Jordan Sears – Nothing But NESCAC

Amherst College 2019 Basketball Season Preview

Amherst Mammoths Basketball Season Preview

2017-2018 record: 16-10 (overall), 6-4 (conference)

Losing on a buzzer beater is never easy; losing to a Little Three rival in the playoffs on a buzz beater is even more devastating. It is a new year, however. The pain from last year may still be present in some of the veteran players, but each Mammoth comes into the season with a mindset that they’re going to win the league. Amherst, a perennial NESCAC powerhouse, is reloaded and ready to take revenge on Wesleyan and other rivals.

2018-2019 projected record: 17-7 (overall), 6-4 (conference)

Amherst has already demonstrated that they have the fire power to compete with anyone thus far. Three wins, and two of those in triple digits, illustrate the ease in which Amherst scores. These wins are impressive, but they’re against non-league foes. With official NESCAC basketball conference games starting in January, Amherst will have confidence going into January if they continue their strong November run into December.

The Mammoths are off to a hot start in their 2019 preseason.

Key losses:

G/F Johnny McCarthy

GP: 26

PTS/G: 11.9

FG %: 43.4

3PT %: 30.3

FT %: 65.1

REB/G: 7.7

A/G: 3.0

The 6’ 5” Nobles product capped off his Amherst career with a historic 2017-2018 season. McCarthy was a solid all around player, who was as active on the glass as he was scoring buckets. Even though the three point and free throw percentage don’t necessarily show such a significant impact, McCarthy’s willingness to scrap with big boys such as Wesleyan’s Nathan Krill and Jordan Sears shows how much he will be missed. The twelve points a game, second highest on the team, will be a void that will need to be filled by the squad this season.

G Michael Riopel

GP: 26

PTS/G:12.7

FG %:46.2

3PT %:43.0

FT %:74.2

REB/G: 5.3

A/G: 2.1

Similar to McCarthy, Riopel brought great length to the Amherst lineup. The 6’ 5” guard, sitting two hundred pounds of lean muscle, was the top Amherst scorer. The numbers, especially the field goal percentage from two and three, standout. Riopel was an efficient scorer who made tough shots in his phenomenal Amherst career. The veteran guard had a solid handle, and didn’t have a huge turnover problem. His leadership ability on and off the court will be sorely missed.

Projected starting five:

Grant Robinson:

GP: 24

PTS/G: 9.4

FG %3: 6.2

3PT %: 33.7

FT %: 69.6

REB/G: 3.4

A/G: 3.4

Grant Robinson came onto the scene last season as a young guard who was poised to lead a championship contending team. Sound familiar Austin Hutcherson fans? It’s tough to compare Hutcherson and Robinson beyond that, though. Robinson stands about three inches shorter, which makes him less of a threat guarding bigger guys. Hutcherson is definitely a better fit in Wesleyan’s switch happy pick and roll defense because of this. Robinson, however, obviously isn’t a Wesleyan Cardinal. He plays in an Amherst system that was led by Riopel and McCarthy last year. Robinson put up stats that makes you think he could be one of the NESCAC’s next elite guards. Amherst will always be one of the top dogs in the conference, and Robinson will be one of the reasons why

Josh Chery:

GP: 21

PTS/G: 4.8

FG %: 37.5

3PT %: 30.0

FT %: 51.5

REB/G: 3.6

A/G: 0.9

I feel like the following statement is the antithesis to everything I believe in (and the teachings of Michael Lewis’s Moneyball): Josh Chery’s stats don’t tell the whole story. Allow me to elaborate. His points per game, mediocre assists, rebounds, and poor free throw percentage don’t make you think he would be an impact player on an Amherst team. He averaged only fourteen minutes a game last year. He isn’t one of those guys that will wow you with his shot, but he physical presence will scare a lot of scorers. Chery, at two hundred and fifteen pounds, can defend any position. He’s got the athleticism to stay with guards, and has the strength to compete with any big man. I’m interested to see how this plays out.

Fru Che

GP: 26
PTS/G: 8.2
FG %: 48.7
3PT %: 34.4
FT %: 36.4
REB/G: 3.9
A/G: 0.8

Che, a Brooks School product, is another athletic forward that will help Amherst defensively this season. As a side note, Brooks seemed to always defeat Rivers, my high school, in league championship games during my time at Rivers. There is still salt in the wound. Che is an efficient scorer, as seen by his numbers from last season. His free throw shooting was a liability. Late in games, without McCarthy and Riopel, Amherst needs to have confidence in guys who will step the the line and make big buckets. Let’s see if Che is up to the challenge.

Eric Sellew:

GP: 21

PTS/G: 8.5

FG %: 48.6

3PT %: 21.4

FT %: 73.3

REB/G: 5.9

A/G: 1.4

Standing at 6’ 7,” Sellew is one of the tallest guy in the starting lineup for Amherst. He’s a solid big man. He has the strength to go one on one with Wesleyan’s JR Bascom or Jordan James, a highly anticipated matchup that we’re sure to see this year. With a league and a game that has transitioned from a half court set to more of transition offense, I’m interested to see how Sellew will fit this. He’s a positive player for Amherst without a question, and has good footwork both up top and in the paint. If Amherst wins the league crown this year, it’s because Sellew became one of the best rebounders in the conference, averaging around nine to ten.

C Joe Schneider:

GP:26

PTS/G:6.5

FG %:52.1

3PT %-

FT %: 61.3

REB/G:5.2

A/G: 1.2

I’m a rower, so I’m used to being around guys in the six-five to six-eight range. Joe Schneider is a giant compared to most of my teammates. Standing at six-ten Schneider is one of the biggest guys in the entire league. This length not only affects shots and shot selection, but can disrupt entire offenses who rely on half court pick and roll sets. Schneider can definitely move his feet at his size, but anyone that size will have difficulty staying in front of elite athletes. Schneider is a proven commodity in the Amherst system; he knows how to play and win effectively. Those long arms and blocking ability instill fear in some guards, but I’m not entirely confident that he will be able to stay in front of the quickest. We shall see.

Everything else:

Schneider and the Mammoths have a lot to prove without McCarthy and Riopel.

There are teams, in any sport, that will put a quality product on the field or the court any year regardless of talent level. Coach David Hixon has been coaching the Amherst squad for forty-one years. He’s been a champion in more ways than one both in the league and on the national level. Is this one of the most talented Amherst teams to be assembled? No, not even lose I don’t think. They have talented players, yes, but I don’t believe they have a starting five that will wow you, or bench players that will make you think this is one of the great Amherst teams. Remember me saying, though, that Amherst will never be blown out. That’ll never happen. The program is too rich and seasoned to lose any game by double digits. Robinson will lead them, and they will be very solid. I personally can’t wait for the Amherst vs Wesleyan or Amherst vs Williams matchups this year. Those games are special to watch as a sports fan.

A conversation with Grant Robinson:

Andrew Martin: Which losses from the senior class last year will be felt the most, and what additions from this year’s freshman class will offset those losses?

Grant Robinson: Having lost Johnny McCarthy and Michael Riopel, we lose our two leading scorers from last year. Because of this, we need guys to step up and take initiative to score the ball more so than they may have last year. I think Will Phelan and Devonn Allen are two freshmen that can have an immediate impact for us this year and help offset our losses. They’ve already shown great improvement and ability early in the season.

AM: How will Amherst reclaim its spot as the best in the league?

GB: I think to reclaim our spot as #1 in the conference we have to continue to have a chip on our shoulder throughout the entire season. A lot of people don’t have high expectations from us this year, but as a team, we will use this to our advantage and push each other to prove that we can be even better than we were last year.

Wesleyan Cardinals Basketball 2019 Season Preview

Wesleyan Cardinals

Austin Hutcherson was lock down on defense last year and won the D3hoops Northeast Rookie of the Year award. Expect big things from him in 2019.

2017-2018 record: 22-7 (overall), 7-3 (conference)

With a healthy mix of veteran experience and talented underclassmen, Wesleyan basketball proved to the rest of the NESCAC why they’re a top three team in the conference. Winning all three games against rival Amherst, including a game-winner in the playoffs against them, illustrates the Cardinals’ ability to make plays in big games. Two losses, including a playoff loss, to the other purple rival, Williams, is one of the many motivating factors for Coach Reilly and the rest of the Birds to win it all this year.

2018-2019 projected record: 22-5 (overall), 7-3 (conference)

Wesleyan is set to play this week in the Herb Kenny Tip-Off Tournament and will embark its revenge tour early against Williams this season on December 1st in a non-conference game. Any NESCAC game is normally ultra competitive, so there’s not necessarily a roll over opponent for the Cards.

