After 46 seasons, getting the trip to Salem was enough to make many of us simply savor the moment. Think of it this way, 399 teams (in D3) were already home gearing up for their 'spring tod' leagues. The level of 'chatter' leading up to Friday was bursting with excitement and pride. And many alums showed up to support The Boys, as well as their parents, and diehard MiddKids who made the trip. Plenty of thoughts on what might've been in the Final Four. The 'Tommies' gave 'The Boys' fits all night, and our 'O' looked like it, but The Boys hung in, rallied back twice in the second half got a lead of 52-45 with 5:40 left but couldn't close them out.
That was due to a confluence of factors. Jake was in deep foul trouble which strained our G. rotation; as a team, our FT shooting was awful (at 12-23); St. Thomas didn't miss a shot (4-4 floor, 8-8 FT's) the last five minutes; and overall it was not a good performance by the officials, disappointing in a big spot. They were either inconsistent, anticipatory or simply wrong. My take is the players deserved better. Still with all this, after they could've folded, Nolan T. drained a late '3', and then with 16 ticks left, down a bucket, our 'D' and Jamal came up with a giant steal to give us a last chance. Out of the timeout, the Tommies denied Ryan Sharry getting the ball, and Nolan's last shot heroics came up a hair short. Lost in the post-game analysis was the fact that St. Thomas made a key change when Hannon, (their main 'Big') fouled out. They put Ervin, much shorter, but an A-A linebacker on Sharry, and his strength and lower center of gravity kept Ryan from backing down, and definitely influenced the final sequence.
Although the disappointment in the building matched the moment, there isn't a reason in the cosmos not to celebrate the season that 'These Boys' had. They played hard and well from the tip against Baruch. They cut down the nets in Williams' building and took the NESCAC (which had three in the Elite Eight), and reprised that in Rochester by advancing the Final Four. At 28 and 2, it was, and is, time to celebrate the best team in Midd BBall history. It was the best of 'rides', and the seniors should look back at their four years as creating a new reality for the school and our program.
Plaudits go out everywhere. From the top down JeffB. has fostered an atmosphere of success through team contribution. The 'we' before the 'me'. It is demonstrated regularly in his one game at a time attitude and preparation, and it filters down through Arlen, Russ and Ashton (his assistants) to The Boys. And it seems to be not only in the guys who take the bulk of the minutes, but all the way down the bench to those who work hard in practice everyday, with little recognition, beyond that of their coaches and teammates. I am certain that when they look back they'll realize how high their accomplishment has raised the bar. Midd is now in the 'national' discussion. It is my thought that being in that position might well reap some benfits. And I would like to think that we can maintain this high level of performance, teamwork and excellence. Although our seniors represent a substantial loss there won't be a drop off in talent or commitment with the likes of Ryan S. (named to two A-A teams), Jake, Nolan, and Joey in the forefront. They're supported by Peter Lynch, Luis, Winslow, and Jensen, Carl Gayle and C.J. to name just a few. The question becomes how much they will develop and how they will mesh. And I haven't gone all the way down the list. Nor have I considered who's in the pipeline. But knowing 'The Boys' a little, it seems that they will treat the future as unfinished business, and that 'another day will bring another destiny.'
The Panther Express has been pulled onto a spur to await next season's journey. Thanks to everybody who supported our run and made it a possibility. I'd like to remind everyone out there that if you have any comments or thoughts you can post them here. Entering the off season the blog won't be up on a weekly/regular basis, but will post any news or developments regarding the team or the program as it arises. If I get really bored maybe I'll stir up some gossip, and see if that flies. This is the time of year when I feel like Al Pacino's character, Col. Frank Slade, in 'Scent of A Woman', who at the end of his adventure, quietly trudges up his driveway and goes into his house. Anti-climactic at its best.
From Downtown Salem, where I suspended my discussion with the local constabulary over the open container rule, and told them that when I'm in town next year we'll take it up again. Be well. Clubbo.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
'down the Blue Ridge, to get the nets..'
The great oxymoron is no more. MiddBball and 'Final Four' belong in the same sentence. 'The Boys' came through with two enormous efforts on the road, and now The Panther Express has so many clamoring for the ride that we may have to add extra cars! The 'D' was awesome, a mini-block party led by Locke, Ryan S. and Jamal. And two opposing offenses that were clicking at 80 ppg and up, just clunked along barely getting to the 50's. Early on both games looked troublesome, but the simple fact was, that although the 'O' was underperforming, in neither game by halftime did we look like we were in trouble. Rochester had come back to earth, and St. Mary's 23-13 lead, 14 minutes in, had evaporated. And once in front, like the best of thoroughbreds, we simply knew we had them measured and acted like it. Nolan T. showed plenty once he had enough minutes to see his target face to face, and Joey Kizel, who rarely has played like a frosh, continued to impress. The biggest news is that, I think Jake turned an important corner in the final. Since the ball is in his hands so frequently, his floor decisions, passing and shot selection are critical. He made the most of them and his wrap-around dribble off the steal, and left handed pass to a flying Ryan Wholey, who just floated it home for the Locke slam (dunk you very much!) would be in the year's highlight video (if we had one).
