Amherst – Page 42 – Nothing But NESCAC

Power Rankings 1/21

Currently at seven in our ranks, Williams can move up starting tonight with a non-conference matchup at Amherst. (Courtesy of Williams Athletics)

The results this past week have brought forth much change in this edition of the power rankings. Teams we once thought were falling have started to find a groove, and teams that once looked great are beginning to slip. While only two or three games separate this weeks rankings from last’s, the conference action this week sent the league into upheaval.

1. Middlebury (12-2, 2-2) Last week: 3

At the start of the conference season Middlebury was expected to be at the top and a couple months in they have done enough to regain the top spot. Right now they are on a four-game winning streak during which Dylan Sinnickson ’16 has averaged 16.0 points per game and the team as a whole has averaged 89.0 points. But what has been underrated so far has been Middlebury’s defense. Opponents are averaging 62.2 points per game, but they also get more chances against the fast-paced Panthers. NCAA.com D-III hoops statistics were last updated on Monday, but at that time Middlebury’s opponents’ field goal percentage was tops in the nation and the Panthers had the 11th-best scoring margin in D-III. The grind for the Panthers comes at the end of the season, and as we know that a lot can change in a week in the NESCAC. As of right now, Middlebury has found a groove that looks sustainable

2. Amherst (11-4, 2-2) Last week: 4

The Lord Jeffs went 1-1 this week but remain ranked in my top three. A solid offense and a solid defense is obviously key, but what makes Amherst appealing is their winning culture. They’ve been here before. David Hixon’s experience and the reputation of his team’s to get better as the year goes on (Amherst won 24-straight to win the NCAA title in 2013 and 20 out of 21 before losing to Williams in the semifinals last year) earns the Lord Jeffs the benefit of the doubt. Despite a loss to Tufts, which seems to be happening to every top team, the Lord Jeffs are getting good production off the bench especially from G Jeff Racy ’17, who leads the league in three point field goals made in conference games.

3. Trinity (13-4, 3-1) Last week: 2

Winning a double OT thriller 71-69 against Williams and holding off a late Bates run gives Trinity the invaluable experience in close games come playoff time. But the Bantams won’t see the top spot in my ranks just yet. After an offensive breakout earlier in the season, the Bantams have cooled off and are ninth in points per NESCAC game.

4. Bates (11-4, 1-2) Last week: 1

The Bobcats had a difficult couple of games this past week; games that give us a better sense of who they really are. While Graham Safford ’15, who has been an integral part in the team’s success, did rest against UMPI, he and his squad were unable to get even one conference win against Amherst and Trinity. Is another late season slide in the works for Bates, or can they look to bounce back quickly against a Tufts team that has played very well as of late? While it has only been a couple of games, this week proved that the Bobcats need their entire starting five to contribute if they are going to beat the NESCAC’s elite squads.

5. Bowdoin (11-4, 3-1) Last week: 8

With the Polar Bears playing their last four games against conference opponents, they are now 3-1 in NESCAC play, tying them for first in the league standings. While a 3-1 record puts them in a good spot right now, two of those W’s came against struggling Hamilton and Conn. College teams. Don’t look now, but Bowdoin’s offense seems to be streaking, averaging 73.8 points per game in conference play. With Trinity and Middlebury among those still left to play, it will be interesting to see how Bowdoin stacks up against some of the league’s best defenses.

6. Tufts (7-7, 3-0) Last week: 11

The Jumbos, a team that was not high on my rankings last week, has proven me wrong by beating Middlebury, Amherst and Trinity in three consecutive games. Former starting PG-turned-sixth man Tarik Smith ’17 has played a huge role in their streak, shooting lights out, as well as in the clutch, hitting some big free throws against Trinity. Yes, they are 3-0 in the conference, and yes, Tufts has beaten three of the top teams in the league, but those are only three games, lets not start crowning them league champs. They are still 7-7 overall, which probably eliminates them from contending for an NCAA at-large bid already. This recent influx of offense, scoring 80+ points in four of their last six games, is bound to recede, but hey, maybe they’ve found something special this year.

7. Williams (11-5, 2-2) Last week: 5

Williams sits middle of the pack but has the pieces to get hot at any time. Recently, the Ephs played Trinity, Amherst, Colby and Bowdoin, a four-game stretch that epitomized their inability to get a consistent level of play. While Trinity and Amherst are similar, so are Colby and Bowdoin, and the Ephs were only able to win one of each. That being said, Daniel Wohl ’15 has been lights out offensively, averaging 23.2 points per game in-conference. Williams has the talent and are on the brink of finding their groove.

8. Colby (11-6, 3-1) Last week: 7

Colby is in a similar situation as Bowdoin, beating middle-of-the-road conference teams to give them a strong conference record. Chris Hudnut ’16 has been a huge factor in both scoring as well as rebounding the basketball (22.5 PPG and 11.5 RPG in-conference), which has helped the Mules get off to this fast start within the NESCAC. Colby has tallied the most points per game in-conference, but Wesleyan was the only opponent that is among the top half of the league in defensive scoring. We’ll know if Colby is for real after they go through the gauntlet of Bowdoin, Amherst and Trinity.

