Adam Lamont

The Biggest Stories of the Year: 2014 in Review

Doing an article about the year that just happened around New Years is a long-time tradition that often results in news sources practically plagiarizing each other. But the fact of the matter is that nobody else is going to review the biggest stories in the NESCAC if we don’t. So we thought the idea actually was not that bad after all. 2014 was really chock-full of good stories. Besides the obvious choice of the inception of this site as the biggest story in the NESCAC this season, a few other moments jump out. Here is our look back at some of 2014’s highlights

Duncan Robinson and Matt Hart Transfer

Duncan Robinson (Courtesy of Detroit Free Press)

Matt Hart (Courtesy of Hamilton Athletics)

Transfers into the NESCAC are not unusual (e.g. McCallum Foote), but not very often do we see players voluntarily transfer from the league. In June, Hart, a first team All-NESCAC performer in 2013-2014 as a sophomore, took a preferred walk-on spot at George Washington. Then, in July, Duncan Robinson, the 2013-2014 NESCAC ROY, made the unprecedented move of going from the NESCAC to the Big Ten by accepting a full scholarship to Michigan. By NCAA rules transfers to Division 1 have to sit out a year before they are eligible to play so we won’t hear much from this duo until next winter. Both are practicing and taking classes this year, and they are making an impression already. The departure of both of them also helped create the wide open landscape in NESCAC basketball heading into conference play in 2015.

Rumor has it that Duncan Robinson broke @NStauskas11 shooting record this week! Wow! @D_Bo20 #mylordthosenumbersarestaggering

— Bacari Alexander (@bacari34) December 3, 2014

Mike Maker Gets a D1 Coaching Job

Former Williams head coach Mike Maker was a longtime Division 1 assistant before taking the head job in Williamstown, and he returned to the D1 ranks by taking a job in June at Marist. While at Williams, Maker did practically everything besides win a National Title. His up-tempo offensive oriented style of play was the prettiest in the NESCAC and resulted in the Amherst-Williams rivalry climbing to another stratosphere of watch-ability. Williams recognized Maker’s positive influence on the program and wisely hired one of his former assistant’s at Williams, Kevin App, as his successor. Maker faces a major task leading a Division 1 program, but his track record at Williams suggests he will be able to get the job done. The Red Foxes are off to a slow start, however, going 1-11 before the New Year.

Aaron Toomey, Joey Kizel, and Michael Mayer all Wrap up Fantastic Careers

Aaron Toomey (Courtesy of News & Record)

Joey Kizel (Courtesy of Middlebury Athletics)

Michael Mayer (Courtesy of Williams Athletics)

The 2014 basketball class was one of the finest in the NESCAC’s history. Impact players dotted the roster of almost every team, but the trio of Toomey, Kizel and Mayer was a transcendent group that shaped the story lines of the NESCAC for four years. Kizel’s final season was one with many what-ifs as Middlebury lost many close games and did not make the NCAA tournament despite Kizel’s 16.6 points and 5.6 assists per game. Mayer shook off a slow start because of injury to be Williams go-to offensive threat during their NCAA run. And Toomey finished his career as one of the most decorated players in NESCAC history, taking home his second consecutive National Player of the Year award. An entire book could be written detailing the clashes Williams, Amherst and Middlebury had during the careers of these three, but suffice to say that they represented the best in NESCAC basketball. All three are now continuing their careers abroad in Europe.

Wesleyan Continues its Transformation

President Michael Roth (right) introducing coach Mike Whalen (left) in 2010 (Courtesy of Wesleyan University)

The hiring of head football coach Mike Whalen away from Williams in 2010 signaled a clear change of priorities under President Michael Roth. In Roth’s own words, “Whatever we do at Wesleyan, we should strive to do well.” This mantra led to a re-commitment to the university’s athletics programs, a perspective that was not the usual one for the Connecticut school, a place known for its eccentricities and media members more than anything else. 2014 saw football under Whalen have its second consecutive 7-1 season behind a program-changing senior class. The baseball team also captured its first NESCAC championship ever and advanced to the final of their NCAA tournament regional. The reasons for the move towards an emphasis on team sports at Wesleyan are usually explained as a monetary decision. The results on the field are clear.

The Trinity Streak Ends

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)

For 13 years NESCAC football teams tried and failed to beat Trinity in Hartford, Connecticut. The last time that Trinity had lost at home was just 18 days after 9/11. Finally, and quite suddenly, on a late October afternoon, an underdog Middlebury team handily defeated the Bantams. The loss ended Trinity’s 53-game home winning streak. Around the Trinity program, the slogan was always “No Poop in the Coop.” For years that held up, and the field turf that Trinity installed in 2002 only saw victories until this season. Trinity also lost at home the next week to Amherst meaning they will now go into next season with a different type of streak at home. The Bantams hope this one will end quickly.