Sharry was double tough even though saddled with foul issues in the final. Ryan W.'s defense on the perimeter continued to take away firepower from attacks that need the 3's. Jamal exploded when necessary and gave us some stability when we came back on St.M.'s. But the big story was 'TheBigFella'. Andrew credited with 6 blocks in the final, had several more, and the 'alters' were equally impressive. For even these top teams, seeing him for the first time up close and personal, requires serious adjustments, particularly when he's got his 'Locke-ness Monster' face on.
Obviously only powerhouses are left, with the strength of the NESCAC on display in the E-8 with three teams still alive. To get to the Williams-Wooster winner, The Boys have got to climb Mt. 'Tommie'. Minneapolis, a little too far for my four wheeler, so no eyeball on them, but they're a senior laden bunch, who've had no injuries all season (same 5 has started all 31), and shoot the 3 better than anybody in the country (at .389). Additionally they've got 6-9 and 6-8 up front, and Nicolai, their top gun, was a D1 transfer. So we've got to defend, and that is what The Boys do best. Also like that Nolan T. has a size advantage on Nicolai (who's 5-11). And while the Tommies shoot a lot of 3's, they give it up at over 45%, which ought to help our 'O' considerably. One hidden aspect in their record is that there was a point not long ago, where they had problems closing people out. That might be to our benefit. I have no reason to think they're not do-able so we can move on to Saturday.
If that brings Wooster, right now my comment is the same as Sgt. Schultz's would be ("I know, nothing!"), but we'll get to see them against Williams. And if it's Williams you all know where we stand on that one. Not a better team to beat for the title.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
'semi-Sweet Sixteen...'
Time to give the conductor your ticket and get on The Panther Express to Yellow-Jacket Land, the site where this long and incredible first saw daylight four seasons ago. Back then we were ecstatic for The Boys just getting Midd's name on TheBigDanceCard. They were likewise, proud. You know the history since then. Hardwood excellence, national recognition, rewarded every time. Except by the NCAA. And now to the semi-Sweet Sixteen. Gotten beyond my anti-bureaucracy rant (it took a couple of days), fully focused on Rochester, manana, and moving on to the Elite Eight. With JeffB's preparation, know The Boys are as well, and with a chip on their collective shoulder to boot. Clear that Pepin and the roar of the Panther faithful, will be missed, but this is a group that has been rock solid on the road most of the last two years so see no reason for hand-wringing. And the 'D' , Midd's signature, has shown up every night, usually from the tip.
With Nolan T. on DiBartolomeo (their triggerman and UAA, POTY) my take is that this kid is in for a tough night. Add in Jake and Joey K. to keep tabs on Labanski, one their main bombers from the arc and we should be able to dictate tempo from the 'D' side. Although I haven't seen them, did see MIT at the end of last season, and if MIT could give them fits, then The Boys fit the bill better. Bigger-by a bunch on the inside, deeper (we got great minutes out of Luis Alvarez on Brooks who only rang up 11 vs. his season avg. of 23+), and with 'O' that MIT didn't have, I'd say they are do-able.
Although home, the Yellow-Jackets fan base is on spring break, as it was in '08, when the crowd wasn't much of a factor. Add that 'TheBigFella', Jamal, & Ryan W. were in this building as frosh. They got beat then, but never folded. Now they are better armed (add 'The Horse'), more balanced, with added incentive (probably pissed at no-Pepin) to prove this is our year. That should be enough to get us to St. Mary's or Buffalo St.. Without having seen either, think that St. M.'s the favorite here, with a bigger frontline and more tourney experience. St. M's obviously good, but mortal on the road (9and5), while this group of seniors was 16-2 on nescac road over 4 years. So if it's the 'SeaTurtles' so be it. Buffalo edged Plattsburgh in their tourney, but had lost twice in regular season, and only squeaked by Colby-Sawyer. That alone is enough for me to root for the Buffalo 'Wings'. One advantage is that Midd gets to eyeball them on Friday.
All that having been said, feel 'TheBigFella' is on the edge of a breakout game, maybe because it was here that he first showed the moxie that has made him the premier 'Big' on 'D' in the country. And otherwise we are fully primed. You have to think that road, or not The Panther Express should keep rollin'. Hope you can get there, but it'll be on a webcast. Regardless of the outcome, it's been Midd's greatest season, and although not predicted back then, was the reason that J. Gerald had 'N.I.T.'73' on his plates. Because he believed. All the sweat and efforts of many backing Midd Bball, often in unseen ways, will be on display in Rochester. All we can say to The Boys is ''go get 'em and leave it all on the floor". They're very good at that. From Downtown, where I wish there were 3's back-when, be well. #44.
