Ben Pollack – Nothing But NESCAC

Familiar Territory: No. 16 Amherst Semifinal Preview with No. 2 Benedictine University

Amherst seniors Connor Green '16, Ray Barry '16 and Ben Pollack '16 celebrate their third Sectional title of their careers. (Courtesy of Alonso Nichols/Tufts Photos) — Amherst seniors Connor Green ’16, Ray Barry ’16 and Ben Pollack ’16 celebrate the third Sectional title of their careers. (Courtesy of Alonso Nichols/Tufts Photos)

Game Information: #16 Amherst vs. #2 Benedictine, 5 PM, Salem, VA

New year, new nickname, different roster, same result.

Amherst is back in the Final Four for the third time in just four seasons after a one year hiatus and looking to claim the program’s third national title. More than their previous two trips, this year’s journey to the Final Four was considered a long shot. In 2014 the Purple & White entered the tournament ranked No. 7 at 24-3, and in 2013, when they won the whole shabang, they were 25-2 and ranked second in the country. This year, Amherst ranked No. 16 coming into the tournament, and squeaked through the first weekend with two wins by a total of three points. Then, Amherst controlled the game against Babson in the Sweet 16, but the contest with Tufts was knotted up with under four minutes to play before Amherst finished on a 13-0 run.

No matter how it happened, Amherst is here now with a chance at the title. But, they have to take on, arguably, the best team in the country in undefeated Benedictine University.

It’s hard to find a weakness in the Eagles’ game as they play in their first Final Four. They are lead by two juniors, both from Naperville, Illinois, just a 10 minute ride from the Benedictine campus. Luke Johnson ’17 is an elite talent for the D-III level. He’s taken a circuitous route to get here – playing at two other schools and spending some time earlier in his career at Benedictine, too – but he certainly appears comfortable at last. The 6’9″, 235 lbs center averages 14.5 ppg, 11.1 rpg, 3.2 apg and, here’s the whopper, 3.0 bpg. That’s Tom Palleschi status. Johnson was named the All-Central Region Co-Player of the Year by D3Hooops.com. His fellow Napervillian, Michael “Blasé” Blaszczyk ’17 (I just came up with that nickname), leads the team with 14.6 ppg and contributes across the board with 4.8 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.1 spg and 0.7 bpg. Blaszczyk also brings size to the table at 6’3″, 190 lbs, and has ratched it up in the tournament, scoring 63 points over four games to lead his team. The third key Eagle to watch out for is PG Tahron Harvey ’17. Harvey is a D3Hoops.com All-Central Third Teamer averaging 13.5 ppg, 5.0 apg and 2.2 spg.

The key for Benedictine is that they have shooters all over the floor. Their rotation runs nine deep, and everyone but bruising sixth man Tim Reamer ’16 (6’5″ 240 lbs) can knock down the triple. (Reamer, by the way, was awarded the Elite 90 Award as the athlete at the Final Four with the highest cumulative GPA.) Seven of those nine shoot over 30 percent from deep, including Johnson, which presents a match up nightmare for Amherst. The Eagles will look to feed the big man on the block and let him distribute to their shooters. Furthermore, Benedictine is tenacious on the boards, outrebounding their opponents by 14.7 boards per game. Johnson is a big reason for that, but everyone in the lineup can get after the boards.

Amherst X-factor: Close Out Defense

I’m not going with one player here, but rather a philosophy. And, it’s a philosophy that Amherst has employed quite well so far this season. Amherst has the best three-point percentage defense in the country, and it’s not just because they present great length. To allow only 27.7 percent of opponents’ three pointers to drop, you have to be very good at closing out. I expect Head Coach Dave Hixon to instruct his players to double down on Johnson when he gets the ball in the post, which means it will be even more difficult for Amherst to close out on shooters. If they leave the Eagles’ shooters open it’s going to be a long day for Amherst, but if they can force Benedictine to try to make tough shots in traffic against the size that Amherst’s starting five provides, that could be a recipe for success.

