Bowdoin – Page 36 – Nothing But NESCAC

Survive and Advance Is the Name of the Game: Stock Report 3/9

Though it doesn’t get the publicity that the D-I tournament does, the D-III hoops tourney is even more chaotic and wide-open than what is commonly called March Madness. The first two rounds of the tournament are played on back-to-back days. Keeping track of all the action is borderline impossible, but somehow the miracle workers at D3Hoops.com do it.

Luckily for us, we only worry about one conference, though with four NESCAC teams in the tournament it was still a little crazy. Wesleyan lost in the first round to Skidmore while Amherst fell in the second round to St. John Fisher. However, Bates and Trinity both won their Regionals and now will face against each other at Babson at 5:30 PM on Friday.

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Shooting Guard Mike Boornazian ’16 (Bates)

Well let’s see, Boornazian averaged 20.0 PPG, helped Bates advance to the Sweet 16, and scored his 1,000 career point. Not a bad weekend. Friday night Boornazian played second banana as Graham Safford ’15 controlled the proceedings with 30 points and 10 assists. On Saturday against Stockton, Safford struggled a bit, and it was Boornazian who carried the load. He finished the game with 17 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks. He scored 14 of his points in the first half before going cold for most of the second half. Boornazian did a good job of adjusting and handed out all three of his assists during the second half, including one very pretty layoff that led to an easy Adam Philpott ’15 layup. Combined with a big game from Malcolm Delpeche ’17 (17 points and 10 rebounds), Boornazian helped the Bobcats overcome a subpar game from Safford and advance. Guard play becomes magnified in the tournament, and Bates should feel confident knowing they have both Safford and Boornazian.

Trinity Defense

They call the NCAAs the Big Dance, and the Bantams made sure to dance with the one that got them there: their defensive effort. The Bantams had started clamping down already before their loss to Wesleyan in the NESCAC semifinals (the score was 55-52 after all), but something tells me that Coach Jim Cosgrove was able to really get the message through to his players because of that loss. Things looked bad for Trinity early as their first round opponent, Colby-Sawyer, came out firing and held a 24-8 lead with 10:27 left in the first half. Then Trinity regrouped during a 20-second timeout and allowed only SIX points for the rest of the half. After scoring 24 points in 9:33, it took Colby-Sawyer exactly 26 minutes to score their next 24 points. At that point the score was 53-48 in the Bantams’ favor, and the Bantams hung on for the victory. Then Trinity played even better defense on Saturday holding Salisbury to 47 points on 29.5 percent shooting.

Shay Ajayi '16 tallied 22 points and 12 boards in the Bantams' two victories this weekend. (Courtesy of Trinity Sports Information/NESCAC.com) — Shay Ajayi ’16 tallied 22 points and 12 boards in the Bantams’ two victories this weekend. (Courtesy of Trinity Sports Information/NESCAC.com)

Point Guard Andrew Hurd ’16 (Trinity)

Andrew Hurd is slight but he is very good defensively. Great timing and hands to get steals.

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

Though he comes off the bench, Hurd was crucial for Trinity this weekend. Hurd, a transfer from Central Connecticut State this fall, has become a more integral part of Trinity’s success as the season has gone along. When he is in the game, he takes over the primary ball-handling duties and allows Jaquann Starks ’16 to work off the ball. Unlike Starks, Hurd looks to pass when he gets into the lane, and his two assists in the final minutes were the difference for Trinity against Colby-Sawyer. Though he is only 5’10” and 160 lbs (he looks like he weighs even less if that is possible), Hurd is a very good defender. He seems to have an innate sense of knowing what the opposing ball-handler is going to do. He combines that with great lateral movement and quick hands to get a lot of steals. He had seven alone this weekend. Hurd adds another wrinkle to Trinity that makes them tougher on both ends of the floor.

NESCAC Overall

I think this weekend demonstrated just how good of a league the NESCAC is. Williams, Amherst and Middlebury are all known and respected nationwide as great programs because of their success, and some people wrote off the NESCAC as simply not being very good this year because those teams weren’t on top. So for the league to go 5-2 this weekend and send two teams to the Sweet 16 is very impressive. Bates and Trinity are certainly not associated with basketball, even though Trinity has won in the not so distant past. Over the past three seasons, seven different teams from the NESCAC have made it into the tournament. That number could very well jump up even further next season if Colby or Tufts delivers on the promise we saw this season. But first, we have one final NESCAC match-up to dissect and predict.

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Momentum

Wesleyan was unquestionably the hottest team entering the tournament while Amherst was also playing well entering this weekend. However, it was Bates and Trinity, the two teams that struggled down the stretch, that ended up advancing. Now you might be saying, ‘What do you mean Trinity struggled down the stretch? They went 9-1 in the NESCAC and barely lost in the semifinals to Wesleyan?’ Well, Trinity had won five of their last six games by single digits (the other game was against Conn College) before losing to Wesleyan. Obviously the Bantams’ style means they play close games, but this was still a concerning trend. The time off seemed to help Bates a lot in terms of regaining their mojo while the loss for Trinity helped them to refocus. Obviously, Wesleyan winning the NESCAC tournament is the biggest accomplishment of any team this season unless the winner of Bates-Trinity ends up going to the Final Four. I just want to point out that counting out teams because they haven’t been playing well lately can make you look stupid. That is what Bates did to me as I picked against them twice.

Point Guards Jayde Dawson ’18 and Reid Berman ’17 (Amherst)

As good as Reid Berman '17 was on Friday, he struggled on Saturday and sat out for much of the second half with foul trouble. (Courtesy of Amherst Sports Information/NESCAC.com) — As good as Reid Berman ’17 was on Friday, he struggled on Saturday and sat out for much of the second half with foul trouble. (Courtesy of Amherst Sports Information/NESCAC.com)

If you have read us all season, you know how much we have focused on the point guard situation for Amherst since the graduation of Aaron Toomey ’14. First, we do need to acknowledge that Berman played a fantastic game on Friday finishing with a career high 28 points. Unfortunately on Saturday neither point guard had a very good game which was just part of the reason why Amherst lost. The Jeffs ran into a St. John Fisher team that shot the ball lights out from deep (22-23 from the line too), and they couldn’t keep up because their offense was too disjointed. Dawson and Berman combined for 13 points, five assists, and six turnovers.

Bowdoin

Of course Bowdoin didn’t play this weekend, but it must have hurt the Polar Bears to watch Bates advance to the Sweet 16 and not just because Bates and Bowdoin are such bitter rivals. After all, it was only a few weeks ago that Bowdoin demolished Bates 98-70 in Brunswick in a game that showed just how good the Polar Bears were. However, they missed out on the tournament by a couple of spots and ended up at home this weekend. The Polar Bears still might have had to win the NESCAC tournament just to make it into the Dance though. Bowdoin will not enjoy watching Bates take on Trinity, a team they lost to by one point.

All-NESCAC Team

The 2014-15 NESCAC men’s basketball season was marked by parity and unpredictability. But through it all, a few players played exceptionally well all season long. As Wesleyan showed in their title run, the five best individual players do not always make up the best team (not a dig at Wesleyan, who is filled with talented and hard-nosed basketball players), but I think any team in Division-III would be hard-pressed to compete with this NESCAC All-Star squad.

