear on his computer my dad exclaimed, “he looks like a boxer, look at his pecs!”

Of course, it is more than his physique that has Robinson already established in Michigan’s rotation. The kid can play some ball as well. Robinson fills an immediate need for Michigan, who often struggled last season when faced with zone defenses that exploited their lack of outside threats. And if there’s one thing Robinson is immediately ready to do at a Division-I level, it is shoot threes. Rumors swirled as Michigan practiced that Robinson had broken Nik Stauskas’ record for consecutive three-pointers made in practice.

This skill has led to early playing time for Robinson. He has played between 15 and 20 minutes in Michigan’s first two wins, and appears to have carved out a niche for himself as an energetic and deft offensive weapon off the bench. Beilein has profusely praised the passing and cagey offensive mindset that Robinson says is a product of his time at Williams. “No matter how much weight I put on, I’ll never be able to dominate players physically at this level, so I’m glad to always have my unique skill set to fall back on,” said Robinson, crediting Coach Maker in particular for making him have such a complete offensive arsenal.

For all the benefits of his time off, there are of course some downsides. Robinson hasn’t played in a truly competitive game in over a year, and he is jumping up several notches in terms of level of play.

“The biggest challenge has been adjusting to the physicality,” Robinson said. “The Big Ten is known for its physicality, and developing my strength and speed to fit in there has been very challenging for me.”

Robinson himself admitted that the adjustment defensively has been difficult at times, and he will have to improve drastically there to start or play regularly at such a high level.

However, anyone who remembers Robinson playing at Williams should believe that he will adjust. He’s a player who was meant to be at this level, and we in NESCAC were privileged to steal him away for one year. Now we get to follow him from afar, and watch as he uses the unique skill set he developed here to succeed under the brighter lights. Michigan takes the court at 7:00 PM against Elon on ESPN, and, in addition to the loyal fans of both schools, there will be some NESCAC fans tuning in to see a native son making good. I can’t wait.

NbN 2014-15 Year-End Wrap Up

We’ve come to that time of the year folks, the time when the weather turns and NESCAC students are shifting their concerns from final exams to brand new internships or careers – an exciting time for most students – but one that is bitter sweet for college seniors who must say good bye to the comforts of their college dorm rooms and face the cruel, hard world out there. This time is especially difficult for the droves of college athletes (and let’s face it, this pertains to 99 percent of NESCAC athletes) who are regretfully retiring from competitive athletics.

In honor of the great efforts and performances that happened around the league almost every day this academic year, we’ve compiled our five (plus one bonus) favorite moments from the NESCAC football, men’s basketball and baseball seasons. And before we jump in, we just want to say a GIGANTIC thank you to all of the student-athletes for their hard work, and to all of you, our readers, be you students, parents, classmates, coaches, distant relatives or New England D-III athletic celebrity stalkers, for loyally coming back to Nothing but NESCAC. As most of you know, Adam and I started this blog a little over a year ago, and we’ve had some great writers contribute to the page over that time. We’re not making any money – trust me – and we we don’t do this because it will pad our resumes (though it’s not a bad bullet point). We’re just huge sports fans, and we love talking and writing about sports. We love it when we hear that Nothing but NESCAC is being read around the league. Personally, one of the moments from this past year that sticks out greatest for me – and this includes everything I did while on a semester abroad, in the classroom or on the baseball field – was when Jake Brown ’17 told me, face-to-face, that I made a mistake in leaving him out of my NESCAC Point Guard Power Rankings back in February. I loved that. And as Jake knows, and hopefully the rest of the kids we write about understand, we’re not professionals. We’re just doing the best we can. But most of all, we hope you get some enjoyment out of reading what we post here, because we sure have a good time putting it up.

Here are our favorite moments of the past year, in no particular order:

1. FOOT: Middlebury 27, Trinity 7, October 25 at Trinity

Middlebury brought Trinity's streak to a crashing end. Courtesy of Greg Sullivan (http://www.sevenstrong.net/TrinityFootball)
Middlebury brought Trinity’s streak to a crashing end. Courtesy of Greg Sullivan (http://www.sevenstrong.net/TrinityFootball)

In case you hadn’t heard, Trinity was supposed to be unbeatable in Hartford. The Bants had not lost at home since September 29, 2001 – 53 straight games – and Trinity came into the matchup at 5-0 while Middlebury was 3-2. At that point in the season fans were just starting to believe that Matt Milano ’16 was a bona fide star in this league. With his four touchdown performance in a rout of the favored Bantams, Milano convinced any remaining doubters.