Benedictine X-factor: C Luke Johnson

Johnson is obviously a great all-around player, but he’s an X-factor in this one not because of his scoring, but his propensity to rebound. Amherst has a pretty mediocre rebounding team, grabbing just 3.2 more rebounds per game than their opponents. Recall that Benedictine averages +14.7 boards per game. They also have a great defensive unit. Eagles’ opponents only score at a 37.8 percent clip from the field. That means buckets will be hard to come by for Amherst, and there won’t be many second chances with Johnson cleaning up the boards.

What to Expect:

It’s always so difficult to project NESCAC teams against out-of-region squads. From what I’ve seen over the past four years, the NESCAC is easily the best conference east of Wisconsin. They top-to-bottom quality of teams just can’t be beat, and I think you can look at the number of NESCAC teams that get into the NCAA Tournament, their success, and the success of even mid-tier and lower-tier NESCAC teams against high-quality out-of-conference opponents as proof of that statement. Therefore, and not because of favoritism, I often lean towards NESCAC squads. Even Benedictine can be questioned for the quality of their opponents. Their strength of schedule as of the last NCAA Regional Rankings, which come out before conference tournament play, was an average 0.524. Amherst had a .558 SOS at that time. Since then, however, Benedictine has beaten #10 Ohio Wesleyan and #13 Alma in the NCAA Tournament, so they’ve proven their mettle, and you don’t go 30-0 without having one heck of a roster.

On the Amherst side, the biggest question for me is always the point guard play. Jayde Dawson ’18 is great at times, and at other times gets pulled for Reid Berman ’17, who’s a very good player but has completely gone one-dimensional this year offensively, scoring just 2.1 ppg. One or the other will have to have a big game distributing, because with Benedictine’s defense the worst case scenario for Amherst is that they lose their offensive flow and start trying to go one-on-one on every possession. At the five spot, David George ’17 will see big minutes while trying to defend Johnson, which means less minutes for Eric Conklin ’17, George’s offensive counterpart. If Coach Hixon has to go with a lineup of Berman, Connor Green ’16, Johnny McCarthy ’18, Jeff Racy ’17 and George for extended stretches then they lose some significant offensive punch.

Whoever sees big minutes at the point for Amherst, though, expect this game to be played in the high 70’s and possibly 80’s. Amherst can score in bunches with the best of them, and the Eagles have tallied an outrageous 88.1 ppg this season. With two great, tough defenses though, don’t expect those points to come easy. We might have a uniquely fast-paced game on our hands with lots of misses, few offensive boards, and quick transitions.

As well as I believe the NESCAC prepares its teams for postseason play, I don’t see a chink in the Benedictine armor. The last game they won by less than nine points came on December 30. That’s almost three months ago. Amherst will have to play a perfect game in order to win. I don’t think they can pull it off. They may come close, and a hot night from Racy and Green beyond the arc could push the Purple & White over the top, but Benedictine has the lengthy defenders to stop that and I don’t see it happening.

Prediction: Benedictine 85 – Amherst 80

Successful Bridge Year: Amherst Season Wrap-up

Dave Hixon lead a young but talented team. (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics

Season: 21-8 (6-4), lost NESCAC Championship to Wesleyan, lost in NCAA Second Round to St. John Fisher College

Nobody lost more from last year – not Williams who graduated two 1,000-point scorers and lost Duncan Robinson to Michigan, not Hamilton that saw the NESCAC’s scoring champ transfer, not Middlebury that lost All-NESCAC point guard Joey Kizel ’14 and a slew of other talented players – nobody lost more than Amherst. There was the loss of Tom Killian ’14, a fantastic forward who could score and rebound, the graduation of David Kalema ’14, another guy who could stretch the floor and make shots, and even the end of Connor Gach’s ’14 career, a role player that probably would have been a starter on half of the teams in the NESCAC. But nothing hurt more than the graduation of Amherst all-time leading scorer, two-time NESCAC Player of the Year, three-time D3Hoops.com All-American, D3Hoops.com Player of the Year and National Association of Basketball Coaches Player of the Year, Aaron Toomey ’14. Have I made my point?

