Enough space now between the Scranton dagger that burst the 'back-to-Salem balloon' to reflect how exhilarating this 'run' that has made Midd a national BBall powerhouse actually has been. That thought alone would have been something straight out of a 'Twilight Zone' script six or seven seasons ago. Five straight bids to The Dance (only R.I.C. with 6 has more), four to the nescac finals (which may be an omen since we have won them the last two odd-numbered years, hey it's more than a possibility), once to the FF, and once as a host in the 'Semi-Sweet 16' (only 'Sweet' if you can cut down your own nets). Two All-Americans Ben and Ryan, and the MVP (Ryan) in one D3all-star game. Plus lots of other honors for JeffB. and the team along the way. Midd, a national powerhouse, no longer fodder for an oxymoron.
The highlight video of the season, now on YouTube is great (and thanks to AlexP. for that), not only demonstrates the 'we-before-the-me' philosophy that 'The Boys' live by (and have for several editions), but also shows that every game, at Pepin or on the road, is in front of a big crowd. No, we're not Kentucky or Duke or Carolina, but the fan intensity has been racheted up to the success expectations created by big winning programs. Although in the aforementioned, some graduation rates might match up, I'd take us by more than a couple of buckets on the depth of the academic load carried by The Boys.
'W's, we've had a few, but not too few to mention. Ryan and his senior pals racked up 103. Jake, Nolan and Peter expect to reach that number and beyond, because now, sitting at 79 and 10, they know what it takes and they know what they've got to do every night to get there. And for the sophs and the frosh, they've gotten playoff and ncaa experiences to learn from and draw on, and having been there, should only want to get back to that level of excellence. There is a culture to losing- Midd was in that rut for a long time, then team by team, we started to dig our way out of it, and there were years of bright spots, and some great players. But we never had quite enough in the talent or depth categories to sustain those good teams, so it'd be a couple of steps forward then a step or two back. What changed the engine from sputtering to purring, was more talent, depth, cohesion, and leadership on and off the floor. And enough followers who believed to put it together game by game. The last six seasons, unmatched in Midd lore, have raised now a culture of winning. And the bar is set high. So be it.
It has already been said directly that 'The Boys' expect to be a factor in the national power discussion again next year. That was from Ryan S. when interviewed at the all-star game in Salem. The new kids that are 'in the pipeline' supposedly can really play -very nice- so here's hoping they are in the same mold as this group- tough, ready to learn and resilient, and the beat goes on. BTW- have already gotten a notice from one alum to 'save the date'. February 13, 2013, @ 2p.m.- that's when Toomey and the LordJeffNation will be in town. Never too early to think about beating Amherst, although recognize there's a lot of work to be done first.
This is that time of year the volume of my daily BBall dialogue starts to peter out. I always feel a bit like Al Pacino's character, Colonel Frank Slade, in 'Scent of a Woman' (one of my faves), when he gets home after his big adventure, trudges up his little driveway and goes into his little house, as the stretch limo and the camera pull away. Anyways, till we get anything even semi-useful as far as Bball news goes, which I'll post, remember, "down 'The Alibi' stairs, off DicktheHealer's whirlpool, over the turnstiles at the Salem Civic Center, nothin' but net". If we don't talk, have a great summer. Be well. Clubbo.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
'a crescendo of deafening silence...'
With fingernails down to the nubs and heart palpitations setting in, the Panther Faithful were in complete pandemonium when Joey closed out his personal nine point run with a finishing drive that finally brought The Boys to a 55-all tie with the clock showing only four ticks and running. Then, faster than a cruise missile undetected by the best IBM anti-missile software, Scranton, went unchecked up the sideline and drained the desperation- 3 as the clock ran out to register the biggest 'W' in their history. Give them credit for their game plan and their execution because both were probably their best efforts in years. Give The Boys credit for their pretty solid 'D' on a night when we couldn't make a bucket in the entire first half. Without that effort it would've been over at the break. And then when it seemingly was slipping away, they made a defensive stand in the last 2:10, kept Scranton off the board in three critical trips, where a score or foul meant the end, and rallied to tie it only to take the dagger at the bitter end.