NbN Player of the Year: G Lucas Hausman ’16

Lucas Hausman '16 rose above the rest down the stretch this season. (Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics/CIPhotography.com) — Lucas Hausman ’16 rose above the rest down the stretch this season. (Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics/CIPhotography.com)

NbN Defensive Player of the Year: C John Swords ’15

John Swords '15 had this kind of height advantage in every game he played this season. It's tough to beat a team when you can't get a clean look inside the paint. (Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics/CIPhotography.com) — John Swords ’15 had this kind of height advantage in every game he played this season. It’s tough to beat a team when you can’t get a clean look inside the paint. (Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics/CIPhotography.com)

NbN Rookie of the Year: G Johnny McCarthy ’18

Johnny McCarthy '18 showed that he has the tools to be a complete player in the NESCAC, scoring 10.7 PPG, shooting 35.5 percent from deep, snagging 6.7 RPG, dishing out 2.4 APG and swiping 1.8 SPG. (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics) — Johnny McCarthy ’18 showed that he has the tools to be a complete player in the NESCAC, scoring 10.7 PPG, shooting 35.5 percent from deep, snagging 6.7 RPG, dishing out 2.4 APG and swiping 1.8 SPG. (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)

NbN Coach of the Year: Joe Reilly, Wesleyan

Coach Joe Reilly out-coached his competitors on the way to earning Wesleyan University's first-ever NESCAC Championship. (Courtesy of NESCAC.com) — Coach Joe Reilly out-coached his competitors on the way to earning Wesleyan University’s first-ever NESCAC Championship. (Courtesy of NESCAC.com)

NbN First Team All-NESCAC

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

G Graham Safford ’15

Safford gets the nod over some other deserving point guards for his durability and leadership of a Bates team that will be playing in the NCAA Tournament. It’s the age old debate – should Most Valuable Player (or All-Conference) awards go to the best overall player or the best player on the best team? In this case, Safford does get a little benefit of the doubt for his team’s success, but no one else played close to the minutes that Safford played, and the senior leader kept up the intensity on both ends of the court all season long, leading the Bobcats to the second-most wins in school history (20 in 2005-06 under, you guessed it, Wesleyan head coach Joe Reilly) and the second NCAA Tournament in school history (Bates played in the 1961 NCAA Men’s College Division Tournament, now Division-II).

Lucas Hausman '16 (Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics) — Lucas Hausman ’16 (Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics)

G Lucas Hausman ’16

Hausman went from solid upstart to our NESCAC Player of the Year in a short period of time. While winning three straight NESCAC Player of the Week awards, the first time that feat has been accomplished in NESCAC history, Hausman averaged 27.8 points per game while shooting 57.3 percent (63-110) from the field and maintaining near perfection from the charity stripe (83.3 percent, 30-36). Hausman has a unique ability to draw contact in the lane and finish shots off balance. Hausman finished the season as the scoring champion by a wide margin in conference games, and did it while shooting nearly 50 percent overall, helping carry a squad that suffered some critical injuries all the way to the Pool C bubble. Unfortunately, Bowdoin missed out on the NCAA Tournament. Fortunately, though, the NESCAC has one more year to enjoy watching Hausman play. Or unfortunately, if you’re an opposing coach.

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

F Dan Wohl ’15

Wohl was the POY favorite before Hausman caught fire, but nonetheless the senior put up a great campaign. Wohl was the fourth-leading scorer on the NCAA runner-up squad a year ago, but took on a lot more responsibility this season and responded incredibly well. As a case study of Wohl’s versatility – Wohl had a tough day from the field in the Ephs’ Quarterfinal loss to Bowdoin, yet the senior racked up 10 boards and seven assists against just a single turnover. Wohl also rebounded the ball extremely well and presented one of the toughest defensive challenges for opposing players in the league. His athleticism and length allowed Wohl to shutdown opposing team’s 2-4’s. For example, Wohl shut down Second-Teamer Dylan Sinnickson ’15 in Williams’ matchup with the Panthers to the tune of a 3-11 FG performance and 0-4 from deep. It may be even tougher for Williams to replace this year’s class of Wohl, Hayden Rooke-Ley ’15 and Ryan Kilcullen ’15 than last year’s, if that’s even imaginable.

Connor Green (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)

F Connor Green ’16

Green came into the NESCAC’s final weekend as possibly hotter than Hausman, but hit a serious road block against Bowdoin and Wesleyan. Give those teams credit for forcing Green into tough shots and long threes, attempts that at other times Green seemed to hit as easily as lay ups. When you talk about guys that can score in different ways, Green is tops on the list. He handles the ball like a point guard, though he stands 6′ 4″, and his 200+ lbs. frame means that he can bully most defenders and is unaffected by contact inside. Not to mention his 48.2 three-point percentage in NESCAC games. Green is already comfortably a part of Amherst’s 1,000 point club, and if he stays healthy could find himself as the second-highest scorer in Amherst history by the time his career ends.

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

C John Swords ’15

Swords was the only member of the 2014 All-NESCAC First Team to return to the league this season, and his play warrants another nomination to the All-NESCAC team. We were concerned by the health of Swords’ knees when the season began, and even though he was less than 100 percent all season long, Swords played more than 30 minutes per game and discouraged teams from entering the paint all year. Swords grabbed 9.8 rebounds and tossed 2.1 blocks per game while putting up productive, if unspectacular numbers from the field. Swords scored “only” 12.9 points per game, but he did do it on 69.0 percent shooting, the fourth-highest mark in the NCAA as of March 1 among qualified players.

NbN Second Team All-NESCAC

Joseph Lin (Courtesy of Hamilton Athletics)

G Joseph Lin ’15

If we were giving out the award, Lin would easily be the NESCAC’s Most Improved Player. Despite a late season injury that cut his campaign short, Lin was among the best distributors in the league on a team that we didn’t expect would have a ton of great shooters. Lin was in the top-ten nationally in assists per game, slightly ahead of Safford and Middlebury’s Jake Brown ’17, while also shooting for a better percentage from the field than either player.

Luke Westman '16 (Courtesy of Colby Athletics) — Luke Westman ’16 (Courtesy of Colby Athletics)

G Luke Westman ’16

Two point guards make our All-NESCAC Second Team, but there should be no complaining as Westman was equally as impressive as Lin. Westman’s 73.2 percent from the field is basically unheard of from a guard, even though he just barely missed the cut to qualify for NCAA statistics (five made field goals per game). Westman is one of the most athletic guards in the NESCAC. He will return next year to lead inarguably the most talented class of rising seniors in the league.

Dylan Sinnickson (Courtesy of Middlebury Athletics)

F Dylan Sinnickson ’15

Sinnickson looked like a lock for All-NESCAC First Team consideration for much of the season, but his scoring took a major hit in conference games. Nonetheless his ability to grab rebounds (10.5 per game) was a difference-maker for a Middlebury team that lacked any consistency from its big men. Remember the name, because Sinnickson has one more year of NCAA eligibility, and there’s a better than 50-50 chance that the athletic swingman will be on the court for another NCAA college next season.

Tom Palleschi '17 (Courtesy of Tufts Athletics) — Tom Palleschi ’17 (Courtesy of Tufts Athletics)

F Tom Palleschi ’17

Palleschi was a wild card coming into this season after missing all of 2013-14, but the reclassified sophomore didn’t miss a beat and improved on his statistics from his freshman year campaign, averaging 12.0 PPG and 6.1 RPG. Most impressively, once Hunter Sabety ’17 went down with a knee injury, Palleschi stepped up his game and became Tufts’ most important player, scoring double figures in seven of nine contests counting forward from the first game without Sabety. What’s more, Palleschi was a force defensively, rejecting 2.4 shots per game, 0.3 more than the seven-footer Swords. If anyone can challenge Green for most-diversified offensive game, it’s Palleschi, who can play with his back to the basket or face up from 15 feet away.

Zuri Pavlin '17 (Courtesy of Conn. College Athletics) — Zuri Pavlin ’17 (Courtesy of Conn. College Athletics)

F Zuri Pavlin ’17

Amidst a disappointing season for the Camels, Pavlin shined once again, surpassing the Conn. College single-season rebounding record that he set last year as a freshman and leading the team in scoring with 13.7 points per game. Pavlin doesn’t have amazing height (6′ 5″) or strength, but he has an incredible knack for using his body to get rebounds. Watch out next year, as one more year under the belts of Pavlin and front court mate Isaiah Robinson ’18, a bruiser in his own right, could make for a fearsome front line.

Almost Dancing: Bowdoin Season Wrap-up

John Swords '15 throws down one of his numerous dunks this season. (Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics) — John Swords ’15 throws down one of his numerous dunks this season. (Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics)

Season: 18-8 (7-3), lost to Amherst in NESCAC Semifinals

The big question for Bowdoin coming into the season was how they would deal with the loss of three perimeter contributors: Matt Mathias ’14, Grant White ’14, and Andrew Madlinger ’14. The Polar Bears looked like they were in trouble with three losses in December by double digits while playing the same opening schedule against whom Bowdoin went 12-0 a year ago. Things looked even worse when the team learned halfway through January that Keegan Pieri ’15, the team’s second leading scorer and rebounder at that point, was out for the season. Though the team was 3-1 in the conference at that point, they still had their toughest opponents in front of them. An 0-2 weekend soon afterward brought Bowdoin to 4-3 and seemed to confirm that the Polar Bears were in trouble.