With Nolan T. on DiBartolomeo (their triggerman and UAA, POTY) my take is that this kid is in for a tough night. Add in Jake and Joey K. to keep tabs on Labanski, one their main bombers from the arc and we should be able to dictate tempo from the 'D' side. Although I haven't seen them, did see MIT at the end of last season, and if MIT could give them fits, then The Boys fit the bill better. Bigger-by a bunch on the inside, deeper (we got great minutes out of Luis Alvarez on Brooks who only rang up 11 vs. his season avg. of 23+), and with 'O' that MIT didn't have, I'd say they are do-able.
Although home, the Yellow-Jackets fan base is on spring break, as it was in '08, when the crowd wasn't much of a factor. Add that 'TheBigFella', Jamal, & Ryan W. were in this building as frosh. They got beat then, but never folded. Now they are better armed (add 'The Horse'), more balanced, with added incentive (probably pissed at no-Pepin) to prove this is our year. That should be enough to get us to St. Mary's or Buffalo St.. Without having seen either, think that St. M.'s the favorite here, with a bigger frontline and more tourney experience. St. M's obviously good, but mortal on the road (9and5), while this group of seniors was 16-2 on nescac road over 4 years. So if it's the 'SeaTurtles' so be it. Buffalo edged Plattsburgh in their tourney, but had lost twice in regular season, and only squeaked by Colby-Sawyer. That alone is enough for me to root for the Buffalo 'Wings'. One advantage is that Midd gets to eyeball them on Friday.
All that having been said, feel 'TheBigFella' is on the edge of a breakout game, maybe because it was here that he first showed the moxie that has made him the premier 'Big' on 'D' in the country. And otherwise we are fully primed. You have to think that road, or not The Panther Express should keep rollin'. Hope you can get there, but it'll be on a webcast. Regardless of the outcome, it's been Midd's greatest season, and although not predicted back then, was the reason that J. Gerald had 'N.I.T.'73' on his plates. Because he believed. All the sweat and efforts of many backing Midd Bball, often in unseen ways, will be on display in Rochester. All we can say to The Boys is ''go get 'em and leave it all on the floor". They're very good at that. From Downtown, where I wish there were 3's back-when, be well. #44.
Monday, March 7, 2011
of by-laws and hosings...
In case you missed my fireworks last night with Dave McHugh of 'Hoopsvillle' on d3hoops The Boys aren't hosting, so off to Rochester to win the Final Four bid is where we'll be toasting. More on the matchup with home standing Rochester in a couple of days. The Committee who created our bracket like it was a giant trapezoid laid the foundation for this fiasco. There were several permutations that could've had schools outside the magic 500 mile statutory limit. But there was only St. Mary's (whose campus is 538 miles, according to google, from The Otter Creek brewery, and only slightly farther to Pepin) that brought into play 'By-law#31'. The essence of that By-law is that geography trumps ranking and if a team is caused to travel more than 500 miles, it must get flown to the site by the NCAA. I offered to pay for the extra diesel fuel so the St.Mary's bus wouldn't run out on the north side of Rutland, but the bean-counters at the NCAA would have none of it. So pointing out that Whitworth has to fly (Spokane is 2000+ miles from their site, and always gets hosed because they're too far away and can't host a sectional, and also that Mary-Hardon-Baylor has to fly (Texas is 1200 miles to northern Illinois), the NCAA says they have limited resources to pay for a flight from Reagan to Burlington, so The Panther Express has to go on the road. That is The Boys reward for cutting down the nets in Williamstown. And one can see why the NCAA had to rent an extra hose, or two, from the Middlebury F.D. to get The Boys out of Pepin.
This doesn't take into account that the NCAA gets the lion's share of the gate. Which I'd peg at somewhere north of $5000., if it were at Pepin, and ought to cover St. Mary's jet fuel costs. But no, the bureaucracy (I hate bureaucracies) overrode The Committee, and Rochester, probably a 6 or 7 seed if you look at the brackets, gets to host in the round of 16. Fair, it isn't. You may have heard that in d3 there is no seeding, but look at who hosted and you'll see that with the exception of Cabrini or Ramapo, no hosts had more than 3L's on their ledgers. The hosts were all the d3-powerteams, and my thought is that 7 of the 8 top-seeds got to the Sweet Sixteen.