Pepin emptied silently leaving only the parents and friends, the Bball alums, and a few hardcore fans to try and parse through the final seconds, heads shaking, voices muted, disbelief rampant. It was better to be able to get away from there where you could realize, with the rest of the Panther Nation, that getting nicked, and on the final possession, is how it ends for everyone but the champion at Salem. But as long as the dream glows brightly, the human in all of us never considers 'us' to be on that endangered species list (unfortunately prophetic at this juncture). And the fact that for two seasons The Boys had been perfect at Pepin made the mortality check that much harder to swallow.
The Panther Express has given everyone another great ride this year. 26 and 4, and hosting in the Sweet Sixteen are not to be sneezed at. It is now a hallmark for a 'national' program. In continuing a fairy tale run of six years of getting 'firsts' for the program, being tagged as a host for this round extended our string. Many thought that a return to the Final Four was to be that first but it wasn't to be. We salute Ryan Sharry, and his senior classmates for their excellence including being ready at every tip time to win 103 games over their careers, and to 'TheBigDog' himself for being the Northeast's POY, as decided on D3Hoops. It's going to take some giant efforts to fill that position next year, and probably more than one guy to do it. But there's plenty of talent, athleticism, muscle and cohesion that will return in Jake, Joey and NolanT., Peter, Jensen, NateB., Dylan, 'LongJack' and DeanB. Expecting new precincts to be heard from as well with 'Winston' to prove his worthiness, Bert Nasciemento to maybe become a dial-up jump shooter, or Hunter to do the same, and Eamon Cuddy to become a bigger contributor. The rest of the nescac wishes they were in our position.
There's info out there also that who JeffB. has 'in the pipeline' should keep the 'Nervous Nellies' from the anti-depressants. Was looking forward to going back to Salem and perching on my lawn chair at the arena, till The Boys got to town, discussing their chances with members of the local constabulary while we also had a tete-a-tete over the legality of their 'open--container' ordinance. Oh well, suppose that can wait till next year. And remember, "off The Vendor's chair, down The Alibi stair, past Duke Nelson's snoring, nothin' but net."Be well. Clubbo.
Pepin emptied silently leaving only the parents and friends, the Bball alums, and a few hardcore fans to try and parse through the final seconds, heads shaking, voices muted, disbelief rampant. It was better to be able to get away from there where you could realize, with the rest of the Panther Nation, that getting nicked, and on the final possession, is how it ends for everyone but the champion at Salem. But as long as the dream glows brightly, the human in all of us never considers 'us' to be on that endangered species list (unfortunately prophetic at this juncture). And the fact that for two seasons The Boys had been perfect at Pepin made the mortality check that much harder to swallow.
The Panther Express has given everyone another great ride this year. 26 and 4, and hosting in the Sweet Sixteen are not to be sneezed at. It is now a hallmark for a 'national' program. In continuing a fairy tale run of six years of getting 'firsts' for the program, being tagged as a host for this round extended our string. Many thought that a return to the Final Four was to be that first but it wasn't to be. We salute Ryan Sharry, and his senior classmates for their excellence including being ready at every tip time to win 103 games over their careers, and to 'TheBigDog' himself for being the Northeast's POY, as decided on D3Hoops. It's going to take some giant efforts to fill that position next year, and probably more than one guy to do it. But there's plenty of talent, athleticism, muscle and cohesion that will return in Jake, Joey and NolanT., Peter, Jensen, NateB., Dylan, 'LongJack' and DeanB. Expecting new precincts to be heard from as well with 'Winston' to prove his worthiness, Bert Nasciemento to maybe become a dial-up jump shooter, or Hunter to do the same, and Eamon Cuddy to become a bigger contributor. The rest of the nescac wishes they were in our position.
