Rick Naylor – Page 2 – Nothing But NESCAC

Traveling to Maine Carries Significant Risk: Stock Report 2/9

Malcolm Delpeche '17 flushed this one home as the Bobcats slipped by Hamilton on Saturday, Feb. 7. — Malcolm Delpeche ’17 flushed this one home as the Bobcats slipped by Hamilton 73-71 on Saturday, Feb. 7.

The Maine triumvirate of Colby, Bates and Bowdoin combined on the weekend to go 4-0 at home. Behind hot shooting from Ryan Jann ’16 who finished with 26 points, the Mules beat Middlebury for their first win without Chris Hudnut ’16. Then on Sunday Bowdoin blitzed their way to an easy win over the Panthers to drop Middlebury to 3-5 in the NESCAC.

Meanwhile, Bates’ vaunted home-court advantage once again took center stage as the Bobcats pulled out close wins over Williams and Hamilton. The wins bring the Bobcats’ home record to 12-0 and 6-0 in NESCAC play. While you have probably heard all about how Alumni Gym rattles opponents, Colby and Bowdoin also boast great home records. Colby is 7-2 overall and 2-2 in the NESCAC at home, and this season has seen a resurgence in student attendance in Waterville. Bowdoin does not have as many students at their games (though I am one of the proud few), but the Polar Bears are 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the NESCAC when they play in Brunswick.

Of the three losses between them, two of them came at the hands of one of the other with Colby beating Bowdoin in Brunswick in December and the Polar Bears returning the favor in Waterville a few weeks ago. So the only team that has managed to come from out of state and beat a Maine school is Williams which beat Colby on January 17.

Stock Up

Center John Swords ’15 (Bowdoin)

As the only returning player from the All-NESCAC First Team, expectations were high for Swords coming into the season, but he has fallen short of them on the offensive end. Sunday was the Swords that Bowdoin fans were hoping for. The seven footer scored 20 points on 10-13 shooting, and at least five of his baskets came on dunks. Swords attacked from the very beginning of the game, forcing Chris Churchill ’15 to pick up two early fouls. He was not afraid to put the ball on the floor and go to the hoop, something that he has been hesitant to do for long stretches this season. He also took it personal when he got called for an offensive charge drawn by Matt Daley ’16 and attacked Daley the next time he got the ball down low. It was only one game, but if Swords continues to play like he did on Sunday, Bowdoin will be difficult for teams to handle.

Shooting Guard Rick Naylor ’16 (Trinity)

Sometimes it is hard to pick out specific players on Trinity who are difference makers beyond Jaquann Starks ’16. That isn’t meant to insult the ability of anyone on the Bantam roster, but they are so balanced that picking out individuals is difficult. Naylor is certainly a role player averaging 5.8 PPG for the season, but he has come up big in recent weeks. First against Bowdoin he carried Trinity down the stretch on offense, and on Friday he helped Trinity outlast a determined Wesleyan squad. He went 5-6 from three on his way to a team high 17 points. On offense, Naylor is pretty much a straight shooter with 63 percent of his made shots coming from deep. In conference play he is shooting 54.5 percent from three, the second highest percentage in the league. On the other end, Naylor fits perfectly into the hard-nosed style Trinity plays. Despite averaging only 20.6 MPG, he has fouled out of four games so far this season, the fourth most in the NESCAC this season.

Guard Connor Green ’16 (Amherst)

Not that Green’s stock was necessarily low, but it has sky rocketed recently as the Lord Jeffs have started to look more like the perennial title contenders that we are used to seeing. Over the last four games, Green has scored at least 24 points three times and thrice snagged double digit rebounds. Last week we handicapped the Player of the Year race and Green came in with the fourth best odds to win the award. If we ranked these players again today Green would probably have the second best odds and the gap between Green and favorite Dan Wohl ’15 would be much smaller than it was then. Amherst is playing much better of late, blowing out some of the NESCAC’s bottom feeders and a couple tough Maine teams. It took awhile for Coach Dave Hixon to work out the rotation, but he seems to have found a serviceable point man in Reid Berman ’17 and a reliable bench scorer in Jeff Racy ’17. The Lord Jeffs are dangerous right now and Green is only elevating his game as the season goes on.