So, you could have forgiven this team for going through a down year, especially when the only senior on the roster, Alex Levine ’15, wasn’t expected to play major minutes. Two consecutive losses at home in December by 20 and 19 points, respectively, showed that Amherst was still very much a work in progress. The Jeffs continued to struggle but they still managed to beat some over-matched opponents in non-conference play which would end up being crucial for Amherst making the NCAAs as an at-large team. Halfway through NESCAC play, the Jeffs were 2-3 and coming off of a 70-54 loss at home to Trinity. The rise of Reid Berman ’17 to the starting lineup helped settle down Amherst and led to a six game winning streak that saw the Jeffs hit their stride. After a setback against Middlebury that cost them a home playoff game, they stormed into the NESCAC finals before going cold from outside. Ultimately, the Jeffs fell short of a fourth straight NESCAC title, and missed out on a third straight Final Four appearance with a loss to No. 20 St. John Fisher College in the Second Round. Nevertheless, Amherst proved that they don’t rebuild, they reload.

Coach David Hixon did this quite literally not only by bringing in NESCAC Rookie of the Year Johnny McCarthy ’18, but also by courting two Division-I transfers in Jayde Dawson ’18 and Eric Conklin ’17. Both had their ups and downs, but showed flashes of brilliance in postseason play.

“It’s tough transferring, both [Jayde and Eric] came from schools that are much different from [Amherst], in a sense they’re still freshman but at the same time they’ve got a year of college ball experience under their belts … Although they’re older, they’re still new and it takes a while to figure out life here at Amherst both on and off the court.” – Jeff Racy ’17

Racy was impressed with the way his transfer teammates adjusted to Amherst life, but they should have been equally impressed with Racy’s play. The long small forward was one of the scariest deep threats in the NESCAC, and set an Amherst single-game record with 10 three-pointers against Conn. College. Center David George ’17 continued his defensive dominance and made strides offensively. The Berman-Dawson combination showed that when they’re good, they’re very good. And the rest of the roster showed enough to make Amherst fans and players feel good about this team’s chances for next year.

“Going forward, I think this team has the potential to win a NESCAC and possibly a national championship,” Racy said.

High point: 86-67 OT Win at home over rival Williams on Jan. 21

After a loss in the NESCAC matchup by a single point 11 days before, the Jeffs were refocused when Williams came to town. The Jeffs got their best home crowd of the season, which helped spur them to a 12-2 advantage in overtime. Any game with the Ephs is bound to have a little extra something around it, but this season the two contests were especially dramatic.

MVP: Forward Connor Green ’16

Throw out the last couple games of the season when Green hit a wall, because the swingman is undeniably among the five best players in the NESCAC. He can shoot the three, rebound like a big man, use his body to finish through contact and matchup up with the opponent’s best scorer. Green took on a lot more responsibility this season after a spectacular 2014 class graduated, and much like his counterpart in western Mass., Dan Wohl ’15, he answered the bell with authority.

Player to Watch in 2015-16: F/C Ben Pollack ’15

The junior big man was a captain for this season’s squad, yet he only got on the floor for 11 games as he struggled to come back from an ACL tear. Folks around Amherst know that Pollack has the ability to be a difference maker in the NESCAC, an above average defender who also passes well from the high post, and adding a healthy Pollack to a suddenly deep front court that includes two big bodies in George and Conklin as well as the more slender Jacob Nabatoff ’17 and the impending arrival of the highly-touted 6’10” center Joe Schneider ’19 could be enough for Amherst to stake a claim to the league’s best corps of big men.

Amherst Team Preview: Jeffs Reload, Not Rebuild

Amherst Lord Jeffs

2013-2014 Season: 27-4 (9-1 NESCAC), first in NESCAC, won NESCAC tournament, reached NCAA Final Four

Head Coach: David Hixon, 37th year

Starters Returning: 2

G Connor Green ’16

F David George ‘17

Breakout Player: Eric Conklin ’17

Conklin is a 6’6″ 235 pound forward who transferred from the University of Arizona this year. He is yet another big body who will punish NESCAC teams in the post. Playing time might be hard to come by because of all the other front court players on the Amherst roster, though. If he can show that he has a developed mid-range or three-point shooting game, then he will carve out an important role for the Jeffs.