Key losses:

G Jordan Sears

PTS/G: 5.8

FG %: 53.8

FT %: 60.2

REB/G: 5.2

Sears’ general stats don’t wow you, but earning the 2017-2018 NESCAC Defensive player of the year award shows how much of an impact player he was. As an avid Dirty Bird fan, I watched the six foot five guard seemingly come out of nowhere and fly to make ridiculous blocks. He will be missed in the Cardinal defense and transitional game.

F Nathan Krill

PTS/G: 12.2

FG %: 42.2

3PT %: 38.2

FT %: 73.3

REB/G: 8.6

A/G: 1.3

In an offense that possessed a venerated transition offense, Krill’s ability to dominate in the half court was fun to watch. His 12.2 point per game will surely be missed as the season goes on, but I know Coach Rielly will figure out ways to compensate for that loss.

Projected Starting Lineup:

G Austin Hutcherson ’21

PTS/G: 12.0

FG %: 41.8

3PT %: 44.3

FT %: 82.6

REB/G: 3.7

A/G: 2.7

The 6’ 6” guard took the NESCAC by storm last year, winning Rookie of the Year honors. Hutcherson never looked like a freshman on the court last year: he looked live a seasoned veteran. His rare combination of towering height, athleticism, talent, and IQ for a guard makes him a candidate for even more league honors this year. He will dominate smaller guards on both offense and defense. Look for his assists to go up as he becomes more comfortable in the offense in his second year. Simply put, he’s a fun player to watch, and will be one of the center pieces of Wesleyan basketball for years to come.

G Jordan Bonner ’19

PTS/G: 15.5

FG %: 40.6

3PT %: 34.8

FT %: 84.9

REB/G: 4.7

A/G: 1.4

Bonner had another tremendous 2017-2018 campaign as he was named to second team all-NESCAC. He’s a creative, athletic scorer with a variety of moves to get to the basket. The confidence his teammates and coaches have in him to seal the game at the free throw line shows how talented he is in more than simply scoring. I expect him to shoot a little better from three than he did last year, but like Paul Pierce, he doesn’t rely on the three since he’s a talented scorer is so many ways.

F JR Bascom ’19

PTS/G:8.4

FG %:61.4

3PT %: 0.0

FT %: 69.5

REB/G: 5.6

A/G: 1.0

Bascom is one of those guys you love to have on your team. He communication on defense, calling out screens, switches, or rebounds, is infectious. Wesleyan has been known as one of the league’s best defenses primarily because of forces like Sears, but Bascom should be put in that conversation as well. He’s lengthy and thick, but there’s no question that he can move his feet well to reasonably stay in front on any guard on a switch. With Krill’s departure, look for Bascom to feel the burden of every big man in the NESCAC. It may physically take a toll on him banging with the biggest of the big boys every play, but he has the intensity to do so.

F Jordan James ’21

PTS/G: 3.8

FG %:68.2

3PT :%-

FT %:58.8

REB/G:2.9

A/G: 0.1

Filling the shoes of Sears and Krill will be a tough task, but the two gentlemen replacing them already have a year under their belts in the Rielly system. Jordan James, with limited playing time in freshman year, will be called upon to step up in the starting line up. Standing at six foot seven with a massive wingspan, Jordan has the potential to be one of the most versatile defenders in the NESCAC. He’s very good defensively in transition, similar to Sears, and has very good basketball IQ. As a forward, however, he may have trouble hanging down low with opponents who are more filled out than he is. Krill definitely has the advantage in offensive skill and strength, but like I’ve said above, James is a different player in a good way. His wingspan will help him corral rebounds, and make it tough on smaller guards or big men to get a clean look. He’s poised to be a positive contributor in the lineup.

G Antone Walker ’21

PTS/G:7.6

FG %:34.0

3PT %:31.1

FT %:65.6

REB/G:1.2

A/G:1.3

Antone Walker is likely to be the other new addition to the starting lineup this season. The sophomore guard showed flashes of greatness last season with prolific scoring at times. The 7.6 points per game doesn’t do Walker justice with limited playing time from last season. He averaged about nineteen points per forty minutes last year. He’s a solid on ball defender as well with quick hands looking for steals. Wesleyan in recent years always put five guys on the floor with great length. Walker is an exception. Standing at six feet, Walker will have to work hard on switches, and avoid a much taller, thicker opponent utilizing the size mismatch on him.

Everything else:

Wesleyan showed last season that they’re far more than a defensive team. Even though they struggled in the half court at times, the combination of Hutcherson and Bonner provided enough scoring on the outside. That was last year, however, and the inside presence of Krill is gone. Will David Dixon be the guy to step up off the bench, and fill Krill’s shoes? It’s tough to say given the limited minutes Dixon played the past few seasons. Communication on defense has always been a strength of the Cardinals, so switches have always favored the length and IQ of the Birds. It’s going to be interesting to see how Coach Reilly will use the newcomers. The defense for Wesleyan is never really a question mark. Sears’ departure will be felt, but I believe that Wesleyan will figure out a way to make up for it.

Jordan Bonner and the Cardinals are maybe the most athletic group in the conference.

A conversation with Jordan Bonner:

Andrew Martin: Which losses from the senior class last year will be felt the most, and what additions from this year’s freshman class will offset those losses?
Jordan Bonner: Both the loss of Jordan Sears and Nathan Krill will be felt the most this year. Their defensive presence and intensity were a huge part of our identity and they will be missed this season. With that said, I think the freshman and rest of the team have stepped up tremendously in the pre-season and know that we have big shoes to fill. This does not mean that we are trying to replicate our success or players from last year because that will guarantee that we are not successful but we do understand that we all need to step up. The freshman are extremely talented and I think that they all can help us win.
AM: Is there one particular game that you guys have circled on your calendar?
JB: Nope. Our preparation will be the same regardless of who we play. I’m excited to play whoever steps on the other side of the court.
AM: How will Wesleyan go from one of the best teams in the conference to the best one in the NESCAC?
JB: The best teams treat every game the same. While it is true that some games are perceived as being bigger than others, at the end of the day we have 40 minutes every night to get a W against a really good team. The elite teams approach every game the same and focus solely on dominating and so I believe that this will take Wesleyan to the next level in being the best team in the NESCAC.
AM: Any message to the Cards in the crowd who will be rooting for you guys all year long?
JB: I think that we will be really fun to watch. We have size, athleticism, quickness and grittiness and I think that that will make watching our games entertaining. I think that it will be a great and successful season. I know that we play better when we have a large crowd cheering us on and so we want to thank everyone for their support in advance.

There’s a First Time for Everything: Wesleyan NCAA Tournament Preview

#15 Wesleyan (21-6, 7-3, Lost in Final to Williams)

The Cardinals looked like a borderline tournament team at the conclusion of the regular season, but played their way to the title game of the NESCAC tournament in part thanks to some heroics from Nathan Krill ’18 in the semifinal against Amherst. This made them a lock to not only make the tournament, but they were selected to be a host for the first two rounds of games. The Cardinals have never won a national tournament game, and this looks to be their best chance.

Wesleyan finished 2nd in the NCAA regional rankings (behind Williams) and 15th in the D3hoops poll, which concluded a solid season for a team who lost two impact underclassmen before the school year. They have made the tournament twice in recent years with Coach Reilly at the helm, but failed to make it past the first round either time. In fact, they have never made it past the first round as a program, so they will surely be tested in their opening round matchup with Southern Vermont.

How They Got Here:

Going into this season, we had absolutely no idea what to expect from Wesleyan. They lost two key players in Salim Green ’19 and Andrew Gardiner ’19 who left the school, as well as the graduation of Harry Rafferty ’17, who was the star from last year’s team. They got off to a hot start with big early season wins over #21 Nichols and #5 Williams (pre-Scadlock injury mind you), before falling to Springfield and then Williams in their second meeting for the official NESCAC season. Their loss to Trinity midway through the season was a bit surprising, but the NESCAC is tough and it was Kevin O’Brien’s first game back from illness, so that’s not a particularly bad loss. The focus for Wesleyan is on the three point shot because they have been very streaky this season from deep. Their defense is excellent, so if their offense can keep up they have a chance to make a run. Something to focus on is that Wesleyan has very solid senior leadership in JR Bascom ’18, Jordan Sears ’18, and Nathan Krill ’18. This is the third NCAA Tournament appearance for these guys, so they certainly don’t lack experience. Jordan Sears ’18 took home the Defensive Player of the Year Award this weekend (both from us at NbN and officially, from the NESCAC) Nathan Krill ’18 has already proven that he can step up when they need it by knocking down a very deep, game-winning 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds left to cap off a 29-point, 10-rebound night. This is a team that is ready for the postseason, under the excellent coaching of Joe Reilly.