Stock Down

Hamilton’s Luck

Honestly, I feel terrible for the Continentals. They have played better than their 1-7 record would indicate. On Saturday Hamilton almost pulled off the upset at Bates. A layup from Joe Pucci ’18 put Hamilton up 71-66 with 1:36 to go, but Bates scored the final seven points to storm back for the win. For the Continentals, it was merely the latest close loss. Six of their seven losses in conference have been by single digits. It is a shame, too, because they play a fun, uptempo brand of basketball with an eclectic crew. Peter Kazickas ’15 is lights out shooting the ball, and he also rocks the best ‘mun’ (man bun. It is a hairstyle I swear) in the NESCAC. Ajani Santos ’16 has a nice post game, and Joseph Lin ’15 is one of the most clever players I have seen. Because of tie-breakers, Hamilton is already eliminated from the NESCAC tournament. We knew Hamilton would miss the transferred Matt Hart, but this group exceeded expectations even if the final records don’t show it.

Clarity

Remember when I said that this weekend was going to go a long way in figuring out the NESCAC picture? Yeah, well I lied about that. Going into next weekend, the number of scenarios that can end up happening are endless. Trinity will host a quarter-final game, Bates will host for sure as long as they win one of their games this weekend, and Amherst will host for sure if they win against Middlebury. If those three host, then the winner of Tufts-Bowdoin will host the fourth game. Unless Colby or Williams goes 2-0 on the weekend and Tufts beats Bowdoin, then the Ephs or Mules would host because they both own the tiebreaker over Tufts. If Colby, Williams and Tufts are all 6-4 then Williams would host because they went 2-0 against those teams, but if Bates loses both games then there could be a four-way tie…OK we give up. Personally I am rooting for the scenario where Bates and Amherst go winless for the weekend, Tufts beats Bowdoin, and Williams and Colby go 2-0. That would mean that all six of those teams would finish at 6-4.

Middlebury Defense

There were some questions about the quality of Middlebury’s competition at the beginning of the year, but nevertheless their domination was impressive enough for us to rank them at the top of our initial power rankings, and a big part of that decision was the Panthers’ commitment to defense. Coach Jeff Brown challenged his guys to be the best defense in the country this season, and for a good chunk of the year the Panthers were ranked in the top five nationally in field goal percentage defense. In Middlebury’s first 13 games, during which stretch they started 13-0, they allowed 70 points only twice and both were easy victories. In the subsequent 11 games, opponents have scored 70 points seven times and Middlebury has gone 7-5. This weekend Colby and Bowdoin combined to shoot 47.3 percent from the field against the Panthers. Even Jake Brown ’17, possibly the best perimeter defender in the NESCAC, struggled against the athletic Lucas Hausman ’16 on Sunday. If Middlebury is going to right the ship (and even make the NESCAC tournament), they will need to get back to playing good defense.

The Bantams Separate From the Chaos (Barely): Stock Report 1/2

Trinity now holds a game and a half lead over everybody in the NESCAC with a 6-1 conference record, but it took a late second half comeback against Bowdoin to first force overtime and then escape with the win. In what was a very entertaining back and forth game, the Polar Bears took a six-point lead on a John Swords ’15 layup with 5:40 left, but the Bantams battled back and took a one point lead on a huge Rick Naylor ’16 three. Bryan Hurley ’15 knotted things up at 62 all with a free throw and neither team was able to score again in regulation. In overtime Naylor scored four more points and Trinity hung on to win by one. Naylor finished with 16 points and Ed Ogundeko ’15 had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

The Bantams won a little more comfortably over Colby on Saturday to cement their status as the NESCAC frontrunners. That position is very tenuous because Tufts holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over Trinity. Also, the Bantams have to go on the road for their final three conference games against Wesleyan, Conn College and Middlebury. Their offense is at best inconsistent, and every team they play feels like they have a good chance at winning so long as they make shots. That Trinity has also lost a couple of questionable midweek games also throws a damper on their NESCAC success. The Bantams have fought their way to the top, but the sifting sands of the conference landscape might not make that the place to be.