Amherst Cements a Dynasty

While Trinity stumbled for the second consecutive year, the Jeffs overcame their own offensive limitations and went undefeated to capture another NESCAC championship. It was their third title in four years (fourth in six years) and third undefeated season since 2009. This year’s team was built around a suffocating defense and an offense that came through when it mattered. In a season that many thought would be dominated by the Connecticut duo of Wesleyan and Trinity, Amherst showed its staying power. While Williams stumbled to another 2-6 season, their arch-rival is having success both on the field and off of it with 20 players on the All-Academic team, tied for the most in the league with Williams.

Rest in Peace Bates’ John Durkin and Amherst’s Alex Hero

John Durkin (Courtesy of Bates Athletics)

Alex Hero (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)

Tragedy struck not once but twice in the NESCAC this year. Bates football player John Durkin was studying abroad in Rome for his junior spring when he went missing. His body was later found in a subway tunnel after he was struck by a train. Alex Hero, Amherst’s starting centerfielder last spring, died on Thanksgiving day only months after graduating from Amherst. We highly recommend you go read this remembrance written by Amherst head coach Brian Hamm and teammate Dave Cunningham ’16. Our condolences to both communities and may these two rest in peace.

Don’t Mess with the Bobcats: Stock Report 12/8

Alumni Gymnasium with the student section at the far end. (Courtesy of Bates Athletics)

From the outside Alumni Gym does not look much. Once you get inside you realize that it actually is not big at all. That lack of size is, of course, the greatest strength of Bates’ home court. Only a few hundred people can fit into the gym which gives it a high school atmosphere. Classic old wooden stands extend back on both sides only eight rows deeps. On the far end of the gym behind one of the baskets enough space is available for 100 people to sit: a ready made fan section for Bates fanatics.

Thursday night I traveled to Bates along with nine friends to see our favorite team Bowdoin take on a surging Bates team. Last year a similar group traveled to Lewiston in February and watched Bowdoin dismantle a Bates team that was in the midst of a late season collapse. That game was during Bates’ winter break so most of the students were home for the game.

The atmosphere on Thursday night was completely different however. By the time the national anthem began, the student section was about three quarters full, and by the opening tip the gym was louder than most NESCAC gyms. Many other students littered the rest of the stands as well making empty seats a rare commodity. The first Bates basket brought a cascade of roars from under the basket that did not let up much causing some visible discomfort from the visiting Polar Bears.

After a back and forth first half, Bates busted open the game part way through the second. Bates was on offense going towards the student section in the second half, and the students had no problem letting Bowdoin hear it every time a Bates player made a basket. Two consecutive dunks put Bates up big and forced a Bowdoin timeout that could barely be heard over a rocking crowd.

Bates has been the most impressive team of the season thus far. While their 1-9 conference record still casts a shadow of doubt over them, that shadow keeps receding every game Bates plays. The NESCAC is far from Division 1 where students live and die by how their basketball team does, but Bates has staked their claim definitively as having the best home-court advantage in the NESCAC. One date to circle for certain on your calendars is January 9th when Bates opens up conference play against 7-0 Middelbury at 7 PM in Alumni Gym.

Stock Up

Guard Jaquann Starks ’16 (Trinity): So much NESCAC offensive success is based on the point guard’s play, and different teams require their point guards to approach the game distinctly. Starks is primarily asked to score in his role for the Bantams and leads the team with 15.1 points per game. His shooting percentages are 35.1/44.0/80.6 (in order of field goal/three point/free throw). Starks has struggled to shoot the ball well closer to the basket in large part because there is no spacing when he goes into the lane since he is the primary three point threat for Trinity. That lack of offensive weapons does not appear to be going away, but that does not mean Trinity is not a threat this season in the NESCAC. With Starks providing much of the offense recently, the Bantams have put together a four game winning streak since falling to 2-2.

Forward Marcus Delpeche ’17 (Bates): The Bobcats proved that they are for real not simply because they beat Colby and Bowdoin, but also how they did it. Last year Marcus played fewer than 17 minutes per game while serving as the backup for his brother Malcolm. This season Coach Jon Furbush has become comfortable with playing the two twins at the same time, and it has yielded great results thus far. Marcus is the third leading scorer for Bates with 10.7 points per game. Many of those points are off of offensive rebounds because opponents do not have power forwards capable of keeping him off of the boards. 49% of his rebounds have been offensive rebounds. Having Marcus and Malcolm playing big minutes together makes Bates capable of matching up against the likes of Amherst and Trinity in conference play.

