In the fall of 2002, Elizabeth Boeheim, now a freshman at Colby College in Maine, visited Williams College in Massachusetts with her father in search for a school. During their time in Williamstown, Syracuse men’s basketball head coach Jim Boeheim stopped to catch up with Williams basketball head coach Dave Paulsen.

‘We were sitting in my office and (Boeheim) said, ‘We’re going to be pretty good this season,” Paulsen said. ‘I thought we would be good too.’

At the time, neither knew the success that would become of their teams.

Paulsen, who coached for three years at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, led the Ephs (a purple cow named after Colonel Ephraim Williams) to a 31-1 record and the first Division III title for a New England team.

Many D-III players are smaller or not as athletic as D-I players, but even after the extreme difference in talent, it’s still basketball after all.

‘The game is the same, we just play a foot under the hoop,’ Paulsen said. ‘D-III is a little more of a skill game.’

D-III schools do not give out athletic scholarships. Instead, NESCAC (New England Small College Athletic Conference) schools are allowed 66 athletic ‘tips’ per class. ‘Tips’ are special exceptions to regular admissions requirements that allow coaches to designate athletes to enter the college without going through regular academic review.

But with those 66 admissions spread over 31 varsity teams, the benefits are minimum with little damage to overall academic ranking. With so few ‘tips’ to go around, the majority of Williams’ athletes must get admitted to the school on their own merit.

Williams is famous throughout the country for the way it combines intellectual prowess with athletic success. Both Williams’ Rhodes Scholars in the senior class this year are varsity athletes.

Sports Illustrated named Williams the best D-III sports college in America in 2002. Williams has tied for first in academic reputation in U.S. News & World Report for 13 consecutive years. The average SAT score of students admitted to Williams is near 1500, and 38% of students play varsity sports.

Despite losing all-star seniors Drew Demuth and Tim Folan, Williams has proven its skills this season, continuing the nation’s longest win streak at 28 games until last week when it lost to rival Amherst, 62-78. Demuth now plays professionally in Germany for Bayer Uerdingen.

‘It’s a completely different team this year,’ senior co-captain Ben Coffin said. ‘I think we still have all the tools to make another national championship run.’

The Ephs current 11-1 record includes a 78-71 road victory over D-I defending Patriot League champion Holy Cross, a team that has made the past three NCAA tournaments.

‘Some of our players could definitely play for some D-I teams,’ Paulsen said. ‘They play from freshman year and develop so they are better than a guy from a Canisius with maybe more talent who sits on the bench for two years.’

Coffin, a proven threat inside the paint, has helped Williams’ 3-point shooters get open consistently this season. Against Holy Cross, he had 19 points on seven of nine shooting and eight rebounds.

‘If we played Holy Cross 10 times, we would beat them three,’ Paulsen said. ‘I would guess we wouldn’t shoot that well from 3-point range, we are a little too reliant on it. That night we just played a 10 out of 10.’

Against the Crusaders, Williams shot 52% from outside and senior co-captain Michael Crotty scored a game high 23 points including six 3s.

‘A lot of people give us a No. 1 ranking but we really don’t consider that,’ Crotty said. ‘We feel very confident to win every game on our schedule but we’re just trying to make the Final Four again.’

The Ephs lone loss this season was to their archrival in both athletics and academics, Amherst College. It may serve as an important wakeup call. Last season after losing to Amherst, Williams went undefeated in the season and the postseason tournaments.

Because D-III schools are not allowed to have mandatory offseason workouts, Williams’ athletes must balance their rigorous academic workload with conditioning and practice.

‘We have a blue collar approach,’ Paulsen said. ‘We’re not going to try to defend our national championship; we’re going to try to get another one. We’ve had a bull’s-eye on our back but now the bull’s-eye is a heck of a lot larger.’

Soaring Hawks

Everyone knew St. Joseph’s would compete for the Atlantic 10 conference title this year. But few people outside the program knew the Hawks would be this good.

The Hawks entered Wednesday night’s game against conference opponent Fordham with a perfect 13-0 record on the back of National Player of the Year candidate Jameer Nelson.

That’s why after St. Joe’s opened the game on a 31-9 run, Nelson decided to let backup point guard Dwayne Lee play the remainder of the game. Averaging more than 20 points and five assists per game, Nelson’s efforts have placed him No. 2 on the Hawks all-time scoring list and in the spotlight of NBA scouts.

‘If you want to win, you certainly want him on your team,’ Richmond head coach Jerry Wainwright said. ‘When you look point guard up in the dictionary, you see him. He starts on any team in the U.S.’

St. Joseph’s went on to crush Fordham, 79-35, for its 14th win of the season. After being ranked No. 13 in the AP preseason poll, the Hawks have climbed to No. 6 and have established themselves as a national force.

Because its diminutive starting five – it plays four guards and a center – St. Joe’s emphasizes creating points off of turnovers. But with only one true big man in the lineup, its frontcourt may play a factor in how far it goes in the NCAA tournament.

‘They haven’t had to worry about rebounds thus far,’ Wainwright said. ‘Nelson and Delonte West may be the best backcourt in the country. They really spread the floor well.’

Nelson has helped his teammates, including West, get involved in the offense. West is No. 5 in the Atlantic 10 in scoring, averaging 17.4 points per game this season.

Said Nelson: ‘I’m smiling a lot, having fun, but always trying to win.’

Player of the Week – Sean May

sophomore, North Carolina

Last season after Sean May helped the Tar Heels to win the preseason NIT, a broken foot destroyed all hopes for a successful season.

Back and better than ever, the 6-foot-8 sensation dominated this week for a promising young UNC team. On Sunday night, May paced the Tar Heels with 28 points and eight rebounds in an upset win over No. 8 Georgia Tech. The win moved them to No. 9 in the AP Poll with a 10-2 record.

‘If we want to be known for something it has got to be our defense,’ May said. ‘We have to play like that the rest of the way out. For us to beat good teams we have to play good defense. We beat a real good team tonight because we played hard on the defensive end.’

May’s efforts against the Yellow Jackets and his 23-point, 16-rebound night against Miami last Wednesday earned him ACC Player of the Week honors.

Published on January 14, 2004 at 12:00 pm