Williams College Ephs
2018-2019 Record: 23-7 (6-4 NESCAC), lost in semifinals of NESCAC Tournament; lost in Elite 8 of NCAA Tournament
2019-2020 Projected Record: 19-9 (6-4 NESCAC)
Key Losses: G Bobby Casey, F James Heskett, F Kyle Scadlock, F Marcus Soto, C Michael Kempton
Projected Starting Lineup:
G: Mickey Babek ’20 (3.2 PPG, 1.8 REB/G, 1.2 AST/G, 45% FG)
The Southern California native finds a spot in the starting lineup after pretty minimal action in his first three years. However, Babek did see time in all 30 games last season and got to play alongside some of the most talented Eph players in recent memory. Thrust into the starting point guard role this season, a lot more will be asked of him as a senior. Babek has the height and length to overmatch a good portion of opposing point guards, but his defense is a huge area of focus. The NESCAC has some of the most explosive guards in all of Division III and Babek will be asked to defend many of them for extended periods of time. He isn’t the type of guy who will be putting up 25 points every night but if he can minimize turnovers and play solid defense against some of the opposing team’s best players, it will keep Williams in just about every game this season.
G: Spencer Spivy ’22 (2.3 PPG, 0.8 REB/G, 45% FG, 4.2 MPG)
Spivy is the perfect example of a guy that likely would have played much more significant minutes last year if he was on any other team (besides maybe Hamilton). Unfortunately he was stuck behind Casey, Heskett, and Scadlock, so Spivy didn’t get quite as much action as he would have liked. Now he’s jumping right into the starting lineup where he’ll have quite a bit more asked of him. Spivy is a versatile scorer who can really knock it down from deep, but he can also surprise you with his court vision as well. Realistically, the Ephs are going to need Spivy to start scoring a lot. They lost a ton of production from last year and they don’t have an obvious scoring threat left in the backcourt, so it’s Spivy’s year to step up. The sophomore had a decorated high school career so we know he has it in him, but it remains to be seen if he’s ready to take a step up to the next level in Williamstown.
F: Henry Feinberg ’20 (6.5 PPG, 3.2 REB/G, 1.2 AST/G, 49% FG)
Feinberg is a role player if there ever was one. This guy’s stats have been alarmingly consistent from year to year, but never jaw-dropping. He was a starter last year on their stacked Elite 8 team so he clearly brings something to the table, but to the untrained eye it’s hard to tell exactly what. Feinberg is a big hustle guy and will surely be the first to dive on the floor for a loose ball, but not a lot of what he does will show up in the box score. He has a big frame and is asked to defend a wide range of different players, so it’s very beneficial for Coach App to have a guy that he can task with defending anyone from point guards to big men. With that being said, it’s hard to say what more Feinberg can do this year given that he doesn’t show up much on the offensive end. With the amount of experience Feinberg has, it seems as though his most positive contributions will be helping groom some of the younger guys and teach them the Williams basketball way.
F: Jovan Jones ’22 (1.4 PPG, 1.4 REB/G, 5.7 MPG)
Much like Spivy, Jones would have likely seen significant time on any other team last season, but he was playing behind a slew of star caliber players. Now it’s his time to shine because this guy has talent, size, and athleticism that is very hard to come by in the NESCAC. At 6’5”, 210, Jones could have found himself a spot on a low-Division I roster, but he opted for Williams and it should pay dividends. He has the strength to muscle past a lot of the guards that will be defending him, but the quickness to beat a bigger guy if that’s the way that teams go. Working on his jump shot will be key because Jones hasn’t proven that he can consistently knock down the 3-ball and he has been an absolute liability at the charity stripe through one and a half seasons thus far. Jones has the athletic ability to be one of the most impactful players in the league so keep an eye on his progression this year.
C: Matt Karpowicz ’20 (11.8 PPG, 6.1 REB/G, 1.7 AST/G, 1.4 BLK/G, 61% FG)
Death, taxes, and Matt Karpowicz. It really just seems like we can’t get rid of this guy. When he’s not spending his time writing some terrific NbN articles, Karp is busy hauling down rebounds and posterizing opposing players. The 12th-year senior has played in literally every single game since his freshman campaign and this guy has been dominant. Karpowicz is shooting a career 61.6% from the field and has steadily increased his scoring numbers each season. He stands at 6’8” and 250lbs, and his impressive footwork and low-post ability make him one of the best true centers in the NESCAC. Williams has always had a very tall roster so Karp hasn’t needed to rebound as much as he’s capable of, but this year he’ll have to take a small step up in that area. The good news is it appears that he’s already doing that, as he posted a 29-point, 20-rebound double double in their most recent game against Springfield. The Ephs haven’t needed him to play up to his potential so far in his career, but this year he’s the star. This year the Ephs will only be able to go as high as Karpowicz can take them.
Everything Else:
Given their history, a 4-3 start isn’t exactly where Williams wanted to be at this point in the season. The reason for the slow start, however, is because the Ephs lost by far more production from last year than anyone else in the league. Graduating Casey, Heskett, Scadlock, Kempton, and Soto means losing 55.7 points per game (out of 82.1), 22.9 rebounds per game (out of 40.5), 10.6 assists per game (out of 15.4), and 126.7 minutes per game (out of 200). That is insanity. Losing over 50% of your team’s production usually results in what is colloquially referred to as a “building year” but we all know that those don’t exist in Williamstown. As usual, Coach App has a hoard of capable recruits and underclassmen that are ready to go.
There’s no doubt that Cole Prowitt-Smith ’23 will have the biggest impact of any freshman this season. Prowitt-Smith gained the attention of an array of Ivy League and Patriot League schools, but ultimately chose Williams and has made an immediate impact. Already averaging 12 points and 4 rebounds per game, Prowitt-Smith has a surprising level of athleticism and can knock down shots from anywhere on the court. His ability to get to the rim and defend at a high level are already more developed than most guards in the league and he’s only a freshman. This guy is the NESCAC’s next superstar.
Nate Karren ’23 will provide some support for Matt Karpowicz ’20 down low, but he is still in the progress of refining his skill set. Fellow rookie Alex Stoddard ’23 is a dynamic scorer and has already found himself scoring in double figures on a few occasions so far this year. The backcourt duo of Michael Myers ’21 and Ryan Moon ’22 will see an increase in minutes as well, but they, too, are relatively unproven and Coach App will look for them to develop mightily over the course of the season. The Ephs will also largely benefit from the return of Marc Taylor ’21 who missed the end of last year and the start of this year with injury. Taylor is a 6’8”, 200lb wing who can score and defend with the best of them. He will add a huge boost in size and depth for Williams who could really use help with both at this point.
This year will be a very telling one for the Eph squad and Coach Kevin App who, for the first time in his tenure, lost 5 seniors to graduation, all of whom played significant minutes. During App’s first 5 years at the helm, he never graduated more than 3 players in a single year and usually only 1 or 2 was playing meaningful time. We know he’s a capable recruiter, but we’re going to learn a lot about App’s ability to develop players in a much shorter time span if he wants the Ephs to be as competitive as they typically are. I don’t see them falling to the bottom half of the conference, but the NESCAC is very competitive and Williams has had a target on their back for quite some time now. They have to be very careful because it’s easy to get hurt when you fall all the way from the top.