While Midd, the nescac winner goes on the road, Williams stays smugly on Spring Street. But enough of the rant. The positives are that 'The Boys' rely on one of the stingiest 'D's' in the land, have great RB'ing, and they were in that building four seasons ago when we started this run. Add that Rochester's home edge may be dulled because they're on spring break (and when we were last there the place wasn't full or rabid), plus the fact that it's a palestra, which contributes to further nullifying the crowd's impact. Although The Road is the great equalizer, we've handled it, and it's not going to be like being at Williams. So we're not Custer going on the road to The Little Bighorn, or TheLightBrigade wondering about the Valley of Death. I'm pretty sure it's do-able and we'll know before tip whether we're getting the BuffaloState 'Wings' or the St. Mary's 'Sea Turtles' for the main course, so it ought to be fun. From Downtown, where I can just about see the sign for I-81 south that takes us to Salem. Be well. Clubbo.
This doesn't take into account that the NCAA gets the lion's share of the gate. Which I'd peg at somewhere north of $5000., if it were at Pepin, and ought to cover St. Mary's jet fuel costs. But no, the bureaucracy (I hate bureaucracies) overrode The Committee, and Rochester, probably a 6 or 7 seed if you look at the brackets, gets to host in the round of 16. Fair, it isn't. You may have heard that in d3 there is no seeding, but look at who hosted and you'll see that with the exception of Cabrini or Ramapo, no hosts had more than 3L's on their ledgers. The hosts were all the d3-powerteams, and my thought is that 7 of the 8 top-seeds got to the Sweet Sixteen.
While Midd, the nescac winner goes on the road, Williams stays smugly on Spring Street. But enough of the rant. The positives are that 'The Boys' rely on one of the stingiest 'D's' in the land, have great RB'ing, and they were in that building four seasons ago when we started this run. Add that Rochester's home edge may be dulled because they're on spring break (and when we were last there the place wasn't full or rabid), plus the fact that it's a palestra, which contributes to further nullifying the crowd's impact. Although The Road is the great equalizer, we've handled it, and it's not going to be like being at Williams. So we're not Custer going on the road to The Little Bighorn, or TheLightBrigade wondering about the Valley of Death. I'm pretty sure it's do-able and we'll know before tip whether we're getting the BuffaloState 'Wings' or the St. Mary's 'Sea Turtles' for the main course, so it ought to be fun. From Downtown, where I can just about see the sign for I-81 south that takes us to Salem. Be well. Clubbo.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
'the second season...dancin' again..'
When you're in the 'second season' (playoffs and beyond) there's no room for error. It is 'win or go home'. And it's not for non-believers or the faint of heart, although The Boys tested everyone's (and their own) resolve with an awful 1st half against Meehan & Co.. We didn't defend and didn't shoot well. Down 14 they came out and found their 'A' game. A methodical run cut it to six, but Meehan pushed TheLordJeffs back up 12. Then 'The Boys' threw the biggest haymaker seen in years. With under 9:00 on the clock, they closed the door on Amherst, caught them at the 1:40 mark, and pulled away. They finished on a 26-10 run triggered by the 'D', inside and out. No 'good looks' for Amherst (Barrise & Workman were 0-8 from 3's), blocks galore, and even though Amherst saw it coming they couldn't find answer.
After the greatest comeback in our history, The Boys put on an encore performance on Sunday shutting down Wang and Whittington, leading nearly wire to wire and ending Williams' 34-game home win streak to cut down the nets and take the NESCAC title. Many heroes in this one. Jamal beat Whittington to the spot all day, Nolan T. shut Wang down, and Williams couldn't find anybody who could saddle 'The Horse' (Ryan Sharry, double-doubles both days). Throw in tremendous performances by Joey Kizel (both days) and clutch foul shooting down the stretch, and it was truly an encore performance.
The Boys were rewarded by the NCAA with a one-seed (and a 1st-round bye) so now they've got to live up to it. Thought here is that this edition has the right mind set because they've been dancin' before (4th straight trip), know what is necessary to win at this level, and collectively feel that it can be done. A very different outlook from just making the TheBigDance when they first got a bid. Call it maturity. Watching this excellence play out over the last four seasons has been terrific. Plan to put an eyeball on WesConn tomorrow (vs. Salve Regina). Given the conference strengths and home cookin' they have a big edge. Saw them earlier this year and think The Boys can control the proceedings. They're led by Brooks (senior PG) who reminds me of Shasha Brown except that he takes more 3's. To my mind he pounds the ball too long, which leads to them standing around. That's to our benefit. At 21-5 they shoot lots of 3's (20+ p/g) and are capable, but they're not as big as us inside or as strong, nor did they have an inside focus on their 'O', when last seen.