After downing Amherst, let’s see if Nathan Krill ’18 has any magic left.

How They Lose:

Wesleyan has some solid scoring threats (see Nathan Krill ’18, Jordan Bonner ’19, Austin Hutcherson ’21), but they are a defensive-minded team. They’ll get themselves into trouble if they get into a shootout with someone, so they need to elevate their defense even more in the tournament. This isn’t helped by the fact that Southern Vermont, New England College, and #14 Swarthmore are all pretty high scoring teams. With this low-scoring approach, the Cardinals will need to be efficient with their shots. They only average 13.8 assists per game, which is second to last in the NESCAC, only ahead of Conn College. Devoid of a star player who can take over games, they’ll have to pay extra attention to sharing the ball and working for the best shot they can get.

The Competition

Southern Vermont College Mountaineers (22-5, 12-2, Conference Champs)

The Mountaineers won the Northeast Collegiate Conference championship to earn their program’s third ever bid to the NCAA Tournament after a very solid 22-5 season. They boast the conference’s player of the year, senior Mike Pierre ’18 who averages 19.1PPG, 6.5REB/G, 2.5AST/G, and shoots a solid percentage from the field. They also claim the conference’s defensive player of the year, Daemond Carter, who helped them hold conference opponents to an astounding 66 points per game. The Mountaineers will likely look to shoot a lot and keep their games at a fast pace, especially since they struggle with rebounding at times. It will be tough for them to matchup with Nathan Krill on the rebounding side, with their tallest player only being 6’6”. They will look to push the ball in transition, staying ahead of the Wesleyan shot blockers. The size of Wesleyan combined with their disciplined approach puts them in great position to win their first ever NCAA Tournament game.

#14 Swarthmore College Garnet (22-5, 15-3, Lost in Final to #12 Johns Hopkins)

Does Cam Wiley ’19 have the star power to lead the Garnet deep into the playoffs.

The Garnet return to the NCAA Tournament this year after being sent home in the second round of last year’s tournament. They sit at #14 in the nation and 3rd in their regional ranking, receiving at at-large bid after losing to #12 Johns Hopkins in the Centennial Conference championship game. The Garnet play one of the toughest non-NESCAC schedules out there, with notable wins over #18 Middlebury (when they were as high as 2nd in the nation), #12 Johns Hopkins, and Franklin & Marshall. They don’t have any standout scorers, although they’re lead by point guard Cam Wiley ’19 who averages 15.8PPG, to go along with 4.4REB/G and 3.2AST/G. What the Garnet have going for them is that they rebound very efficiently, and have the size to matchup with just about anyone. They also shoot at a 47.6% clip as a team, which is outstanding and very hard to keep up with. This is a very tough team to beat, and a potential matchup with Wesleyan in the second round makes this region very interesting.

New England College Pilgrims (21-6, 15-3, Conference Champs)

Last but not least we have the North Atlantic Conference champions: the New England College Pilgrims. This is another team that lacks true size (tallest player is 6’6”) so they’ll look to spread the floor and try to stay out of half court sets. They’ve got two reliable scoring threats in Ricky Leonard ’19 (17.3PPG) and Izaiah Winston-Brooks ’20 (16.7PPG) so they are a team that could potentially play spoiler if they get hot. They don’t have a senior on their roster so the inexperience could hurt a bit, however the game plan is very simple if they’re going to beat a team as talented as Swarthmore: the shots need to be falling. The Pilgrims need to be very efficient with their shots and will have to shoot a very high percentage to keep up with the Garnet. They are definitely an underdog, but who doesn’t love an underdog in March?

It’s Time for Madness: Men’s Basketball Postseason Awards Update

This past weekend the Ephs were crowned NESCAC champions, which was a pretty impressive feat given their tough battle with injuries this season. Postseason play is taken into account for the awards, and I believe a lot changed since Pete’s last awards update. I’m not saying the last preview was wrong, but Middlebury couldn’t make it past the first round of the NESCAC playoffs, and I think this affected the awards race more than he does. The actual awards should come out sometime this week, so keep an eye on that, but here are my picks, with grudging approval from Pete and the other writers.

POY: Williams F James Heskett ’19

After Kyle Scadlock ’19 went down with a torn ACL early in the season, we knew Williams would still be good. What we didn’t know, however, was who would step up into the lead scoring role. Bobby Casey ’19 helped mightily, but James Heskett ‘19 snatched the lead role. Heskett ’19 lead the NESCAC in points per game with 22.0 on 52.9% FG and 45.7% 3PT, both good for 6th in the league. He hauled in a respectable 4.3REB/G and dished out 2.3AST/G, which were both solid marks. But it is his tournament performance that sets him apart. He led the Ephs to the NESCAC championship, leading the team with 20.3PPG. His other stats weren’t eye-popping, but he only turned the ball over twice all tournament (both against Hamilton) and that’s very impressive for someone who handles the ball as much as he does. I put a lock of stock in winning, and I’m very impressed by the leader of a team who lost its best player stepping up and performing when it mattered.

James Heskett ’19 has been the league’s best scorer all season, and he kept it up in the tournament.

DPOY: Wesleyan G Jordan Sears ’18

Another change here largely resulting from postseason play. Sears had 2.0BLK/G (2nd in the league), 1.8STL/G (1st in the league), and he only committed 25 fouls in all of NESCAC play. These are ridiculously good numbers, and the fact that he grabs 5.5REB/G doesn’t hurt either. In the Cardinals’ first-round matchup with the Panthers, Sears blocked 8 shots (!!!) and also had a steal and 5 rebounds. He finished the tournament with solid numbers, but again, winning means a thing or two to me, so I believe that Wesleyan’s run to the title game makes Sears’ Defensive Player of the Year case the strongest. In that title game, he spent a large portion of his minutes matched with Heskett, and effectively handled Casey on several switches. Neither of those players had very efficient games, and Williams needed a huge game from Matt Karpowicz ’20 to pull off the win. Sears is a monster and this award is a no brainer.

Jordan Sears ’19 was a scary defender all year, and only got scarier when he put on the mask.

Coach of the Year: Kevin App, Williams

Pete covered this last week, but Kevin App only locked up his bid for Coach of the Year by winning the championship game with relative ease, after two tight matchups to open the playoffs. There still seems to be an App for everything, but we’ll see if there’s an App for getting back to the Final Four where they found themselves just one year ago.

Rookie of the Year: Wesleyan G Austin Hutcherson ‘21

Hutcherson struggled a bit in the tournament, only posted scores of 9, 4, and 7, while grabbing 3, 6, and 4 rebounds while turning the ball over a total of 6 times throughout the tournament. Had Bowdoin pulled off the upset of Amherst in the quarterfinals, their PG Zavier Rucker ’21 would have had a great case, but alas, they did not. And Hutcherson’s performance in the regular season was extremely impressive. He didn’t play exceptionally poorly in the tournament, especially for a first year, and I still believe he will take home the Rookie of the Year Award. Keep an eye on his performance because he will need to elevate his game if Wesleyan wants to make a run in the NCAA Tournament.

As first years do, Hutcherson struggled in the playoffs, but his regular season performance was too hard to ignore.

First Team All-NESCAC:

In my opinion, nothing changes here. Vincent Pace ’18 put up a monster game in the first round against Hamilton (22 points, 11 rebounds) but didn’t get the help he needed. Gilmour ’20 was a stud in the postseason, putting up 29 points and 12 rebounds against Tufts, then 20 points and 9 rebounds against Williams. Oh, and he did all that while shooting 51% from the field. Jack Daly ’18 was 7th in the league in points per game (14.9), 1st in assists per game (8.0), 2nd in rebounds per game (8.6), 3rd in steals per game, and 1st in minutes per game. Bobby Casey ’19 didn’t look too convincing in the postseason, but he was too big all year for the Ephs to not be on this list. With Heskett ’19 as POY, these 5 seem to be locks for first team.