Then the team ripped off three wins at home to finish out the conference season. This sudden surge was due to a couple of things. First, after Pieri’s injury, Lucas Hausman ’16 morphed into something close to a facsimile of 2006 Finals Dwyane Wade. The junior twisted his way through defenses to give the offense new life. Meanwhile, John Swords ’15 returned to the same offensive form we saw last season and started to punish defenses inside. Combined with the same stingy defense as always and steady point guard play from Bryan Hurley ’15, Bowdoin rose all the way to the #2 seed. In the quarterfinals they took care of business against an always dangerous Williams team behind 37 from Hausman and 23 from Swords. Then in the semifinals Bowdoin could not contain Jeff Racy ’17 or Jayde Dawson ’18 off the bench, and the Lord Jeffs rolled to the win. The Polar Bears ended up having one or two too many non-conference losses and missed out the tournament by likely only a couple of spots.

High Point: 98-70 home victory over Bates Friday, February 13

Bowdoin got blown out in the second half in the first meeting between these two teams in December, but the script could not have been any more different for this one. In front of an unusually loud home crowd, Bowdoin played a near perfect offensive game shooting 63.5 percent from the field (12-18 from three) with 27 assists as a team. The star was Hausman who went 20-25 from the field on his way to tying the school record with 44 points. Bates could not figure out how to attack the Bowdoin zone and settled for a lot of outside shots, finishing the game with less than 10 baskets inside the arc. Hurley finished the game with 15 points and 12 assists while Matt Palecki ’16 and Swords both finished with more than 10 points. The win was followed up with a close victory over Tufts that sealed a home game for the Polar Bears in the NESCAC tournament.

MVP: Shooting Guard Lucas Hausman ’16

The most important thing to know about Hausman is that he is a natural born scorer. He finished his high school career with 1750 points. For his first two seasons, he came off the bench behind Madlinger and Mathias, but his scoring ability was always evident as he scored 22.0 points per 40 minutes in 2013-2014. Still, it was not until about halfway through the season when Hausman really turned into a terror for opposing defenses. His conference numbers are silly. He scored 24.7 PPG in conference play, and if you throw in the 58 points he scored in the two tournament games, that rises to 25.4 PPG. His 24.7 PPG is the highest average in conference games since the 2003-2004 season when Keala Mills scored 25.2 PPG for Wesleyan. He became almost impossible to stop in isolation situations because of his ability to score in so many ways. Hausman will be back next season with teams fully focused on stopping him.

Neil Fuller '17 (Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics) — Neil Fuller ’17 (Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics)

Player to Watch: Forward Neil Fuller ’17

Replacing Swords and Hurley (not to mention Pieri) will be very tall tasks for an already thin Bowdoin roster, but the Polar Bears should benefit from getting a full season in 2015-2016 from Fuller. His season was essentially wiped out with a leg injury that kept him out for nearly two months. Though he returned at the end of the season, he was clearly rusty from not being able to play for so long. Fuller will likely pair with Palecki in a revamped frontcourt that will look very different without the 7’0″ presence of Swords out there. One advantage that Fuller does bring is that he is capable of hitting mid-range jumpers which should help keep driving lanes open for Hausman. On defense Fuller is obviously not capable of having the impact that Swords did, but he works hard to get in position and does a good job altering shots. With Fuller, Palecki, and Jack Hewitt ’17, the Polar Bears should be OK up front.

The Slipper Fits the Cardinals: Stock Report 3/2

NESCAC CHAMPS! pic.twitter.com/rtynXXduvb

— Wesleyan Basketball (@WesleyanHoops) March 1, 2015

Raise your hand if at the beginning of the season you had Wesleyan winning the NESCAC championship. Heck, raise your hand if you had them winning it going into this weekend. Sure, we picked Wesleyan to upset Trinity and make the finals before the weekend began, but we didn’t think they would be able to overcome the Jeffs on Sunday.

It was only 16 days ago that Wesleyan was 3-5 in the NESCAC. They had also just lost to Amherst by 17 points. BUT IT DIDN'T MATTER TODAY.

— Nothing But NESCAC (@CACSportsBlog) March 1, 2015

Throughout the season a lot of different teams could claim to look like the best team in the NESCAC. First it was Bates, then briefly Middlebury, then Trinity for a long time, and finally Wesleyan. Of course, the Cardinals were the ones who were the best at the end when it really mattered.

And that is an important thing to point out. The Cardinals were the best team this weekend. They won two very close competitive games against Amherst and Trinity, but they were winning for the majority of both games. The Jeffs and Bantams had to really fight just come back and make it a game in the final minutes. The Cardinals were the team that looked the most confident in the biggest moments. They were the only team this weekend that was capable of both making outside shots and getting interior points with Joseph Kuo ’17 and Rashid Epps ’16. Their defense was masterful for most of the game against Trinity. The Wesleyan team probably felt like they were on their homecourt because of the multitude of Wesleyan students who came out to support them.

The formula for the Cardinals has changed slightly in terms of ingredients from the beginning of the season, but the final result of solid defense and rebounding combined with balanced scoring has been the same all year. We say the formula has changed because some players like BJ Davis ’16, Joe Edmonds ’16 and Jack Mackey ’16 stepped up their play as the season went along. The wonderful thing about how Wesleyan plays is that they recognize very well which players are feeling it for a particular game. For example, Edmonds was the hero against Bates in the quarterfinal scoring 22 points. Then he struggled with foul trouble and didn’t make his first couple of shots against Trinity so Coach Joe Reilly played him only 16 minutes. Instead, Reilly was able to play Harry Rafferty ’17 and PJ Reed ’17 for more minutes, and the two sophomores did a great job of stepping up.

Though Wesleyan’s win is certainly surprising, we knew going into the weekend that anyone could win the championship. No team stood out as especially dominating, even though Trinity went 9-1 in conference play. As Howard Herman of the Berkshire Eagle pointed out, Wesleyan was the hottest team going into the weekend, something that mattered more this season than in years past. The Cardinals have been routinely discounted by us and others when talking about NESCAC contenders. The title of our season preview for Wesleyan was “Overlooked Cardinals Return Everyone.” After this weekend, it is hard to overlook Wesleyan anymore.

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Wesleyan Fans

As mentioned above, the Wesleyan student fans were exceptional in turning out to help root on their team. Obviously it is a short drive from Middletown to Hartford, but it still takes a good level more commitment than simply walking out the door and into the gym. The semifinal atmosphere was awesome with Wesleyan and Trinity fans dueling it out in the stands while the two teams played it out on the floor as well. The Cardinal faithful were loud and boisterous, something that does not always happen at NESCAC games. In the finals, Wesleyan students far outnumbered Amherst students who could not be bothered to make the trip south from Massachusetts. Wesleyan has been in the news for the wrong reasons recently, and though it was obviously just a couple of basketball games, Wesleyan students were able to concentrate on something positive associated with their school. As somebody wrote on the Wesleyan Yik Yak, “After a tough week, thank you to Wesleyan basketball for giving us something to smile about.”

Point Guard Jayde Dawson ’18 and Forward Eric Conklin ’17 (Amherst)

A big reason for the buzz surrounding Amherst entering the season was Dawson and Conklin, two transfers from Division One schools. Both struggled to adjust to the NESCAC, and ended up being near the end of the rotation down the stretch. Then this weekend both were huge almost out of nowhere. For Dawson, the ability has always been there, but he struggled to fit into the Amherst system and took too many bad shots. Then, suddenly against Bowdoin he looked calmer and more in control. He was able to get to the basket consistently and scored 21 points, the only time this season he has scored more than 20. He was a little more erratic in the finals going 6-15 and turning the ball over four times, but he still scored 14 points and handed out five assists.

Conklin meanwhile found it hard to get playing time with David George ’17 firmly planted in the starting position. Then yesterday he just started hitting shots and didn’t stop. Nearly all of his points were simple shots from the block because Conklin did such a good job winning deep position. He finished the game with 19 points on 9-9 shooting. Both Conklin and Dawson were on the court during the final stretch, something they have not done all season. No other NESCAC team can claim two D1 transfers, much less two that usually don’t even play that often.