Forward Hunter Merryman ’15 (Middlebury): If 2014 is “the year of the skilled forward” as Pete Lindholm asserts, then Merryman is the one most often forgotten about. After all, Merryman is not even the best forward on his team. Yet he still is having an All-NESCAC caliber season. He is averaging 17.1 points per game, most of which is because he is making an outrageous 56.4% of his three pointers. Logic tells us Merryman is unlikely to have morphed into an automatic shot maker, but is rather enjoying an extended hot streak that should end soon. Even when he slows down Merryman will continue to be a very good player, albeit not the second coming of Dirk Nowitzki.

Stock Down

Guard Bryan Hurley ’15 (Bowdoin): Last week was a terrible one for Bowdoin overall going 0-3 with the defeat assured well before the final buzzer sounded. A lot of things went wrong for the Polar Bears, but the sudden ineffectiveness of Hurley was one of the principle problems. The point guard averaged only 4.3 points per game in the three contests. Even more worryingly he saw his assist:turnover ratio plummet. In Bowdoin’s first four games (all wins) he had a 3.5 assist:turnover ratio but managed only a 1.1 ratio in his last three games. Without Hurley making plays, Bowdoin’s offense fell stagnant for crucial parts of the second half, and their opponents were able to pull away. Hurley and the other members of the Bowdoin senior class have to return to form quickly in order to turn things around.

Amherst and Middlebury

The Jeffs and Panthers both remain undefeated, but they both have shown real weaknesses so far. For Amherst, the problem is putting all the pieces of their talented roster together into something that works as a basketball team. We have said it before, but the Jeffs simply do not look like your normal Division 3 team since they trot out two athletic 6’8″ players, two 6’5″ wings, and a 6’2″ point guard. That hasn’t kept them from having some close calls in games. Though the final score against Emerson indicated a blowout, the Jeffs held only a one point lead halfway through the second half. A huge steal from Johnny McCarthy ’18 off an inbounds pass helped spark a major run that put the game out of reach, but it took Amherst a while to put away an Emerson team that was overmatched in terms of height.

Meanwhile Middlebury escaped their first loss of the season by the skin of their teeth, coming back from seven points down in the final minute against Skidmore to win in regulation. The win would not have been possible without five missed free throws from Skidmore in the last minute. Middlebury for now lacks any type of inside presence because Matt Daley ’16 is still out of commission, and they still seem to fluctuate wildly in their level of play. Somewhat surprisingly, Joey Kizel’s ’14 absence has not been felt as much as the lack of center Jack Roberts ’14.

Both teams love to play at a high pace and thrive on their talent in the open court. However, when teams are able to slow down games then they run into trouble. The schedule of course works in the favor of both these teams as they will have a lot of practice time over winter break to help smooth out some of their issues before they jump into conference play.

Revenge of the Nerds

It escaped our notice for a little bit, but the NESCAC announced the Fall All-Academic team a few weeks back meaning it is time for us to put our own little spin on it. Just as we did back in the spring for baseball, we are going to make two hypothetical teams. One team is made up solely of players who made the All-Academic team and also happen to be pretty good at football as well. The other team is filled with players who, while they are surely great people and students in their own right, did not make the All-Academic team but still are very good at football.

What is the point you ask? Well it is fun first of all. More importantly, it reminds us that NESCAC athletes are really students and not athletes masquerading as students. The guys who dominate on Saturday also often dominate the classroom and library every day of the week.

Reminder that freshmen are not eligible for the All-Academic team.

Offense

	All-Academic			Everyone Else
POS	Player	School	POS	Player	School
QB	Jack Doll ’15	Tufts	QB	Matt Milano ’16	Middlebury
RB	Tyler Grant ’17	Bowdoin	RB	Chudi Iregbulem ’15	Trinity
FB	Jack Donovan ’15	Bowdoin	FB	Michael Budness ’15	Trinity
WR	Grant Luna ’17	Middlebury	WR	Mark Riley ’16	Bates
WR	Brendan Rankowitz ’15	Middlebury	WR	Gene Garay ’15	Amherst
WR	Steven Kiesel ’15	Williams	WR	Matthew Minno ’16	Middlebury
OL	Scott Mergner ’15	Amherst	OL	Pat Dimase ’15	Wesleyan
OL	Lyle Seebeck ’15	Bates	OL	Dan Finta ’15	Middlebury
OL	Connor Clancy ’15	Colby	OL	Joe Magardino ’15	Trinity
OL	Blake Shapskinsky ’15	Middlebury	OL	Nick Noonan ’15	Hamilton
OL	Sam Hart ’16	Amherst	OL	Alan Felix ’15	Williams

Three quick observations before moving onto the defense.

