I was considering just copying and pasting last year’s preview since Amherst’s roster is pretty much identical to last season’s, but I decided they deserved a write-up. Seriously though, Amherst lost nothing. They only graduated one senior and the main rotation is completely intact. This is one of the situations where Amherst’s biggest strength is also its weakness – depth. The coaches don’t anticipate many players (if any) playing 32-35 minutes, but rather most will play 18-24 minutes. It can be tough on a player’s psyche if he’s not allowed to get into a rhythm. It’s critical that the squad gets used to playing as a team and not as individuals if they want to be successful this year.
The returning Lord Jeffs had the opportunity to travel to Italy as a team this summer, giving them a chance to gel together and get a head start on learning how to play with such depth. Amherst won’t be the quickest team in the league, but they have an experienced, mature group, and their basketball IQ will carry them throughout the season.
2014-15 Record:
21-8 overall; 6-4 NESCAC (t-5th); lost NESCAC Final to Wesleyan 74-70; Lost Second Round of NCAA Tournament to St. John Fisher, 87-70
Coach: Dave Hixon, 38th year, 741-265 (.737)
Starters returning: Five
PG Reid Berman ’17 (4.5 ppg, 5.4 apg, 2.9 A/TO, 47.9% FG)
G/F Connor Green ’16 (16.0 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 37.3% 3PT)
G/F Johnny McCarthy ’18 (11.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.7 spg, 0.9 bpg)
F Jacob Nabatoff ’17 (6.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 38.2% 3PT)
F David George ’17 (10.6 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 1.9 bpg)
The entire rotation is back, and that includes alternate point man Jayde Dawson ’18. Dawson began the year as the Jeffs’ point man, but halfway through the season he and Berman switched roles, and both men played better basketball. Dawson came down from D-I Fairleigh-Dickinson, but it looked like he was pressing too much last season. He has the physical ability to be one of the league’s best guards. He just might have to do so off of the bench this season, unless he can wrestle the starting gig back from Berman…
Projected Starting Five:
PG Jayde Dawson
Point guard was the toughest position to predict, because Jayde Dawson is so evenly matched with fellow point guard Reid Berman. At the end of the day, however, I feel that Dawson’s physical attributes are more enticing out of a starting point guard (Dawson is 6’2” 190 lbs. while Berman is 6’0” 175 lbs). However, this year the coaches are stressing the fact that their starting lineup doesn’t really matter. Berman and Dawson will get their minutes determined by how each is playing. Where Dawson needs to improve this year is his focus on taking care of the ball; he averaged 1.8 turnovers per game last year and just 2.0 apg. I don’t doubt that these numbers will improve in Dawson’s second year at Amherst. As one of the very few exceptionally quick players on Amherst, Dawson’s athleticism will allow him to play at a high level against teams that are more athletic than Amherst overall.
SG Johnny McCarthy
Reigning NESCAC ROY Johnny McCarthy now has some experience under his belt, and he will lead this team from the shooting guard position this season. McCarthy asserted himself as the defensive MVP of this Lord Jeffs squad last year, guarding the best player on every team last year (as long as he was under about 6’6”), and his team leading 32.2 mpg forced him to get all the freshman year jitters out early. It’s hard to say anything bad about this kid – he was second in scoring, rebounding, assists, blocks and assist/turnover ratio last year, while leading the team in steals per game – AS A FRESHMAN. McCarthy will definitely be in the running for All-NESCAC honors this year, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s in the talks for Player of the Year when the end of the season nears.
SF Connor Green
If you’re not familiar with the name Connor Green at this point, you probably haven’t watched an Amherst College basketball game in the last three years. Green has been the center point of this squad’s offense for a couple years now, leading the Lord Jeffs in scoring last year, and taking a back seat only to D-III POY Aaron Toomey ’14 the year before. What makes Green so difficult to guard is a combination of two factors: his lightning fast release and his willingness to shoot from anywhere on the court. No matter what the situation, Green isn’t afraid to shoot, and his quick trigger often allows him to get shots off before the defense is ready to contest his shot. Defenses are aware of this, but they have trouble stopping it because of how well he gets to the hoop. He’s a matchup nightmare because he also has the ability to back down smaller defenders. There is a huge elephant in the room, though – his frighteningly cold play down the stretch last season. Between the NESCAC Semis and the Second Round of the NCAAs, Green shot 13-54 (24.1%) over four games, a shocking departure from the guy who lit up Middlebury and Tufts the two games before that for 29 points a piece. This team needs Green playing well to succeed. Hopefully the senior is back on track, and if he is, Green should lead Amherst in scoring again.
F Jacob Nabatoff
Jacob Nabatoff is an interesting player because he doesn’t light up any statistical category in particular; he’s just pretty solid across the board. At 6’8”, 215 lbs, Nabatoff is a big body that requires a lot of attention from opposing players on the boards. Though he was just fourth on the team with 4.7 rpg, his aggressiveness and toughness down low opened up rebounding opportunities for smaller players like Green and McCarthy, and those boards came in just 20.8 mpg. I don’t expect Nabatoff to have a very different year than last season, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing – he’s a smart player that seems to understand his role, and if he continues to stay within himself and buy into the team concept, his time on the floor will be very significant.
F David George
David George is one of those guys who doesn’t need plays drawn up for him. He’s active on the boards and on defense, and just makes plays happen. Though McCarthy is the best one-on-one defender on the Amherst roster, George is truly the anchor of this defense because of his shot blocking ability. George’s knack for protecting the rim allows his teammates to play more aggressively both on and off the ball since they know that he has their back if they get beat. I expect a similar year offensively for George, but defensively I expect him to take off.
Breakout Player:
G Jeff Racy ’17 (10.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 42.3% 3PT)
Jeff Racy didn’t start a game last year for the Lord Jeffs, but he still averaged the fourth most minutes and points on the team. Racy is listed as a guard, but his 6’5” 210 lbs. frame makes him a swing man. His game is shooting the three, bottom line. The Amherst coaches are excited about how Racy has improved his jumper over the offseason, and his ability to shoot consistently from the arc pays huge dividends for this offense.
Everything else:
The other important pieces for Amherst this year are Eric Conklin ’17 and Michael Riopel ’18 (in no particular order). Conklin, who transferred to Amherst from Arizona last year, is maybe a bit undersized in height, but makes up for that with his physique. At 6’6”, 235 lbs., Conklin will be the primary backup for George down low, and will be expected to both bring energy to the boards and bang around in the post. Plagued by injury on and off last year, Conklin struggled to get into a rhythm, which is why his minutes weren’t quite as high as we expected them to be, but those numbers should increase this season. Conklin finally realized that D-I potential towards the end of the season, going off for 37 points on 18-20 (90%) shooting in the NESCAC Final and NCAA First Round game. Finally, Michael Riopel is a player to watch off the bench this year. It’s scary to think that this kid is somewhere between eight and 10 off the bench, but that’s just a testament to how deep this Amherst roster really is. Last year Riopel measures in at 6’5” 200 lbs., and the coaches say he has made big gains in the weight room during the offseason, and his improved strength and size will surely increase his effectiveness. Finally, don’t sleep on 6’10” first-year center Joe Schneider ’19 either. At that height, Schneider will immediately become the tallest center in the league.
With the amount of outside shooting Amherst has this year between Green, McCarthy, and Racy driving lanes should open up for Berman, Dawson and Riopel. The main thing to watch out for in Amherst this year will be their ability to play together. With so many weapons, it is certainly conceivable that they could struggle with finding the right mix, but the coaches are insistent that the players are buying into the team attitude, and if that’s true, this squad has as good a shot as any to win the league title.