Parity

So all season we have been a little negative about how the NESCAC being so even this year could end up hurting the league for NCAA bids. Instead, that parity ended up helping the league as four teams got in. Amherst, Bates, Trinity and Wesleyan are all going dancing. Wesleyan would not have made the NCAA Tournament without their run to win the NESCAC tournament, and the other three teams got at-large bids. Bates and Amherst got their bids in large part because of some of their non-conference victories. For Bates their win over Babson was huge while Amherst boasted one of the best records against regionally ranked opponents. Trinity got their bid because of their 9-1 conference record. Four teams making the tournament from the NESCAC is rare. The last time it happened was in 2008 when Amherst, Bowdoin, Middlebury and Trinity made it. Usually the NESCAC will get two or three teams into the tournament. So why did the NESCAC end up doing better than it usually does in terms of bids? Well things broke almost perfectly for the NESCAC in a couple of ways. First, as said above, Wesleyan only made the tournament because they won the automatic bid. Then, around the country there were not too many upsets in conference tournaments which kept a lot more at-large bids open. Finally, teams that scheduled aggressively out of conference like Bates and Amherst get rewarded by the NCAA which uses Strength of Schedule extensively in their selections.

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Forward Connor Green ’16 (Amherst)

We don’t know if something was wrong with the junior scorer this weekend physically, but he looked out of sorts in both games. His 3-14 outing against Bowdoin obviously didn’t matter because the Jeffs still won by 20, but Amherst really could have used some more offense from him yesterday. Instead, Green went 2-11 from the field and finished with eight points in 26 minutes, taking a lot of bad shots and deep, contested three pointers. Coach Dave Hixon benched him for much of the second half and overtime going instead with Jeff Racy ’17 for most of the game. Green is known as a streaky shooter, but his struggles this weekend went beyond just not being able to shoot well. He failed to adjust to his poor shooting and rarely looked to attack the basket finishing the weekend with only three foul shots. What makes this weekend all the more curious is that Green came in scorching hot and had an outside shot at resting away NESCAC Player of the Year honors from Lucas Hausman ’16. He needs to get back on track if Amherst wants to make a deep tournament run.

Trinity and Bowdoin Benches

Maybe the craziest stat from this weekend is that the non-starters for Trinity and Bowdoin, the two semifinal losers, had two points combined. Two points! The only scoring came on a jumper from Ed Ogundeko ’17 early in the first half of the Trinity-Wesleyan game. Now the lack of scoring from the Bowdoin bench is not shocking because the Polar Bears have leaned heavily on their starters all season. However, for Trinity getting only two points from their bench is almost unheard of. In their quarterfinal game, Trinity’s bench nearly outscored the starters 34-32. Guys like Ogundeko, Rick Naylor ’16 and Chris Turnbull ’17 usually offer a good amount of scoring punch for the Bantams. On Saturday for some reason all of them failed to get going and Coach Jim Cosgrove was forced to adjust. Andrew Hurd ’16 did play a lot down the stretch over Jaquann Starks ’16, but Hurd did not look to score much, though he did distribute the ball well. One of their calling cards all year has been their depth, so it was surprising to see Trinity’s bench fail to show up this weekend.

NESCAC All-Tournament Team

In case you hadn’t heard, March Madness has already begun. If you missed any of this past week’s NESCAC Tournament you missed some incredibly dramatic basketball games. You almost couldn’t script it any better. Wesleyan, a team that squeaked into the playoffs in the final weekend, sixth seed in a field of eight, had to travel to in-state rival Trinity and play on hostile territory. Not only did they defeat the host Bantams and cause a rare road team court storming, but they then shocked the NESCAC world for the second day in a row and knocked off the thrice-defending NESCAC Champion Amherst Lord Jeffs for the program’s first ever trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Amidst all of this, there were some impressive individual performances, and not just from the eventual champions. Two Bowdoin players made our squad, even though the Polar Bears got bounced emphatically in the Semifinals. There weren’t too many big men that put up great stat lines during the Tournament, contributing to the decision to put the Bowdoin big man on the team. As for Wesleyan, it really was a team effort from the Cardinals, but one player made it onto our All-Tournament team. Read on to see who joined him.

First Team All-Tournament

Jayde Dawson-Gordon (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)

PG Jayde Dawson ’18

Now that’s the player that we thought Dawson was going to be when he transferred from Division-I Fairleigh-Dickinson. Dawson has often made these pages for his disappointing play this season, but there is nothing negative to say about the transfer guard today. Dawson played a limited role in the Jeffs’ Quarterfinal matchup with Tufts, but exploded in the Semis and Finals for 35 points, seven assists and five boards. He showed off his athleticism on defense by disrupting passing lines and getting out in transition. We’ll find out later today if Amherst will be in the NCAA Tournament field. If they are, expect Dawson to take on a larger role, even if he continues to come off of the bench.

Jack Mackey '16 (Courtesy of Wesleyan Athletics) — Jack Mackey ’16 (Courtesy of Wesleyan Athletics)

Guard Jack Mackey ’16

Mackey’s numbers weren’t the prettiest over the course of the whole tournament, especially a 2-10 performance in the Semis, but Mackey was clutch for the Cards, and provided the highlight of the Tournament when he chucked a bounce pass through Malcolm Delpeche’s ’17 legs to Joseph Kuo ’17 for a monster slam dunk. Mackey also banged home a big-time three to open the scoring in overtime against Amherst. As we know, Mackey, BJ Davis ’16 and Harry Rafferty ’17 are all capable of handling the basketball, but from watching the Cards this weekend it just feels like Mackey is the emotional leader among the group, and he earns this nomination in part for that intangible factor.

Guard Lucas Hausman ’16

This was about as easy of a choice as exists in this business. On Twitter, we praised Johnny McCarthy ’18 for handling Hausman well at halftime in the teams’ Semifinal game. Hausman ended up with 21 points on 8-16 shooting, this after he torched Williams for 37 on 11-20 shooting in the Quarters. Hausman is really good. He won three-straight Player of the Week awards this season, the first time that has happened in NESCAC history. And he’s on the shortlist (a very, very short list), for NESCAC Player of the Year.

Shay Ajayi '16 (Courtesy of Trinity Athletics) — Shay Ajayi ’16 (Courtesy of Trinity Athletics)

Forward Shay Ajayi ’16

Ajayi had an all-around solid tournament. He drew some favorable matchups and took advantage. Against Colby, a team known for its lack of height, Ajayi posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards. The junior then tallied another 10 points and added six boards against eventual champion Wesleyan. Trinity will likely be playing some more basketball in March, so look for Ajayi to build on his performance in the NESCAC Tournament.

Center John Swords ’15

As always, Swords’ impact doesn’t translate completely to the box score. When Swords is in the paint there are no easy shots for the opposition. That being said, Swords’ numbers were pretty good over the course of Bowdoin’s two games. Swords tallied 37 points on 17-25 shooting (10-10 in the Quarterfinals), 20 boards and six blocks. The only knock on Swords this weekend is that opposing big men, namely Ryan Kilcullen ’15 and David George ’17, actually had pretty solid offensive games. Nonetheless, Swords was the most valuable center in the NESCAC all season.

Honorable Mentions:

Guard Connor Green ’15, Forward Sam Willson ’16, Guard Hayden Rooke Ley’15, Center Joseph Kuo ’17 and Guard Hart Gliedman ’15

Think we missed somebody? Let us know. And good luck to all of the Pool C bubble teams today as the NCAA Tournament field is decided.

#2 Bowdoin vs. #5 Amherst: NESCAC Semifinal Preview

While Connor Green is in the forefront of our minds, the battle between David George and John Swords also looms large. (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics) — While Connor Green ’16 is in the forefront of our minds, the battle between David George ’17 and John Swords ’15 also looms large. (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)

The late game Saturday pits two teams in Bowdoin and Amherst that played some of their best basketball of the season in the quarterfinals. The Polar Bears overcame the hot shooting of Hayden Rooke-Ley ’15 because of great games from both John Swords ’15 and Lucas Hausman ’16. Meanwhile, the Lord Jeffs’ second game against Tufts was the exact opposite of the first one with Amherst routing the Jumbos in Medford. Connor Green ’16 is absolutely on fire scoring the ball averaging 28.2 PPG in his last five games against NESCAC opponents.