9. Wesleyan (12-5, 1-2) Last week: 6

Wesleyan is a team that looked promising early on has had a tough couple of games against Amherst and Middlebury. In both losses the offense struggled, scoring only 46 and 60 points, respectively. Their high-powered three point shooting was non-existent, while frequent turnovers halted any offensive flow. What a shame for a team that got off to an unprecedented start this season, winning 10 games faster than any team in program history. Facing Conn, Bates and Tufts in the next three games, Wesleyan needs to rediscover their offensive production.

10. Conn College (7-8, 0-3) Last week: 10

Conn is in a similar position to Hamilton, losing their last four games. Statistically ranked tenth offensively and eighth defensively in NESCAC games, the playoffs seem unlikely for the Camels. It might be time to adopt the spoiler role for the Camels. Wesleyan, Tufts and Bates are their next three opponents, and they can disrupt the league with every conference win they get.

11. Hamilton (10-6, 0-4) Last week: 9

Nothing seems to be going right for the Continentals, especially within the last four games. In these four NESCAC games, Hamilton has failed to get a win. Starting the season 7-0 in all non-conference games says one of two things; the NESCAC is much higher quality basketball than the upstate New York teams, or Hamilton’s game has lost its touch. I think it’s safe to say that both previous statements hold some amount of truth. While the playoffs are a pipe dream right now, don’t count Hamilton out to play spoiler against some “on the cusp” teams late in the season.

Appearances Can Be Deceiving: Stock Report 1/20

Tufts is the best team in the league, Bates is in danger of the same free fall as last year, and Wesleyan might be good, but they can’t compete with the NESCAC’s best.

All of these arguments could be made after this weekend, but could also also look foolish in another week. Consider this: at this point last week Middlebury was in the process of being exposed as soft. The Panthers responded with a 2-0 weekend, including the best half played by any NESCAC team this season in the first half against Wesleyan on Friday night. We still do not know much about how the league is going to shake out.

What is clear is that all of the chaos has hurt the NESCAC’s reputation nationally. For the first time since 2002, no NESCAC team was in the D3Hoops Top 25 released on Monday. Amherst and Trinity received a couple of votes each, but it will take a team stringing together a couple of weeks without losing before someone will claw back into the poll. The chances of multiple NESCAC teams making the tournament continue to fade as the committee sees the wide-openness as mediocrity.

Stock Up

Hard Non-Conference Schedules: Colby and Tufts entered conference play with a combined record of 11-12, but so far the two are 6-1 in conference play, with the Jumbos the most impressive team thus far in NESCAC play. Both coaches, Damien Strahorn for Colby and Bob Sheldon for Tufts, went out of their way to schedule hard teams out of conference. The combined records of the teams Colby and Tufts lost to is 126-52 (.710 winning percentage), and that record includes a 4-10 Maine-Farmington team which Colby lost to without Chris Hudnut ’16. Both teams now have turned the corner and for now are at the top of the league standings. Tufts in particular looked poised down the stretch against Trinity after losing a number of close games early in the season. Keep in mind that this stock is only up in the short term. The hard early schedule could come back to hurt both teams. Unless either team wins out in the regular season and wins a game or two in the NESCAC tournament, their chances of getting an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament remains slim.

Class of 2016: Two weeks ago we noted how the current senior class could end with only two players crossing the 1,000 point mark. Last week saw two current juniors, Chris Hudnut ’16 (Colby) and Connor Green ’16 (Amherst) cross the same mark.

Chris Hudnut '16 (Courtesy of Bear Sports News) — Hudnut earned his second Player of the Week honor of the season by averaging 22.5 points and 11.0 rebounds in two conference games this week. (Courtesy of Bear Sports News)

Mike Boornazian ’16 (Bates) has 794 points currently and looks like a lock to reach 1,000 points. A recent explosion in points from Lucas Hausman ’16 (Bowdoin) means that with 630 points right now, he appears likely to cross the mark as well. Meanwhile, Luke Westman ’16 (Colby) is averaging 14.0 PPG while shooting an UNREAL 74.8 percent from the field. Westman never shoots from outside, but even still to shoot that well around the rim is exceptional, especially for a guard. Trinity is powered by their duo of Shay Ajayi ’16 and Jaquann Starks ’16. The junior class is not as deep or as star studded as the 2014 or possibly 2017 class, but it’s not far off, either.

Point Guard Tarik Smith ’17 (Tufts): A lot of different players have elevated their play in conference for the Jumbos, but Smith has unquestionably had the biggest impact. In three conference games Smith is averaging 17.3 PPG on the absurd shooting percentage slashline of 68.4/83.3/95.5. He scored nine points in the second half against Trinity, including the game sealing free throws in the waning seconds. However, big questions remain. First, there is zero percent chance Smith continues to shoot this well from deep and at the charity stripe so his efficiency is sure to go down. Second, this scoring binge is coming out of nowhere. In non-conference play Smith averaged 6.0 PPG and reached double digits only twice. Finally, Smith is only averaging one turnover per game during this stretch but is averaging over two per game on the year. But note that before conference play began, Smith had started all 11 games at the point for the Jumbos, while he has come off the bench in each NESCAC game so far. There is a chance that Smith moving out of the starting lineup has taken pressure off of him. More likely, Smith played a great three games, but regardless his play is representative of a wider trend for Tufts.