There's info out there also that who JeffB. has 'in the pipeline' should keep the 'Nervous Nellies' from the anti-depressants. Was looking forward to going back to Salem and perching on my lawn chair at the arena, till The Boys got to town, discussing their chances with members of the local constabulary while we also had a tete-a-tete over the legality of their 'open--container' ordinance. Oh well, suppose that can wait till next year. And remember, "off The Vendor's chair, down The Alibi stair, past Duke Nelson's snoring, nothin' but net."Be well. Clubbo.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
'..on the endangered species list..'
The Panthers have made it back to the Sweet Sixteen, by doing away with Morrisville State and then frying the dangerous, 16th ranked AlMags, with a terrific defensive performance and cruising to the finish line. The Boys opened their bid to get back to the Final Four by handling Morrisville pretty much wire-to-wire and winning by 20. Although Mo'ville made a brief bid when they cut the margin to minus six at the half, they didn't get any closer and there weren't any fretful moments after the break. Pepin was more than packed for Ray Askew, Darius Watson and their running mates, and The Boys took control early on with a 15-4 run, and AlMag never recovered. Watson had a goosegg for his efforts in the first half, courtesy of a major lockdown job by NolanT. Frustration had already set in on the AlMag side, and after being up a dozen at the break, The Boys widened it to as much as 23 with 6:00 left, erasing all doubt that the night belonged to The Panthers. Without Watson, Askew couldn't overcome the offensive punch that The Boys threw at them. And the Panther Faithful screamed themselves into delirium when 'TheBigDog' punctuated the proceedings with a pair of slams.
Not lost in the madhouse that was Pepin were the great efforts of Jensen, NateB. 'LongJack' and Dylan, 'The Smoothie'. It is pretty clear that both Jensen, with his defense and boardwork on such a formidable guy as Askew, and NateB., with several eye-popping plays, have really come on in the last month. To my mind they've crossed the bridge and can see the game unfolding at their game speed. That is a big transition. 'LongJack' also has stepped up what he can bring on 'D', and certainly will contribute key minutes if the Panther Express is going to keep rolling towards Salem. And Dylan, only a frosh, started to act like he's been playing this game for longer than his years. Given that all four have the chance to get two more tourney games under their belts can only help their poise at big moments, particularly when you realize that four tourney games are a lifetime of experience.
Tomorrow night, The Boys and everybody else are on the endangered species list. An 'O' that's out of sync, a few ill-timed heaves, being late to cover out on the arc, coupled with a turnover or three at crunch time and you're, in Bill Murray's vernacular, "toast"! That's this time of year. Tomorrow is the next possession or the last possession. If you can't fill the bill, you're ready for the "Spring Todd League" ('todds' were the beers that the losers of those games had to buy). From my perch up here on the porch, it appears that 'The Boys' can control their fate, avoid going the way of the dodo, and take care of business against Scranton. Scranton lives and dies with its G.-oriented 'O'. Our G. rotation should be up to the task on defense, and it doesn't look like Scranton's got enough of an inside presence to bottle up Ryan or Peter Lynch. Add 'LongJack' to the inside, and they're not taking it to the hole. Our depth, discussed earlier, adds a dimension they don't appear to have. And because they are G. reliant, it's my take that 'TheBigDog' and Lynch will have it their way down low. Despite the bigness of the moment, Scranton is do-able and gets us to Saturday and the Elite Eight.