2. BASK: Wesleyan Wins Its First NESCAC Basketball Championship as the Sixth Seed, March 1 in Hartford, CT

Joe Reilly and the Cardinals celebrated their NESCAC title in classic fashion - but they're not done yet. (Courtesy of Wesleyan Connection)
Joe Reilly and the Cardinals celebrated their NESCAC title in classic fashion. (Courtesy of Wesleyan Connection)

The Cardinals squeaked into the playoffs by winning their final two NESCAC regular season games and finishing at 5-5 in the conference. Next, all that Wesleyan had to do was go on the road to Bates, into the toughest home gym in the NESCAC, and beat an NCAA Tournament team in the Bobcats, then go to the home of in-state rival Trinity and hang onto a three-point victory to topple the hosts – also an NCAA Tournament team – and THEN go to OT against three-time defending champion Amherst. There, an inexperienced Wesleyan team took down the heralded Lord Jeffs. Quite a turnaround for a program that was sub-.500 the past two years.

3. BASE: Wesleyan 4, Amherst 3 in the 12-Inning, Winner-Takes-All NESCAC Championship Game, May 10 in Nashua, NH

Wesleyan baseball celebrated its second-straight NESCAC title this season. (Courtesy of NESCAC Athletics)
Wesleyan baseball celebrated its second-straight NESCAC title this season. (Courtesy of NESCAC Athletics)

After losing four straight to the Cardinals, Amherst finally beat Wesleyan 3-1 in the first game of the day to set up the climactic final game. At this point, both teams were on their last legs in terms of pitching. Through 6.1 innings Wesleyan was up 2-0 behind great pitching from Peter Rantz ’16. Then two homers from Mike Odenwaelder ’16 and Sam Ellinwood ’18 put Amherst up 3-2, but Andrew Yin’s ’15 third double of the day brought around Ellis Schaefer ’17 for the tying run in the 9th. Nick Cooney ’15 worked around two straight bases loaded jams in the 9th and 10th inning. That set the stage for Guy Davidson ’16 to recognize that Odenwaelder was pitching for the first time all year. Davidson sat on a first pitch fastball, drove it out to left, and the Ethan Rode ’17 closed things out to give Wesleyan their second straight NESCAC title.

4. BASK: Trinity 79, Bates 62 in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, March 13 in Babson Park, MA

Ed Ogundeko '17 and Mike Newton '16 left everything they had on the court on this night, but Trinity prevailed over the Bobcats. (Courtesy of Mark Box/Babson College)
Shay Ajayi ’16 and Mike Newton ’16 left everything they had on the court on this night, but Trinity prevailed over the Bobcats. (Courtesy of Mark Box/Babson College)

For contemporary fans of NESCAC men’s basketball, it’s not totally unusual to see a couple of NESCAC squads duke it out in the NCAA tournament (read: Amherst vs. Williams), but Trinity hadn’t been to the Big Dance since 2008, and Bates had never played in the D-III NCAA Tournament. And for those two to meet as late as the Elite Eight? Wow. The game was everything we hoped for for about 13 minutes – then Trinity went on an 11-3 run before the half and extended their lead after the break to finish off the Bobcats fairly easily. Nevertheless, a special moment for all NESCAC men’s basketball fans.