Stock Down

Traditional Powers: The Big Three of the NESCAC (Williams, Amherst, and Middlebury) are each sitting in the middle of the pack at 2-2. All three lost huge senior classes, but that does not fully explain how far back to the pack they have fallen. Consider that since 2001-2002 season, one of those three won the NESCAC regular season crown by going either undefeated or having only one loss. Since Middlebury still has to play Amherst and Williams, it is possible that all three finish with at least three losses. All three teams are more than talented enough to win the NESCAC tournament, but their rosters are not as flawless as in years past.

Wesleyan: As someone who was in the front row of the Wesleyan bandwagon, this was a very hard week. First the Cardinals went up to Amherst in a non-conference game and forgot how to shoot from deep in the process of a 21-point loss. Then after going up early in the first half against Middlebury 14-13, Wesleyan let up a 38-10 run by the Panthers to go into the half down 27 points. Their normally stout defense was unable to find a way to slow down any aspect of the Middlebury attack. Things got out of control quickly as the home Panthers just got in an offensive roll. Sixteen turnovers, with each starter having at least two, also was not helpful.

Wesleyan's Joseph Kuo '17 can't stop this finish from Matt Daley '16. (Courtesy of Michael O'Hara, Middlebury Campus) — Wesleyan’s Joseph Kuo ’17 can’t stop this finish from Matt Daley ’16. (Courtesy of Michael O’Hara, Middlebury Campus)

Now Wesleyan is 1-2 in conference, and because of their schedule, they have to go on the road for five of their final seven conference games. The Cardinals just rebounded with a nice win last night over Baruch, but they now face an uphill battle in conference play.

Point Guard Graham Safford ’15 (Bates): Though a bit simplistic, as Safford goes, so go the Bobcats. Last Tuesday in order to keep him rested, Bates coach Jon Furbush did not play Safford at all, but the results this weekend were subpar. Safford scored 12.0 PPG on only 26 percent shooting, and he did not make a single two-point field goal against Trinity. Not coincidentally, Bates went 0-2 against Trinity and Amherst. Those are two very hard road games, but Tufts also went 2-0 as Bates’ road partner this weekend. The Bobcats need their leading man to figure out how to avoid another late season slide. Last season Safford had a similar falloff with his overall points per game 4.4 higher than his conference average while his shooting percentage plummeted at the same time. Keeping him fresh is crucial, and Bates might need to rely on Billy Selmon ’15 to become the primary ball handler for short stretches.

Time to Invest: Stock Report 1/12

What a weekend in the NESCAC. Could you have asked for a better first night of contests? Of the five games played on Friday night, four were decided by six points or less. Williams-Trinity went into double OT. A missed call by refs in Lewiston helped Bates to the win over Middlebury. Wesleyan had three shots from deep in the final seconds to tie the game against Colby but missed all of its attempts. And Connor Green ’16 came out of hibernation to lead Amherst to a victory over Hamilton, aided by the best offensive night of David George’s ’17 young career. The second round of conference games was only slightly less exhilarating, as Williams and Amherst played yet another classic and Tufts pulled a major upset over the suddenly suspect Middlebury Panthers. Suffice to say, Week 1 of the NESCAC season did not disappoint.

Stock Up

1. David George ’17

The Amherst big man is respected around the league for his defense, but he turned up his offensive game this weekend, scoring 29 points against Hamilton and 18 against Amherst, his highest totals of the season (the latter matching an 18-point performance in late December). George was 16-20 (80 percent) from the field and 15-19 (78.9 percent) from the stripe. Amherst is already one of the highest-scoring teams in the NESCAC. If George can be a consistent weapon on the offensive end while still maintaining his level of play on defense, Amherst will be dangerous and we could be witnessing the maturation of a future NESCAC POY candidate.

2. Colby Mules

Sure, they only beat the Wesleyan Cardinals by two and their nine-point win over the 7-6 Conn College Camels isn’t all that impressive, but for a team that came into the weekend barely over .500 getting to Monday with a 2-0 conference record is all one could ask for. This is a team with a lot of potential, which we’ve talked about before. For the second year in a row Coach Damien Strahorn is leaning heavily on his 2016 class, and they all played great this weekend. Last year the Mules could make the excuse that they were still young, but now that the core of this team is in its third year, they need to start getting the results. Maybe this was the first step towards accomplishing that.

3. Tufts’ Guard Play

We raved about the Tufts’ front court before the season started, but with Hunter Sabety ’16 out yesterday the Jumbos dominated Middlebury. Coach Bob Sheldon shook up the starting lineup, inserting Drew Madsen ’16, Ryan Spadaford ’16 and Thomas Lapham ’18, and no one responded better than the usual starting point guard, Tarik Smith ’17. Smith went 5-7 from the field, 2-2 from deep and 8-8 from the line for 20 points, netted two steals and only turned the ball over twice in 28 minutes. Against one of the NESCAC’s best one-on-one defensive guards in Jake Brown ’17, Smith was able to penetrate and cause havoc. Ben Ferris ’15, who just hasn’t been his old self on offense this year, had eight points, but they all seemed to come at big moments. Newcomer Vinny Pace ’18 showed some impressive touch inside and creative moves as he added eight points, and Stephen Haladyna ’16, another usual starter relegated to the bench, chipped in 11 points in his second-best shooting night of the year, percentage-wise. Tufts is still 5-7 overall, but 1-0 in the games that count the most.