Middlebury G Jack Daly ‘18 (15.7 PTS/G, 8.3 REB/G, 8.5 AST/G, 1.8 STL/G)

Hamilton G Kena Gilmour ‘20 (17.4 PPG, 7.0 REB/G, 1.7 STL/G, 46.4 FG)

Williams G Bobby Casey ‘19 (16.1 PPG, 48% FG, 44.1% 3FG)

Tufts G/F Vincent Pace ‘18 (18.4 PPG, 8.2 REB/G, 2.7 AST/G)

Williams F James Heskett ‘19 (19.4 PPG, 3.9 REB/G, 52.6% FG, 45.6% 3FG)

Second Team All-NESCAC

Amherst G Johnny McCarthy ’18 (11.0 PTS/G, 7.8 REB/G, 2.9 AST/G, 1.1 STL/G)

Wesleyan G Jordan Bonner ’19 (15.6 PTS/G, 5.0 REB/G, 36.7 3FG)

Bowdoin F David Reynolds ’20 (15.8 PTS/G, 47.5% FG, 43.9% 3FG)

Hamilton F Michael Grassey ’19 (13.7 PPG, 6.7 REB/G, 50.7% FG, 42% 3FG)

Middlebury F Matt Folger ’20 (14.0 PTS/G, 7.1 REB/G, 2.3 BLK/G)

Defense Wins Championships: Wesleyan @ Amherst Men’s Basketball Semifinal Preview

Wesleyan (20-5, 7-3, #5 Seed) @ Amherst (17-8, 7-3 #1 Seed), 5:30 PM, Amherst, MA

Overview:

As opposed to the offense heavy three point barrage we expect in the Tufts-Hamilton game (detailed beautifully by Colby here,) this should be a gritty, defensive battle. Both these teams pride themselves on their defense. Amherst’s most impressive win of the season was a 75-49 drubbing of Hamilton in which they held the Continentals to 29.4% shooting. That game was the jumping off point for their run to the number one seed. Since then, they are 7-2 and have won their last three games, including wins over Middlebury and Williams. But their most exciting win of this hot stretch was the last one, a thrilling 71-70 win over Bowdoin in the quarterfinals. In that game, Amherst overcame a rough game from Michael Riopel ‘18 thanks to a First Team level performance from Johnny McCarthy ‘18 (22 points) and contributions from several bench players, most notably Josh Chery ‘20, who scored 11 points and hit the game winning layup with 3.4 seconds left. What this Amherst team lacks in star power they make up for in depth and heart.

Amherst’s defense is the key to their recent success.

Of course, the same can be said for Wesleyan. One of Amherst’s losses since that shellacking of Hamilton is to the Cardinals, a 71-57 road loss in which McCarthy and Riopel went 3-20 from the field. Wesleyan’s season is littered with these types of games. The dominate defensively, shut down what the opponent does best, and the offense does just enough to get by. Their quarterfinal game against Middlebury was another great example. While Jack Daly ’18 did have a nice game (20 points and six assists,) the Cardinals stifled Middlebury’s inside game, holding the dangerous forward combo of Nick Tarantino ’18, Eric McCord ’19 and Adisa Majors ’18 to 6-19 shooting. Jordan Sears ’19 had 8 blocks, and with Kevin O’Brien ’19 and his army of tall, long-armed guards on the perimeter, it is nearly impossible to get into the paint and score against Wesleyan. Amherst will have to hit some threes to spread the Cardinals defense. And Wesleyan will have to do the same against Amherst.

Key Player For Amherst: F Josh Chery ’20

Josh Chery ’20
(Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)

As I said earlier, Chery was the hero against Bowdoin. With 5 seconds left on the clock, Chery got the ball on the right wing, drove to the rim, and finished a tough layup with 3.4 seconds left. Chery certainly wasn’t the first option,as Johnny McCarthy was lighting it up at that point, but he wasn’t the last one either. Chery has been one of the major keys to Amherst’s recent hot streak. He’s gone over double figures three times in the last four games, and has averaged 25 minutes per game over that stretch after going over 20 minutes just once all season up to that point. At 6’4″ and 215 pounds, he is big and strong enough to guard multiple positions, a huge plus against Wesleyan due to the size of the Cardinal guards. He makes a huge difference on the defensive end, grabbing four steals against Williams and pulling down eight rebounds against Middlebury. And ask Bowdoin how he is finishing at the rim. One thing to watch for is his foul shooting: he’s 0-7 in the last two games. Chery is the ideal player to have on the court against Wesleyan, and, since Wesleyan has proven themselves capable of locking up Riopel and McCarthy, Chery and the rest of the bench mob are the keys to Amherst’s chances.

Key Player for Wesleyan: F Nathan Krill ‘18

Nathan Krill ’18 (Courtesy of Wesleyan Athletics)

The starting power forward on the “Feels Like They’ve Been in College for 2o Years” All Stars, Krill has been in this position before. However, he has never been as important to the team’s offense. Of course, they won last weekend with him only having three points, but they won’t be able to rely on Antone ’21 Walker putting up 11 off the bench and Kevin O’ Brien ’19 scoring 17. Walker is a great talent, but he is streaky, and O’Brien isn’t really a go to scorer. Krill is Wesleyan’s most dangerous pick and roll finisher. He can step behind the three point line and hit, or he can use his quickness and ball handling skills to finish at the rim. Throughout Krill’s career, this combination of skills has made him one of the hardest players to guard in the league when he’s hot. Key word: “when.” Krill has always been incredibly streaky (see his 24 points against Bowdoin versus 3 the next game against Bowdoin.) Krill only had four points in Wesleyan’s win over Amherst during the regular season, but this a whole new Amherst team. Wesleyan needs their stars to shine bright on Saturday, starting with Krill.

Final Thoughts:

Bowdoin was certainly far more skilled than your average eight seed, but Amherst still should have been able to put them away earlier. The Mammoths were uncharacteristically bad defending the three, allowing Bowdoin to shoot 10-28 from outside (and many of those misses were open looks.) Much of Wesleyan’s offense relies on three point shooting, particularly from Jordan Bonner ’19 and Hutcherson. Amherst will have to do a better job running those two off of the three point lie than they did with Bowdoin’s Jack Simonds ’19 and Liam Farley ’19. They will also have to contend with pick and rolls featuring either Bonner or Hutcherson and Krill. Since each of those players are dangerous shooters, the slightest defensive mistake can lead to an open three pointer. Amherst’s best defense here would be an aggressive hedge with their big men and then not switching. A switch would mean that one of Amherst’s big men would be stuck on , a mismatch in favor of Wesleyan. This is why Chery should see big minutes on Saturday, he is big enough to handle Krill and fast enough to handle Hutcherson or Bonner.

If Jordan Bonner ’19 gets hot, Amherst could be in for a long day.

In general, this game is not the best matchup for Amherst’s big men. Joseph Schneider ’19 is skilled inside, but he might get swallowed by the athleticism of Wesleyan’s front court. And with Eric Sellew ’20 out, Amherst’s big men rotation is very thin. This presents a big problem on the glass. Amherst simply must win the rebounding battle in this game. These are the two best rebounding teams in the league based on rebounding margin, and both are at their most dangerous when they get open shots off of offensive rebounds. Both these teams will be battling fiercely for rebounds, but it is more important for Amherst because they have fewer weapons on the offensive end. More of their offense is based on second chances.

All the signs point to Wesleyan in this game. They’ve had a more successful regular season, they have more weapons, and they played better in their first round game. But the game is in Amherst, and crazy things happen down there. The Mammoths are 10-2 at home this season, and have an almost supernatural knack for pulling out close games in their gym. I think most loyal readers will know how much it kills me to do this, but I have to go Amherst. Let no one call me biased again.

Writer’s Prediction: Amherst 63, Wesleyan 60

A New Frontier: Men’s Basketball Stock Report 2/19

Stock Up

Amherst F Johnny McCarthy ‘18

Johnny McCarthy ’18 (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)

It’s been a bit of an up and down year for McCarthy. After three years of being underrated because of Jayde Dawson’s ball dominance. In fact, he was so underrated that he entered this season a little overrated. Like Amherst as a whole, he struggled during the regular season, and for a while it seemed like he just wasn’t suited to be a number one option. But as he improved, so did Amherst. McCarthy reinvented himself as a dominant rebounder, defender and paint scorer. And, as he has done so many times over the course of his career, he saved his best for the biggest moments. With Amherst facing a challenge from the 8 seeded Bowdoin Polar Bears in the first round, McCarthy had his best game of the year. He scored 22 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and dished out 5 assists. He also hit the second biggest shot of the game, a 30 footer after a broken play that put Amherst up by four in the final minutes. McCarthy and Amherst are peaking at the right time, and really, did we expect anything different?