And let's thank the ncaa gurus for a little payback. Pepin will be rockin', but TheLordJeffNation is on the road at Franklin and Marshall, with MIT in the same building. I can see the tears dripping down Lord Jeffrey's long, snooty nose. Such a beautiful sight! But don't count them out, they're tough and probably nearly as resilient as The Boys. On our side we've got the home cookin' and it's an advantage for us because I see EasternConn advancing to meet us, over Cabrini. Both teams favor defense, and Eastern has in Nedwick, their big scorer, the LEC's D-POY. Welcome to Pepin. Meet Nolan T. If we get a standoff in that matchup,it's in our favor, because they rely a lot more on his scoring than The Boys need Nolan's contribution. They've got an inside guy, we've got two, in Ryan and Peter, maybe three. A part of their run to date has been fueled by Salzillo, a soph who's now 9-11 in the tourney from 3's. Welcome to Pepin, I'd like you to meet Joey, or Jensen or Nate. No more squeezing free treys off. They've gotten big 'W's, some on the road, but split with WesConn, now done, and lost by a point at Wesleyan. Enough markers point to The Boys. My take is we'll take advantage of our building, override their defense and move on to the ride down Blue Ridge for a St. Patrick's Day (always a holiday at my house) celebration. Keep the faith.
Whatever turns out, The Boys have made this another historic year, and it will be the Ryan and the seniors last homestand. Know they'll make it memorable, and hope there's some minutes for Winslow and Carl in it, before we bring down the curtain. PepinTickets were totally gone by 12:05 today. Hope you know a friendly scalper. I've heard there'll be lamaze sessions tomorrow starting at 4:30 for the nervous nellies. And if we advance, rather than joining the fans for warm-ups at Two Borthers on Saturday at 5 p.m., there'll be another session for their breathing. What will they do if we get to Salem?
See you at Pepin tomorrow, and if you got shut out, The Boys will be on the small screen. Thought if d3hoops was doing the game yours truly might get a cameo as a color guy, but it's a Midd video-cast so that's not happening. And remember..."down Bobo's ski jump, past the Breadloaf fireplaces, off 'The Alibi' keg, and over Wendell's skates, nothin' but net". Be well. Clubbo.
Not lost in the madhouse that was Pepin were the great efforts of Jensen, NateB. 'LongJack' and Dylan, 'The Smoothie'. It is pretty clear that both Jensen, with his defense and boardwork on such a formidable guy as Askew, and NateB., with several eye-popping plays, have really come on in the last month. To my mind they've crossed the bridge and can see the game unfolding at their game speed. That is a big transition. 'LongJack' also has stepped up what he can bring on 'D', and certainly will contribute key minutes if the Panther Express is going to keep rolling towards Salem. And Dylan, only a frosh, started to act like he's been playing this game for longer than his years. Given that all four have the chance to get two more tourney games under their belts can only help their poise at big moments, particularly when you realize that four tourney games are a lifetime of experience.
Tomorrow night, The Boys and everybody else are on the endangered species list. An 'O' that's out of sync, a few ill-timed heaves, being late to cover out on the arc, coupled with a turnover or three at crunch time and you're, in Bill Murray's vernacular, "toast"! That's this time of year. Tomorrow is the next possession or the last possession. If you can't fill the bill, you're ready for the "Spring Todd League" ('todds' were the beers that the losers of those games had to buy). From my perch up here on the porch, it appears that 'The Boys' can control their fate, avoid going the way of the dodo, and take care of business against Scranton. Scranton lives and dies with its G.-oriented 'O'. Our G. rotation should be up to the task on defense, and it doesn't look like Scranton's got enough of an inside presence to bottle up Ryan or Peter Lynch. Add 'LongJack' to the inside, and they're not taking it to the hole. Our depth, discussed earlier, adds a dimension they don't appear to have. And because they are G. reliant, it's my take that 'TheBigDog' and Lynch will have it their way down low. Despite the bigness of the moment, Scranton is do-able and gets us to Saturday and the Elite Eight.