Think that Nolan T. will be able to control Brooks which ought to put pressure on their other scorers, that they might not be accustomed to. Knowing that tendency, our perimeter 'D' should suffice. And I don't think that they're taking it to the hole against Andrew, Ryan or Jamal. As far as it being the NCAA's, see no reason why Joey (Kizel) won't continue to step up. This kid is the find of the year. He wants the rock at crunch time. And won't swallow it. You can't teach that. 'Nuff said. So when the music stops on Saturday night, thinking here is that The Boys will have earned Midd's maiden voyage to the 'Sweet Sixteen'. Imagine that term and Midd BBall in the same sentence, almost an oxymoron. Join the Pepin faithful. It oughta be great fun, even if we've got to bite a few nails along the way. From Downtown, where I'm gettin' a shine on my 'Spats'. Be well. #44.
After the greatest comeback in our history, The Boys put on an encore performance on Sunday shutting down Wang and Whittington, leading nearly wire to wire and ending Williams' 34-game home win streak to cut down the nets and take the NESCAC title. Many heroes in this one. Jamal beat Whittington to the spot all day, Nolan T. shut Wang down, and Williams couldn't find anybody who could saddle 'The Horse' (Ryan Sharry, double-doubles both days). Throw in tremendous performances by Joey Kizel (both days) and clutch foul shooting down the stretch, and it was truly an encore performance.
The Boys were rewarded by the NCAA with a one-seed (and a 1st-round bye) so now they've got to live up to it. Thought here is that this edition has the right mind set because they've been dancin' before (4th straight trip), know what is necessary to win at this level, and collectively feel that it can be done. A very different outlook from just making the TheBigDance when they first got a bid. Call it maturity. Watching this excellence play out over the last four seasons has been terrific. Plan to put an eyeball on WesConn tomorrow (vs. Salve Regina). Given the conference strengths and home cookin' they have a big edge. Saw them earlier this year and think The Boys can control the proceedings. They're led by Brooks (senior PG) who reminds me of Shasha Brown except that he takes more 3's. To my mind he pounds the ball too long, which leads to them standing around. That's to our benefit. At 21-5 they shoot lots of 3's (20+ p/g) and are capable, but they're not as big as us inside or as strong, nor did they have an inside focus on their 'O', when last seen.
Think that Nolan T. will be able to control Brooks which ought to put pressure on their other scorers, that they might not be accustomed to. Knowing that tendency, our perimeter 'D' should suffice. And I don't think that they're taking it to the hole against Andrew, Ryan or Jamal. As far as it being the NCAA's, see no reason why Joey (Kizel) won't continue to step up. This kid is the find of the year. He wants the rock at crunch time. And won't swallow it. You can't teach that. 'Nuff said. So when the music stops on Saturday night, thinking here is that The Boys will have earned Midd's maiden voyage to the 'Sweet Sixteen'. Imagine that term and Midd BBall in the same sentence, almost an oxymoron. Join the Pepin faithful. It oughta be great fun, even if we've got to bite a few nails along the way. From Downtown, where I'm gettin' a shine on my 'Spats'. Be well. #44.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
'the persuader for The Committee..'
Down to it- #'s1, #3 ( your PantherExpress), and #7 in the same building. Throw in the Bantams with their highest-in-the-nation s-o-s, at .605, and even the densest on the committee will take note of the outcomes. Sure the NESCAC title is at stake (first things first), but in the NCAA picture, the winner, especially if 'The Boys' can sweep is pretty much guaranteed two home weekends in The Big Dance. It's my take that even with a close loss to Amherst that The Boys will be in front of the Panther faithful next weekend. I see that as the tougher game because of Amherst's balance and personnel, and that even with a 'W' they're not getting home games due to their pattycake home schedule (and an s-o-s of .473). Getting to the title game alone locks up a one-seed for TheBigDance.
My projected other 'one's' are Williams, Va.Wesleyan, presuming they negotiate the difficult ODAC tourney, and UW-Stevens Point (defending champs and playing well right now). The two's would be (in order) Whitworth weak s-o-s), Concordia, then maybe St.Thomas (@ #7), with a logjam between Amherst (weaker s-o-s but a very good team), WPI(ncaa likes them more, but having scouted both them & TheLJN, think their 'O' is too sketchy, they don't have the depth @ G. or the athletes to win that match-up) and Randolph-Macon (who's probably got to get to ODAC title game) or Wooster (shaky last few). Will discuss with Pat Coleman once I'm done here.