Jordan Sears ‘19 for DPOY

I like to think that Sears read our pick of Folger, printed it out, put it up in his locker, and then read it again right before Wesleyan’s game against Middlebury. He looked like a man possessed against Middlebury, blocking eight shots (!) and snuffing out countless pick and rolls with incredible perimeter defense. Sears had four blocks in the final five minutes or so of the game, effectively snuffing out any hope Middlebury had of coming back. Sears is the definition of a difference making defender, and his performance against Middlebury pretty much guarantees him the DPOY trophy.

Jordan Sears ’19 owned the Panthers on Saturday to the degree that he is actually now President of Middlebury College.

NCAA Representation

Last season, the NESCAC had five teams gain NCAA berths for the first time in conference history. The results this weekend are steps in the direction repeating that performance, and even make six teams a distinct possibility. Now bear with me, because this gets a little confusing. NCAA berths are decided based on the NCAA Regional Rankings, NOT the D3 Hoops Top 25. The regional rankings can be found here. As you can see, the top four teams in Northeast are all NESCAC teams. In order, they are Hamilton, Wesleyan, Williams and Middlebury. These four teams were pretty much assured of NCAA bids, regardless of their quarterfinal games. Middlebury and Wesleyan were basically playing for a home game, and Williams and Hamilton were entirely safe. Amherst was the question mark. They entered the quarterfinals eighth in the regional rankings. This is a shaky position. They certainly needed a win over Bowdoin to keep their hopes alive, but they are still on the bubble to certain degree. Their performance in the final regular season weekend, along with their win over Bowdoin, should get them a berth, giving the NESCAC, again, five NCAA teams.

Stock Down

Tufts

The Jumbos were 11th in the regional rankings. This is not a complicated position; they basically needed to win the NESCAC tournament, or AT LEAST make the final, to sneak into the NCAA’s. Their loss to Hamilton ends their season, and the excellent career of Vincent Pace ’18. Pace deserves a great deal of credit for persevering despite one of the more unlucky careers of any star in recent NESCAC memory. After a solid first season, he was dominant during his sophomore campaign, averaging 17 points per game on 50% shooting. It looked like he and Tufts were going to ride the combo of he, Hunter Sabety and Tom Palleschi to NESCAC dominance. Then Sabety transferred, and Pace suffered a nagging injury in practice that affected him for his whole junior year. His numbers fell in every catagory, and another injury to Tom Palleschi set back what was a very strong squad. And then this season, Tufts never really got going, and again struggled with injuries, to crucial bench scorers KJ Garrett ’19 and Ben Engvall ’18. Tufts, and Pace, are one of the great “what-ifs” in recent NESCAC history, but their saga is over for this season.

First Years

Many of the top first years in the conference found out that tournament ball is very different from even regular season NESCAC play. Middlebury’s Jack Farrell ’21, after a breakout 22 point game against Amherst during the final weekend, was locked up by the Cardinals to the tune of 0 points on 0-4 shooting. However, Austin Hutcherson ’21 of Wesleyan wasn’t much better, putting up 9 points on 2-10 shooting. And Amherst’s standout PG Grant Robinson ’21 was invisible, tallying three points on 1-3 shooting. All of these players looked a little taken aback at the physicality and intensity of tournament play, a very normal feeling for first years. A notable exception was Bowdoin’s underrated (but not by this blog, we love him) PG Zavier Rucker ’21, who scored 11 points and added 7 rebounds and six assists. Hutcherson is still, in my mind, the easy pick for Rookie of the Year, but it was interesting to see how all these players struggled in the their first playoff experience, and how Rucker very much did not.

Zavier Rucker ’21 was by far the most comfortable first year last weekend, and looks like a star in the making.

Grit N’ Grind: Middlebury @ Wesleyan Men’s Basketball Quarterfinal Preview

#13 Middlebury (19-5, 7-3, 5th Seed) @ Wesleyan (19-5, 7-3, 4th Seed,) February 17th, 3:00 PM, Middletown, CT

Overview:

This certainly isn’t the matchup the Panthers were expecting heading into last weekend. Before their demoralizing pair of road losses to Hamilton and Amherst, Middlebury was alone at the top of the league and needed just one win to secure at least the two seed. But after those losses, Middlebury sits in the fifth position and now has to go on the road to play a team to which they already lost. It was a perfect storm of bad news for the Panthers last weekend, and their road to a third straight NESCAC title is now the hardest one yet.

However, this is not an ideal matchup for Wesleyan either. The 13th ranked team in the country is a pretty steep task for the quarterfinals, no matter how badly they played the weekend before. Wesleyan lucked out schedule-wise in the last weekend, winning home games over Bowdoin and Colby to enter the gauntlet of 7-3 teams. This was by far the easiest weekend of any of the teams. And, although they beat the Panthers early in league play 80-70 (although it was closer than that score suggests,) they have been inconsistent this season, especially on offense. Their worst loss of the season came to Trinity, a 73-60 debacle that made plain all of Wesleyan’s flaws. Offensively, they rely on different players every night, and lack a consistent go-to scorer. Even Jordan Bonner ‘19 has proven himself to be shaky at times. When they lose, it is simply because they cannot score.

Jordan Bonner ’19 has been a go to scorer at times for the Cardinals, but he is very streaky.

Obviously, these problems are similar to those that Middlebury has faced all season. These teams are similar in style. Both teams rely on a very strong perimeter defense and dominating the boards, leading to turnovers by their opponent and second chance points that make up for inconsistent outside shooting. Last weekend, Middlebury’s offense wasn’t exactly the problem against Hamilton. They put up 83 points and were able to score in the paint pretty easily. Unfortunately, Hamilton’s outside shooting was too much for Middlebury. It’s difficult to match three pointers with two pointers. And then against Amherst, Middlebury couldn’t get anything going offensively, much like Wesleyan against Trinity. This should be a low scoring, defensive battle. Whichever team can grind out enough baskets will win.

Key Player for Middlebury: G Jack Farrell ‘21

jack Farrell ’21 (Courtesy of Middlebury College Athletics)

Farrell was a lone bright spot for Middlebury over the weekend. He drove the ball to the basket with incredible confidence, scoring 11 against Hamilton and a career high 22 the next night against Amherst. Farrell has started every game this season, and has proved himself to be a valuable secondary ball handler and defender. Coach Brown has used him, along with fellow first year Griffin Kornaker ‘21, to give Jack Daly ‘18 the occaisional rest. However, for much of the season neither has been a consistent enough scoring option to allow Daly to be off the floor for long. But Farrell changed that last weekend. When Farrell is scoring consistently, it means he is getting to the basket, as he is still not a great outside shooter. This draws defenses into the paint, and opens up outside shots and offensive rebounding chances for the Panthers. A strong performance from Farrell would also allow Daly to ease off the throttle a bit. Daly looked exhausted against Amherst, and was trying to do too much in order to make up for the struggles of his teammates. Middlebury needs better performances across the board on Friday, especially from Daly, but that doesn’t necessarily mean scoring. He needs to score efficiently, but Middlebury’s best possible offense features Daly setting everything up and others finishing. Farrell is one of those finishers.

Key Player for Wesleyan: F Jordan Sears ‘19

We gave Sears a little love in the Awards article, but he’s a dominant defender both on the perimeter and in the paint. He is the only player in the league in the top five in the league in steals and blocks, and Wesleyan’s defense (one of the best in the league) centers around his ability to guard all five positions. In fact, an apology may be in order for us not picking him for DPOY. Sears’ versatility will be even more important against Middlebury than it usually is for the Cardinals, because of how differently the Panthers are constituted now than they were when these teams first met. In that first game, the Panthers were trying to be a high octane, run and gun offense. It was one of Eric McCord’s first games back from injury, and the Panthers weren’t nearly as focused on owning the paint, preferring perimeter attacks. In essence, they played right into Wesleyan’s hands. Middlebury over the course of the season has shifted their focus to rebounding and scoring in the paint. Sears will be crucial in defending that area. Instead of using him on the perimeter, Wesleyan may put him on McCord or Adisa Majors ’18 to limit Middlebury’s post up game. Either way, Sears will be all over the court this game, and could be MVP without scoring a single basket.

Jordan Sears had 2 steals and 4 blocks last time these two teams met, including this one on Jack Daly.

