'Out of the frying pan... into the zone'

      'TheBoys' were involved in what the talking heads at espn would have dubbed an instant classic on Tuesday night. Unfortunately for the PepinFaithful, fingernails chewed down to the quick led the lamaze sessions offered, by about the same margin that the LordJeffNation held after triple OT on Toomey's long 3-ball. The Workman play makes espn highlights, thanks, but given that we sort of just saw it vs. Wesleyan last month- I don't need to see it again. How it happened is the more bothersome issue- maybe we're just slow learners in this area. This is no time for head-hanging, it was a helluva game, and everybody left it all on the floor. But there are no ties, so TheBoys move on, now to one of the most dangerous spots of the season.

      Wesleyan is in town for the nescac quarters today. And mostly everyone will be blatting up how we just survived in OT last time. And the nervous will be atwitter. To me that's like looking up from the bottom of the glass, trying to judge how full it is. True, it was a 'closie', but if you take it from Wesleyan's perspective, and knowing, that from the 5:57 mark they shot 8 -12 from the floor and 7-8 from the line, including Shasha's magical miss which fell just right, it still wasn't enough. That has to cause serious concern, and from our perspective, it is difficult to see how they can improve on that near storybook ending. TheBoys' job today is to dispel any Cardinal thoughts of repeat possibilities by taking it to them early and not allowing them to take the crowd out of the game as happened much of the first half last time.

      Two threads can start to sew up the 'W'. Both are critical and one can feed off the other. If we start in a zone it puts Shasha in a position where he really can't drive it to the hole, and makes Wesleyan rely on their perimeter game. (Actually it might be better from a confusion standpoint to let NolanT. start on him and play a box and one. Have not seen one of those in years but it would be a very cool option. Whether JeffB. would consider such a bizarre look in a big game might depend on having enough time to put it in. So let's presume a more normal zone look.) Having seen them a bunch this year, this is not a strong point for them. They either don't swing the ball quickly enough, or because of the size limitations, Shasha and Beresford can't see over the top to cross it. One of the keys in this scenario, is that it takes Callaghan away from the inside, and it should demonstrate that since over the course of the season they haven't had an answer from 3-land to break a zone, they won't have on e today. (e.g. Williams used it in a 22-0 run on them earlier.) Occasionally Galvin will make the trey but he's not a guy who's going to beat you. Jumpers, and Callaghan on the outside, lead more to long RB's which our G's can pick off. That triggers a higher tempo game that takes advantage of our passing in the open floor. What it also does most importantly is turn up the frustration level for Shasha, because he will keep pounding it, looking for his opening, and gets them farther down into the possession clock every trip. The result should be evident early in the second half.

      The danger is close to the surface. The gaudy record, the national rankings are in jeopardy, as is an ncaa bid. TheBoys - veterans in the post-seasons recently, know it as well and will perform at their optimum, which means they can play as well as Amherst- who I've thought all year is a Final Four team. And which makes us pretty damn close to one. Despite what happened last time, earning the 'W' is absolutely critical to locking in an ncaa bid, and the view from here is that on the lead, we have the G. trio to control the last eight minutes, and should be able to down the stretch, where we have pretty much excelled. It makes for great theater, and unless you suffer from the near-sightedness of the 'new normal' makes you realize just how precarious, and difficult it is to survive at these high altitudes of the d3 world.

      NolanT. should be the player of the year in the nescac. Although honors like that usually never go to guys who've earned most of their accolades on the defensive side of the ball, he's been a big and important factor on offense as well, and on balance the biggest impact player night-in-and-night-out in the league.

      And remember: "down 'The Alibi' stairs, off J.Gerald's ChuckTaylors, over Matt's announcer's chair, and past Hixon's barking in the silence, nothin' but net!" Be well. Clubbo.