Stock Up

Point Guard Graham Safford ’15 (Bates)

Safford carried the Bobcats to a huge 2-0 weekend in Lewiston. Against Wesleyan on Friday night he scored 31 points, 22 of which came in the second half. He scored 18 of Bates’ final 31 points. Then Saturday he showed his ability to impact the game in so many ways despite having an awful day shooting the ball from the field going 1-11. He scored all 10 of his points in the second half, most of them foul shots down the stretch. Since he couldn’t hit shots, Safford made sure to get his teammates involved handing out 10 assists. He also upped the intensity on the other end finishing the game with a crazy seven steals. Conn College gave Bates a good battle, but Safford made sure that his team did not experience a let down game. A 2-0 weekend puts Bates right back into the thick of things near the top. They get to play Williams at home on Friday night, a big advantage for them. So long as Safford is healthy, his ability will keep Bates in every game they play.

Amherst Perimeter Players

Cheating a little here because Connor Green ’16 is really a forward, but he does a lot of work around the perimeter as well. One of the Amherst student announcers compared Green to Carmelo Anthony, a very apt comparison because both can get outrageously hot from deep but also like to be physical and get to the rim. Obviously Green got hot this weekend, especially against Bowdoin where he buried the Polar Bears with a flurry of three pointers. Reid Berman ’17 did not score a point all weekend, but he also handed out 21 assists, and Johnny McCarthy ’18 returned to his early season form averaging 15.5 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 4.0 APG, 2.0 SPG and 3.5 BPG. Coming into the season Amherst appeared to have a bevy of frontcourt players and a lot of question marks in the backcourt. Now, including Jeff Racy ’17 and Michael Riopel ’18, there is a plethora of players making an impact on the perimeter. In order to make space for everyone, Coach Dave Hixon is going back to a guard-heavy lineup and using Green as a small ball power forward for long stretches.

Small Forward Joe Edmonds ’16 (Wesleyan)

The Oklahoma City native had by far his best weekend of the season, and he came up huge on Saturday to get Wesleyan a much needed win at Tufts. He led Wesleyan with 18 points, four assists and four rebounds. Edmonds has been somewhat of a catalyst for Wesleyan. In the three Cardinal conference wins Edmonds is averaging 14.0 points, and in their losses he is averaging 8.0 points. He did a good job of attacking the basket against Tufts with Hunter Sabety ’17 out with an injury. Do not sleep on the Cardinals who came very close to completing a 2-0 weekend against Bates and Tufts. Many probably wrote them off when Middlebury tore them apart a few weeks ago, but this is a resilient team. At the very least, they are a team capable of giving everybody in the NESCAC a big scare.

Stock Down

Middlebury Depth

After a lot of tinkering, Coach Jeff Brown was finally able to employ the starting five that most fans envisioned on Sunday in Jake Brown ’17, Matt St. Amour’17, Hunter Merryman ’15, Dylan Sinnickson ’15 and Matt Daley ’16. Daley is finally delivering on his mountains of promise, and if (a huge if for him) he can stay healthy then he gives Midd a true big man in the middle. His emergence comes as many of the Panthers bench players slide into the background. Connor Huff ’16 will reinvent himself as an energy guy off the bench, but he might work better as a player with stars around him. Dean Brierley ’15 and Bryan Jones ’17 will see time at guard, but neither of them really scares teams. Not a single freshmen even saw the floor against Hamilton, though Nick Tarantino ’18 and Jack Daly ’18 have shown flashes of strong play this season. The Panthers starting five scored all but five of Middlebury’s points against Hamilton. Middlebury loves to push the pace and they are best when they rotate guys in and out, but they seem overly reliant on their stars right now.