Last time they played: 81-66 Amherst

These two met the first time in Amherst on Saturday, January 31. The Lord Jeffs held a double-digit lead for part of the first half, but the Polar Bears fought back to make it only a three point deficit at halftime. Hausman kept Bowdoin in the game with 15 points, but Green was even better with 17 first half points. Early in the second, Green took over for Amherst and scored 15 points in the first 7:22 of the half to push the Amherst lead up to 14 points. Bowdoin would never truly threaten again with the Amherst lead never getting below nine, and the Jeffs were able to coast to a comfortable victory. Hausman also scored only four second half points. Johnny McCarthy ’18 deserves credit for slowing down Hausman, and the freshman had a pretty good game besides just his defense, finishing with 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Both teams shot awfully from the free throw line as the Jeffs were a putrid 10-23 (43.5 percent) and Bowdoin shot 10-18 (55.6 percent).

Keep in mind that Bowdoin was coming off of an overtime game against Trinity the night before and was playing on the road. That might have contributed to them shooting only 2-15 from three. Still, Amherst matches up very well with Bowdoin because their two best defensive players, McCarthy and David George ’17, correspond perfectly with Bowdoin’s two biggest weapons, Swords and Hausman. Both teams have gone 5-1 since their first game and seem to have figured out exactly how to play with each other.

Bryan Hurley '15 (Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics) — Bryan Hurley ’15 (Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics)

Bowdoin X-factor: Point Guard Bryan Hurley ’15

Swords and Hausman are definitely Bowdoin’s two most important players, but Hurley is a very close third. The Watertown, MA native does a little bit of everything for Bowdoin, but he is most effective when he is put into pick-and-roll situations. Hurley is particularly adept at getting the ball to Swords up high where the big man can throw down easy dunks. In conference play his assist-to-turnover ratio was 3.1. After putting a slow start to the season behind him, Hurley now is confident about getting into the lane and absorbing contact. Amherst is unlikely to let Hausman win the game by himself so Hurley will have to shoot the ball well from both beyond the arc and at the rim. Though he is a mostly pass-first point guard, Hurley tends to pick his spots to attack. He is never afraid to shoot from deep and will often take contested jump shots if he is ‘feeling it.’

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

Amherst X-factor: Shooting Guard Johnny McCarthy ’18

The presumed NESCAC Rookie of the Year will guard Hausman, the clear leader right now for NESCAC Player of the Year. This will be a fun battle to watch all afternoon. McCarthy tied for the league lead in steals because of his outstanding length. He has exceptional timing as a defender and his quickness allows him to guard anyone from point guards to small forwards. The freshman is no defensive specialist though. He finished third on the team in scoring with 10.6 PPG, but his offensive game slipped later in the season. He shot only 33.3 percent from the field in conference games. His offensive game is predicated on rhythm which is one of the reasons why he struggles from the free throw line despite being a confident shooter. Despite his struggles, McCarthy led the Jeffs in minutes despite there being a bevy of talented perimeter players on the roster.

Three Questions

1. Can David George ’17 guard John Swords ’15 one-on-one?

Swords had his best offensive game of the season last week going 10-10 from the field, but George will present much more of a challenge. In their two match-ups so far, George has done a good job of pushing Swords out of the paint. The sophomore has gained a lot of strength though he still gives up a good deal of weight to Swords. The best way to defend Swords is to keep him from getting the ball in a deep position. If Swords gets the ball close to the basket, it is virtually impossible to stop him. Even though George has the length and ability to block Swords, the 7’0″ footer is too patient with the ball. The Amherst big man doesn’t need to stop Swords completely. George just has to limit him and make other players on Bowdoin beat the Jeffs.

2. Is Connor Green ’16 unguardable against a zone defense?

Last week we broke down how Bowdoin’s zone works with players scrambling on the perimeter. It works for the most part, but as Rooke-Ley showed in the first half, a knockdown shooter can neuter the effectiveness of it. In the second half Bowdoin adjusted and made sure to communicate so that somebody was always on Rooke-Ley. Though Rooke-Ley is a better pure shooter, Green might be an even harder task to guard because he shoots his three pointers from so freaking far away. Honestly, he regularly pulls the trigger from a couple of feet beyond the NBA three point line. When he gets into the zone, literally everything he throws up goes in, even if he needs to bank in a three. Zones, even ones as flexible as Bowdoin’s, do not account for someone stretching the floor like Green does. Expect Green to get and take some open looks from way out early.

Jake Donnelly '16 gets Connor Green '16 and Johnny McCarthy '18 in the air. (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics) — Jake Donnelly ’16 gets Connor Green ’16 and Johnny McCarthy ’18 in the air. (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)

3. Which role player will step up?

Even though both team’s rely on their stars heavily for scoring, secondary players will have to make shots as well. For Amherst those plaers are Jeff Racy ’17 and Jayde Dawson ’18. Racy is a straight shooter who made the second most threes per game in conference play. He gets a lot of open looks because of all the attention given to McCarthy and Green. Dawson meanwhile has never really figured out how to play within the Amherst system, but he is still so talented that he can go on short stretches where he looks like one of the best players on the floor. Meanwhile the two guys to keep an eye on for Bowdoin are Matt Palecki ’16 and Liam Farley ’18. A big part of Palecki’s improved play this season is his ability to hit threes as the power forward. Farley is a talented freshman who can force bad shots and have careless turnovers but also represents Bowdoin’s best scoring option off the bench. The stars will dominate most of the game, but how those players fill in the shadows is also important.

What to Expect

Amherst just looked incredible last weekend in blowing out Tufts. There is no question that they are the more talented team top-to-bottom. Yet you could easily argue that Bowdoin has the better point guard, better center and better pure scorer. The thing is that all three of Hurley, Swords and Hausman will have to play well for Bowdoin to win. The Jeffs certainly need Green to have a good performance, but they can survive any other player struggling because there are so many others capable of stepping up. Expect a game of runs with one team jabbing and the other answering back.

We have alluded to Hausman heavily throughout the preview but haven’t talked much about him specifically. He was special against Williams throwing up a relatively quiet 37. The Jeffs have to work to keep him off of the free throw line and out of transition because he is pretty much automatic in those situations. Point guard Reid Berman ’17 has to use his size and strength advantage over Hurley to force his way into the lane and make Swords guard him. That will draw in the defense and leave Racy or Green open on the perimeter. Nobody shot or made as many as threes as the Jeffs did in NESCAC play. With Swords in the middle of the Bowdon defense, they are likely to bomb away early and often.

Dave Hixon and Tim Gilbride are the two best in-game coaches in the NESCAC. The game might come down to who makes the better halftime adjustment. Hixon has been to tons of NESCAC semifinals, but he has rarely had a team this young. The veteran Polar Bears have never made it this far in the tournament. The recent Bowdoin success has come mostly at home and they haven’t played a NESCAC opponent away from Brunswick since they last met Amherst. This game is close to a toss-up. We give the slightest of edges to Bowdoin because Swords is such a difference maker in the middle.

Prediction: Bowdoin 82 – Amherst 78

Last Chance to Buy or Sell: Stock Report 2/22

The disappointment was evident for Adam Philpott '15 and Co. after the loss on Saturday, but Bates still resides on the Pool C bubble for the NCAA Tournament. — The disappointment was evident for Adam Philpott ’15 and Co. after the loss on Saturday, but Bates still resides on the Pool C bubble for the NCAA Tournament. (Courtesy of Daryn Slover for Bates College)

It was a wild quarterfinals Saturday in the NESCAC, and we laid out our initial reactions in this video Saturday night, but we’ve now had a bit of time to digest all the action and think about how those results will impact Championship Weekend. We had two games go as expected with #1 Trinity and #2 Bowdoin sealing victories, and two underdogs win on the road in hostile environments.

Stock Up

The NbN Team

I got so caught up in the excitement of Saturday’s games that I almost didn’t realize that as a team we went 4-0 in our predictions, and Adam’s snipe of the Wesleyan upset was really impressive. He almost pinned the score, too. Obviously, no one wants to read about us, they want to read about the players. But I thought we deserved a quick little pat on the back, so excuse our self-indulgence.