Normally, the Committee wouldn't have two teams from the same conference anchor two brackets, but getting by Amherst and beating TheEphMen on their own floor would be the persuader that the committee needs to conclude that since nobody laid a glove on either of us (when Amherst beat them it was in OT, on the road, and without Whittington), both deserve a shot for a trip to Salem before there is the final rematch. Records and s-o-s dictate at this level, and the air is thin up here, so The Boys have got a lot to be proud of and still much to accomplish. Leakage from Pepin is that TheBigFella (Locke)will be ready for tomorrow's tip. And this time we've got a healthy 'Horse' (Ryan Sharry) to look to as we've done all year. Add in our now two-seasoned guard duo (Jake and Nolan T.), the consistent 'D' and board work of Ryan Wholey, the explosiveness of Jamal, and the consistent terrific play that Joey Kizel (possible rookie of the year) has added as the third guard, and you can appreciate the position of strength and balance that JeffB. runs the controls from. And the additional bench pieces are solid and all coming on- Jensen (another frosh), Luis Alvarez, Peter Lynch, and Winslow Hicks. A nice neighborhood to be in. Go Pantehrs. From downtown where I used to hoist 'em up from, as opposed to the local pubs where I hoist 'em up now. Be well. #44.
My projected other 'one's' are Williams, Va.Wesleyan, presuming they negotiate the difficult ODAC tourney, and UW-Stevens Point (defending champs and playing well right now). The two's would be (in order) Whitworth weak s-o-s), Concordia, then maybe St.Thomas (@ #7), with a logjam between Amherst (weaker s-o-s but a very good team), WPI(ncaa likes them more, but having scouted both them & TheLJN, think their 'O' is too sketchy, they don't have the depth @ G. or the athletes to win that match-up) and Randolph-Macon (who's probably got to get to ODAC title game) or Wooster (shaky last few). Will discuss with Pat Coleman once I'm done here.
Normally, the Committee wouldn't have two teams from the same conference anchor two brackets, but getting by Amherst and beating TheEphMen on their own floor would be the persuader that the committee needs to conclude that since nobody laid a glove on either of us (when Amherst beat them it was in OT, on the road, and without Whittington), both deserve a shot for a trip to Salem before there is the final rematch. Records and s-o-s dictate at this level, and the air is thin up here, so The Boys have got a lot to be proud of and still much to accomplish. Leakage from Pepin is that TheBigFella (Locke)will be ready for tomorrow's tip. And this time we've got a healthy 'Horse' (Ryan Sharry) to look to as we've done all year. Add in our now two-seasoned guard duo (Jake and Nolan T.), the consistent 'D' and board work of Ryan Wholey, the explosiveness of Jamal, and the consistent terrific play that Joey Kizel (possible rookie of the year) has added as the third guard, and you can appreciate the position of strength and balance that JeffB. runs the controls from. And the additional bench pieces are solid and all coming on- Jensen (another frosh), Luis Alvarez, Peter Lynch, and Winslow Hicks. A nice neighborhood to be in. Go Pantehrs. From downtown where I used to hoist 'em up from, as opposed to the local pubs where I hoist 'em up now. Be well. #44.
Friday, February 18, 2011
'a little off the mark'...
Okay, okay! Stop the dirge. On correctness my info on Andrew Locke was sort of like one of those other rental car companies-"not exactly..." . So all are very happy in Panther-land that 'TheBigFella' should surface for Meehan & Co. next weekend. While that fact is not yet confirmed by any orthopedic leaks, it oughta be enough for Hixon to get away from the juke box and start working on a revised game plan. Certain also that this good news is cause for rejoicing in the pubs along Spring Street, and on Route 2.
While The Boys were never counted out of big NESCAC hoedown, you might want to think about a road trip to add your voice in support of them not only winning the title but locking down the one-seed in the eastern half of the big dance. Just a thought - and for those of you newer to the scene, it might be mentioned that the coach who started Midd on the road back (when we were losing to the Canadians in BBall) is 75 today. J. Gerald (Alaimo) used to ride around town with plates on his car that said "NIT73". The people on campus were nearly mortified and the townies had themselves a long laugh. This was when there were stands only on one side of Pepin (we only needed a few chairs), and the head trainer wouldn't tape Bball players ankles. You have no idea how far we've come.
So to "The Vendor" from Shotgun, Willis Reed, Bruno, Chip Hilton, 'Head', Snake, CheapShot, 'The Hooker', 'Wheels', 'Lofo', Roller, and a host of others, all who had to listen to him pontificate while we ran about a million suicides- Happy 75th. From downtown, #44.
While The Boys were never counted out of big NESCAC hoedown, you might want to think about a road trip to add your voice in support of them not only winning the title but locking down the one-seed in the eastern half of the big dance. Just a thought - and for those of you newer to the scene, it might be mentioned that the coach who started Midd on the road back (when we were losing to the Canadians in BBall) is 75 today. J. Gerald (Alaimo) used to ride around town with plates on his car that said "NIT73". The people on campus were nearly mortified and the townies had themselves a long laugh. This was when there were stands only on one side of Pepin (we only needed a few chairs), and the head trainer wouldn't tape Bball players ankles. You have no idea how far we've come.
So to "The Vendor" from Shotgun, Willis Reed, Bruno, Chip Hilton, 'Head', Snake, CheapShot, 'The Hooker', 'Wheels', 'Lofo', Roller, and a host of others, all who had to listen to him pontificate while we ran about a million suicides- Happy 75th. From downtown, #44.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
'big changes in the equation...'