1. One would expect quarterbacks, a position so often associated with intelligence in the media, to be all over the All-Academic team. However, Jack Doll ’15 is the only QB who saw any significant playing time make it. Fortunately for the hypothetical coach of the All-Academic team, Doll is a good one who is more than capable of leading the offense.

2. The All-Academic team includes five players who were also All-NESCAC. Three of those five are on the offensive line with Blake Shapshinsky ’15 and Connor Clancy ’15 on the second team and Scott Mergner ’15 the lone representative from the first team. In fact, the offensive line is the strongest unit considering Sam Hart ’16 started at left tackle for Amherst while Lyle Seebeck ’15 started multiple years for Bates.

3. So yes, the talent level on the All-Academic team is a notch below the Everyone Else team, but it is only a notch really. In our opinion, Tyler Grant ’17 was snubbed first team All-NESCAC honors, and the receiving trio sets up nicely with Doll’s skill set of short crossing routes.

Defense

All-Academic Everyone Else

POS	Player	School	POS	Player	School
DE	Nik Powers ’15	Wesleyan	DE	Jimmy Brao ’15	Tufts
DE	Max Lehrman ’15	Amherst	DE	Gil Araujo ’16	Middlebury
DT	Paul Johnson ’17	Amherst	DT	Lyle Baker ’16	Trinity
DT	CT Harris ’15	Colby	DT	Michael De Percin ’15	Hamilton
OLB	Alex Daversa-Russo ’16	Wesleyan	OLB	Tom Szymanski ’15	Trinity
OLB	Chris Tamasi ’15	Amherst	OLB	Mark Upton ’17	Bates
MLB	Tim Patricia ’16	Middlebury	MLB	Ned Deane ’15	Amherst
CB	Tom Cabarle ’15	Williams	CB	Jake Bussani ’14	Wesleyan
CB	Dan Pierce ’16	Middlebury	CB	Jaymie Spears ’16	Amherst
SS	Matt Benedict ’15	Middlebury	SS	Donnie Cimino ’15	Wesleyan
FS	Mike Mancini ’15	Trinity	FS	Jason Buco ’15

Three thoughts on the defense

1. The difference between these two teams is miniscule. 10 of the 11 All-Academic team were also All-NESCAC, including five on the first team All-NESCAC. Dan Pierce ’16, the only player who didn’t make All-NESCAC, still enjoyed an incredible year and had a strong argument for making it.

2. Safety was the deepest position for the All-Academic team while corner was the weakest. So we cheated a little bit and decided that we are simply going to have four safeties in the secondary. While the all safety secondary might give up a little in the passing game, try running outside against it, I dare you.

3. The defensive line for the All-Academic team is slightly stronger. Nik Powers ’15 and Max Lehrman ’15 were first team while CT Harris ’15 and Paul Johnson ’17 were second team. Harris also made first team last season and Johnson might have been first team if not for NESCAC coaches preferring to honor seniors on the first team.

Special Teams

All-Academic All-NESCAC

POS	Player	School	POS	Player	School
KR	Chris Gow ’16	Amherst	KR	Zack Trause ’15	Tufts
P	David Kurey ’15	Bates	P	Kyle Pulek ’16	Trinity
K	Joe Mallock ’15	Williams	K	Phillip Nwosu ’15	Amherst

Looking down the rosters of both teams, the All-Academic team certainly would give the Everyone Else team a run for their money on most days. If we were setting the line for the game, it would settle in around -6 in favor of the Everyone Else team. The key to the game would likely be how Matt Milano ’16 was able to throw against the secondary made up completely of safeties. One would guess that the All-Academic team would be able to get good pressure on Milano because of their strength on the defensive line and the presence of Chris Tamasi ’15 coming off of the edge.

Another note of importance is that Amherst, the NESCAC champions, also tied for the most players on the All-Academic team with their rivals Williams. Both placed 20 football players on the team.

Finally, what we wrote back in the spring still holds.

“One last note is that many of the athletes who did not make the All-Academic team still work incredibly hard in the classroom. Keep in mind that the difficulty of achieving the requisite 3.35 GPA fluctuates between departments, majors and professors. This isn’t to disparage anyone who did make the All-Academic team because a 3.35 isn’t easy no matter what classes you take. I want to make clear that I’m not putting down The Everyone Else roster for their performance in the classroom. A lot of factors besides a student’s intelligence and work ethic go into what a final GPA looks like. With that being said, a huge congratulations to all of the students for their great work both on the field and in the classroom.”

