Tag: Zuri Pavlin

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)
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)
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)
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.

 

Camels Can’t Get Over the Hump: Conn College Season Wrap-Up

Lee Messier '18 was one of several freshmen to play heavy minutes this season. (Courtesy of Conn College Athletics)
Lee Messier ’18 was one of several freshmen to play heavy minutes this season. (Courtesy of Conn College Athletics)

Season Record: 7-16 (0-10), missed NESCAC Tournament

The Camels finished up the season with a 7-16 overall record and 0-10 in conference play. It was a rough season to say the least. After starting out strong, the team went into a landslide starting against Bowdoin on January 9. They had some extremely close battles, including a nail biter against Williams on February 13, which they lost 83-81. However, the team is holding their heads high and Head Coach Tom Satran summed up the story of the season nicely after the loss to Williams. “Our team is really improving despite our record. We all feel terrible we couldn’t finish them off tonight but we are getting better every time out.” Freshmen like Lee Messier ’18, Isaiah Robinson ’18 and Alex Tonhazy ’18 came in and made immediate impacts which adds to the team’s talent base. The team is young and inexperienced in such a tough division, but they finished the season on a strong note and the young players believe that the losses will be a learning experience for what hopefully becomes a powerhouse team in the future. Every contributor will return next season for the Camels.

High Point: Winter Break Trip

The Camels practicing in the famous Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke.
The Camels practicing in the famous Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke.

On the Winter Break trip to North Carolina, the team practiced at Duke University in Cameron Indoor Stadium. On the trip, the team went 1-1 with a loss to Methodist 76-59 and a huge win against William Peace 88-69, in which Messier dropped 17 points and Zuri Pavlin ’17 recorded a double-double. Freshman Justin Holmes ’18 said that “the team was able to bond over the trip and [he] could feel the team’s chemistry improve on and off the court when [they] returned to school.” A win over Coast Guard right after the team got back from the trip brought the Camels record to 7-4, but that would be their last win all season.

MVP: Power Forward Zuri Pavlin ’17

Pavlin, only in his second year, had another remarkable season pulling down rebounds. As a freshman, he recorded 249 rebounds, setting a single season school mark in 2014. This season, he broke his record from last season with 265 boards. He now finds himself in the nation’s top five in rebounding, averaging 11.5 RPG. That mark was also the highest in the NESCAC.  He was close to setting another school rebounding record on February 7 against Trinity where he had 21 rebounds, only one short of the record set in 1995. Although he is listed at only 6’5″, Pavlin is tough to handle on the interior given his strength. He has also made improvements on the rest of his game and shot 51 percent from the field and lead the team in scoring with 13.7 PPG.

Player to watch: Guard Lee Messier ’18

Freshman guard Lee Messier made his mark in the NESCAC in his first season with the Camels. Messier, who appeared on our early season Freshman Update, averaged 12.7 points per game. Unfortunately, Messier injured himself after 17 games, missing the majority of conference play. Messier shot 39.4 percent from the field and an impressive 35.4 percent from three-point range, knocking down 40 triples. Having him around to provide spacing in the middle for Pavlin and company will be huge for Conn constructing an effective offense. He is one of nine freshmen on the roster whom Coach Satran must be thrilled to have for three more years.

Fantasy Basketball Is Like Little League, Everybody Wins: Fantasy Report 2/24

We are pretty late with the final fantasy roundup of the season, so just to be clear – these statistics are from the final regular season weekend of conference play. The Quarterfinals that took place on Saturday had no impact on our fantasy matchup.

Heading into last weekend, I held a 5-3 advantage over Adam, but many of those leads were by the slimmest of margins. For instance, I was up just 19 assists, 1.1 percent from the stripe, 1.9 percent from the field and a measly one rebound.

Thinking that I would be able to hold onto my percentage advantages on the strength of Luke Westman ’16 and Lucas Hausman ’16, in addition to a couple of efficient big men, I threw all my efforts into the rebounding category believing that it would make the ultimate difference.

Also, with Joseph Lin ’15 unfortunately suffering a season-ending injury, I had to drop my team’s namesake, and in Lin’s place I slotted in Ryan Jann ’16, a good rebounding guard who could also hit some threes for me. I decided to roll with the resurgent Matt Daley ’16, double-double machine that he is. It killed me to sit Connor Green ’16, but he only had one game this weekend. It turned out to be a great performance, but I had to give the nod to the two Mules guards and Hausman.

Position Lord of the ‘CAC (Adam) Lin and Tonic (Joe)
G H. Rooke-Ley L. Westman
G G. Safford R. Jann
G J. Brown L. Hausman
F J. Swords Mal. Delpeche
F Mar. Delpeche M. Daley
F T. Palleschi D. George
F J. Kuo Z. Pavlin
Bench J. McCarthy H. Merryman
Bench D. Wohl C. Green
Bench A. Santos J. Starks

I was able to lock up rebounds, the only category that I thought I was in danger of losing, thanks to 20+ rebounds from Daley, David George ’16 and Zuri Pavlin ’17. I had a shot at steals being down just seven, but Adam beat me in that category this week. What I didn’t anticipate was the abysmal performance my team put together from the line. Those same three big men combined to go 21-36 (58.3 percent) from the stripe. So what appeared to be my strength ended up costing me big time.

Week Five

Category Lord of the ‘CAC Lin and Tonic Leader
Points 148 221 Joe
Assists 34 32 Adam
Rebounds 72 105 Joe
Steals 13 11 Adam
Blocks 17 14 Adam
FT% 75.5% (37/49) 68.0% (51/75) Adam
FG% 40.9% (52/127) 52.9% (31/153) Joe
3PT Made 7 8 Joe

As you will see below, Adam edged me out in free throw percentage. And there you have it. A rotten 4-4 tie. This leaves a worse taste in my mouth than the Graham Safford ’15 jumper at the end of the game that put the nail in the Middlebury coffin in 2014. I guess there’s nothing to do about it now, though. I suppose we now have to turn out attention to the so-called “real” basketball games coming up this weekend.

