The Panther Express is rollin' again. After earning accolades for their performances against 'Your-sinuses' whose Bigs did give us a major headache, and Lebanon Valley who had a kid throw a 30 point night, which usually is a knockout punch on its own, 'TheBoys' survived, and controlled him (one trey in the last 14:18) and the game late. Off to Plattsburgh for another roader, they trailed 26-35 while those with the prepaid lamaze cards were breathing rhythmically (but quickly), then TheBoys closed them down from the time it was 49-all with eight minutes to go. Three things triggered this finish, only 3 turnovers in that span, Lynch coming through in a decisive way with ten big points down this stretch, and the fact that they knocked down 11 of 14 from the line to close Platts out. So at five and oh, there is more than a possibility that Midd ought to head into the holiday break at 8-0. Sure there's a trip to Providence on Sunday, but Johnson and Wales doesn't appear to have the firepower of the their past two squads, with the nation's leading scorer (Lamonte Thomas) having graduated. Add in that J&W has a roader at Rivier (in New Hampshire) on Saturday, and our legs may be the fresher than being on the end of a back-to back. Johnson St. at Pepin should give everybody the opportunity to show game talent, and finally we've got Skidmore before the exam-holiday break. Skids will require a top effort as they've got some of the firepower that earned them an ncaa bid last year, to go along with a solid 'Big' in Conor Merrill who registered with 26 against d1 Siena in an exhibition game. Recent Midd-Skids encounters have been rough and tumble affairs and they're not at all awed by a trip to Pepin, so it will be a test.
What we've seen so far is that the guard rotation of Nolan T., Joey Kizel and Jake Wolfin is as good as we thought. Scary good. Nolan earned MVP for his effort at Lebanon Valley, and this trio has controlled the tough games so far with their cohesion, foul shooting, and defense, especially late, and that ability has anchored the 5-0 start. Up front, we have been searching a little bit, but it looks like the Bigs are starting to find themselves. Lynch is demonstrating that he can be a down low force on 'O', and carry that through to crunch time. My take is that he still has upside as his confidence grows. Important to see LongJack have a statement game the other night, even against an overmatched opponent. Think he might have needed that mentally. Still a work in progress, every game is a step forward for him, and a positive addition that is needed every night. Jensen's play has been strong early on both ends, and his intensity is infectious. Nate Bulluck has made good contributions in his limited minutes, and the feeling is that if he continues on this positive path his athleticism will add to those minutes. Still it's tough to crack the best G. rotation in the country. Dylan Sinnickson, he of the "smooooth" jumper, broke his arm and is on the mend, although he won't be back to mid-January at best, so that is a negative. But like the old proverb says, when one door closes another one opens, so enter Hunter Merryman, who has provided 'instant offense' off the bench, with a solid 3-ball, for double digits every game. Gotta like that. And maybe he's the "dial-up" jump shooter that has been absent from our arsenal the last couple of seasons. Still waiting for Churchill to emerge from the shadows of his bout with mono, and think that he might get some decent minutes in the next 3 games.
So before this opening act which is the pre-conference schedule is over, what have we learned, about us and about the northeast region in particular. My take, having only seen TheBoys 'run' in preseason but bolstered by 3 decent-to-tough road W's, is that this year's edition is better than pretty good, and the national ranking stays intact till the nescac tips off. Have seen part of the nescac already and am fairly sure of two things. First, Wesleyan is not at the level they were at last year. Too much Shasha with the ball means they have regressed, and makes them easier to defend. Plus they don't yet have a bail out shooter because Mendell graduated. Unless those problems are solved, nescac hosting will remain at a more traditional site. Secondly, Williams will be better than last time around. Liked their team 'D', but they have no flash and must run their offense to death- which they did - to get good shots. Hoffman gives them adequate backup for Mayer, and they're getting good contributions from Epley, Klemm and Wohl, a running mate of Merryman's. They have the advantage of home cooking in key nescac matchups. Amherst has new pieces to go with Toomey and Workman, but gets their first test vs. Springfield tonight. Tufts has been in and out but don't judge them just by their record. They had the lead on Ill.Wesleyan (#7) last night with five minutes left and couldn't close the deal. Think they'll be a big road test in January. Don't know which Trinity we'll see, because of the turmoil that surrounds the program. Six kids, and counting, have left the team in the last two years. Elsewhere, MIT without Hollingsworth (major foot surgery) and Karraker, (knee), is a good team but not the powerhouse I'd envisioned. The newmac will be tough for them. WPI, is solid, and Springfield is improving. The Little East has two good teams in RIC, terrific 'D', and very well coached, and Keene St. who we already know about. Possible that UMass-Boston adds to the mix, but it looks like EasternConn is weaker, and WesConn now in a down year. Enough details for now, The Boys should be able to take care of business at hand and be ready to pull into the break with a win over Skidmore. Getting to eight and oh is better than pretty good, although many fans along the Otter Creek expect this, the "new normal". Be well. And remember, "off 'The Pine Room' keg, down The Alibi stairs, past the burned out DKE house, over Albert's laundry basket, nothin' but net!" Clubbo.
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