Much to be Thankful for: Stock Report 12/1

The Thanksgiving holiday causes barely a blip in most team’s schedules, and the last week of November gave us plenty more of data points to judge teams off of. Overall it was a good week for NESCAC schools with the league going 15-4 combined. Five teams (Amherst, Bowdoin, Bates, Hamilton, and Middlebury) remain undefeated, and Tufts is the only team under .500 at 2-3.

Williams’ Hayden Rooke-Ley ’15 has emerged as the best story of the season thus far because of his sweet shooting stroke. The guard is now a perfect 61-61 from the free throw line.

Update on the Hayden Rooke-Ley free throw record: He now has hit 61-of-61 on the season. The record (corrected) is 66 straight, in 2011.

— Panther Nation (@MiddPantherBlog) December 1, 2014

Williams plays at RPI tonight at 8 PM, and you can watch as Rooke-Ley goes for the record here.

Stock Up

Guard Joseph Lin ’15 (Hamilton): After Matt Hart ’16 transferred and Greg Newton ’14 graduated, Hamilton needed to revamp their backcourt this season. Lin was a backup last season who averaged 5.6 points and 1.8 assists per game last season. He has bumped up those averages big time to lead the team in points with 13.4 per game and assists with 5.0 per game. Somewhat amazingly, Lin is still coming off the bench while Greg Dwyer ’18 runs the first team. The Continentals are off to a 6-0 start, though four of those wins have come by single digits. The younger brother of that other Lin is ensuring that Hamilton, the team that was predicted to be one of the weakest teams in the NESCAC, still has a lot of friskiness in it.

Trinity’s Defense: Just as the warning bells were starting to go off in Hartford, the Bantams appear to have righted the ship. In their last two games, Trinity has held their opponents to an average of 45 points per game. Both games were wins despite the Bantams scoring less than 60 points in both games. The Bantams will take any drop in offensive production as long as they keep grinding out victories. Jaquann Starks ’16 is leading the team in scoring though he is averaging less than two assists per game. Wednesday will be a good test for Trinity when they play Springfield, an NCAA tournament team a year ago.

Center Chris Hudnut ’16 (Colby): Consistent excellence is one of the hardest things for fans to appreciate, especially when that excellence comes in the form of unflashy play. Hudnut’s game reminds us of Tim Duncan, someone whose greatness was not properly understood for a long time. On the offensive end Hudnut is effective because he can score in so many different ways. He can work out of the pick and roll, attack from the elbow, or use his varied post game in the low block. He uses his size and strength to overcome athleticism that is really only slightly above average. Hudnut has abandoned the three pointer after shooting 64 threes last season. That commitment to playing inside helps explain his uptick in rebounding as well from 8.4 to 10.9 rebounds per game.

Stock Down

Guard Stephen Haladyna ’16 (Tufts): The junior small forward is the third leading scorer for Tufts with 8.2 points per game, but that is where the good news ends for him. He is shooting only 25.5% from the field, including an awful 17.4% from three. He has been taking poor care of the ball turning it over 2.6 times per game while only supplying 1.0 assist per game. He has seen his production tail off in the last two games in large part because he went 0-8 from beyond the arc. Tufts sits at 2-3 on the year now, and Haladyna is far from the only reason why they are in this funk. Still, he needs to shake off his early season shooting slump now for the Jumbos to get back on track.

Free Throw Shooting: For some odd reason, about half of the NESCAC is having an awful time at the line overall so far this season. Five teams are all shooting less than 66.6% from the line. For comparisons sake, Trinity had the lowest percentage last year and still made 67.0%. Tufts and Wesleyan are both barely over 60%, a level that is usually reserved only for big men. Though overall the league is not far off from where it was last year, most of that is because of the absurd rate that Rooke-Ley has taken and made free throws. Take out his shooting and the overall NESCAC percentage falls from a respectable 72.4% (only .3% off of last year’s overall total) to a much less impressive 71.0%.

Bowdoin Identity: The Polar Bears carved out an identity in 2013-2014 built around defense and rebounding. Center John Swords ’15 was the obvious reason for that being their strength, yet there were concerns that they would be unable to replicate the same template because of the loss of their senior class. Grant White ’14 and Andrew Madlinger ’14 were both well above-average perimeter defenders who allowed Bowdoin to play both man and zone. The early returns through four games for Bowdoin were good though. Opponents were scoring a NESCAC-leading 57.5 points per game while the Polar Bears out-rebounded teams by 14.2 boards per game. Then the Polar Bears laid an egg last night losing 68-48 to Babson. The offense was shut down for long stretches, but the real concerns are how Babson was able to control play. Bowdoin lost the battle for the boards by nine despite Babson only having one player above 6’5″. After starting 12-0 in 2013, Bowdoin needs to recover from their first loss quickly with games against Colby and Bates later this week.