Amherst Center David George ’17

Back to business now. George was an animal on Saturday. I don’t know if the big man reads the blog, but maybe he got a little riffed that I called out his offensive game in my Amherst-Tufts preview. Well, touché, my friend. George went 6-13 from the field and 7-8 from the stripe for 19 points in addition to 10 rebounds and two rejections. He was able to stay out of foul trouble, as well, which shouldn’t go overlooked given the Twin Towers with which he was forced to match up (though Hunter Sabety ’17 was far below 100 percent). As I said in the game preview, a productive George arguably makes Amherst the favorite for the NESCAC Championship. He will need to play well against Bowdoin’s seven-footer, John Swords ’15, and if the Lord Jeffs get through that game he will have another tall order if he goes against the strong Trinity frontcourt. If Wesleyan were to pull off another upset and meet Amherst in the championship George will still be an x-factor because the Cardinals’ strength is the backcourt, meaning George would have the opportunity to dominate.

Class of 2016 Player of the Year Candidates: Lucas Hausman ’16 and Connor Green ’16

Adam wrote earlier this year about the talented junior class in the NESCAC this year when Green topped 1,000 points in his career, and the class of 2016 has not slowed down, especially not these two. I think writer Peter Lindholm described it best via Twitter:

@CACSportsBlog Hausman stole Wohl's game, his POY trophy, and reports say he's about to steal his girl

— Peter Lindholm (@peteyoself) February 21, 2015

Connor Green looks like a guy who gets eliminated early on The Bachelorette, but he can shoot #backhandedcompliment

— Peter Lindholm (@peteyoself) February 15, 2015

Hausman has now claimed a commanding lead in the scoring race, and will almost definitely end up with the crown unless he goes ice cold this weekend. His point totals since January 24 at Colby: 24, 30, 19, 32, 21, 44, 16, 17 and 37. And he’s not a phenomenal outside shooter. He gets most of his buckets by getting into the lane, drawing contact and finishing contested shots. When he gets to the line he is nearly automatic (88.0 percent on the year). And he’s been Bowdoin’s only consistent scorer all season.

Green’s advantage is his size and ability to rebound. Johnny McCarthy ’18 and Dan Wohl ’15 are the only perimeter players with more rebounds than Green. Green also stretches the floor a little better as he’s knocking down over 40 percent of his trey balls.

Both of these guys are phenomenal players capable of taking over games, and I expect fireworks when they go at it on Saturday.

Wesleyan Forward Joe Edmonds ’16

Head Coach Joe Reilly has settled on a starting five that rarely leaves the floor. All fives of Reilly’s starters against Bates played at least 29 minutes, and for Edmonds, who has started 14 of 25 games this year, that was his third consecutive game starting and playing over 30 minutes. His two highest-scoring games have come over that stretch as well. The Cardinals essentially run out three point guards in Harry Rafferty ’17, BJ Davis ’16 and Jack Mackey ’16, so there are a lot of drive and kick opportunities, and Edmonds, as the best three point shooter on the roster, really has the ability to make an impact for the Cardinals. He did just that in the win over Bates, leading the Cards with 22 points and going 5-6 from deep.

Stock Down

Offense of the Trinity Frontcourt

Trinity was looking unbeatable recently, coupling a suddenly explosive offense with its usual lockdown D, but the Bantams put up a mediocre 66 points against a Colby team whose tallest impact player, besides Sam Willson ’16, is its point guard, Luke Westman ’16. The combination of Alex Conaway ’15, George Papadeas ’15, Shay Ajayi ’16 and Ed Ogundeko ’17 isn’t exactly known for its collective offensive skill set, and the big guys didn’t play badly on Saturday (combined 11-22 from the field), but each and every one of them had size and strength advantages over their defenders and didn’t dominate like they should have. Down the stretch Ogundeko made a big impact with 11 points in the second half, but he was the only one to make a difference. The defense is fine, and will still give the Bantams a chance to win it all, but they will need some low-post scoring to win two games next weekend.

Amherst Guard Jeff Racy ’17

Since exploding for 30 points on 10-14 three-point shooting at Conn. College on February 6, Racy is 9-27 (33.3 percent) from deep. For a 41.3 percent three-point shooter on the season, that is not so great. I had Racy as my x-factor in the Lord Jeffs’ matchup with Tufts. As it turned out they didn’t need much from Racy as the game was over before it even started, but going forward, Green and Racy are the only guys that scare opposing defenses when they rise up from beyond the arch, so Amherst needs Racy to get hot once again.

Wesleyan Point Guard Triumvirate

Mackey and the Cards pulled off the big upset against the Bobcats, despite poor shooting from the Wesleyan guards. (Courtesy of Daryn Slover for Bates College)

Mackey made it into our Stock Up section last week, and he had another fine game on Saturday against Bates (18 points, 7-18 FG, 4-12 3PT FG, 6 rebounds), but his running mates, Davis and Rafferty, were anemic on the offensive end. They’re both really quality shooters so to see them go so cold was a surprise. I have a lot of concerns for Wesleyan this weekend. They’re undersized on the perimeter, they rely on the three-point shot, they have little depth, and they don’t have a clear go-to guy that they can hand the ball to at the end of a game. Of course that’s not always necessary. I’m sure that any of the trio would be comfortable with the ball in his hands in the final seconds. But Coach Joe Reilly is leaning so heavily on this group that I doubt that they can sustain a high level of play for the 80 minutes that will be necessary to take home the crown this weekend. Furthermore, their games are too similar. Davis brings a bit more quickness and driving ability to the floor than the others, Rafferty is a lefty and a really smooth shooter with range and Mackey likes to shoot off the dribble, but when it comes down to it they are all point guards who want to score the basketball. The unconventional lineup can cause problems against some opponents, but when it doesn’t work out you can have stat lines like the combined 11-36 (30.6 percent) from the field that Mackey, Davis and Rafferty put together on Saturday.

NESCAC Quarterfinal Preview: #7 Williams at #2 Bowdoin

The Bowdoin starters on the bench at the end of the game. (Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics/CIPhotography.com)

Bowdoin finished their NESCAC season on a three game winning streak against Bates, Middlebury and Tufts to jump up all the way to the #2 seed in the tournament. Williams just lost by more than 20 points at home to Wesleyan. Yet this might be the most intriguing quarterfinal game because it matches two very different styles of play against one another. Williams lives and dies on the perimeter with Dan Wohl ’15 and Hayden Rooke-Ley ’15 while Bowdoin still relies on their strong interior defense.

Last time they played:

Bowdoin jumped out to a 17-point lead as Williams scored only 23 first half points. The lead got all the way up to 20 points for the Polar Bears before Williams starting chipping away. A Ryan Kilcullen ’15 three with 0:48 left brought the Ephs to within three, but Bowdoin was able to salt the game away with free throws to win 67-60. Williams barely ever went inside and finished the game with eight made two point field goals and 12 made three point field goals. The Ephs stayed in the game by upping their defensive intensity in the second half and allowing only 27 second half points.

The rosters look somewhat different from the first time these two played, however. Keegan Pieri ’15 led Bowdoin with 20 points and 10 rebounds in the last matchup, but he is out for the season. Also, Neil Fuller ’17 was out with a leg injury, but he is now back and has played some minutes to give Bowdoin more depth in the frontcourt. Meanwhile, Rooke-Ley did not play in the first game for Williams but is fully healthy now.

Bowdoin X-factor: Center John Swords ’15

Since the 6’7″ Kilcullen is Williams’ tallest player, one might have expected for Swords to dominate in the first match-up, but he only managed four points, tied for his season low. Bowdoin still scored a lot of easy points in the paint because of Pieri but without him, Swords needs to step up. He has been more aggressive offensively since Pieri went down. He has started to put the ball on the floor one time and make a move to the basket that usually ends in a layup. Smaller defenders often times can deal with his height, but it is the length that comes along with that height which really gives defenders problems. Swords will simply go around players who try to defend him straight up. A couple of baskets early for Swords would be huge. On the other end, if Bowdoin plays man, Swords has to be able to get out on Kilcullen on the perimeter and keep the Boston College transfer from hitting too many threes. Of course, that puts him in the conundrum of being away from the basket which is where he makes the biggest impact for Bowdoin.