And let's thank the ncaa gurus for a little payback. Pepin will be rockin', but TheLordJeffNation is on the road at Franklin and Marshall, with MIT in the same building. I can see the tears dripping down Lord Jeffrey's long, snooty nose. Such a beautiful sight! But don't count them out, they're tough and probably nearly as resilient as The Boys. On our side we've got the home cookin' and it's an advantage for us because I see EasternConn advancing to meet us, over Cabrini. Both teams favor defense, and Eastern has in Nedwick, their big scorer, the LEC's D-POY. Welcome to Pepin. Meet Nolan T. If we get a standoff in that matchup,it's in our favor, because they rely a lot more on his scoring than The Boys need Nolan's contribution. They've got an inside guy, we've got two, in Ryan and Peter, maybe three. A part of their run to date has been fueled by Salzillo, a soph who's now 9-11 in the tourney from 3's. Welcome to Pepin, I'd like you to meet Joey, or Jensen or Nate. No more squeezing free treys off. They've gotten big 'W's, some on the road, but split with WesConn, now done, and lost by a point at Wesleyan. Enough markers point to The Boys. My take is we'll take advantage of our building, override their defense and move on to the ride down Blue Ridge for a St. Patrick's Day (always a holiday at my house) celebration. Keep the faith.
Whatever turns out, The Boys have made this another historic year, and it will be the Ryan and the seniors last homestand. Know they'll make it memorable, and hope there's some minutes for Winslow and Carl in it, before we bring down the curtain. PepinTickets were totally gone by 12:05 today. Hope you know a friendly scalper. I've heard there'll be lamaze sessions tomorrow starting at 4:30 for the nervous nellies. And if we advance, rather than joining the fans for warm-ups at Two Borthers on Saturday at 5 p.m., there'll be another session for their breathing. What will they do if we get to Salem?
See you at Pepin tomorrow, and if you got shut out, The Boys will be on the small screen. Thought if d3hoops was doing the game yours truly might get a cameo as a color guy, but it's a Midd video-cast so that's not happening. And remember..."down Bobo's ski jump, past the Breadloaf fireplaces, off 'The Alibi' keg, and over Wendell's skates, nothin' but net". Be well. Clubbo.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
'..dancin' again'
The Boys nearly pulled off the comeback right under LordJeff's snooty nose last Sunday, but after coming from 15 down with 9:21 to tie it at 68, Barrise hit the biggest 3 of his Amherst-life with 3.2 left and derailed The Panther Express. Our last second strategy actually needed about another tick to unfold, and maybe put NolanT. on the line with a chance to tie it. Two brutal beats left the Panther Faithful with a sour after-taste, but the ncaa gurus recognized the degree of difficulty faced by The Boys in Lefrak, and didn't penalize us too much for not achieving a split with Toomey and his pals. So for the fifth straight year we're 'dancin', a remarkable achievement in itself (only R.I.C. has more, their sixth), and The Boys were rewarded with hosting this weekend.
A sold-out Pepin will be rockin' for the Morrisville State game. My sense, looking at their record, conference and roster is that this is something like a 2 vs. 15 game (or 1 vs. 16) in the Big Dance. But they should be rightfully proud to be dancin'. They started out 3 and 6, then righted the ship, and won the neac. Whatever the neac is- strong, it isn't. Seven of the ten teams have records south of the .500 line. Don't think that they'll be able to match up with our 'bigs' too well. And am not going out on a limb by saying that our G. rotation is stronger. Add the depth of the bench and the fact that although it's been unusual this season, Jensen, 'Longjack', NateB. and Dylan, 'the Smoothie', get to work in front of the home crowd, where they'll not only be more appreciated, but get invaluable ncaa experience under their belt. As an aside, thought that NateB.'s effort against Wesleyan was a breakout game. He's just starting to uncover his potential. Jensen continues to give us solid minutes on both ends and has steppped up his board work. And when you consider that LongJack's job last year was to hand out water during timeouts and that Dylan is a frosh with a huge upside, you realize the depth of this group. Morrisville is 'do-able' and we should be able to not empty the tank to get it done.