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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.

It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint: 10 Thoughts on the First Games

We wanted to wait until every team had played a game before giving our initial impressions on the first looks that we got of NESCAC teams. It was a whirlwind of a first round of games that played out in the only way we thought it could: unpredictably.

1. Long way to March: One of the things that we harped on consistently during football was how quickly the season goes. Every football game has enormous ramifications. Obviously the same is not true for basketball as teams have months to come together as a team and gel before the NESCAC season begins. Teams as we see them now are going to look very different in a couple of months. Freshmen who barely got off the bench so far will end up influencing the conference race down the stretch while upperclassmen just getting comfortable in their roles will blossom. Do not overreact to a small sample size. Of course, that does not mean there is nothing to takeaway from these games either.

2. Injuries matter…to a point: A major takeaway was that a host of players did not suit up. Hunter Sabety ’17 missed Tufts’ first game but returned last night. Patrick Stewart ’16 will miss significant amounts of time because of a back injury, and Ajani Santos ’16 is out for an undisclosed time with an injury. Those losses all showed in their teams performance somewhat. Yet Keegan Pieri ’15 did not play for Bowdoin last weekend and the Polar Bears barely missed a beat. Pieri will be back this weekend making Bowdoin that much more dangerous, but the lesson is that teams are constructed in different ways. While Bowdoin had the personnel to survive without one of their two returning starters, other teams felt the crunch.

3. Trinity is a big fat question mark: It was surprising to see Trinity give up 83 points in their first game, but anytime your opponent goes 13-27 from three you are going to give up a lot of points. The good news was Trinity still won the game and doubled up UMass Dartmouth on the boards. When Salem State put up 102 on Trinity on Sunday then eyebrows across the league were raised. Known for their suffocating defense, the Bantams allowed Salem State to shoot 56.9 percent from the field and got out-rebounded. Trinity allowed only 61.4 points per game last year, and with everyone back their defense was supposed to be even better. They should be able to turn things around on that end, but they are not a team built to score 80 points a game so they need to improve sooner rather than later.

4. Losses hurt NCAA chances: On an individual level for each team these losses are not devastating if the teams can turn it around, but the NESCAC’s general struggles could hurt the league when the selection committee meets for the NCAA tournament. The NESCAC is generally a three bid league though it often only gets two teams into the tournament. Everyone knows how much talent left from the NESCAC so there is reason to believe that the league could be down this year. The NESCAC tournament champion gets an automatic bid. If the NESCAC continues to rack up out of conference losses that will make a NESCAC team more likely to be overlooked for an at-large bid.

5. Tufts is an enigma: For those who follow college football, the term Clemsoning is familiar. Clemson always seems to lose one game every season where they far outmatch their opponent in talent level but makes a host of mistakes to get upset. Over on the D3Boards, user lefrakenstein used the term “Tuftsing” to describe how it is almost predictable that the Jumbos are struggling out of the gate despite all of the talent on their roster. Now that they are 0-2, Tufts has to figure out how to put together all of their talent quicker than other teams. They begin conference play against Middlebury and Amherst and cannot afford to lose both of those games.

6. Williams lacks depth: The Ephs have been deeply reliant on their starting five to provide pretty much everything for them so far. Coach Kevin App did a better job last night of managing his players’ minutes, but that was not enough to stop SUNY Oneonta from mounting a large second half comeback that pushes Williams to 0-2. Ryan Kilcullen ’15 has averaged 35 minutes per game after being a secondary role player last year. The freshmen should develop and be able to give the perimeter players time to rest, but Kilcullen will need to play more than 30 minutes a game all season unless Edward Flynn ’16 can deliver on the promise he has shown. Depth is not everything (Amherst basically only played their starters down the stretch last year), but it sure helps.

7. Aaron Toomey’s absence looms large: Of course there was no question that Amherst was going to miss Toomey, one of the most decorated players in NESCAC history, but with Jayde Dawson ’17 transferring in from Division-I, the hope was that the team would adjust its style of play. Dawson struggled mightily in his first game and was benched down the stretch last night, but he should turn things around. Even then he is not the same type of player as Toomey. I did not realize it until I watched Toomey live, but he had this unbelievable skill of being in complete control of the game no matter the circumstances. Reid Berman ’17 looked much more confident than he did last year and was a major reason Amherst came back, but he still had three turnovers including one where the defender simply picked his pocket and scored a layup the other way.