Stock Down

1. Middlebury Panthers

You had to see this one coming. A few days after we gave them the top spot in our composite power rankings, they go and do something like this, losing a tight game to Bates and them getting blown out on Sunday against Tufts. As was noted on Twitter, basically the entire Middlebury roster was fairly ill on Friday night, so much so that there were rumors (the accuracy of which we will never know) that the game might be moved to another date, so props to them for gutting it out and making it a close game, but I don’t think we can say that, two days later, sickness was the reason that the Jumbos stomped them by 17 points. I don’t see this weekend as being indicative of a problem in the future, and I still think Middlebury can and will compete for a NESCAC title. But, I would be concerned that some of the negative attitude that seemed to creep up on the Panthers last season could resurface. I hope I’m wrong.

2. John Swords ’15

Maybe a bit of a surprising pick, because Swords certainly didn’t play badly this weekend, but as I noted in the power ranks last week, Bowdoin needs Swords to be a force if they are going to make it back to the NCAA tournament, and 17 points in 60 minutes of play isn’t going to cut it. Swords was pretty much his typical self in the rebounding and blocks categories, and still discourages anyone from setting foot in the paint with the ball, but I was banking on Swords elevating his game for the NESCAC season. Consider this a challenge, Mr. Swords.

3. Jayde Dawson ’18

The Fairleigh-Dickinson transfer came to Amherst with big expectations at the beginning of the season, and at this point we can probably assume that those expectations were a little bit too much to put on Dawson right away. After a couple nice games in a row, Dawson got one point, two rebound and zero assists in just 16 minutes in the Lord Jeffs’ biggest game of the season against rival Williams. Much like Michigan-Ohio State, in order to be one of the greats at Amherst, you have to beat Williams, and it seems like Dawson wilted under the bright lights. But, if last year was any indication, there’s a good chance that these teams meet again before the season is over, so Dawson should get a shot at redemption.

Kevin App Has Williams Prepared for NESCAC Play

Dan Wohl '15 has emerged as a star as Williams tries to keep the standard represented by the banners behind him. (Courtesy of WritingScots.Wordpress.Com — Dan Wohl ’15 has emerged as a star as Williams tries to keep the standard represented by the banners behind him. (Courtesy of WritingScots.Wordpress.Com)

Editors Note: Adam Lamont contributed to the Williams-Amherst preview

After starting the year with back-to-back losses in the first year of the Kevin App regime, the Ephs have gone 9-1 in their last 10 games. That one loss was to #7 WPI by only two points. Now that it has come time for conference play to begin we wanted to highlight what has gone well and what has not so far for Williams.

Successes

1. The senior leadership of Dan Wohl ’15, Hayden Rooke-Ley ’15, and Ryan Kilcullen ’15: All three players have been averaging double digits which is huge for what is a very young team that got hit hard from graduation losses and Duncan Robinson transferring to Michigan. Wohl has increased his points per game by about seven and his rebounds per game by two. He has been the go to guy all year for the Ephs. Rooke-Ley’s success at getting to the charity stripe and converting there has been well documented all season as he is shooting a remarkable 94.2 percent there on 81-86 attempts. Kilcullen has seen dramatic increases in all of his stats due to increased floor time by increasing his points per game and rebounds per game by five.

2. Defense: Despite losing a lot of big defenders, the Ephs have managed to keep their points per game allowed at basically the same level as last season. Yes, they are allowing 72.0 PPG, the highest mark in the NESCAC, and at a nearly 42 percent clip, but that is actually lower than last year when the Ephs allowed 72.8 PPG and still made the National Championship. Because of their personnel Williams is at a disadvantage rebounding the ball, but their defense has been good enough for them to win. If they can maintain this level, they should be fine because the offense is so good.

Failures

1. Depth: Coach App has heavily relied on six players to eat up most of the minutes and sparingly used his bench in non-conference play to date except to give guys very brief rests. Williams under Coach Maker last year had a similar rotation set up and it worked. It will be interesting to see how Coach App decides to go forward with his use of players in conference play.

2. Turnovers: The Ephs as a team are averaging about three more turnovers per game than last year. In their three losses this year, they are averaging close to 17 turnovers per game compared to around 12 in their victories. Even though most of the rotation handles the ball well, the Ephs can force the issue too much at times.

3. Field Goal Percentage: While the three point shooting percentage has increased this year, overall the field goal percentage is about six points lower than last year. The loss of Michael Mayer ’14 in the post has robbed Williams of high percentage shots inside. If the Ephs are going to be as successful as last year, they need to manufacture a way to get higher percentage shots in NESCAC play.

Weekend Outlook

The Ephs did not get any favors in the opening weekend of NESCAC play drawing the Trinity Bantams at home on Friday and the 18th-ranked Amherst Lord Jeffs at home on Saturday. Both teams should be competing for home games in the NESCAC playoffs.