Colby

Really a tough weekend for Colby because they had to face their two toughest road opponents without their star Chris Hudnut ’16, who was out with an injury. The Mules rely on Hudnut so much on the boards and in the paint that it likely would have taken a near perfect performance from every one of their remaining players to pull out a victory against either Amherst or Trinity. The severity of the injury to Hudnut is still unclear, but the Mules will not be able to survive a prolonged absence from him. Two weeks ago the Mules were 3-1 and seemed to be coming together. Now at 3-4 it is possible they miss the NESCAC tournament all together. This season, one injury, one bad weekend can ruin your season. On the flip side, the Mules could rebound quickly and get back on track.

Small Forward Stephen Haladyna ’16 (Tufts)

Lost in the hubbub around the Jumbos strong start in conference was the continued struggles of Haladyna. The second leading scorer on Tufts last season, the junior lost his starting spot in the lineup halfway through the season and has done little to justify getting it back. Then he had a nice game Friday against Conn College going 3-3 from three, his best shooting performance of the year. That made his subsequent goose egg on 0-5 shooting Saturday all the more frustrating. Haladyna is in a year long shooting slump making an abysmal 24.1 percent from three. Never a great playmaker for others, he is also now not getting a lot of rebounds which means he is struggling to contribute in any fashion. Other players have stepped up and helped Tufts manage his decline, but it looks close to a lost season for Haladyna.

Friday Recap and Saturday/Sunday Preview

Reaction to Friday’s Games

Will the Real Middlebury Please Stand Up?

You’re killing me, guys. A 9-0 start, an 0-2 start to conference play including a blowout loss to Tufts, an absolute dismantling of Wesleyan, just scraping by with a win against the conference’s only remaining winless team, and now another blowout loss to the Ephs. I was starting to think that the Tufts and Conn. games could be chalked up to having to play on Sunday and maybe that’s where Middlebury’s struggles were based, but there was no excuse for this one. Nearly a full week of rest and preparation and the Panthers just fell flat. And the game was never really close. Middlebury had the lead for all of one possession of the ball game before Williams stole it away for good with a Dan Aronowitz ’17 trey with 19:11 to go in the first half.

Hayden Rooke-Ley '15 poured in 20 points on 5-11 (3-8 3PT) shooting to lead all scorers. (Courtesy of Williams Athletics) — Hayden Rooke-Ley ’15 poured in 20 points on 5-11 (3-8 3PT) shooting to lead all scorers. (Courtesy of Williams Athletics)

Obviously, I’m closer to the Middlebury team than any other in the NESCAC, and so I still have hope for this season because I understand why they’ve had some of their struggles. Matt St. Amour ’17 returned tonight but likely wasn’t at full strength and showed some rust from the three-point line, going 0-4. Captain Dean Brierley ’15, who has filled in in the starting lineup the last three games, is a capable shooter himself but St. Amour has a more dynamic offensive game when he’s good and healthy. The performance from Matt Daley ’16 was certainly promising. It’s been a month now since the athletic big man has returned to action but Coach Jeff Brown has been working him into the rotation slowly. For what reason, we don’t know. Perhaps to teach Daley a lesson or simply because Nick Tarantino ’18 had been playing consistently. However, a near double-double from Daley in just 21 minutes (a season high) might inspire Coach Brown to let Daley loose a bit more going forward. It’s worth the chance because obviously this team is not in a place right now where it can compete for the NESCAC title, and Daley could be an X-factor down the stretch. Last but not least, it was just an uncharacteristic night for Middlebury as they shot poorly from everywhere on the floor and they allowed the Ephs to shoot over 50 percent from the floor. On the season Middlebury opponents were shooting under 37 percent from the field before this game. Maybe the sloppy performance has something to do with the fact that J-term just ended for the Middlebury team. Perhaps they felt that little bit of fatigue mixed with relief that always comes with passing in a final paper or taking that final exam. But they will need to overcome distractions much more serious than that if they are going to win the NESCAC this season.