Mike Greenman '17 (Courtesy of Williams Athletics) — Mike Greenman ’17 (Courtesy of Williams Athletics)

Williams X-Factor: Point Guard Mike Greenman ’17

We might be seeing a transformation in how Greenman plays point guard. The sophomore has never been afraid to shoot the ball and also got into the lane and turned the ball over a lot. In recent weeks, he has shot less and, more importantly, his turnovers are down. In conference play he has averaged 1.7 turnovers per game compared to 3.6 in out of conference games. Over his past seven games Greenman has a 3.5 assist/turnover ratio, far above his 1.6 ratio for the season. During that same seven game period, Greenman has scored less than 4.0 PPG and shot only 4-24 (16.7 percent) from three. Greenman knows he is struggling and is adjusting his play because of it. It was just one play, but on Tuesday against Castleton State we witnessed Greenman pass up a wide open three in order to pass to Dan Aronowitz ’17 who drove to the lane for an easy layup. He needs to keep making the right play, and if he makes a couple of early shots too? Look out.

Three Big Questions

1. How different are these teams from the last time they played?

On the surface the presence of Rooke-Ley and Fuller combined with the absence of Pieri would seem like it would have a huge effect. The truth though is that Bowdoin and Williams have played basically the same with or without those guys. Bowdoin’s conference record with Pieri was 3-1 and 4-2 without him, and they played a harder schedule after Pieri got hurt. The Ephs went 2-2 in conference without Rooke-Ley and 3-3 with him while playing harder games without him. It isn’t like those players don’t help their teams when they are on the floor, but when they are out, other players step up. For Williams that was Aronowitz, and Bowdoin has seen Matt Palecki ’16 and Jack Hewitt ’17 combine to help Bowdoin work without Pieri.

2. Can Bowdoin play zone?

Usually when a team has as many shooters as Williams does, it is unthinkable for a team to play zone against them. For Bowdoin, they might need to play zone because they don’t have personnel to stop everyone. The zone that Bowdoin plays is not a simple 2-3 zone with each player sitting in his zone. Instead, Bowdoin plays a matchup zone centered around Swords. He always stays near the basket and only leaves the paint as a last resort if an open player is going to get a three. The four other players basically float around the perimeter switching on screens and always having one player they guard. The scheme requires constant communication and no missteps on defense. On Monday, Husson burned Bowdoin at times with penetration and ball movement. The weakness of the defense is certainly in defending the three point line. If Williams starts whipping the ball around the three point line and hitting open threes, Bowdoin will have to go man.

3. How does Williams slow Lucas Hausman ’16?

Last Saturday Tufts managed to slow down Hausman simply by playing zone against Bowdoin. Williams is unlikely to take that route because they have played almost exclusively man-to-man all season. Wohl will likely get the first crack at Hausman, but Aronowitz should also draw the assignment at times. Both are good defenders and have the right combination of quickness and size to give Hausman problems in theory. No doubt Williams has spent this week dissecting all the film they have on Hausman. They know he likes to get a great first step when he drives right and LOVES to spin into a fadeaway jumper when he drives left. What makes Hausman hard to defend is that he doesn’t use pick and roll so you can only double him once he starts making a move to the basket. Limiting his chances in transition is also crucial for Williams.

What to Expect

I haven’t really even talked yet about the offensive fireworks that Wohl and Rooke-Ley regularly produce or the importance of Bryan Hurley ’15 to everything Bowdoin does. Wohl has struggled shooting the ball from the outside (30.4 percent from deep in NESCAC games). If he does guard Hausman, the outcome of that matchup very well could decide who wins NESCAC Player of the Year. Rooke-Ley is so dangerous from behind the arc that having a hand in his face often isn’t good enough. Hurley has looked more and more comfortable as the season has gone along, and Bowdoin will look to use him and Swords in pick and rolls to put pressure on the Ephs.

These two teams have very different roster makeups so each presents problems for the other. The team that is more effective in exploiting their mismatches will win. For Bowdoin, their advantage is their size inside. We covered Swords above, but the size difference extends to the power forward position where Palecki is tough to move around inside. The edge for Williams is on the perimeter obviously. They need to have everyone hitting their threes so that Bowdoin can’t key on Wohl and Rooke-Ley. Forcing turnovers and going on runs is also important for them. This might be the highest variable game because of how Williams plays. I can see a comfortable Williams win just as easily as a Bowdoin rout. In the end, I think Hausman and Hurley do enough to offset Wohl and Rooke-Ley and Bowdoin pulls out a very entertaining game.

Prediction: Bowdoin 78 – Williams 73

Cardinals Fly at Expense of Panthers: Stock Report 2/16

Going into the weekend, the biggest piece yet to be solved in the playoff puzzle was whether Middlebury or Wesleyan would take the final spot (Colby could have also fallen out under one unlikely scenario). On Friday the Cardinals breezed past Hamilton while Middlebury could not complete a miraculous comeback and fell just short to Trinity. Only a Wesleyan loss and Panther victory Sunday would send Middlebury to the playoffs. By late Saturday afternoon the playoff field was set. Wesleyan sucked out the drama from the proceedings when they opened up the second half with a 14-0 run to take a 20-point lead over Williams, eventually closing out the Ephs with a 74-52 victory. Middlebury actually finished the season on a high note with a nice win over Amherst, but their fate had already been sealed.

Stock Up

Point Guard Jack Mackey ’16 (Wesleyan)

If you look at his statistics from the weekend, it seems like Mackey had his normal productive if somewhat cursory weekend. That would miss the fact that he scored 13 straight points for Wesleyan in the second half when Williams tried to mount a comeback. More importantly, it would miss the defense that Mackey played on the Williams guards. Mackey was a big part in holding Hayden Rooke-Ley ’15 to six points. Mackey is a tenacious and physical defender. Though he does not use his quickness very often on the offensive end, he has good lateral quickness which makes it hard for opponents to get into the lane against him. Mackey is a big reason why Wesleyan finished the season ranked third in the league in scoring defense with 64.0 PPG allowed.

Shooting Guard Lucas Hausman ’16 (Bowdoin)

Lucas Hausman '16 tallied 44 points on Friday night, the highest total recorded in the NESCAC this season. (Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics/CI Photography) — Lucas Hausman ’16 tallied 44 points on Friday night, the highest total recorded in the NESCAC this season. (Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics/CI Photography)

Hausman was absolutely on fire Friday night tying the Bowdoin single game record with 44 points. He went 20-25 from the field while scoring in almost every way imaginable: fast break layups, fall away jumpers off of his trademark spin move, and threes with a hand in his face. In fact, the only way he didn’t score was from the foul line where he went 0-1 on the night. Yet on the season he has made the most free throws in the NESCAC. Hausman cooled off Saturday against the Tufts zone, but he still scored 16 points as Bowdoin won to secure a home playoff game. Dan Wohl ’15 has been the favorite to win Player of the Year honors for most of the season, but Hausman is making a worthy late charge. Because the NESCAC tournament is also included when deciding who will win NESCAC honors, the award might come down to how Hausman and Wohl play against each other when Williams plays at Bowdoin in the first round.

Trinity

The Bantams already had the number one seed sewn up before the weekend, but they still were big winners because of two things. First, they went up and controlled the game against Middlebury. The bench, led by Rick Naylor ’16 and Ed Ogundeko ’15, had 29 of the team’s 39 first half points. Trinity’s 90 points in the game was a high for them in conference. The second thing that went well was Colby finishing with the eight seed. The Mules are still dangerous without Chris Hudnut ’16, but they simply do not have the size that Trinity has inside. The Mules are definitely a preferable matchup for Trinity compared to Middlebury or Wesleyan. I’m not saying that Colby can’t get hot shooting the ball and shock the Bantams this weekend, but it will take a heck of an effort to do it.

Stock Down

Amherst’s Sense of Urgency

Going into Sunday, Amherst knew a win got them the two seed while a loss dropped them all the way to the five seed and a trip to Tufts in the first round. That didn’t seem to show as Middlebury led wire-to-wire, and Amherst never really made a run. Maybe it was the delayed start time because the referees were late or that Amherst lacked somebody who could rally the team and tell them that this was a must-win. Whatever the case, the win cost the Jeffs and deprives us of a third Williams vs. Amherst matchup in the first round of the playoffs. Instead, Amherst has to take on Tufts, a team that blitzed them in a 27-point victory. Granted, the outcome is very unlikely to be the same because Hunter Sabety ’17 is hurt, but the Jeffs did themselves no favors this weekend.