X Factor: Offensive Rebounding

There are going to be a lot of missed shots in this game. Middlebury has struggled shooting the ball from three for so long that one can’t even really call it a “slump” anymore: that’s just how they shoot. And Wesleyan is very streaky from three as well, and has a tendency to settle for them when the rest of their offense isn’t flowing. A lot of missed shots lead to a lot of offensive rebounds. Middlebury has dominated the boards for much of the season, and had 21 offensive rebounds the first time these two teams met. Wesleyan had only 11, but of course, they also shot a much higher percentage from the field. These are two excellent defensive teams, so the ability to get easy layups on open jump shots off of offensive rebounds could turn the tide.

Final Thoughts:

In the first meeting between these two teams, Wesleyan shot 35 foul shots and Middlebury only shot 7. Needless to say, that isn’t a very sustainable way for Middlebury to play. And even more amazingly, Jack Daly was the only Panther to attempt a foul shot. That will change on Saturday. Eric McCord ’19 is a far larger part of Middlebury’s offense now, and the team as a whole is far more focused on attacking the rim. Middlebury has to even out those free throw numbers, as that was the difference in the last game.

As we’ve noted several times throughout this season, Middlebury struggles most against teams who attack the glass as ferociously as they do, and feature multiple three point threats. Middlebury likes to play an aggressive zone defense, allowing their pesky guards like Daly, Farrell and Griffin Kornaker ’21 to really pressure the ball and create turnovers. But as Hamilton proved, teams that can put three or four outside threats on the court at once can destroy that zone with quick passes to open threes. Wesleyan is certainly able to battle Middlebury on the glass; they are second in the league in rebounding differential (Middlebury is third.) But the Cardinals can’t space the floor like Hamilton can. Austin Hutcherson ’21 is a truly dangerous sharp shooter, hitting 41% of his threes on the year (although he was 2-14 over the weekend.) Jordan Bonner ’19 is at 36% but has struggled in league play, and Nathan Krill ’18 is at 39%. Those are Wesleyan’s only real three point threats, and Krill and Bonner are both notoriously streaky. Middlebury will be able to leave non shooters, such as Sears, Kevin O’ Brien ’19 and JR Bascom, to attack those shooters off of the catch, and that zone defense should be workable, since Wesleyan doesn’t bring shooters off the bench. Middlebury would obviously prefer to be a higher seed and play at home, but this is actually a pretty good matchup for them.

Kevin O’ Brien ’19 is the point of Wesleyan’s defense on Daly.

Speaking of O ‘Brien, he is still recovering from an illness that caused him to miss much of the NESCAC season. When he’s at 100%, he is crucial to Wesleyan’s success as a floor general (5.7 AST/G) and perimeter defender. However, he is not a great shooter to begin with, and his rust has made him even less of a scoring threat. He was a huge factor in guarding Jack Daly when these two teams first played, and if he is not 100%, the Panthers should be able to attack him on both offense and defense. They can stash a defender on him, and since he isn’t an outside threat, whoever that is, be it Farrell, Matt Folger ’20 or Hilal Dahleh ’19, will be free to double Bonner and Hutcherson and play free safety for blocks and steals. Wesleyan needs O’Brien, and they need him healthy.

This is a hard game to predict, because these two teams share a lot of the same strengths and weaknesses. Inconsistent scoring and three point shooting, strong rebounding and defense. Wesleyan is certainly coming into the game on a better note, but they had such an easy weekend that they might be feeling a little complacent, whereas Middlebury is most likely pretty ticked off. It shouldn’t be forgotten in the wake of Middlebury’s 0-2 finish to the year that for much of the season they were the clear best team in the league, and entered last weekend fifth in the entire country. Despite their struggles and Wesleyan’s defense, I think Middlebury makes use of this week off to hammer out some issues, and regains their championship level form, taking a low scoring battle in Middletown.

Writer’s Prediction: Middlebury 70-Wesleyan 65

Handin’ Out the Hardware: Men’s Basketball Regular Season Awards

What a weekend. In addition to throwing the rankings into chaos and making all of our predictions look really dumb, last weekend’s results ruined whatever certainties there were in the awards races. But, as I’m learning in this new, post college chapter, life is about making difficult choices when there isn’t a clear answer. So here are our picks for the major end of season awards. As always, we welcome argument and debate on Twitter, Facebook or email.

Player of the Year: Middlebury G Jack Daly ‘18

This is the race which was impacted most by last weekend’s games. Entering the weekend, Daly’s all around brilliance (top five in the league in points, rebounds, assists and steals) fully made up for his inconsistent shooting. He was by far the most important player on the top team in the league. But Daly’s flaws were exposed this weekend, as were Middlebury’s. After a solid game against Hamilton (15-9-6 on 5-11 shooting,) Amherst locked Daly up to the tune of 2-15 shooting with four turnovers. Everyone has bad games, but this was the biggest game of Middlebury’s season, and it came during the same weekend as star level performances from the other contenders. Kena Gilmour ‘20 had 29 against the Panthers and 22 against Williams. James Heskett ‘19 had 24 points against Hamilton in a huge win, and Bobby Casey ‘19 had 31 points against Hamilton, and nearly brought Williams back single-handedly against the Panthers during the regular season.

Jack Daly ’18 has been everything for Middlebury this season, and also we just connected on LinkedIn, so that’s pretty cool too.

However, I’m sure you can see that Daly is still our pick. Here’s the case. For all but one weekend, Daly was the best player on the best team in the league. He ran the offense, scored clutch buckets, guarded the opponent’s best player and sold hot dogs at the concession stand at halftime. He still leads the nation in assists per game at 8.5, and that is despite lacking even a consistent secondary scoring option. He deserves as much credit as any coaches for the improvement of Adisa Majors ‘18, Eric McCord ‘19 and Joey Leighton ‘20. And, honestly, this is a lifetime achievement award as well as a seasonal one. Daly was underrated for his whole career by nature of playing with Matt St. Amour and Jake Brown, to the point that he wasn’t selected to any all league teams last year (a travesty that many Middlebury fans still haven’t gotten over.) For the first time in his career, Daly struggled in a big moment, but that doesn’t erase a whole season. Either Gilmour and Heskett will get theirs, and maybe even both, but this has been Daly’s year all season.

Defensive Player of the Year: Middlebury F Matt Folger ‘20

Honestly the best thing about picking Folger is that it gives me an excuse to use this picture in another article.

I can already read the emails. “Pete picked two Midd players for the major awards, SHOCKER.” And like POY, this race is filled with strong contenders. Daly leads the league in steals, and Wesleyan has two very strong contenders. G Kevin O’ Brien ‘20 is a dangerous perimeter defender who uses his size and length to rack up blocks (.9 per game) and steals (1.7 per game.) And F Jordan Sears is a defensive anchor for the Cardinals in the paint. He is the only player in the top five in the league in both blocks and steals (1.5 and 1.7 respectively.) But O’Brien and Sears suffer from a similar problem to Casey and Heskett in the POY race: how do you put one over the other if their on the same team? They also suffer from the fact that Folger has been a monster. He is second in the league in blocks with 2.3 per game, and that is despite spending a lot of time guarding perimeter players. Folger is the key cog in what was an excellent Middlebury defense this season (Hamilton aside.) His ability to stay in front of smaller, quicker guards was central to the Panthers’ pick and roll defense, and he covered ground to block shots better than anyone in the league. O’ Brien and Colby’s Dean Weiner ’20 both missed time due to injury, and Folger’s dominance makes this an easy call. Bias be damned.

Coach of the Year: Williams’ Kevin App

Williams weathered a lot this season, and have Coach App to thank for their success.

Losing your best player, and maybe the best player in the league, six games into the season? There’s an App for that. Losing your fifth year senior point guard and floor general in the middle of league play? There’s an App for that. Inspiring such love within your players that one of them tells this writer that they’d “take a bullet for [Coach App?] There’s an App for that. Williams had to deal with incredible adversity this season. After losing Daniel Aronowitz in the offseason, it seemed that the team would simply refocus around Kyle Scadlock ’19, the frontrunner for POY. Then Scadlock tore his ACL early in the season. No one counted Williams out totally, but it was clear that they would need to make an adjustment. Coach App did so, inserting Bobby Casey ’19 into the starting lineup and giving much of Scadlock’s responsibilities to James Heskett ’19. We all know how those two choices worked out. Casey and Heskett are one and two in league scoring, and their success allowed Williams to weather even another huge loss: that of Mike Greenman ’18, their starting point guard. The fact that the Williams offense didn’t miss a beat after losing these two huge pieces is a testament to the skill of Casey and Heskett, but even more to App’s coaching ability.