The PG Battle in Amherst is Over

Reid Berman ’17 is the real deal. I talked in the Friday Preview about how Berman was a pass-first point guard who could really grab hold of the starting job with a good performance on Friday night. Berman did pretty much exactly what he was supposed to do, dishing out 13 assists. And as advertised, he didn’t look to shoot much, only taking five shots (missing them all). Of course, Berman is not a polished product. Zero percent from the floor isn’t a good stat, no matter how many assists you tally, and he also turned the ball over six times, but he seems to be a good fit on a team with three starters who can knock down a lot of trey balls.

All Hail the Bantams

For at least one day, Trinity is the undisputed king of the ‘CAC. I doubted the Bantams going into this one, thinking that John Swords ’15 would force Trinity to take a lot of threes and I didn’t think a lot of those threes would go in. Well, I was half right. Trinity attempted 26 threes, just three short of a season high, but they were able to sink 11 of them (42.3 percent). Rick Naylor ’16 was the hero for the Bantams, scoring seven straight points, including a three at the end of regulation and four points to open the overtime period, to help clinch the victory.

Rick Naylor '16 scored 13 of his 16 points after halftime to help the Bantams beat the Polar Bears. (Courtesy of Trinity Athletics) — Rick Naylor ’16 scored 13 of his 16 points after halftime to help the Bantams beat the Polar Bears. (Courtesy of Trinity Athletics)

Defense was the story of the night. Shot clock violations played into the narrative on both sides. Trinity forced one near the end of regulation and Bowdoin caused their own with five seconds left in overtime, but was unable to get a clean shot for the win and Bryan Hurley’s ’15 desperation three was no good as the buzzer sounded.

Ed Ogundeko ’17 continues to be a beast on the boards for Trinity. The 6’6″ forward snagged another 12 rebounds and still leads the NESCAC in rebounds per conference game despite coming off of the bench and only playing 20.5 minutes per conference game.

If there’s a downside to the Bantams thrilling victory, it might be that this game would suggest that Trinity needs an uncharacteristically efficient shooting night in order to beat the NESCAC’s best. But this is just one game, so let’s not jump to conclusions. Instead, let’s let the Bantams enjoy their time atop the heap. If we’ve learned anything in the NESCAC this season it is that no one is safe, so don’t get too comfortable up there.

Saturday/Sunday Preview

Players to Watch

1. Guard Joseph Lin ’15 (Hamilton)

Hamilton has given Middlebury a tough time in these teams’ last two matchups, Middlebury is going to be angry and Lin and Co. got Friday off so they’re going to be fresh. The student body is on vacation in Middlebury so it won’t be a particularly boisterous crowd, and I think that could benefit Lin, who had his worst conference game so far in the Hamilton win over Williams last week. I think Lin bounces back despite Middlebury’s tough defense. This is somewhat of a gut call, but if there’s one reason that I think Lin could have a big game it’s simply that I don’t see anyone else in the Hamilton starting five drawing a favorable matchup. Not that Lin vs. Jake Brown ’17 is an easy assignment for Lin to score on, but I think the Continentals lean heavily on the senior guard in this one and that he rises to the occasion.

2. Center John Swords ’15 (Bowdoin)

Last night Swords was more active and engaged on the offensive end than he has looked in a lot of games recently shooting it 13 times, a season high. Unfortunately he made only six, a terrible night considering his usual shooting percentages. Still, the Polar Bears would be happy to have Swords shoot so often every game. How Swords’ minutes get managed today will be fascinating to watch. He played a season high 41 minutes against Trinity, a very physical team. Bowdoin does not really have another player who can keep David George ’17 off of the offensive boards for Amherst so they are going to need their big guy to play a lot. Whether Swords is physically up for it is a big question. If he is not then the Polar Bears will need to dig deep if they want to avoid an 0-2 weekend.