5. FOOT: Amherst 33, Wesleyan 30 in OT in the de facto NESCAC Championship Game, October 18 at Wesleyan

Phillip Nwosu '15 has been one of the NESCAC's best over the past four years, and he cemented his legacy with a game-winner against Wesleyan. (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)
Phillip Nwosu ’15 has been one of the NESCAC’s best over the past four years, and he cemented his legacy with a game-winner against Wesleyan. (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)

We didn’t realize it then, but this game decided the NESCAC championship, and it was a game more than worthy of its weight. In very wet conditions, these two teams went back and forth with neither team ever leading by more than a touchdown. The kicking game ended up being the difference. With Wesleyan up by three and under two minutes remaining, QB/P Jesse Warren ’15 botched a punt that went only 12 yards and set up Amherst at the Cardinal 49. Max Lippe ’15 completed a crucial 4th and 3 to Gene Garay ’15 to get the Jeffs in range for Phillip Nwosu ’15 to hit the game-tying field goal from 41 yards out. In overtime, the Amherst defense stuffed Wesleyan on 4th and 1, and Nwosu nailed the game winner from 35 yards out to give Amherst the stunning win. The Jeffs needed a missed Trinity 23 yard field goal to hold on and win two weeks later to keep their undefeated season alive. As the venerable Lee Corso always says, “this one is gonna come down to special teams.”

Caution, highlights below are not in the correct order.

BONUS. BASE: Tufts 3, Middlebury 2 on a Blown Call, May 3 at Tufts

Before you roll your eyes and close the tab, I’m not complaining about this loss, I just wanted to call attention to what might have been the most dramatic baseball game of the NESCAC regular season that went totally unnoticed.

Full disclosure, in case you didn’t know, I play for the Middlebury baseball team, so of course this is a bit of self-interest involved here, but hear me out. This game went to show that anyone can beat anyone in the game of baseball on any given day (even though Middlebury didn’t actually win), and that is especially true in the NESCAC, which is what makes this league so great. Tufts threw Tim Superko ’17, the team’s de facto ace after Kyle Slinger ’15 suffered the unluckiest season in NESCAC history, who did a very nice job, but Eric Truss ’15 matched him pitch-for-pitch.

Obviously, Tufts was the better ball club this year. Just look at the records. But it felt like a scene from a movie all day as the underdog Panthers clawed back from a first-inning deficit to go up 2-1 in the fifth, and for the Middlebury team there was hope of ending an abysmal season on the highest note possible. The drama mounted over six and a half innings and finally climaxed in the bottom of the seventh. Leading up to this game, Truss, a typical workhorse, started three games in an eight-day span from April 21-28, throwing 18.0 innings – and 245 pitches – before heading back to the bump on May 3 against Tufts. Truss struck out Tom Petry ’17 to get the first out of the seventh inning, but on that pitch, Truss’ 93rd of the game and 338th in the past two weeks, Truss partially tore the UCL in his pitching elbow, unbeknownst to all but the hurler. Miraculously, Will Glazier ’15 flew out to left field for the second out of the inning, but then the magic came to an end for Middlebury. A HBP, two roped singles and an IBB loaded the bases with the score tied and two outs.

The next at-bat was truly Hollywood-worthy. On a 1-0 count, Tufts SS Matt Moser ’16 hit a sharp two-hopper to the left of the Middlebury third baseman – yours truly. With the the subsequent throw apparently beating Moser to first, the Middlebury team took one step back towards the dugout to prepare for extra innings. Then the first base umpire signalled safe, and the ensuing scene was truly chaotic. Some choice words were used, tempers flared, and a stunned Tufts squad mauled Moser in celebration. Win or lose, it was an incredibly-played ball game. However, to describe just how wild of an ending it was, take a look at this still frame from the Tufts broadcast, on the play where Moser was called safe:

The final play of Tufts' 3-2 victory over the Panthers on May 3.
The final play of Tufts’ 3-2 victory over the Panthers on May 3.

I’m not including this to whine about losing. Who knows what would have happened if the game went to extra innings. I just wanted to include what was for me, personally, the most exciting game that I was a part of all season, and among the most exciting games of my long baseball career, one that truly had one of those You-Couldn’t-Script-This-Any-Better endings. These are the types of games that make us love sports, and especially sports in the NESCAC.

 

That does it for our 2014-15 NESCAC coverage. Articles may be sparing over the summer months, as we focus our efforts on rebuilding our site a little bit, but stay tuned on Twitter (@CACSportsBlog) and on Facebook for news about NESCAC athletes and Nothing but NESCAC itself. Thanks again to all of our loyal readers, and good luck to all NESCAC athletes this summer!