Rookie of the Year: Wesleyan G Austin Hutcherson ’21 (11.7 PTS/G, 40% 3FG, 27.4 MIN/G)

Austin Hutcherson ’21 has been Wesleyan’s best scorer at times this season, and is a huge key for them heading into the playoffs.

For years, Wesleyan had been a team that was good enough defensively to beat anyone, but struggled to score. They were just some consistent perimeter scoring away from really contending. Enter Hutcherson. He exploded for 27 points in a non-league win over Brandeis on December 9th, and since then he has had two more 20 point games and averaged nearly 15 points per game. Despite struggling from three point land lately (2-14 in his last two games,) Hutcherson has proven himself over the course of this season to be the future of the league. There are other excellent first years who start for contending teams. Middlebury’s Jack Farrall has improved every game and had 22 against Amherst. And speaking of the Mammoth’s, Grant Robinson has done an incredible job stepping in as the point guard for a demanding program. But Hutcherson has made the biggest difference for his team.

All League First Team:

Middlebury G Jack Daly ‘18 (15.7 PTS/G, 8.3 REB/G, 8.5 AST/G, 1.8 STL/G)

Hamilton G Kena Gilmour ‘20 (17.4 PPG, 7.0 REB/G, 1.7 STL/G, 46.4 FG)

Williams G Bobby Casey ‘19 (16.1 PPG, 48% FG, 44.1% 3FG)

Tufts G/F Vincent Pace ‘18 (18.4 PPG, 8.2 REB/G, 2.7 AST/G)

Williams F James Heskett ‘19 (19.4 PPG, 3.9 REB/G, 52.6% FG, 45.6% 3FG)

All League Second Team:

Amherst G Johnny McCarthy ’18 (11.0 PTS/G, 7.8 REB/G, 2.9 AST/G, 1.1 STL/G)

Wesleyan G Jordan Bonner ’19 (15.6 PTS/G, 5.0 REB/G, 36.7 3FG)

Bowdoin F David Reynolds ’20 (15.8 PTS/G, 47.5% FG, 43.9% 3FG)

Hamilton F Michael Grassey ’19 (13.7 PPG, 6.7 REB/G, 50.7% FG, 42% 3FG)

Middlebury F Matt Folger ’20 (14.0 PTS/G, 7.1 REB/G, 2.3 BLK/G)

2017 NESCAC Championship Repeat? Power Rankings 2/1

While Pete was quick to point out my recent whiffs in predictions, he neglected to say how when I put Hamilton at the top of the power rankings two weeks ago, they were still undefeated and coming off of a win against a strong Wesleyan team. Did I account for the fact that Kevin O’Brien contracted an illness making him unable to play? No. They still had an undefeated record in mid-January, and despite their lack of credible opponents, I became a believer. I am not so certain anymore. Also, I talked about how Bates was a sneaky threat to compete against Wesleyan. After a big win against Tufts and some close games against other top teams, their arsenal of players had a shot to run the table. But I jinxed them. While my credibility is certainly in doubt at the moment, made clear thanks to some familial disloyalty on the website, here are this week’s rankings—Take ‘em or leave ‘em:

1. #6 Middlebury (16-3, 5-1)

Last Week: 87-81 W @ Trinity

This Week: vs. Bowdoin; vs. Colby

While Midd’s shooting has been a question as late as they are waiting for F Matt Folger ’20 to heat back up, Jack Daly ’18 has continued his dinking and dunking (not actual dunking) to grind out wins for the Panthers. While they lack a consistent outside shooting presence, Folger has shown signs of life of late in mid-week games, and Joey Leighton has been a diamond in the rough who came in as the player of the game against Williams a few weeks ago. This weekend provides a limited test in a Bowdoin team hot after knocking off the struggling continentals, followed by what should be a guaranteed win against Colby. They are hot and haven’t lost since the first conference weekend against Wesleyan and have earned this spot with quality wins and a reliable defense.

2. #13 Williams (16-4, 4-2)

Last Week: 75-58 W @ Trinity

This Week: vs. Colby; vs. Bowdoin

Following a valiant comeback effort against Middlebury two weeks ago, the Ephs took care of business against a struggling Trinity team—in more convincing fashion than the Panthers. James Heskett has emerged as a monster, valiantly replacing Kyle Scadlock, pitting him in the middle of the NESCAC POY race. He shot 12-15 against the Bantams, dropping 34 points to go along with four steals. He dominated the floor and made up for poor shooting from Bobby Casey (4-15 FG). Henry Feinberg stepped in for Mike Greenman (out with injury) in the starting lineup this week and played well in the wake of a solid bench performance against Middlebury. Williams now has a big and athletic lineup that has impressive depth. Look for them to continue winning if Heskett keeps shooting like Steph Curry.

James Heskett ’19 may be the frontrunner for POY.

3. #17 Wesleyan (16-4, 5-2)

Last Week: 60-52 W vs. Tufts, 68-50 W vs. Bates

This Week: @ Trinity

Losing Kevin O’Brien to an illness has surely hurt the Cardinals’ starting lineup recently, but should feature its PG again soon. Two easy wins against Tufts and Bates—unranked mid-tier NESCAC teams, but not exactly chumps—leave them with a spot alone in second place in the standings with just three games to go. Jordan Bonner is starting to find his shot again, and the trio of Nathan Krill, JR Bascom, and Jordan Sears have been putting around 25 points and 25 rebounds per game, a balanced and deep defensive and supportive scoring effort that leaves Wesleyan in a great spot with a light weekend against Trinity. Look for them to climb back up the rankings when they get O’Brien back.

4. Amherst (13-6, 4-2)

Last Week: 75-60 W vs. Bowdoin; 82-77 W @ Colby

This Week: @ Tufts; @ Bates

Amherst is starting to roll late in the regular season as they put up a nice undefeated weekend against a Bowdoin team that looked great against Hamilton. This team also blew Hamilton out. Four of their starters scored double-digit points against the Polar Bears, ending the night at a 50.8 FG%, enough to win against any team. They have now shot at 47% FG or higher in their last three NESCAC games, which shows that are hot and ready to take on the Jumbos and Bobcats this weekend. The Mammoths are slowly returning to their former form, led by Johnny McCarthy ‘18, Grant Robinson ’21, and Michael Riopel ’18. The young and the old are slowly leading this team towards the top of the rankings and standings. Watch out up top.

5. #21 Hamilton (17-2, 4-2)

Last Week: 76-67 W @ Colby OT; 68-72 L @ Bowdoin

This Week: @ Bates; @ Tufts

I would like apologize to Hamilton fans for putting the pressure of the #1 spot in the power rankings in their court. They couldn’t handle it. Back to back losses to Bowdoin and Amherst (75-49!) are showing that perhaps these continentals aren’t as strong as their record appears. I’m not discounting their body of work in its entirety—they are still ranked 21st in the nation. They were simply outplayed against Bowdoin, shooting 36.5% from the field compared to Bowdoin’s impressive 45.2% clip. They also went to OT vs. Colby which is much more of a red flag than either of their losses. Their star, Kena Gilmour, went just 6-20 in the game shooting and is 9-31 in his last two conference games, not exactly carrying the team to victory. Tim Doyle, Michael Grassey, and Peter Hoffmann all have the ability to put up big games though, making their starting five deadly when they get hot. Time for a gut check.

Tim Doyle and the Continentals are struggling heading into the home stretch of NESCAC play.

6. Bowdoin (14-5, 3-3)

Last Week: 72-68 W vs. Hamilton, 60-75 L vs. Amherst

This Week: @ Middlebury; @ Williams

After a big win against the Continentals and a loss against the suddenly scary Amherst team, these Polar Bears have a brutal away weekend ahead of them. They are firmly pitted in the middle of the NESCAC, likely to make the playoffs, but also likely to play their first postseason games on the road. The trio of Jack Simonds, David Reynolds, and Hugh O’Neil are dangerous and capable of going off enough to challenge these top teams in Middlebury and Williams. This could be a preview of one of the early or semifinal playoff games, giving us a peek into how much of a contender this Bowdoin team is.