3. Guard Harry Rafferty ’17 (Wesleyan)

Like Wesleyan as a team, at times Rafferty looks like one of the finer guards in the conference who is especially lethal from downtown. Then he also has games where he struggles to find his rhythm. Yesterday, Rafferty came off the bench, something he has done a couple of other times only to return to the starting lineup the next game. He played well coming off the pine with 15 points, six rebounds and three assists. That was not enough for Wesleyan to overcome a huge night from Graham Safford ’15. Rafferty has become more of a straight scorer this year, so making him the primary scorer off the bench is not actually a crazy idea. He and Tarik Smith ’17 could end up locking horns on both ends of the floor if both of them come off the bench. That two guards so talented are both filling a reserve role makes for an interesting storyline to watch today.

Game of the Day: Bowdoin (13-5, 4-2) at Amherst (13-5, 3-3), 3:00 PM

I get the feeling that this will be the closest of the five games to be played today and tomorrow. After Bowdoin lost the nail-biter with Trinity yesterday this game took on a lot more meaning for the Polar Bears, who could go from potential number one seed to middle of the pack over the course of two days if they lose to the Lord Jeffs. As mentioned above, the Swords-George matchup should be a good one, but the most interesting battles to watch will not be when the ball is in either player’s hands, but rather the fights for rebounds. Both players are defense-first and are top five in both rebound and blocks per game. Offensively, both players are very efficient, so something will have to give in this matchup.

Amherst’s biggest challenge will be stopping explosive guard Lucas Hausman ’16. The kid just keeps getting better and does most of his damage inside the arc or at the free throw line. The Lord Jeffs have had some difficult stopping guard penetration this season and have committed the third-most personal fouls per game in the NESCAC. Those two factors combined could mean a lot of trips to the line for Hausman, a 91.1 percent free throw shooter who went 13-13 from the stripe against Trinity last night. We will see some combination of Johnny McCarthy ’18 and Connor Green ’16 lined up with Hausman. Whether either player can slow down the Bowdoin scoring machine could be the difference in this game.

Lucas Hausman '16 has been unstoppable as of late. The junior dropped a career-high 30 against Trinity in a losing effort on Friday. (Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics/www.CIPhotography.com) — Lucas Hausman ’16 has been unstoppable as of late. The junior dropped a career-high 30 against Trinity in a losing effort on Friday. (Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics/www.CIPhotography.com)

Another interesting matchup occurs at the point guard position, where both teams employ Rajon Rondo-like playmakers. Hurley and Berman are both looking to pass first, the latter almost to a fault, so it should be fun watching them attack one another possession after possession. Hurley obviously gives up some size to Berman, but that shouldn’t be much of a disadvantage in this game seeing as Berman is unlikely to rise and fire, meaning that Hurley could have one of his best defensive games of the season today.

I missed on my prediction yesterday when I stated that Bowdoin would win by 10 over the Bantams, and today I’m going to have to pick against the Polar Bears. Especially given Amherst’s home court advantage, I think the Lord Jeffs win on a couple late free throws by Green. Keep in mind, though, that Amherst lacks a dead eye free throw shooter like Hausman. Green is the best from the stripe and he is shooting under 75 percent. I think he comes up clutch today, but the opportunity is there for Bowdoin to foul early and capitalize on some missed front ends of a one-and-one. Nevertheless, the pick is in: Amherst by five.

Enjoy all the games today.