8. Shooting is at a premium right now: One of the reasons for teams struggling to score is futility from the outside. More than half of NESCAC teams are making less than 30 percent of their threes. A lot of that is because the premier shooters in the NESCAC graduated. The top five players from last year in terms of three pointers made all departed from the NESCAC so don’t be shocked if long range shooting is down throughout the year. Percentages should tick up somewhat as players get more comfortable shooting in game conditions.

9. John Swords ’15 is amazing: The seven foot center went out and played what is at this point typical John Swords basketball, averaging 18 points and 12 rebounds on the weekend. Let us clarify that the concerns about his health were very real. Yet that did not affect him this weekend for a very simple reason. Swords got new shoes that he started using this weekend that made the pain in his legs go away. Mind you that these are not special shoes made to alleviate pain or something like that. They are simply new shoes. Swords felt completely confident in his ability to do whatever he normally does on a basketball court this weekend. That is great news for Bowdoin and terrible news for everybody else in the NESCAC.

10. A juggernaut could lurk: My bold prediction during the preseason was that every single team would lose two games in the NESCAC regular season. No regular season conference champion has had two losses since the crazy 2000-2001 season when five teams finished at 6-3 (Hamilton was not in the NESCAC yet). After seeing every team play I stand by that prediction for now. However, given how many injuries Middlebury had this weekend, the fact they still went 2-0 means they had the most impressive weekend of anyone. The Panthers played without Matt Daley ’16, a player many think could be All-NESCAC if he stays healthy. Jack Daly ’18 looks like an instant impact player who gives Middlebury plenty of depth in the backcourt. The Panthers lost a lot of talent, but the assortment of pieces in Vermont could gel together quite nicely.

Williams Team Preview: The Leftovers Still Ooze with Talent

Williams Ephs

2013-2014 Season: 28-5 (9-1 NESCAC), Reached NESCAC Championship game and National Championship game

Head Coach: Kevin App, 1st year

Starters Returning: 2

Dan Wohl ’15

Hayden Rooke-Ley ’15

Breakout player: Edward Flynn ’16

Flynn is a 6’10” lefty center who has good post moves. This year’s team has less height than in the past, especially with the loss of Center Mike Mayer so look for him to get quality minutes down low. Ryan Kilcullen ’15 is more of a faceup player than someone who can go down in the post so Flynn will be an important piece off the bench. He did not play last year because of injury but is healthy now and should contribute.

Projected Starting Five:

G Dan Wohl ’15 – The senior averaged 12.9 points per game and 6 rebounds per game even though he was often the fourth option for Williams on offense. He is also a good defender making him one of the best two way players in the league. Wohl needs to be a force on both ends as he is the best player the Ephs have right now.

G Hayden Rooke-Ley ’15 – After struggling with injuries for a good portion of his Williams career, Rooke-Ley settled in and had a very productive junior hear. He averaged 10.7 points per game and established himself as a very good perimeter shooter who as the ability to drive the lane.

G Mike Greenman ’17 – The first thing everybody notices about Greenman is that he does not have the normal height for a basketball player. Very quickly afterward they realize that he is a dynamic point guard. Greenman played more as the season went on and averaged 5.6 points per game. He is a good floor general and spot up shooter,

F Ryan Kilcullen ’15 – The former Boston College transfer is a skilled big man who can pass and shoot very well but struggled to get time because of the presence of All-American center Mike Mayer ’14 in front of him. Now Mayer is playing in Spain and Kilcullen will have to play major minutes his senior year.

F Dan Aronowitz ’17 –The sophomore did not play for much of the year before injuries forced him to make three starts late in conference and acquitted himself well. He proved that he is an athletic wing who can drive the lane and post up on smaller defenders. He will have to grab a lot of rebounds from the power forward position.

Everything else:

The Ephs suffer major losses on the court due to graduation of Mayer and Taylor Epley ’14 and Division 3 Freshman of the year, Duncan Robinson ’17, transferring to play at the University of Michigan. Coach Kevin App takes over the helm of the program for Mike Maker who decided to accept the head coaching position at Marist. Coach App began his coaching career as an assistant at Williams for the ‘08-‘09 season. Even though, they lost a tremendous amount of talent both on and off the court, the Ephs come in at #5 in the preseason national poll.

Look for the three freshmen, Adam Kroot ’18, Chris Galvin ’18, and Cole Teal ’18, to have larger impacts later in the season as they mentally develop. Coach App already says that they are physically ready to play. All three are perimeter oriented players who are a little behind on offense. Each one played on Saturday and did not score a point.Front court depth is a major concern. Kilcullen played 38 minutes while Aronowitz was forced to play 35 as well.