7. Tufts (15-6 ,4-3)

Last Week: 52-60 L @ Wesleyan; 86-54 W @ Conn

This Week: vs. Amherst; vs. Hamilton

The Jumbos are struggling and are looking less like a championship capable team after several weekends of mediocrity. Their losses to Bates and Wesleyan drastically diminished their overall ranking and raises some serious concerns for this weekend against Amherst and Hamilton. They might lose both but need to at least split to have a shot at a home game in the first round. Their overall lack of scoring depth give them a bleak outlook against most of the top teams. Vincent Pace and Patrick Racy were the lone Jumbos to score over five points against Wesleyan, still only shooting 12-29 between them (decent, but not enough from the two top scorers). For this team to win close games, KJ Garrett is going to need to step up (1-9 shooting against Wesleyan).

Vincent Pace has been trying to keep Tufts afloat, although he was unable to do so in a crushing recent loss to Bates.

8. Bates (11-10, 3-4)

Last Week: 69-56 W @ Conn, 50-68 L @ Wesleyan

This Week: vs. Hamilton; vs. Amherst

I don’t have a whole lot of positive things to say about the Bobcats after falling flat against a Wesleyan team missing its starting PG. 19-57 shooting was not nearly enough to compete, combined with a complete lack of defense. Bates hauled in just 26 rebounds compared to 53 from Wesleyan and basically gave themselves no chance to win. Their two star players Jeff Spellman and James Mortimer shot just a combined 5-14 on the night. For Bates to have any chance to make a run at the playoffs, those two are going to need to make more of an impact.

9. Trinity (13-7, 2-4)

Last Week: 81-87 L vs. Middlebury; 58-75 L vs. Williams

This Week: vs. Wesleyan; @ Conn

While they had a strong performance against Middlebury, a big loss against Williams earlier in the weekend kind of took away any of the positives from the weekend. They couldn’t guard James Heskett and Eric Gendron was the only player with any ability to score (7-13, 18 points). Against Middlebury, although they were losing, they had a ridiculous 32 fouls, leaving the result of the game up to Jack Daly’s free throw shooting ability (he went 18-20 and iced the Bantams). They have a tough test this weekend and need to win against Wesleyan to prove they can compete (I would be shocked if they pulled it off).

10. Colby (10-10, 1-5)

Last Week: 67-76 L vs. Hamilton OT; 77-82 L vs. Amherst

This Week: @ Williams; @ Middlebury

Taking Hamilton to OT was a solid game for a team that has little hope to have a posteason. Sean Gilmore, Sam Jefferson, and Matt Hanna all scored over 15 points in the game and gave the Mules a chance to win. While these three didn’t put their squad over the edge, their youth in the starting lineup—two sophomores and two first years—bodes well for their future success. Maybe not this year, but next year, the Colby team’s stock should rise.

11. Conn College (6-14, 0-7)

Last Week: 69-56 L vs. Bates, 54-86 L vs. Tufts

This Week: @ Wesleyan; vs. Trinity

The good news is that if I don’t say anything good about the Camels, there is nothing for me to jinx. While they finally lost a NESCAC game by less than 15 points (they lost by 13 to Bates), they also had two starters score zero points in the matchup, putting all the pressure on Dan Draffan, Ben Bagnoli, and David Labossiere. A three on five matchup for a team without league leading stars is not a recipe for success.

The Rise of the Bobcats: Men’s Basketball Game of the Week Preview

Bates (9-9, 2-3) @ #14 Wesleyan (14-4, 3-2), 7:00 PM, Middletown, CT

Bates vs. Tufts was a worthy contender for game of the week, but due to Bates’ victory over the Jumbos last weekend, they are the team to beat for Wesleyan. Bates sits in ninth place in the standings, seemingly stuck in the abyss of basketball irrelevance. However, Tufts, who Bates beat 77-75, is sitting in third place at 3-2—only one game ahead of the Bobcats. Indeed, Bates is actually a huge wild card right now in terms of playoff seeding. They could spoil some better teams rankings, and if they can win this one and take down Trinity, they are assured of a playoff spot. This cramming of the standings shows the remarkable parity of the conference and how so much is left to chance with half of the regular season remaining. Not only are there solid teams sitting on the outside looking in, but there are perennial powers just one game out of the similar irrelevance that Bates is facing. This matchup puts power against bottom feeder, while the end result could completely flip the switch on their places in the standings, playoff potential, and power rankings.

Overview:

While Bates is only 2-3 in conference, they have already played Tufts, Midd, and Williams, with their only bad loss coming against Colby. Jeff Spellman ’20, Tom Coyne ’20, and Nick Lynch ’19 are all above average for the conference at their position and are threats on both sides of the ball against what has been an inconsistent Wesleyan team. Regardless of how their shooting accuracy has fluctuated recently, the Cardinals still have only lost to Williams in OT and #16 Hamilton. Therefore, they will compete independent of shooting struggles and can compete with any team in the nation, giving them a clear edge against a Bates team fighting to get into the conversation of relevance.

Wesleyan X-Factor: Passing Game

With O’ Brien out, role players like Elijah Wilson will be responsible for keeping the ball moving and keeping turnovers down against Bates.

Wesleyan is last in the NESCAC with just 14.6 assists per game, leading to a lower shooting percentage (45.9%) than their overall record would indicate. They have had some real duds in terms of ball distribution, like against Hamilton, where they recorded just seven assists on the night, no more than one for any player. The assist numbers were similar in their narrow win over Amherst, with just 10 total assists for the team. While not a clear indication of success, more assists should correlate to better possessions and better shots which should improve the shooting percentage and limit the unusual poor performances from the star players who get caught trying to do too much. Distribution has seen a steep decline since team leader Kevin O’Brien ’19 went down with an injury, taking away 6.5 assists per contest which are heavily missed of late. Jordan Sears ’18 has been taking his place in the starting lineup, putting up five assists in a blowout win over Conn College, but otherwise not having a similar impact to O’Brien. Sears and the first year stand out Austin Hutcherson (second on the team in assists with 2.2 per contest) are going to be the keys to keeping the ball away from Bates.

Bates X-Factor: G Tom Coyne ‘20

In their mid-season defining win against Tufts, Coyne came off the bench to shoot 4-5 from deep, tallying up those 12 points in just 21 minutes played. He electrified the Bobcats and will be a key piece to their performance against Wesleyan. While Jeff Spellman leads the team with 17.0 PPG, Coyne is second with 13.4 PPG. A recent move out of the starting lineup has taken a chunk out of his shot totals for game which rose as high as 20 in a non-conference game against Brandeis, but his sharp-shooting is still one of the biggest parts of the Bobcats’ success. His accuracy will be the biggest unknown of the game as he will be needed for Bates, ranked ninth in the conference in PPG at 73.3 to keep up with Wesleyan’s diverse scoring arsenal. This underdog team is also ranked 10th in 3PT shooting percentage at 32.1%, in line with Coyne’s season average, and if he didn’t shoot well above that against the Jumbos, his team would be sitting at 1-4 overall in NESCAC play. Although he moved to the bench, he still has a large stake in influencing the outcome of the game and he will need to be ready to go for the 9th place team to have a shot to win.

Final Thoughts:

Last time I previewed one of Wesleyan’s games, I highlighted Jordan Bonner’s downturn in scoring efficiency. Since then (right before their 76-70 loss to Hamilton), he has decreased his shooting attempts per game, handing more to Nathan Krill and Austin Hutcherson. While Krill and Hutcherson have both been excelling recently, combining for 33 points and 13 boards against Amherst two weekends ago, they shot poorly against Hamilton, going 5-22 combined. That weekend was the last time the Cardinals played a solid team as they easily rolled over Conn College last weekend and dominated in their non-conference games. In a game where Bates’ leading scorer Spellman could take over the scoreboard, the trio of Bonner, Krill, and Hutcherson will need to be on their A-game from the field.

Bates should be greedy to attack another top-dawg in the NESCAC after falling in the week’s Power Rankings from eighth on 1/17 to ninth after their upset of Tufts. While most of the stuff Pete writes is controversial in some way, it is hard for me to see how a team goes down after beating a team ranked above them (Editor’s Note: Rude.) Nevertheless, this is another chance for the Bobcats to prove their haters wrong with Spellman and Nick Lynch leading the way in scoring and on defense. Lynch, like Coyne, has a huge responsibility, albeit Lynch’s on defense. Lynch leads the Bates team with 8.5 boards per game with Coyne coming in behind him with just 4.2 rebounds per game. Lynch will need to matchup against Wesleyan’s Nathan Krill who hauls in over nine boards of his own. The two 6’7” bigs will be another marquee matchup in this already loaded contest. Bates is not expected to win and needs to do everything right as they did against Tufts and then some to pull it out, but if they do they immediately become a real threat to other top NESCAC teams.

Writer’s Pick: Wesleyan 77-71