Category Lord of the ‘CAC Lin and Tonic Leader
Points 977 1120 Joe
Assists 159 176 Joe
Rebounds 490 524 Joe
Steals 82 73 Adam
Blocks 82 62 Adam
FT% 74.3% (231/311) 73.9% (317/429) Adam
FG% 44.9% (340/758) 48.5% (399/823) Joe
3PT Made 85 48 Adam

Final: Tie 4-4

The Race Gets Tighter: Fantasy Report 2/11

Zuri Pavlin '17 was unstoppable on the boards this weekend, grabbing 29 rebounds. (Courtesy of Conn. College Athletics/Anika Goodhue Photography)
Zuri Pavlin ’17 was unstoppable on the boards this weekend, grabbing 29 rebounds. (Courtesy of Conn. College Athletics/Anika Goodhue Photography)

With Bowdoin thrashing my very own Panthers last weekend, my only chance to earn any bragging rights this winter over Adam is if I can thoroughly annihilate him in fantasy basketball. I had been cultivating a nice lead in the points, assists and rate categories, but as of last week blocks, steals and three pointers made seemed to be slipping out of reasonable grasp. With that in mind, and the loss to injury of two of my skilled big men, Hunter Sabety ’17 and Chris Hudnut ’16, I was forced to make some roster decisions. I would have loved to add sharpshooter Hayden Rooke-Ley ’15, but Adam had waiver priority and beat me to the punch, but I was satisfied to add Connor Green ’16 and Matt Daley ’16. I didn’t end up playing Daley this weekend, but I’m hoping for a big week from him in the final weekend coming up. Adam was forced to sit his best rebounds/blocks contributor, John Swords ’15, who had only one game, which gave me some hope that I could close the gap in those categories. Here’s how our lineups shook out:

Lord of the ‘CAC (Adam) Lin and Tonic (Joe)
Position Player Player
Guard G. Safford J. Starks
Guard D. Wohl L. Westman
Guard H. Rooke-Ley C. Green
Forward A. Santos E. Ogundeko
Forward D. Sinnickson D. George
Forward Mar. Delpeche H. Merryman
Forward S. Ajayi Z. Pavlin
Bench J. Brown J. Lin
Bench J. McCarthy M. Daley
Bench J. Swords L. Hausman

I rolled out a lineup with a little bit less scoring potential than usual. Of course, Lucas Hausman ’16 only had one game, but I also kept Joseph Lin ’15 on the bench who is among the league’s best at scoring. However, I felt good about the matchups I had. Two of my guards this week are very good rebounders, and I was hoping for a big week from beyond the arch from Jaquann Starks ’15, Green and Hunter Merryman ’15. Zuri Pavlin ’17 stepped up huge for me with 21 rebounds against Trinity. My strategy worked on the boards, but it was a cold week for my squad from deep, aside from Green who netted 10 of my 15 three pointers:

Category Lord of the ‘CAC Lin and Tonic
Points 235 178
Assists 26 18
Rebounds 100 116
Steals 7 13
Blocks 6 9
FT% 87.7% (64/73) 66.1% (37-56)
FG% 46.2% (73/158) 42.3% (63-149)
3PT Made 27 15

While I took over the advantage this week, the percentage gaps shrunk considerably, which makes me nervous. It will be tough to hang onto the slim margins I’ve created, but it’s always better to be ahead in a tight race than behind. Here are the composite standings:

Category Lord of the ‘CAC Lin and Tonic Leader
Points 829 899 Joe
Assists 125 144 Joe
Rebounds 418 419 Joe
Steals 69 62 Adam
Blocks 65 48 Adam
FT% 74.0% (194/262) 75.1% (266/354) Joe
FG% 45.6% (288/631) 47.5% (318/670) Joe
3PT Made 78 40 Adam

Overall Score: Joe 5-3

One Stands Above the Others: Power Rankings 2/6

Courtesy of the Middlebury Campus
Courtesy of the Middlebury Campus

With about a week left in the regular season, the league has begun to stabilize, relative to the amount of fluctuation the NESCAC has experienced this year. This past week we saw how middle of the road teams stacked up against the best, as well as a continued fight put up by the lowest rank, proving once again that the gap from the best to the worst is slim.

1. Trinity (16-5, 6-1) Last Week: 1

After two straight wins against threatening Colby and Bowdoin, the Bantams have a three game win streak, all of which came against conference teams. Trinity will finish its season on the road, taking on Wesleyan, Conn College, and Middlebury. Assuming all things go as planned, and the Trinity defense continues to shut down its opponents, the Bantams are in a good position to take the No. 1 seed headed into tournament play.

2. Amherst (15-5, 4-3) Last Week: 4

Amherst, like Trinity, thwarted the efforts of Colby and Bowdoin at the end of last week to give them their first winning record in conference play all season. Connor Green ’16 exploded for 33 against Bowdoin, and in the past three games he has averaged 20.6 PPG. The Lord Jeffs also have Wesleyan, Conn College, and Middlebury to close out conference play. Depending on how Trinity does, it’ll be interesting to use these last three games as a way to compare Amherst and Trinity going into the playoffs.

3. Bates (15-4, 4-2) Last Week: 6

Recalling last week’s rankings, Bates had just come off two tough losses to Trinity and Amherst, but rebounded with a win versus Tufts. Since then the Bobcats have extended their streak with wins against Wesleyan and Conn. The wins were made possible by their stingy defense. Here’s where Bates stands- they’ll finish out their conference play against four teams ranked lower than them in our rankings and the standings. That being said, the final push will be crucial for Graham Safford ’15 to round up his troops and get them ready for playoff basketball.