Trinity presents an interesting challenge for the Ephs as they have a very tight defense that packs the paint and also forces a lot of steals. Williams has been turning the ball over heavily in their losses and if Trinity’s defense can knock it away from the Ephs, I think the Ephs need to watch out. This game is a battle of styles as Trinity wants to slow the game and make it a grind while Williams prefers a more wide open flowing game. Interesting to see if the Ephs are caught looking ahead to the marquee matchup vs. Amherst and possibly have a slip up against Trinity.

Now to the game the whole league is looking at, Amherst vs. Williams. These two teams had great battles last year both in the NESCAC and NCAA tournament and all NESCAC fans are lucky that we get to see these two heavyweights go at it in the first conference weekend. Both teams came into the year with lofty expectations (perhaps too lofty) after making it to the Final Four but have underperformed relative to them. The massive losses of talent on both teams has hit them hard.

For the Ephs it starts with the captain Wohl. He is the go to guy for them and he’s still improving. He has scored more than 20 points in each of the last four games. If the Ephs are going to win, it rests on his shoulders along with fellow sharpshooter Rooke-Ley. They have relied on both these guys all season so expect the same to happen against Amherst. Although the Ephs defense has been performing at the same level as last year, it’s still currently the worst ranked defense by points per game. Their defense could be a huge issue as Amherst has numerous threats on the court led by stud newcomer Johnny McCarthy ’15.

Williams will be playing with a huge disadvantage in size against Amherst. The Lord Jeffs have so many talented big men like 6’8″ David George ’17 and 6’8″ Jacob Nabatoff ’17 that Coach Dave Hixon has changed his rotation and kept two big men on the court at most times. The Ephs already struggle on the boards, and the Jeffs are formidable all across their lineup in terms of height. Kilcullen needs to be able to at least slow down Amherst in the paint. App might have to resort to a zone in order to alleviate the height difference and force the Amherst guards to make shots from the outside.

Dan Aronowitz ’17 is the other crucial piece for Williams inside. He is an undersized power forward, yet he could present a major matchup problem for Amherst because of his ability to shoot from the outside and slash to the basket.

On the Amherst side, life after Aaron Toomey ’14 has not been completely smooth. The Jeffs have had to pull out a lot of close games in order to get to 8-2, but their win on Tuesday at #21 Eastern Connecticut gives the team a lot of confidence coming into the weekend. The point guard position is unsettled as neither transfer Jayde Dawson ’18 nor Reid Berman ’17 have really claimed the position. Though Dawson has started every game, he does not look comfortable running the offense and does not do a great job of getting others involved with only 2.4 assists per game. Berman is more reliable but defenses know he does not like to shoot and lay off of him. Toomey is back with the team as an assistant coach starting this weekend after an injury ended his season in Spain. Maybe his presence will help the point guard play.

The one upperclassman on Amherst, Connor Green ’16, has been a major disappointment to many. After he averaged 17.9 points in 2013-2014, we expected him to take another step and compete for the league lead in scoring. Instead, he has dropped down to 13.2 PPG and seen his shooting percentages take a dive. Green is taking harder shots and is only making 29.3 percent of his threes. Those feeling better about Williams than Amherst can point to the divergence in play between Green and Wohl as a major reason. The freshman McCarthy and Jeff Racy ’17 supply most of the outside shooting.

Though Hixon has started the same starting five every game, the Jeffs do not seem like a finished product. They certainly look physically like the best team in the NESCAC, but there has yet to be a game where they play like they are capable of. This Williams-Amherst game does not have the stars of last season, but the talent level on both rosters is still very high. It is still too early to know whether this is a crucial conference clash or merely one of the many steps in shuffling out the conference hierarchy. What we can be sure of is that as always, the two teams will bring us plenty of fun.

Quick Thoughts on Tuesday Night Basketball

Graham Safford '15 notched his 1,000th career point in a big win over the Brandeis Judges on Tuesday night. — Graham Safford ’15 notched his 1,000th career point in a big win over the Brandeis Judges on Tuesday night. (Courtesy of Phyllis Graber Jensen and Bates College)

In the final tuneup for many teams before conference play begins on Friday, NESCAC teams aced every test against a tough slate of teams on Tuesday night. The biggest wins were road victories by Amherst and Middlebury over #21 Eastern Connecticut State and Plattsburgh State, respectively. Overall, the league went 7-0, showcasing the depth and quality of middle tier teams like Colby and Bates. Both Maine schools won close games against quality teams (Colby beat #23 Husson and Bates vanquished Brandeis). In 2013-2014 the NESCAC went 2-3 when the same slate of teams met, so the league now enters conference play with fewer cumulative losses than last season. Here are a couple of other quick thoughts to get you through Wednesday.

1. We might have no more 1,000 point scorers in the graduating class: Graham Safford ’15 (Bates) and Dan Wohl ’15 (Williams) crossed the mark earlier this week, but they might be the only two members of the 2015 class to reach that mark. Below are some other players with a chance to top 1,000 points for their careers. Keep in mind that the games remaining and necessary PPG totals do not include postseason games.

Keegan Pieri ’15 (Bowdoin) – 779 points. 13 games remaining. Must average 17 PPG. Currently averaging 13.0 PPG.