'The Boys' were ready as promised for Amherst, controlled the boards and the paint, and kept Meehan & Toomey under wraps for 40 minutes and pulled away late to set up the possibility that the NESCAC seeding was going to be pulled from the hat. But TheLordJeffNation couldn't hold up their end of the deal and let Williams get away. Meanwhile back at Pepin, 'The Boys' had their hands full with Trinity refusing to go away, bombing away from trey-land (7 for 9 in the 2d half) to keep it close and then having the ball on the last possession. But our 'D' on the arc was stifling, no 'looks', and they were forced to go for the deuce which worked out well when Fels accidentally made the second of two freebies with 2.3 ticks left. There are no bad W's.
At 20 and 1, they earned the 2-seed and get The Camels back here for a reprise of their thrashing last month. But with all our accomplishments the Midd equation has changed, and not for the better. From what this observer understands, 'TheBigFella', Andrew Locke, is most-likely, done, courtesy of an inadvertent collision and knee injury against Hamilton, just as we were in the midst of the 'knockout punch' on Monday night. There isn't any official word as yet, but with everything that Andrew has brought to the floor in team leadership, alteration of our foe's offenses, shot blocking and board work, it is a hole in our fabric that others will have to work doubly hard to close. Nobody loses the leading shot blocker in the nation without having to take a hard look at a new reality. How successful 'The Boys' are at accomplishing that, will determine how far The Panther Express goes as the second season approaches.
But first things first. Tonite we have Green Mountain in town. If Vegas was involved, there'd be 'no line'. Those kids are looking at a serious goose-egg of a season, and having gotten blown out by 30+ by the Lyndon States of the world (who we ran over: 87 to 50) don't think there's anything they can do. Two thoughts: our top guys go maybe 12-14 minutes, get a tightener, and no further injuries, and then JeffB. turns it over to the guys who work their butts off in practice everyday, and let them get 25 minutes of work. Don't expect that the Mounties will put more than 31 on the board even in that scenario. And we may be able add to that, if things go well against ConnColl this weekend. The ConnColl game will give us a chance to focus on how the new equation will work under game conditions before we head to Williamstown for the semi's. Think the 'D' will keep Vadas under control, and that ought to be disruptive enough to their flow so that we can control both ends throughout. Don't see us looking by them, or of them figuring out a way to reverse that 80-52 margin.
It's my thought that last weekend locked in an NCAA bid (a Pool-C at worst), and when he dispose of The Camels, The Boys will have definitely earned a hosting weekend for the Big Dance. Plenty to still be decided in Eph-town, but on the bright side we've still got the 'D', the depth, the cohesiveness, plenty of firepower, and 'The Horse' (who with all he's accomplished, think there's still more). That said, I wouldn't trade our spot with anybody. From downtown, which used to be measured by cross midcourt, be well. Clubbo.
At 20 and 1, they earned the 2-seed and get The Camels back here for a reprise of their thrashing last month. But with all our accomplishments the Midd equation has changed, and not for the better. From what this observer understands, 'TheBigFella', Andrew Locke, is most-likely, done, courtesy of an inadvertent collision and knee injury against Hamilton, just as we were in the midst of the 'knockout punch' on Monday night. There isn't any official word as yet, but with everything that Andrew has brought to the floor in team leadership, alteration of our foe's offenses, shot blocking and board work, it is a hole in our fabric that others will have to work doubly hard to close. Nobody loses the leading shot blocker in the nation without having to take a hard look at a new reality. How successful 'The Boys' are at accomplishing that, will determine how far The Panther Express goes as the second season approaches.
But first things first. Tonite we have Green Mountain in town. If Vegas was involved, there'd be 'no line'. Those kids are looking at a serious goose-egg of a season, and having gotten blown out by 30+ by the Lyndon States of the world (who we ran over: 87 to 50) don't think there's anything they can do. Two thoughts: our top guys go maybe 12-14 minutes, get a tightener, and no further injuries, and then JeffB. turns it over to the guys who work their butts off in practice everyday, and let them get 25 minutes of work. Don't expect that the Mounties will put more than 31 on the board even in that scenario. And we may be able add to that, if things go well against ConnColl this weekend. The ConnColl game will give us a chance to focus on how the new equation will work under game conditions before we head to Williamstown for the semi's. Think the 'D' will keep Vadas under control, and that ought to be disruptive enough to their flow so that we can control both ends throughout. Don't see us looking by them, or of them figuring out a way to reverse that 80-52 margin.