Forward Marcus Delpeche ’17 (Bates)

Though we often lump them in as one unit, the Delpeches are in fact two different basketball players. Marcus has played slightly more and put up bigger numbers than Malcolm overall this season. Against Colby and Bowdoin, Marcus scored 7.0 PPG, not that far below his 9.7 PPG average on the season. What was concerning was that he had only four rebounds against Bowdoin and ONE against Colby. Bates still managed to do okay on the boards as a team. Don’t be fooled by Bowdoin having eight more rebounds than Bates on Friday. The reason for that was not Bates’ rebounding but their defense: since Bowdoin made 63.5 percent of their shots, there were less defensive rebounds for Bates to grab. Still, Marcus Delpeche should be getting way more than five rebounds over two games. Hopefully a return to Alumni Gym will get him going.

Williams

Saturday was senior day in Williamstown for Ryan Kilcullen ’15, Rooke-Ley and Wohl, but the day did not end the way supporters of the Ephs were hoping. The blowout loss to Wesleyan means Williams finishes the year at 5-5, seventh in the league standings. For all intents and purposes, this year’s team was the product of Mike Maker, the former Williams coach. He recruited all of the players on the roster, and though Kevin App changed some things schematic-wise, the team retained the same up-tempo three point heavy style. The talent still on the roster was properly recognized as one of the most talented in the league before the season began, but they have been inconsistent all season. While they blew out Middlebury, they also lost to Hamilton and struggled to put away Conn College. There is still a distinct possibility they get hot and make a run to win the NESCAC title. If not, then the season will end far short of where it did a season ago. The Ephs lose three starters in Rooke-Ley, Wohl and Kilcullen after this year. None of their juniors this year saw very significant minutes. This is going to be a very young team next season led by Dan Aronowitz ’17 and Mike Greenman ’17. The heavy lifting of the rebuilding process is just beginning for App.

The 10 Most Important People This Weekend

Graham Safford '15 might be holding flowers, but he still has his eyes on the prize: two wins this weekend. (Courtesy of Bates Athletics) — Graham Safford ’15 might be holding flowers, but he still has his eyes on the prize. (Courtesy of Bates Athletics)

Usually in our weekend preview we tell you three players who we think are going to have a significant impact on the weekend. Given how big of a weekend this one is, three is simply not going to be enough. The criteria for this is not simply the best players on each team. The most important players are the ones who will have the biggest impact on how we look back on the weekend.

10. Small Forward Peter Kazickas ’15 (Hamilton)

The emergence of Joseph Lin ’15 has overshadowed the improvement of Kazickas, another senior who has stepped up in his final season. Last season Kazickas was a secondary option for Hamilton and only made 0.4 threes per game. This season he is shooting an unfathomably hot 59.1 percent from three in conference while making four times as many threes as last year. Yes, Hamilton is officially eliminated from the tournament, but as Williams learned earlier, traveling to Clinton is not an easy task. The Continentals could play spoiler to Wesleyan, if Kazickas shoots like he has been recently.

9. David George ’17 (Amherst)

If George watched the Middlebury-Bowdoin game, he was salivating at all the dunks John Swords ’15 had against the Panther frontline. He could have a great game Sunday if Amherst makes a concerted effort to get him the ball. George has been a very good player this year for the Jeffs, but he has not been close to the dominant force he looked like for parts of the NCAA tournament. He is shooting 52.8 percent from the field which honestly is not a great percentage for a big man. A big game going into the NESCAC tournament will put fear in Amherst’s opponents.

8. Shooting Guard Hayden Rooke-Ley ’15 (Williams)

Any doubt about who the best pure shooter in the NESCAC is was put to rest by Rooke-Ley Friday night against Bates. He went 6-8 from three, many of them with a hand in his face. To shoot for the season 46.7 percent from three given the difficulty of most of those shots is impressive. Finding him in transition is an absolute must. Rooke-Ley might not create very many opportunities for others, but he cashes in on the ones he has. At 4-4, Williams could be primed for a 2-0 weekend against Wesleyan and Conn College. If they got to 6-4, it would be the first time all season they have been more than a game away from .500 in conference.

7. Guard BJ Davis ’16 (Wesleyan)

Staying in front of Davis is a nightmare, and he gives Wesleyan more dynamism in their offense now that the Cardinals are running more offense through him. The Cardinals might need to win both of their games this weekend, and Davis is the one player who can truly be a difference maker for them. His shooting percentages are not great recently as he is drawing opponents’ top defenders. In conference games Davis is Wesleyan’s leading scorer and passer with 13.6 PPG and 4.0 APG. It is possible that on Saturday Williams puts Dan Wohl ’15 on Davis. If that is the case, Davis will probably try to use his quickness to get in the lane and forgo shooting from outside.

6. Point Guard Jake Brown ’17 (Middlebury)

Nobody thought that Middlebury would be here, needing at least one victory in the final weekend against Trinity or Amherst to even think about making the tournament. Brown could be important in very different ways. Friday against Trinity, Brown will defend Jaquann Starks ’16. Starks has been in double-digits the last five games, but Brown will be a real challenge for him. If Brown shuts down Starks, the Bantams offense could grind to a halt for long periods. Then, on Sunday Brown might take advantage of his athleticism against Reid Berman ’17 to get into the lane and cause Amherst headaches. Last Sunday Brown was limping at periods with what looked like an ankle injury, and if he is less than 100 percent, Middlebury will be in even bigger trouble than they are already.

5. Center John Swords ’15 (Bowdoin)

A fired up Swords is the best type of Swords, and that is the version we saw on Sunday against Middlebury. It probably helped that he only had one game that weekend and did not have to worry about his knees. Though his offensive production against Middlebury was great, it will be his defense and rebounding that Bowdoin really relies on this weekend. Because Tom Palleschi ’16 did not play last year, Swords and him have not matched up for significant minutes yet. The two will likely spend the beginning of the game feeling each other out with Palleschi probably relying on his jump shot initially.

4. Power Forward Sam Willson ’16 (Colby)

Willson is basically the entire Colby frontcourt right now. We aren’t sure because Colby does not publish the height of their players on their website, but based off of this photo, after Willson, Luke Westman ’16 was the second tallest player who played for Colby against Middlebury. Willson wasn’t even supposed to start this year, but a preseason injury to Patrick Stewart ’16 and more recent injury to Chris Hudnut ’16 leaves Willson as the only big man left. Offensively his role is the same as he is still really a stretch four who is good in pick and roll situations. On defense is where he will really make or break the Mules’ weekend. He could have a tough time going against Tom Palleschi ’16 and Marcus Delepeche ’17. He will need to use his strength and rely on help from his teammates to keep Colby afloat down low.

3. Center Tom Palleschi ’16 (Tufts)

In the first half against Williams, Palleschi looked unstoppable draining midrange jumpers, hook shots, and layups down low on his way to 22 points. Then suddenly in the second half he went cold and didn’t score in the final 17:20 of the game. That was a big reason why Williams came back to win and plunge Tufts back into the thick of things. Without Hunter Sabety ’17, Palleschi is the only inside threat for Tufts. He has to exploit Colby who is still playing without Chris Hudnut ’16. If Tufts stumbles Friday then Palleschi will have to deal with Swords. His ability to hit shots from outside might give Swords problems, but he has to make them first.

2. Power Forward Dylan Sinnickson ’15

His Player of the Year candidacy is over after last weekend, and Sinnickson just has not looked like the same explosive inside-out threat that we saw earlier this year. In his past four conference games, Hamilton was the only one where he scored more than 13 points or grabbed more than nine rebounds. He needs to be the man for Middlebury for at least one game this weekend. Something like a 20 and 15 performance. He most certainly has to outplay Connor Green ’16 when those two meet on Sunday. Maybe returning to Pepin will help Sinnickson to get back to the player who looked almost unstoppable for stretches earlier in the season.

1. Point Guard Graham Safford ’15 (Bates)

We have been saying all season that Safford is the single most important player to any team. There is a reason why he is averaging an insane 36.9 MPG. But how much of a toll is it taking on him? The last two Friday NESCAC games Safford has averaged 26.0 PPG, but on Saturday that average dips all the way down to 9.5 PPG. Both of those games have still been wins, but they were against Hamilton and Conn College, the two worst teams in the NESCAC. Bates might struggle Saturday against Colby. So maybe Safford knows that Friday is the game that Bates needs to win. After all, he was in the Bowdoin gym Sunday afternoon watching Middlebury and Bowdoin play.