4. Tufts (10-9, 4-2) Last Week: 3

Tufts drops two spots from last week after they lost Saturday against Wesleyan. The Jumbos are still in a good spot as the tournament approaches, though the loss of Hunter Sabety ’17 could be devastating. What stands out the most with this team was the streak they had in mid-January, where they consecutively beat Middlebury, Amherst, and Trinity, allowing an average of only 57 PPG in the three game stretch. Tufts can put it all together in a short period of time against the top teams in the league. Why? Defense.

5. Middlebury (15-4, 3-3) Last Week: 2

Last week the Panthers could only grab one out of two in conference play, falling to Williams 87-62 while beating Hamilton in a tough 82-77 overtime game. Given the struggles that Hamilton has had all season, what does an overtime win say about the Panthers? Hamilton has been giving teams their all down the stretch, so maybe this is yet another example of the small margin between the top and bottom. Regardless, Middlebury  still has its work cut out for them as they still have to play Trinity and Amherst, two teams ranked above them.

6. Williams (12-7, 3-3) Last Week: 7

Williams jumps up a spot after their decisive 87-62 win against Middlebury. The Ephs’ offense has been close to the top all year averaging 76.4 points per game, but they’ve struggled considerably on defense. That is why they remain below Middlebury, despite their emphatic victory over the Panthers. The Ephs have a huge road weekend coming up against Bates and Tufts. You can bet that Daniel Wohl ’15 won’t go down without a fight, seeing as he leads the league in PPG with 19.9.

7. Bowdoin (14-6, 4-3) Last Week: 5

Last week Bowdoin was posed with the difficult task of playing Trinity and Amherst in back-to-back road games. A loss to the Bantams 67-66 in OT was a heartbreaker that made it even more difficult to face off against Amherst. These two losses hurt Bowdoin and surely put them down in the rankings, but then again, who else besides Tufts has been able to handle the one-two punch of the Bantams and Lord Jeffs. With guard Lucas Hausman’s ’16 scoring dominance (ranked No. 3 in PPG with 19.0), along with the recent play of John Swords ’15 and Bryan Hurley ’15, Bowdoin is still in a position to fight with the best.

8. Wesleyan (14-6, 3-3) Last Week: 9

The Cardinals split their last two games, losing a close one against Bates 74-66 but coming back the following day to take down Tufts. Wesleyan has a tough stretch ahead of them with Trinity, Amherst, and Williams all on their schedule. As of late, even Hamilton has shown it can disrupt any opponent it faces, which makes things a little more difficult to a Wesleyan team that is on the cusp of the playoffs.

9. Colby (12-9, 3-4) Last Week: 8

Colby, who a few weeks ago was in a position to take a high seed in the NESCAC quickly dropped three straight to Bowdoin, Amherst, and Trinity, putting them in a tough spot to finish out the season. Not only that, but Middlebury, Tufts, and Bates all remain on their schedule, which makes for a tough final stretch. The Mules’ defense has been struggling recently, making it even more difficult for even their third ranked offense to consistently carry the load. We’ve all heard it before: defense wins championships, and a last place ranking in that category does not bode well for Colby.

10. Hamilton (13-7, 1-5) Last Week: 10

Not much has changed for Hamilton since last week. They still have only one win against NESCAC opponents, but once again they’ve proved that they’re not going to fold easily. Last week the Continentals battled with the Panthers of Middlebury, eventually falling short in an 82-77 overtime loss. Forward Peter Kazickas ’15 led the charge with 21 points while guard Joseph Lin ’15 dished a season-high nine assists in the loss. Neither their defense nor their offense has been exceptionally bad or good this season (6th ranked defense, 8th ranked offense) ; they just have not been able to put two good halves of basketball together.

11. Conn College (7-12, 0-6) Last Week: 11

Conn’s struggles continue after losing their eighth straight against Mitchell. Offense has been a problem for the Camels all season, and their last four NESCAC opponents (Amherst, Trinity, Williams, Hamilton) won’t make this season go by any faster. Forward Zuri Pavlin ’17 has proven he is capable of being Conn’s go-to guy in the coming years after a 31 point game against Mitchell. In addition, he’s ranked second in the league in RPG with 10.9. Definitely a force to be reckoned with in the future, Conn just needs to find him a little more support in the backcourt.

Handicapping the Player of the Year Race

Photo Courtesy of the Williams Record
Photo Courtesy of the Williams Record

There are just two conference weekends left, and while athletes, coaches and fans are focused on the battle for seeding in the NESCAC tournament, individual performances over the final two weeks will play a major role in determining to whom the end-of-year awards are given.

Conference play is weighted heavily when looking at these awards because that is when the voting members, aka NESCAC coaches, get a first hand look at the candidates. Therefore it is necessary to look at matchups over the next few games in order to split hairs between all the great players in this league.

The race will be tight, and is still wide open, especially with preseason favorite Chris Hudnut ’16 succumbing to a season-ending knee injury on Jan. 24. In the five conference games that Hudnut was able to play, he averaged 21.8 points and 10.0 rebounds per game, numbers that would put him second and third respectively in conference games. Other players with high expectations, such as Hunter Sabety ’17 and Hayden Rooke-Ley ’15 have shown flashes of brilliance when on the court, but injuries will ultimately stop them from getting enough minutes to be true contenders. With Hudnut going down, the picture became a lot less clear. Below we handicap the Player of the Year race as it stands today.