Projected Starting Five:

Jayde Dawson-Gordon (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)

G Jayde Dawson-Gordon ’17

Dawson-Gordon arrives in Amherst as a transfer from Division-I Fairleigh-Dickinson. He had a fairly (I crack myself up sometimes with this stuff) disappointing freshman year, and transferring down is not an automatic indicator of success. Still, with no established point guard on the roster, the opportunity is there for Dawson to take the job and run with it, but returners Jeff Racy ’17 and Reid Berman ’17 will also push for minutes in the backcourt, and both had strong season openers.

Connor Green (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)

G Connor Green

Green is the seasoned vet that returns this year for the Lord Jeffs. With the losses of Tom Killian ’14, David Kalema ’14, and Aaron Toomey ’14, Green has huge shoes to fill as the experienced leader on a young team that has only one senior. After averaging 17.9 points per game and 5.8 rebounds, Green could be in the running for Player of the Year honors in 2014-15. He is a bull of a player who is a somewhat streaky shooter from the outside. He will have a lot more responsibilities in creating offense for the Jeffs later in the shot clock.

Johnny McCarthy (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)

G Johnny McCarthy ’18

It seems like Amherst tends to have a high impact freshman more often than not, and McCarthy is that player this season. His jump shot bears a passing resemblance to that of departed guard/forward Killian. He should bring a similar skill set as an athletic slasher and defender who is the college equivalent of the NBA’s 3 and D player. His ability to play from day one is vital given the dearth of experienced guards on the Amherst roster.

David George (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)

F David George

George is a freak of a Division-III athlete. He became a major factor when Pollack (see below) succumbed to injury last year, and only got better as the year progressed. He is a difference maker on defense, where he swatted 80 shots last season, and despite only averaging 23.7 minute per game, he hauled down 5.9 rebounds per contest. He will likely be asked to do a bit more on the offensive side this season, and he should be up for the challenge. George only netted 6.6 points per game but was very efficient, shooting at a 53 percent clip. Get ready for a monster season from the sophomore.

Ben Pollack (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)

F Ben Pollack ’16

Pollack is no slouch on the defensive end himself, as he swatted 23 shots in his injury-shortened sophomore campaign, and was even better than George from the floor, shooting 57 percent with 8.1 points per game. With George and Pollack together with all the other big men coming off the bench, teams will have a hard time in the lane on both sides of the court when they match up with Amherst. The 6’8″ Jacob Nabatoff ’17 got the start over Pollack in the season opener, but the two played similar minutes. Expect this division of playing time to continue unless one player separates himself.

Everything Else:

The Lord Jeffs are coming off their third straight NESCAC Championship and a Final Four, but were shocked by the Ephs in the NCAAs after topping Williams thrice during the season and NESCAC tournament. They have a lot of talent to replace since Toomey, Kalema and Killian, all double digit scorers last season, graduated, yet Amherst still comes in at number two in the D3Hoops.com preseason poll. The coaching staff expects that they will rely heavily on George and Green to carry the load. It will be interesting to see if the two D-I transfers, Dawson and Conklin, can make an impact from day one. They have flown relatively under the radar but it shouldn’t be long until word spreads about them both.

Junior captain Pollack, recovering from an ACL injury, was cleared not long ago to return to practice, so he may have to work his way back into the rotation slowly, but once he is healthy he will be a force for Amherst. In the meantime, Nabatoff, a face up shooter who can stretch the floor, will get a good chunk of minutes in the front court along with George and Pollack. Despite all the question marks resulting from the graduation of the spectacular 2014 class, Hixon has proven that he is able to reload, not rebuild, and Amherst should be just as much of a player in the NESCAC and NCAA title races as ever.