If this team is going to make another final 4 run like last year, they are going to need Wohl to have a monster season and be their anchor. Then the guys around him like Rooke-Ley will have to show they are comfortable as primary scorers. Last year Williams was content to score with any team in the country, but it is more likely this year that they will have to defend more consistently if they want to contend. It won’t be an easy first year for App especially early, but this team still has the potential to win the league.

Basketball Season Predictions

The season is upon us today, and our season predictions get you ready for it. We run down the order we think teams will finish and which ones will make the NCAA tournaments. Then we make our predictions for Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.

A special thanks to Ethan Drigotas, a Bowdoin student, for doing the editing on the last couple of videos. Hope you have enjoyed the videos and we will have the rest of our previews out today. Here is to the NESCAC teams opening the season by going 10-0 today.

Colby Team Preview: Baby Mules Ready for Primetime

Colby Mules

2013-2014 Season: 14-11 (4-6), tied seventh in the NESCAC, reached quarterfinals of NESCAC tournament

Head Coach: Damien Strahorn (Colby ’02), 28-45 (.384)

Starters Returning: 5

G Luke Westman ’16

G Ryan Jann ’16

G/F Connor O’Neil ’15

F Patrick Stewart ’16

F/C Chris Hudnut ’16

Breakout Player: Luke Westman ’16

The entire Colby rotation returns so it’s a little misleading to say that one player will breakout. A lot of players should see their numbers see a subtle uptick, but Westman gets the nod because he might be uniquely capable of taking Colby to the next level. The point guard was loathe to look for his own shot and averaged 9.5 points on 5.3 shots per game. He did not make a three pointer all season but hit 78 percent of his foul shots.He was incredibly efficient for a guard, and in fact the only non-big man to shoot over 60 percent from the field in the NESCAC. If Westman can score more points without sacrificing a lot of his efficiency the Colby offense will be hard to stop.

Projected Starting Five:

PG Luke Westman

The junior is a quiet leader on and off the court (and will join the senior, O’Neil, as captain this season), but when he steps on the court he is always in control. His defense is an underrated part of his game. He led the team in steals and tied with Hudnut for second in blocks. His blocking ability is similar to Dwyane Wade as a guard that can go up and get.

SG Ryan Jann ’16

The smooth shooting guard enjoyed a quality sophomore campaign and finished the season second in scoring on the team. He shot a low percentage from the field in large part because he takes difficult shots most of the time. Some of that is because the shot clock is running down and Jann is the best Mule at creating his own shot, but he will have to improve his shooting percentage this year.

G/F Connor O’Neil ’15

A player who has been an integral part of the program since the day he stepped onto campus will be a senior leader on a team made up mostly of juniors. His improvement was a big reason why the team saw an uptick in wins last year. He is also the best perimeter defender in the starting five and will be tasked with taking on the top scorer on most teams.

F Patrick Stewart ’16

He works greatly next to Hudnut down low as a more athletic and dynamic defender. He is no slouch on the offensive end as he was third on the team in scoring. He actually made the most threes and shot the highest percentage from deep. An underrated part of the starting five, Stewart is a big part of what makes the Mules so difficult to guard on offense.

F/C Chris Hudnut ’16

Nobody would describe Hudnut’s game as flashy, but the results are impossible to ignore. The big man expanded his range all the way out to the three point line giving Colby four players who can shoot from deep on the floor at once. Still the most impressive part of his game is down in the post where he has a polished offensive game and made strides on defense. Though he is not a big shot blocker, he fights hard for positioning and rebounds the ball well averaging 8.4 boards per game.

Everything Else:

Last year the Mules managed to sneak up on teams a little bit, but this year teams will go into games ready for a battle. The bench remains the same with Shane Rogers ’15 a vital cog off the bench. He is a solid two way player who hit over 40 percent of his threes in 2013-14. Sam Willson ’16 is the main front court player off of the bench. He brings a similar skill set to Stewart in that he can put the ball on the floor and make threes from the power forward position.

The big area where Colby has to improve is on the defensive side of the ball. Opponents in NESCAC play had some of their best games against Colby. Defending the three point line in particular is of importance given that teams shot 37 percent last year. Look for the Mules to amp up their ball pressure on the perimeter as well.

With an energetic young coach and a core that has had another year to grow together, the potential is there for Colby to jump into the top echelon. Their improvement as the year went along was clear even though they lost a couple of tough games at the end of the year.

As for the bench mob? Some of the integral parts have graduated so it is unclear whether the end of the bench will again engage in such elaborate shenanigans . The idea for the celebrations originated with the players and the coaching staff is content with allowing the team to decide whether to continue or not.