C John Swords ’15

Odds: 50:1

As the guy who ought to be the hands-down Defensive Player of the Year, he should be in the discussion for overall Player of the Year as well. He probably won’t do enough on the offensive end to be seriously considered for the award, but his defensive impact is unquantifiable. Beyond the 17 blocks (1st) and 65 rebounds (2nd) that he has in seven conference games, he is undeniably the best rim protector in the NESCAC, and the main reason why opponents jack up more treys against the Polar Bears than anyone else.

PG Joseph Lin ’15

Odds: 30:1

Lin’s transformation has been a hot topic this season. The senior is the third-leading scorer in NESCAC games and the league’s top assist man by a wide margin. On a winning team his odds would be much better. While the POY award isn’t necessarily the best player on the best team, it often seems that way. Aaron Toomey’s ’14 Jeffs won the NESCAC tournament in both years that he was given the award, Ryan Sharry ’12 and the runner-up Panthers finished 26-4 that season. Troy Whittington ’10 and Williams went 29-3 in 2010-11. You get the idea. With no clear cut dominant team in the NESCAC this season the award could go to a player on a middle of the pack team, but not one who isn’t in the NESCAC playoffs.

SG Lucas Hausman ’16

Odds: 25:1

Another Bowdoin guy, and another that has elevated his game to a new level this season. Hausman has been an animal in conference play, averaging 23.7 points per game. He’s somewhat one dimensional; he loves to cut to the hoop, especially in transition, and force off-balance shots in traffic. But hey, it works for him. He is shooting 44.9 percent from the field in conference games and he is arguably the league’s best free throw shooter, which is good because he gets to the stripe more than anyone. As unfair as it is, his class might hurt Hausman somewhat in this chase. If it comes down to him and a senior who seem like a toss-up, the award will probably land in the elder’s hands. But a strong tournament run could quickly and significantly improve Hausman’s odds.

G/F Connor Green ’16

Odds: 18:1

After a fantastic sophomore campaign in which Green became the Lord Jeffs’ second option to Toomey, Green had a bit of a slow start to 2014-15. Through his first two games of January (10 total), Green was averaging 13.2 PPG. In the subsequent 10 games? 18.0 points per game. And in the last five, since the changing of the guard occurred at the point, Green has topped 30 points twice, including 33 against Bowdoin on Jan. 31, a record for the junior against D-III opponents (Green dropped 42 against D-II Nova Southeastern in a 105-101 loss last season). With more strong games against Conn. College and Wesleyan this weekend, followed by a big game against Middlebury next weekend, Green could leap frog those with better odds and steal this award. That last game in particular will be huge, as Green will probably have to deal with the size, speed and strength of Dylan Sinnickson ’15. A win in that head-to-head matchup, much like the one earned by our POY favorite, will go a long way towards winning over the votes of the NESCAC coaches.

PG Graham Safford ’15

Odds: 9:1

Safford fits the POY mold; senior leader, battle-tested, big moments on his resume, leading scorer, fills up the stat sheet and almost never leaves the court. Like Toomey in the last two years, Safford is the type of court general without whom his team would fall apart. Let’s compare the stat lines of Toomey from ’13-’14 and Safford from this year:

Safford: 36.6 MPG, 15.7 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 6.1 APG, 2.3 SPG, 1.5 A/TO, 39.2 FG%, 31.2 3PT%, 78.3 FT%

Toomey: 34.6 MPG, 19.9 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 6.4 APG, 2.0 SPG, 2.5 A/TO, 46.4 FG%, 40.2 3PT%, 91.2 FT%

The glaring difference doesn’t appear until you start looking at the percentages. Toomey was a more prolific scorer and he did it in a more efficient way, but Safford is comparable to Toomey across the board in other categories. The most important thing in favor of Safford’s campaign is that Bates rides or dies with the point guard’s play. If he can take them to the NESCAC Championship game he might convince the coaches that he is worthy of the award.

F Dylan Sinnickson ’15

Odds: 5:1

What a great story this kid is. As a freshman on Middlebury’s best team ever he played just over 10 minutes per game, averaged 5.7 PPG and shot just two, that’s right, two, three-pointers. Then he had to sit out his entire sophomore campaign because of a broken arm. Last year he returned and was a revelation, running the pick and roll to perfection with Joey Kizel ’14 and spreading the floor, dropping 43 percent of his attempts from long range, including a couple of game winners. He’s past the injury that took away his sophomore season, he’s returned with a vengeance from the personal break that he took from the game last season, and he’s completely reinvented his game. He’s possibly the most athletic guy in the NESCAC in any sport. He runs like the wind. On the baseball diamond he’s known for beating out routine grounders to shortstop. He jumps through the roof. And when he grows that hair out people often refer to him around campus as “That kid that looks like Jesus”.

The numbers bear out the praise. Sinnickson has racked up 18.7 PPG (4th in NESCAC), 11.1 RPG (1st), and does so with good percentages, 48.0 percent from the field and 35.0 percent from deep. On the other end of the floor, he often draws the opponent’s trickiest matchups. Hamilton’s Ajani Santos ’16 and Conn’s Zuri Pavlin ’17 can tell you just how much of a menace Sinnickson can be. The only reason he isn’t tops on this list is because in his toughest head-to-head matchup of the season Sinnickson was bested by our POY favorite.

G/F Dan Wohl ’15

Odds: 3:1

Against Middlebury last Friday night, Wohl went 5-10 from the field and 7-7 from the stripe for 18 points while also shutting down Sinnickson, who went 3-11 from the field for seven points. Wohl has been consistently great, but he has truly been incredible since a December 6 matchup with Springfield. Amidst all the change of the offseason, there seemed to be a transition period for this Williams team at the beginning of the season, and while they are still working out some of the kinks, Wohl seems to have gotten very comfortable. In the span of 28 seconds near the end of that Springfield game, Wohl completed an and-1 and flushed another lay up to put the Ephs up nine and score what would end up as the winning basket. He added a steal and two more free throws in the final two minutes to seal the victory, finishing with 20 points and seven boards. Since that game, Wohl has averaged 22.1 PPG.