Trinity Team Preview: The Bantams Are Back

Trinity College Bantams

2013-2014 Season: 15-11 (5-5 NESCAC) fifth in NESCAC, reached semifinals of NESCAC tournament

Head Coach: James Cosgrove, fifth season, 48-52 (.480)

Starters Returning: 5

G Jaquann Starks ’16

G Hart Gliedman ’15

F Edward Ogundeko ’17

F Shay Ajayi ’16

C George Papadeas ’15

Breakout Player: G Andrew Hurd ’16

Hurd arrives in Hartford as a transfer from Central Connecticut State, where he played in only eight games last season. The Bantams have four guards back who played at least 17 minutes a game last season, but Hurd will be in the hunt for minutes right from the jump. Hurd will help out Steve Spirou ’15 and Rick Naylor ’16 as the main guards off the bench. Trinity’s biggest weakness is on the offensive end, and Hurd should help an offense that struggled last season.

Projected Starting Lineup:

Jaquann Starks '16 (Courtesy of Trinity Athletics) — Jaquann Starks ’16 (Courtesy of Trinity Athletics)

G Jaquann Starks

Starks is returning after starting for two seasons. He has been able to man the point guard position pretty well, leading the team in scoring in 2013-14 while also tallying nearly 100 assists. The Bantams would like to see him take care of the ball just a bit better and get that assist-to-turnover ratio over 2:1, but he’s clearly the engine that makes this team go.

Hart Gliedman '15 (Courtesy of Trinity Athletics) — Hart Gliedman ’15 (Courtesy of Trinity Athletics)

G Hart Gliedman

Gliedman is entering his senior year and needs to continue to be a factor for the Bantams. The Bantams need him to continue to thrive on the defensive end. He’s not much of a scorer, but at 6’3″ 200 lbs, he’s a strong, physical guard that fits right in with the Trinity system.

Ed Ogundeko '17 (Trinity Athletics) — Ed Ogundeko ’17 (Trinity Athletics)

F Edward Ogundeko

Trinity’s success on the boards last season is due directly to Ogundeko and the next two names on this list. Ogundeko’s freshman debut was a very successful one as he was pretty close to averaging a double-double (9.2 points per game and 7.5 rebound per game). Ogundeko is particularly good at creating second chances. He averaged 3.5 offensive boards per game last season.

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

F Shay Ajayi

Ajayi was the Bantams most consistent player last year. The 6’5″ junior was nearly as proficient on the boards as Ogundeko, but brings the added weapon of the three point shot to his game, as he shot nearly 40 percent from deep last season.

George Papadeas '15 (Courtesy of Trinity Athletics) — George Papadeas ’15 (Courtesy of Trinity Athletics)

C George Papadeas

The Bantam’s big man from Greece is going to have to play like he did in the second half of the season. He’s had a lot of experience in his time in Hartford. There is a lot of height in the NESCAC right now, and Papedeas is going to have to play big for the Bantams to win.

Everything Else:

The Bantams look to control the rebounding battle again this year. Rebounding and defense wins championships, as they say, and the Bantams led the NESCAC in rebounds last year, averaging 43.2 rebounds per game. What’s more, Trinity’s +9.7 rebound margin per game was the second highest in the nation. The Bantams also held the teams to under 62 points per game last season, second in the NESCAC and 13th in the country. As mentioned, Gliedman is critical to the Bantams’ defense, but so is 6’6″ swingman Alex Conaway ’15 who can guard both smalls and bigs. Needless to say, the Bantams are a team that has built its identity around defense.

On the other hand, Trinity struggles offensively. They were last in both points per game and three-point percentage in the NESCAC last year. In order for the Bantams to win games and get their defense recognized they are going to need to score some points. They didn’t lose a single senior from last year, so Trinity fans will have to hope that individual players can make strides offensively and that another year together will mean better chemistry on offense. Starks, Gliedman, Naylor and the sporadically used Chris Turnbull ’17 can shoot the three and stretch opposing defenses, while the starting trio of big men and Conaway will battle for points down low.