John Swords ’15 (Bowdoin) – 725 points. 13 games remaining. Must average 21.2 PPG. Currently averaging 12.8 PPG.

Ben Ferris ’15 (Tufts) – 802 points. 14 games remaining. Must average 14.1 PPG. Currently averaging 5.8 PPG.

Hunter Merryman ’15 (Midd) – 759 points. 15 games remaining. Must average 16.1 PPG. Currently averaging 16.1 PPG.

Dylan Sinnickson ’15 (Midd) – 635 points. 15 games remaining. Must average 24.3 PPG. Currently averaging 19.1 PPG.

Though Ferris is the closest, he is averaging only 5.8 PPG this season and appears to be a different player than he was earlier in his career, possibly because of cumulative injuries. Merryman is probably the best bet to make it to 1,000 because he is averaging exactly 16.1 PPG this season, though if Middlebury makes a deep run in the postseason don’t count out Sinnickson. He can score from anywhere. The Bowdoin duo, however, is a longshot to make it to 1,000.

If Safford and Wohl are the only ones who do make it, the 2015 class would pale in comparison to the 2014 class that saw, by our count, at least five players score 1,000. Aaron Toomey ’14 (Amherst), Joey Kizel ’14 (Middlebury), Matt Vadas ’14 (Conn College), Taylor Epley ’14 (Williams) and Michael Mayer ’14 (Williams) all certainly eclipsed the mark.

2. Middlebury is best when they play fast: The Panthers are a weird team. Dylan Sinnickson ’15, at 6’5″, is far and away their best rebounder. His 12.1 boards per game ranks fifth in the nation. Hunter Merryman ’15 is the best shooter on the team but is also one of the biggest players on the roster. Before yesterday’s game (when Merryman went 0-5 from deep), the sharpshooter ranked fifth in the nation in three-point percentage. Their pieces fit best when they push the pace. Jake Brown ’17 is arguably the fastest player in the NESCAC and he has a very good 2.6 assist/turnover ratio. He causes havoc when he pushes it and can then kick it out to Merryman or Matt St. Amour ’17. In the halfcourt the Panthers often seem to be tentative and they lack an offensive post presence. Even as big man Matt Daley ’16 works his way back into the rotation after suffering a stress fracture, Middlebury should be able to continue to run because Daley is very good at running the floor for a center, and freshman Nick Tarantino ’18 has shown a similar ability to run and stretch the floor as a big man. Plattsburgh State was the best team Middlebury has played yet and the Panthers were resilient whenever Plattsburgh tried to make a run in the second half. Their trip to Lewiston to play Bates is the best matchup on the opening night of NESCAC play, especially given how last year’s match up ended in heartbreak for the Panthers. You can see Safford’s game-winning trey at the 1:30 mark in this video.

3. The Rookie of the Year race is over.

Even though conference play has not started, you can pretty much give Johnny McCarthy the NESCAC Rookie of the Year award.

— Nothing But NESCAC (@CACSportsBlog) January 7, 2015

Johnny McCarthy ’18 is really freaking good at basketball, folks. He is the best and most indispensable player on Amherst right now and he has an argument that he is performing at an All-NESCAC level. He leads Amherst in minutes per game with 32.3, the fourth highest in the league. He is second on Amherst with 12.8 PPG and has scored in double digits in each of the past four games. Where McCarthy really shines is on the defensive end. He uses his exemplary length to lead the NESCAC with 2.7 steals per game. Last night against Eastern Connecticut he played 38 minutes and matched up defensively for most of the game with Trachone Preston ’16 who came in averaging 20.2 points per game. McCarthy held Preston to 11 points on 5-20 shooting. In an overall weak freshman class, McCarthy is a stud.

4. Trinity is flying under the radar.

We say this almost literally because last night Trinity played a game that was not even on the NESCAC.com schedule. Only a notice from Trinity sports alerted us to the fact that they actually were playing against Manahattanville. After an easy win, the Bantams carry an eight game winning streak, the second longest streak after Middlebury, into conference play, but they have done so without registering any notable wins. Their formula is the same: beat teams up on defense, control the boards, and grind out points with Shay Ajayi ’16 and Jaquann Starks ’15. Whether they will be able to score enough against NESCAC teams is their biggest question. Trinity as a team is averaging a league worst 11.7 assists per game while it turns the ball over 15.7 times a game for a terrible 0.75 assist/turnover ratio. Unless they can improve on that, their eight game win streak will end Friday against Williams.

5. Conference play is going to be tons of fun: Usually in the NESCAC there is one or two signature games every weekend surrounded by mostly insignificant games. That is not the case at all this year. Viewing NESCAC games will be like the first weekend of March Madness where you are frantically switching between games trying not to miss anything crazy. Parity appears to be a very real thing. The top teams are worse, the middle teams are better, the bottom only has a couple of teams in it. Right now more than half a dozen teams are looking around the NESCAC landscape and thinking, ‘Why not us?’ Every team enters the conference season with some major question mark either related to personnel or lack of results on the court. The only thing that the first couple of months of the season have told us is that we don’t know what is going to happen next.

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.”