Wohl is the second-leading scorer in conference games while also snagging 8.5 RPG in those games, and is among the league’s best defenders, swiping 1.3 SPG while playing lock-down defense. Williams still has to play Bates, Tufts, Conn and Wesleyan before the season is out. All of those teams except Conn are in the top half of the NESCAC in scoring defense, meaning that it will be a challenge for Wohl to keep up his scoring production down the stretch. But if he can score 18 on Middlebury, Wohl should be up for the challenge.

All Aboard the Express: Fantasy Report 1/29

If we are being completely honest, I’ve never actually played fantasy basketball before. I’ve been in leagues with friends where we had drafts and stuff, but I’ve never paid attention and gotten invested in it. Maybe that explains why I stood pat and didn’t adjust my roster this week besides to make sure I took Dylan Sinnickson ’15, who didn’t have a conference game, out of lineup and put in Rashid Epps ’16, a player I thought was going to see an uptick in production. Meanwhile Joe got his namesake Joseph Lin ’15 back into the starting lineup and benched Jaquann Starks ’16. Then he gave Zuri Pavlin ’17 and Hunter Sabety ’17 the nod this week over Hunter Merryman ’15, who also didn’t have a conference game, and Ed Ogundeko ’15.

Lord of the ‘Cac (Adam) Lin and Tonic (Joe)
Player Player
Guard G. Safford Guard J. Lin
Guard D. Wohl Guard L. Hausman
Guard J. McCarthy Guard L. Westman
Forward J. Swords Forward C. Hudnut
Forward A. Santos Forward D. George
Forward Mar. Delpeche Forward Z. Pavlin
Forward R. Epps Forward H. Sabety
Bench D. Sinnickson Bench H. Merryman
Bench J. Brown Bench J. Starks
Bench S. Ajayi Bench E. Ogundeko

No two ways around it, I got thrashed this week. Nobody on my team performed better than expected except for Graham Safford ’15 who had eight assists, six rebounds and four steals to go along with 13 points. Joe enjoyed a solid offensive week especially in the points category where Lucas Hausman ’16 led the way with 24. Joe’s efficiency starts with the efficiency king Luke Westman ’16, but other guys like Sabety were also crucial in overcoming a subpar shooting week from Lin and Chris Hudnut ’16. The only other category where Joe had a significant lead over me was assists where Lin continued to be a dynamo with another casual nine dimes. My down week did not cost me too badly except in points where a 51-point deficit in one week is hard to overcome. Here’s the Week 3 scoresheet.

Category Lord of the ‘CAC (Adam) Lin and Tonic (Joe)
Points 53 104
Assists 16 27
Rebounds 49 52
Steals 8 12
Blocks 7 6
FT% 61.5% (8/13) 73.5% (25/34)
FG% 41.2% (21/51) 45.8% (38/83)
3PT Made 3 3

Even though the conference season is only halfway over, a lot of the categories are already so lopsided that they are unlikely to change hands. Points, once well within reach for me, is now dangerously close to being sewn up for Joe. Free throw percentage and assists are two categories Joe can practically guarantee because he has far and away the strongest individual performers in those statistics. I can look at blocks and three pointers as the only two categories where I am comfortably ahead. So the season looks like it will come down to rebounds, steals, and field goal percentage, with rebounds the closest of them all. Look for us to adjust our rosters over the next couple of weeks to try to fully take advantage of our team’s relative strengths and weaknesses.

Category Lord of the ‘CAC (Adam) Lin and Tonic (Joe) Leader
Points 405 503 Joe
Assists 63 103 Joe
Rebounds 220 220 Tied
Steals 37 34 Adam
Blocks 40 21 Adam
FT% 69.6% ( 87/125) 78.9% (163/213) Joe
FG% 47.8% (153/320) 49.5% (185/374) Joe
3PT Made 36 15 Adam

Overall Score: Joe leads 4-3-1

The Fantasy Continues: Week 2

We’re back with another edition of the fantasy basketball report. As a reminder, Lin and Tonic (Joe) led after one week, 5-3. Despite my strategy to draft big men early, I ended up with a commanding lead in assists and a slight advantage in steals and a major deficit in rebounds and blocks after Week 1, so I made the decision to drop the injured Hayden Rooke-Ley ’15 in favor of Ed Ogundeko ’17, who played really well in the first week of conference play. I then decided to move Ogundeko into my starting lineup over Zuri Pavlin ’17, who only had one conference game this weekend. In the back court I moved Jaquann Starks ’16 into the lineup for Joseph Lin ’15. I never should have doubted Lin, who had 43 points, 18 assists and six steals on the weekend. Whoops…

Adam shook up his lineup a bit, too, but didn’t make any roster changes, so our lineups going into the weekend looked like this:

Lord of the ‘CAC (Adam) Lin and Tonic (Joe)
POS. Player Player
Guard G. Safford J. Starks
Guard D. Wohl L. Hausman
Guard J. McCarthy L. Westman
Forward J. Swords C. Hudnut
Forward D. Sinnickson E. Ogundeko
Forward A. Santos H. Merryman
Forward Mar. Delpeche D. George
Bench J. Brown Z. Pavlin
Bench S. Ajayi H. Sabety
Bench R. Epps J. Lin

First we’ll show you the scoresheet for Week 2 alone. Notice that scoring was way, way down from Week 1. Also, just looking at who we decided not to start, and I’ve already mentioned my mistake to bench Lin, but Adam really could have benefited from Jake Brown’s ’17 19 assists. Of course the tradeoff would have been only getting seven points and six boards. On the other side, having Hunter Sabety ’17 in the lineup would have been pretty helpful. After missing the conference opener against Middlebury last weekend, Sabety came back strong against Amherst and Trinity, scoring 28 on 14-21 shooting (66.7 percent) with eight rebounds and four blocks.