It's my thought that last weekend locked in an NCAA bid (a Pool-C at worst), and when he dispose of The Camels, The Boys will have definitely earned a hosting weekend for the Big Dance. Plenty to still be decided in Eph-town, but on the bright side we've still got the 'D', the depth, the cohesiveness, plenty of firepower, and 'The Horse' (who with all he's accomplished, think there's still more). That said, I wouldn't trade our spot with anybody. From downtown, which used to be measured by cross midcourt, be well. Clubbo.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
and now to pull the NESCACS out of a hat!...
B-I-G tilt set for tomorrow at Pepin. TheLordJeffs will be in town and 'The Boys' are locked and loaded for the biggest in season game, since one of my squads went down to RPI and pulled out the season finale to end a 29-game losing streak that kept us out the record books (and righted the Midd Bball ship). This is one of those that could create its own history. The Boys put themselves in this position by pounding Colby from the tip going up 18-2 early then continuing to pour it on to get it to 42-17 right before half. At that point the Colby halftime dancers were saying 'no mas'!
In Brunswick, before ThePolarBear faithful, The Boys took a solid 12 point lead to the lockerroom but Bowdoin scratched back and briefly lead, but with the Bigs pounding away inside, and the rest of the defense stepping up, we threw cold water on any ideas that an upset might be in the offing. So now at 19-1, The Boys get to see an explosive, 21-0, Amherst group lead by Meehan, Waller and Toomey. They want to run, spread it, let Barrise (very good) or Toomey fire 3's, and hit Waller or Williamson (the best pure leaper I've seen in years) on the back door. Everybody is looking to get it out and up the floor so our best efforts are needed to control the glass, balance the floor, stay in front of Meehan, and cut down their passing angles. Think the advantage we have is that we can board better, and defend better. And we've got the homecooking while this will only be Amherst's 6th roader of the year. It ought to be a helluva game.
And for us a shot at hosting the NESCACS is in the balance. The scenario that could unfold is if The Boys take down TheLordJeffs, and then they go down and whip Williams, all of us end up with one loss, (of course we've both got to beat Trinity). The tiebreakers start with head to head to head, and continue through another five steps. At the end of those is "random selection/coin flip". So the seeding and hosting could come to come down to whose name gets pulled out the hat first. Pretty unbelievable! (And if anybody else wants to read the procedures and I'm wrong, let me know.) There's bound to be a spillover effect on NCAA hosting, etc. but let's deal with one headache at a time.
This is where the seasoning from the road, the senior leadership, the defense, having 'The Horse'
to go to at crunch time and the home crowd all make a difference, even if it's only a bucket at each end. Wow! These Boys have come a long way. All of us who contributed our time, sweat and effort savor the moment. May the zebras remember we're the home team! From downtown, Clubbo.
In Brunswick, before ThePolarBear faithful, The Boys took a solid 12 point lead to the lockerroom but Bowdoin scratched back and briefly lead, but with the Bigs pounding away inside, and the rest of the defense stepping up, we threw cold water on any ideas that an upset might be in the offing. So now at 19-1, The Boys get to see an explosive, 21-0, Amherst group lead by Meehan, Waller and Toomey. They want to run, spread it, let Barrise (very good) or Toomey fire 3's, and hit Waller or Williamson (the best pure leaper I've seen in years) on the back door. Everybody is looking to get it out and up the floor so our best efforts are needed to control the glass, balance the floor, stay in front of Meehan, and cut down their passing angles. Think the advantage we have is that we can board better, and defend better. And we've got the homecooking while this will only be Amherst's 6th roader of the year. It ought to be a helluva game.
And for us a shot at hosting the NESCACS is in the balance. The scenario that could unfold is if The Boys take down TheLordJeffs, and then they go down and whip Williams, all of us end up with one loss, (of course we've both got to beat Trinity). The tiebreakers start with head to head to head, and continue through another five steps. At the end of those is "random selection/coin flip". So the seeding and hosting could come to come down to whose name gets pulled out the hat first. Pretty unbelievable! (And if anybody else wants to read the procedures and I'm wrong, let me know.) There's bound to be a spillover effect on NCAA hosting, etc. but let's deal with one headache at a time.
This is where the seasoning from the road, the senior leadership, the defense, having 'The Horse'
to go to at crunch time and the home crowd all make a difference, even if it's only a bucket at each end. Wow! These Boys have come a long way. All of us who contributed our time, sweat and effort savor the moment. May the zebras remember we're the home team! From downtown, Clubbo.
Friday, February 4, 2011
'TheHorse'.. off the vet's list.
If you're out there snow-shoeing your way north through the Maine woods, you may not get this till you reach Waterville, but info just in says that the docs cleared Ryan Sharry (and he practiced the last two days), so The Boys will have additional firepower for both TheWhiteMules and ThePolarBearNation. We should have no excuses. Tip at 6:00, with live stats. Cocktails at 7:45. From downtown, #44.
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