Young and Talented: Freshman Update

Those who watched ESPN last night saw Duke beat Wisconsin, the second ranked team in the country, in large part because their three freshmen played great. Of course, the NESCAC is not littered with future first round NBA draft picks, but that doesn’t mean that some freshmen can’t come in and contribute right away. Below are some of the players that are already making an impact.

Johnny McCarthy '18 (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics) — Johnny McCarthy ’18 (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)

Johnny McCarthy- #10- G- Amherst

McCarthy is a 6-5, 190-pound guard, who played for Noble & Greenough School in Massachusetts. McCarthy has the ability to take the ball into the paint and will finish with either a smooth turn around jump shot or go up strong to the glass. His game fits in nicely in the Jeffs’ offense and hopefully he can fill the shoes of Tom Killian ’14. McCarthy has been playing so well that he is even generating some Player of the Year buzz. In his first four games with Amherst, he has been very impressive, averaging 14 points per game, shooting 55.3% from the field and 35.7% behind the arc. In addition, he has hauled in 4.5 rebounds and 2.8 steals per game and he is only improving. After an impressive debut on November 18, dropping 17 points in 33 minutes, he played an efficient game on November 22 against Mount Ida, going 7-9 from the floor with 16 points and 6 boards. You might expect to see some turnovers from a college freshman, but McCarthy only had one turnover in his first three games. It is looking like a bright future for McCarthy in NESCAC basketball.

Lee Messier- #21- G- Connecticut College

Messier is a 6-3, 175-pound guard, who played for the Tilton School in New Hampshire. Messier has been a shooter since day one and especially loves the three pointer. He has the ability to run the break and find gaps in the defense. His shot is similar to that of Steph Curry, a guard for the Golden State Warriors. He has a quick release, allowing him to get his shot off from outside the arc, as well as in traffic. His highlight tape from high school is basically a two-minute video of him hitting a barrage of threes and pull-up jumpers.

His college highlight tape is starting to look very similar. In his first four games, Messier has already dropped in 11 threes, going 6-10 in his second game. He currently averages 14.2 ppg and shoots 37.9% from three. His deadly shooting ability will free up room in the paint for another standout freshman and big man from Conn, Isaiah Robinson.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBzh20uKsQ8

Isaiah Robinson- #33- F- Connecticut College

Robinson is a 6-5, 225-pound forward, who played for the Salisbury School in Connecticut. He is a big man with a nice mid-range jump shot, and once he gets in down on the block, there are not many players big enough to stop him from going up strong for two points. This season for the Camels, Robinson has averaged 12.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, shooting 48.8% from the field. On November 20, he dropped 25 points and came away with 7 rebounds in 48 minutes against Yeshiva. If he can clean up some of his turnovers, he will be a tough player to stop in the paint.

Vincent Pace (Courtesy of My Central Jersey)

Vincent Pace- #13- G- Tufts

Pace is a 6-5, 185-pound guard, who played for the Bridgewater School in New Jersey. He is a smart player, who can defend well on the ball and can be trusted to set the tempo while running the offense. At the beginning of the season, Pace was projected to become a breakout player, and he has certainly played at a high level, living up to the hype. His playing time and his play have improved as the season has progressed. He put up 12 and 13 points respectively in his previous two outings. Before a tough game last night, after five games, he was averaging 7.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3 assists, some solid numbers for this Jumbo, who also had four steals in a tough loss against MIT on November 25. We will have to wait and see if Pace can continue to play at the level of a breakout player.

Early Look at the Player of the Year Race

NESCAC Basketball is in full swing now, giving me a reason to love in the beginning of this long, devastating Vermont winter. Each team has played at least two full weekends of games against competition ranging from mediocre to a little under mediocre, so in true ESPN fashion, I think it’s a fair juncture to speculate about some end of season results. Here I handicap the early season race for Player of the Year. The difficult thing about writing this article at such an early juncture in the season is finding the delicate equilibrium (big words for a sports article, right?) between who is playing the best right now, and whom I think will be playing the best at the end of the year. I’ve done my best to balance those two ideologies here, but please be nice to me about my picks when this goes viral on ESPN.com.

Dan Wohl '15 — Dan Wohl ’15 (Courtesy of Williams Athletics)

1. Daniel Wohl (Williams ’15)

Coming into the season, it was clear that the Ephs were going to need a new messiah following Duncan Robinson’s ascension to Michigan and Michael Mayer’s graduation. And early in the season, that door was definitively open. Williams opened the year with back-to-back losses to Southern Vermont and Oneonta State, reaffirming the many fears that Ephs fans had regarding the season. Then Daniel Wohl emerged. Averaging 18.1 points per game (with a 51/40/73 shooting line) to go along with a robust 9.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists, Wohl has provided a sense of toughness and consistency to pair with the streaky outside oriented game of partner in crime Hayden Rooke-Ley. Wohl’s all-around skills have been crucial to Williams remaining a power in the conference, and that is what catapults him to the top of this list.