Category Lord of the ‘CAC (Adam) Lin and Tonic (Joe)
Points 139 146
Assists 25 25
Rebounds 67 99
Steals 16 4
Blocks 14 9
FT% 74.4% (32/43) 72.8% (59/81)
FG% 40.9% (56/137) 48.8% (63/129)
3PT Made 15 6

Just by glancing at the table above, it’s clear that I was able to maintain my leads in points and assists and the percentage categories, while also closing the gap in rebounds, so I should be pretty happy.

HausmanShooting
Lucas Hausman ’16 has increased his scoring by 7.7 points per game this season, and poured in 49 points for Joe’s Lin and Tonic squad this past weekend. (Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics and CIPhotography.com)

 

Unfortunately steals, blocks and 3PT made are quickly slipping out of reach. Take a look now at the composite standings.

Category Lord of the ‘CAC Lin and Tonic Leader
Points 352 399 Joe
Assists 47 76 Joe
Rebounds 171 168 Adam
Steals 29 22 Adam
Blocks 33 15 Adam
FT% 70.5% (79/112) 77.1% (138/179) Joe
FG% 49.1% (132/269) 50.5% (147/291) Joe
3PT Made 33 12 Adam

Overall score: Tied 4-4

Amateur Hour is Over, Conference Play is Here: The Weekend Preview 1/9

The Bates bench is excited about the conference season beginning. So should you. (Courtesy of Bates College)
The Bates bench is excited about the conference season beginning. So should you. (Courtesy of Bates College)

We only get five weekends of NESCAC conference basketball. Heck, I am only in session to watch my beloved Bowdoin Polar Bears for three home conference games, and the first one of those is not until February 8! Unlike most other conference schedules that see teams play each other twice, the NESCAC only gives you one shot at every team meaning every game takes on extra importance.

When all five games tip off at 7 PM tonight, it will usher in one of the most open conference seasons in years. Though we lack any official Las Vegas odds in the NESCAC, nobody should feel very confident about their chances right now. Which also means that almost everybody should feel at least a little bit confident about their chances right now.

This is going to be fun. Here is your weekend preview.

Three Players to Watch

1. Point Guard Mike Greenman ’17 (Williams): The sophomore has a knack for finding his way into the biggest moments on the court. Against Trinity and Amherst Greenman will have to initiate the offense and pressure the defense by getting into the lane. Often Greenman is not the person who ends up finishing plays but rather intends to attract defenders for others. When he drives to pass, he opens up space and driving lanes for star seniors Hayden Rooke-Ley ’15 and Dan Wohl ’15. The downside to Greenman’s ability to get into the lane is that he turns the ball over at the third highest rate in the NESCAC at 3.7 turnovers per game. Defensively, Greenman will likely not guard Jaquann Starks ’16 on Friday but rather match up with the other guard on the floor.

2. Center Zuri Pavlin ’17 (Conn College): The Camels are one of the youngest teams in the NESCAC so it will be interesting to see how they fare in the first weekend of NESCAC play. Pavlin is a double-double machine and the best player for Conn. This weekend he gets to play two of the premier centers in the NESCAC in John Swords ’15 from Bowdoin and Chris Hudnut ’16 from Colby. Last season against those two teams Pavlin scored only 12 points combined. He will need to score way more points than that if there is any way for Conn to spring an early upset on two teams that have had some significant struggles so far.

3. Shooting Guard Lucas Hausman ’16 (Bowdoin): The Polar Bear offense often goes through long droughts within games. Hausman is the best player on Bowdoin at creating his own shot. While the 6’3″ guard is barely 170 pounds dripping wet, he can get to the basket because of his athleticism. He scored 28 points Tuesday at Bridgewater State and is now the leading scorer for Bowdoin with 15.6 points per game. That game Tuesday saw Bowdoin blow an 18 point first half lead and then a nine point lead in the final 4:59 of regulation. The Polar Bears are very thin after their starting five so they need their stars to come through every game. Hausman has taken up the mantle of the leading scorer, and he will need to score often and efficiently.

Top Three Games to Watch

There is not enough time or space for us to preview every single game that is going on this weekend. So while the depth of the league means almost every game is worth tuning into, every week we will go in-depth on the three most important games.

3. Friday 7:00 PM: Colby (7-5) at Wesleyan (10-2)

The NESCAC opener for these teams will tell us a lot about two teams that are part of that upwardly mobile NESCAC middle-class. Do not let Colby’s 7-5 record make you think that this is not a good team. All but one of their losses is a “good” one, if there is such a thing, and they have quality victories over Bowdoin and Husson. Wesleyan is coming in on a six game winning streak, and one of their two losses was in overtime to Williams.

The Colby offense revolves around Chris Hudnut ’16, the talented big man who has taken his game to yet another level this season. For Wesleyan the emergence of Joseph Kuo ’17 means that the Cardinals now have a player capable of matching up with Hudnut while Rashid Epps ’16 can shift to the power forward position. Epps could be primed for a big game one year after having Hudnut shut him down. He will have Sam Willson ’16 on him in what could be a mismatch for Colby because of Epps physicality.

Colby has had to battle injuries that has robbed them of much of their depth. Wesleyan has seen their roles sort themselves out into a clear starting five.