Dylan Sinnickson (Courtesy of Middlebury Athletics) — Dylan Sinnickson ’15 (Courtesy of Middlebury Athletics)

2. Dylan Sinnickson (Middlebury ’15)

The third leading scorer and second leading rebounder in the league, Sinnickson appears to have made the leap that his precocious skill set had been foreshadowing for some time. Like Wohl, Sinnickson’s rebounding has been an underwritten but crucial aspect to the otherwise interiorly challenged Panthers, and his scoring has given them a go-to guy, who can create a shot out of seemingly impossible situations. Sinnickson has also shown a new propensity for clutch play, hitting a tough step back three and layup to slow down a run by RPI in Middlebury’s home opener on Sunday. His shooting has been less consistent than last year at only 31 percent from 3, but he has been going to the basket more authoritatively, and more outside shots will fall as the explosive Middlebury offense continues to gel. Sinnickson and Wohl have both been crucial to their team’s fast starts, and should continue to duke it out for postseason honors throughout the season.

3. Chris Hudnut (Colby ’16)

Thus far, 2014-2015 can be seen as the year of the skilled forward in NESCAC, with Hudnut leading the charge. Although he spends far more time inside than Wohl and Sinnickson, he still has managed to put up 2.9 assists per game, pointing both to his high skillset and importance to the Colby offense. Those assist totals are coupled with 19.1 points and 10.6 rebounds per game, good for third and fourth in the league respectively. Hudnut’s impressive campaign is even further aided by 1.1 blocks and steals per game, again showing his impressive skill set for an interior player.

Hayden Rooke-Ley '15 (Courtesy of Williams Athletics) — Hayden Rooke-Ley ’15 (Courtesy of Williams Athletics)

4. Hayden Rooke-Ley (Williams ’15)

I had spent most of the past few days flip flopping on where to put Rooke-Ley on this list, going as high as third and as low as off the list entirely. It’s certainly hard to ignore a player who has a 12 three pointer game (as Rooke-Ley put up against Johnson State,) and has not missed a free throw yet this year, an absurd 62-62 streak. However, he also started off the year an abysmal 1-15 from three, and his 3.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game are far from the all around excellence of the other players on this list. Perhaps sensing these internal qualms, Rooke-Ley proceeded to put up 43 points on 10-14 from three in RPI on Tuesday night, a team that gave Middlebury something of a scare at home on Sunday afternoon. He had 31 points with 9 threes in the first half alone. This performance rocketed him to the top of the NESCAC scoring list, overtaking Sinnickson. Rooke-Ley certainly lives and dies by the three pointer, but he’s doing considerably more living than dying right now, and that deserves some early season recognition.

Graham Safford '15 (Courtesy of Bates Athletics) — Graham Safford ’15 (Courtesy of Bates Athletics)

5. Graham Safford (Bates ’15)

Safford’s candidacy for POY has been hindered somewhat by the prevalence of skilled forwards, but there has been perhaps no player more crucial to their team’s success than him. Bates has turned a lot of heads this year with a 6-0 start, including a 101-85 win over UNE, who fell to Middlebury on a buzzer beater, and a 76-70 win over Colby last night. With 19 points, 14 assists and 8 rebounds, Safford’s performance against UNE was enough to put him in the Player of the Year conversation. That kind of all around performance has been a staple of his campaign, as he is averaging 15.2 points, 5.8 assists, and 7.2 rebounds per games, an extremely impressive number for a guard. However, inconsistent shooting and a high turnover rate (4.7 per game) have caused Safford to fall on this list, careening towards the jaws of the big men on the honorable mention list.

Honorable Mention

Hunter Sabety '17 (Courtesy of Tufts Athletics) — Hunter Sabety ’17 (Courtesy of Tufts Athletics)

Hunter Sabety (Tufts ’17)

Like the players on the top five, Sabety has been the focal point of his team’s offense. Unfortunately, this is far less of a compliment for Sabety than it is for the other players. Tufts has had a disappointing start to the year after coming in as a pre-season favorite. Sabety battled injuries to start the year and hasn’t played to the dominant level that it looked like he might jump to after an impressive freshman campaign. Tufts will probably figure it out in conjunction with Sabety, and it is unlikely that he isn’t in the running for POY by the end of the season.

Johnny McCarthy (Amherst ’18)

Amherst has only played four games this year, against mostly underwhelming competition. Furthermore, they have such a balanced attack that no one player has stood out statistically on the Lord Jeff roster for the purposes of this award. However, the freshman McCarthy has stood out on the team for his excellent shooting (56% for the year) and scoring despite low minutes due to blowouts early in the year. He leads the team at 14.0 points per game in just 25 minutes, and should increase his output as Amherst’s competition gets stronger.

John Swords '15 (Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics) — John Swords ’15 (Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics)

John Swords (Bowdoin ’15)

The 7’0” Bowdoin center was originally in the top five, mostly on the strength of his rebounding and absurd 75% field goal percentage. However, an anemic performance by Swords (and Bowdoin collectively) against Babson coincided with Rooke-Ley’s ascension to push Swords out of the top five. It is still unclear as to whether Swords will be able to carry the Polar Bears’ inconsistent offense against more talented teams once league play begins, but the performance against Babson doesn’t bode well. Fortunately, he will soon have ample opportunity to prove me wrong.

As I implied earlier, these rankings are very early and are by no means final (although of course no Amherst players should be legally allowed to win it.) It will be my, and every NESCAC basketball fan’s, distinct pleasure to watch this incredibly talented crop of players battle it out as the season progresses.