Matchup to Watch: Wesleyan Points in the Paint vs. Colby Defense

Let’s be clear that Colby’s weakness is their defense. They are allowing the second most points per game in the NESCAC. The weird thing about their defensive struggles is that they have occurred despite teams shooting only 26.7 percent from three. Overall teams are shooting 41.5 percent against Colby, the third highest percentage in the league. Opponents have been getting in the paint and scoring with way too much ease. Wesleyan has changed this season from a three point heavy team to a more inside-out oriented team around Epps and Kuo. They are going to look to get the ball into the paint early and often until Colby proves that they can keep Wesleyan off the boards.

2. Friday 7:00 PM Middlebury (9-0) at Bates (9-2)

These were the last two remaining undefeated teams in the NESCAC before Bates lost two games right before New Year’s. Bates is possibly the best team that Middlebury will have faced all year, and the Bobcats are lucky to get Middlebury at home. Last year Bates beat Middlebury at Pepin Gym in what turned out to be their only NESCAC victory. The loss came back to haunt Middlebury as it was a major strike against them for an NCAA at-large bid.

The point guard match-up between Graham Safford ’15 and Jake Brown ’17 will be fun to watch. Brown is difficult to stay in front of, and Safford will have to be careful not to get into foul trouble. Bates coach Jon Furbush is likely to ask Mike Boornazian ’16 to matchup with Dylan Sinnickson ’15. Boornazian has the size and quickness to give Sinnickson problems. Bates also likes to occasionally go to a 1-3-1 zone, but given the shooters that Middlebury has, it might be difficult to defend them with a zone. On the other end the trio of Safford, Boornazian, and Billy Selmon ’15 on the perimeter is dangerous. All three are capable of getting to the basket or spotting up for three.

Do not sleep on the impact that both benches could have. Adam Philpott ’15 and Mike Newton ’16 can be a steadying force off the bench for Bates. Philpott in particular was the difference Tuesday against Brandeis with 12 big points. No one player on the Middlebury bench has jumped out for most the season, but Nick Tarantino ’18 might be emerging at just the right time. He has averaged 9.5 PPG in the two games since break and could be a crucial big body for Middlebury (see below).

One crucial thing that benefits Middlebury is that Bates begins classes on Monday so not many students will be back for the game. A lot of Lewiston community members will likely be there, but the Panthers are not walking into the fearsome Alumni Gym we usually see.

Matchup to Watch: Delpeche Brothers vs. Middlebury Frontcourt

The clear weakness of Middlebury is their front-court. Connor Huff ’16 has done a wonderful job filling in at center. However, expecting the 6’4″ Huff to stop one of the Delpeches is foolish.  Six-foot eight Matt Daley ’16 is back after missing Middlebury’s first seven games. Yet he only played five minutes Tuesday night so it would be surprising if he played extensive minutes tonight. Sinnickson will be crucial in keeping Bates off of the offensive boards, a place where the Bobcats have feasted on opponents. Malcolm Delpeche ’17 enjoyed his best game of the year against Middlebury last season with 17 points and nine rebounds. Now both he and his brother Marcus are in the starting lineup. Unless they get into foul trouble, Middlebury might have a hard time keeping the Delpeches from making plays like this dunk Marcus had against Emory.

1. Amherst (8-2) at Williams (9-3)

We already went in-depth on this game in our look at preview so go take a look there for our analysis.

Composite Power Rankings 1/9

Hunter Merryman '15 and Middlebury are the cream of the crop, for now. (Courtesy of Middlebury Athletics)
Hunter Merryman ’15 and Middlebury are the cream of the crop, for now. (Courtesy of Middlebury Athletics)

As NESCAC season swiftly approaches tonight, we decided to get some of our staff members involved in this week’s power rankings. Everyone should feel pretty comfortable about the top team, but after that there was a huge amount of disagreement through the middle of the ranks which, I believe, is a testament to the depth in the league this season. On the other hand, it is probably also a result of a lot of impressive records against mediocre competition. That being said, the NESCAC continues to be one of the best Division-III hoops leagues in the nation, and we don’t see that changing any time soon.

Team Average AD SM AL JM PL
Midd 1.4 2 2 1 1 1
Amherst 2.6 1 1 4 5 2
Bates 3.4 6 3 3 2 3
Williams 4.2 3 6 2 4 6
Trinity 5.2 5 4 7 6 4
Wesleyan 5.6 4 5 5 7 7
Bowdoin 6.8 9 8 6 3 8
Hamilton 7.4 7 7 9 9 5
Colby 8.6 8 10 8 8 9
Conn 10 10 9 11 10 10
Tufts 10.8 11 11 10 11 11

(Contributors to the rankings: AD = Adam Dulsky; SM = Sean Meekins; AL = Adam Lamont; PL = Pete Lindholm)

1. Middlebury (9-0)

Adam, Pete, and I agree that the Panthers appear to be the class of the ‘CAC this season. Has this team returned to the level that the program was at from 2008-2013 when it lost 18 games over the course of five seasons? Probably not. I think that if Ryan Sharry, Andrew Locke, Nolan Thompson and the rest of the 2010-11 squad walked into Pepin in their prime they would dispatch the current edition of the Panthers with relative ease. But this team is no pushover, and in what appears to be a slightly down year for the usual suspects in Amherst and Williams, Middlebury could just grab its third NESCAC title.

For me personally, this ranking was less about the 9-0 record than the fact that I’ve felt since the preseason that this was a championship-worthy roster, and with the promising early season play of a few youngsters and the recent return of Matt Daley ’16, this team is only getting stronger.

2. Amherst (8-2)

Amherst and Williams will always gain respect just based on the name, but this team looks pretty good on the floor in its own right. In watching Amherst back in early December, we had some concerns about their perimeter defense.

Amherst is still allowing too many points per game (eighth in the NESCAC with 67.2), but NESCAC Rookie of the Year candidate Johnny McCarthy ’18 is a defensive force, leading the NESCAC in steals per game to date, and David George ’17 is still fantastic at discouraging points at the rim, so it’s curious that the Lord Jeffs have allowed so many points. What they are great at, though, is scoring. When they match up with our number one team, Middlebury, it will be a must-watch just for the ability of everyone involved to put the ball in the hoop.

3. Bates (9-2)

I like Bates more than most at this point in the season. Am I just jumping on the hype train? Maybe. But it seems like senior leader Graham Safford ’15 has elevated his game both on the stat sheet and in terms of his intangibles, and has really become a Kizel/Toomey type of transcendent player. In terms of numbers, he has improved on his field goal and three point percentages while also racking up almost two more assists per game. I think Safford leads the Bobcats deep into the NESCAC tournament.

4. Williams (9-3)

I know Ephs’ fans are sick of hearing it, but imagine if they still had Duncan Robinson. That would be scary. Even without Robinson, Hayden Rooke-Ley ’15 and Dan Wohl ’15 are just filling it up. Both are above 19.0 points per game. Rooke-Ley is like Ray Allen from the line right now, which you should read more about here. Wohl is not only one of the league’s best sharp shooters, but the 6’6″ guard/forward leads the league in defensive rebounds. The one thing this team lacks is depth, as six players chew up most of the minutes for first-year coach Kevin App. Perhaps to say that the team lacks depth is the wrong way to word it, because a lot of those bench guys could get big minutes elsewhere around the league, but it could cause a problem if one of the Ephs’ stars were to go down with an injury because his replacement would lack experience. Take Rooke-Ley for example, who was only able to play 10 minutes in Williams’ last game against Endicott because of a minor injury. Unfortunately, Rooke-Ley has a long injury history at Williams, so we have to hope that nothing more serious materializes for the senior.

5. Trinity (10-2)

With the Bantams it comes down to whether or not you believe that this uptick in scoring is for real, or if they will return to their anemic offensive ways once the competition stiffens up. I think they will regress some, but Jaquann Starks ’16 is a much better offensive player than he was last year, as is Shay Ajayi ’16, someone I thought could break out for the Bantams before the season began. I think this middle of the pack prediction is pretty accurate, and I could see them stealing a game in the NESCAC tournament on the road.

6. Wesleyan (10-2)

As we mentioned a few days ago, Wesleyan is off to an historic start to the season.

Guard Harry Rafferty ’17 has become less of a distributor and more of a scorer, leading the Cardinals in points per game. He and Jack Mackey ’16 make for a scary three-point duo. Rashid Epps ’16 has continued his maturation, averaging nearly a double-double so far this season, and Joseph Kuo ’17 is a force inside, turning away more than one shot per game. There’s a lot of experience on this roster, so even though this level of success is new to this Cardinals’ roster, they should be able to stay competitive throughout conference play.

7. Bowdoin (8-3)

I ranked Bowdoin much higher than the rest of the crowd. Even Lamont, a Polar Bear himself, had Bowdoin down a few notches more than I did. But this is a team with NCAA tournament experience, and I think the presence of John Swords ’15 gives them a chance to win any game, on top of the continued strong play of point guard Bryan Hurley ’15, who I think will continue to get better and more comfortable as he gets further away from the knee surgery that kept him out for most of last season.

8. Hamilton (10-2)

Hamilton fans aren’t going to like this one. The Continentals are 10-2 and we have them ranked eighth? Well the fact of the matter is that as much as we’ve talked about soft early season schedules for NESCAC teams this year, Hamilton might take the cake. Their best win came at home by just four points to 8-5 Lycoming. Joseph Lin ’15, Peter Kazickas ’15 and Ajani Santos ’16 have all taken huge steps forward this season, but there’s not much production coming after the starting five.

9. Colby (7-5)

It will hurt me if this team fails to make the playoffs, both because they are fun to watch and I have a few personal connections to the team. But they just don’t play any defense, which is key in conference play. Opponents are shooting 41.5 percent from the floor against the Mules, and Colby has the second-worst rebounding margin in the NESCAC. They really miss power forward Patrick Stewart ’16 and the defensive presence he helped bring besides Chris Hudnut ’16. If they can’t remedy these issues then they can say good bye to their chances of playing into late February.

10. Conn College (7-4)

Conn has actually bounced back well statistically from the graduation of Matt Vadas ’14, as the Camels are averaging 71.9 points per game, actually up from last year’s 69.3 points per game. But those points aren’t coming efficiently at all, as Conn has the league’s worst shooting percentage. But be patient Camels fans. There are five first years getting double digit minutes, the team’s best player, Zuri Pavlin ’17, is but a sophomore, and Bryan Gross ’15, currently getting under 10 minutes per game, is the only senior on the roster. So there will be better times ahead.

11. Tufts (4-7)

What can we say about the Jumbos this season? Despite so much potential before the year began, exactly what we feared might happen has come to fruition. Like in years past, Tufts just can’t put the pieces together. Last year it was injuries to Tom Palleschi ’17 and Ben Ferris ’15. This year it’s simply ineffectiveness. Guys that formerly were money from beyond the arc have completely lost the ability to hit threes, Ferris looks like a shell of his Rookie of the Year Award-winning self, Palleschi is still shaking off the rust and it appears that coach Bob Sheldon can’t find a lineup he likes because almost the entire roster is getting into most games. The lone bright spot is the continued production of Hunter Sabety ’17. With him, Palleschi and guards Tarik Smith ’17, Stephen Haladyna ’16 and Vinny Pace ’18 back for 2015-16, the story will be the same next season. Loads of potential, but when will it come together for Tufts?