That gets us to probably the most dangerous team in the east, if not the country, Albertus Magnus (AlMag). On my radar for years, this group, led by RayAskew, has quickness, a lot of ability and good size. They want to pressure you, turn you over with their chaos and get you into a game around 90, where their speed and firepower can knock you out. This is not their first visit to the ncaa's, having beaten a good William Paterson team in Jersey two dances ago. Two thoughts on them. First they've got St.Joe's (L.I.), who also likes the track meet style and shoots a ton (30/game) of 3's. When they're hot they are dangerous. And in a shootout on a neutral court anything might happen, but think AlMag's got the best player and a big advantage on the boards that give them a definite edge in a close game.
My other thought is that AlMag has been mortal on the road, particularly if they're in a game in the 60's. Either they are not quite at optimum playing a lower tempo game, or they have problems defending for the entire shot clock. If you add those factors together, with the road, you can understand that The Boys can frustrate them with patience and shot selection. Despite their record they haven't faced 'Bigs' yet this year like 'TheBigDog' and Lynch, who can score the ball down low. Less long RB's means that they're not getting off to the races on their break. And for those concerned that we might not measure up in a 'city game', where there will be a lot of trash-talking, bear in mind that Jake and Joey grew up playing with these kinds of guys in Jersey, and Nolan's from Akron, Ohio, and won't be intimidated.
On balance it's my take we'll survive and move on to the next four team tournament. Know that any mistakes are magnified and can be fatal at this time of year, but like the way our guards operate under pressure. That's a hidden advantage. If you hadn't heard, Ryan was named first team all-nescac and as nescac POTY. Joey joined him on the first team. And JeffB. was named Coach of the Year. A big shoutout to all 3 for the honors earned. Depending on how the bracket goes, hosting a second weekend is not out of the question, but we certainly need Ohio Wesleyan to go home early to make that a possibility. See you all at Pepin tomorrow. If you can't get there The Boys will be on the small screen.
And remember.. "off the Pine Room keg, down The Alibi stairs, off DicktheHealer's hot tub, nothin' but net". Be well. Clubbo.
A sold-out Pepin will be rockin' for the Morrisville State game. My sense, looking at their record, conference and roster is that this is something like a 2 vs. 15 game (or 1 vs. 16) in the Big Dance. But they should be rightfully proud to be dancin'. They started out 3 and 6, then righted the ship, and won the neac. Whatever the neac is- strong, it isn't. Seven of the ten teams have records south of the .500 line. Don't think that they'll be able to match up with our 'bigs' too well. And am not going out on a limb by saying that our G. rotation is stronger. Add the depth of the bench and the fact that although it's been unusual this season, Jensen, 'Longjack', NateB. and Dylan, 'the Smoothie', get to work in front of the home crowd, where they'll not only be more appreciated, but get invaluable ncaa experience under their belt. As an aside, thought that NateB.'s effort against Wesleyan was a breakout game. He's just starting to uncover his potential. Jensen continues to give us solid minutes on both ends and has steppped up his board work. And when you consider that LongJack's job last year was to hand out water during timeouts and that Dylan is a frosh with a huge upside, you realize the depth of this group. Morrisville is 'do-able' and we should be able to not empty the tank to get it done.
That gets us to probably the most dangerous team in the east, if not the country, Albertus Magnus (AlMag). On my radar for years, this group, led by RayAskew, has quickness, a lot of ability and good size. They want to pressure you, turn you over with their chaos and get you into a game around 90, where their speed and firepower can knock you out. This is not their first visit to the ncaa's, having beaten a good William Paterson team in Jersey two dances ago. Two thoughts on them. First they've got St.Joe's (L.I.), who also likes the track meet style and shoots a ton (30/game) of 3's. When they're hot they are dangerous. And in a shootout on a neutral court anything might happen, but think AlMag's got the best player and a big advantage on the boards that give them a definite edge in a close game.
My other thought is that AlMag has been mortal on the road, particularly if they're in a game in the 60's. Either they are not quite at optimum playing a lower tempo game, or they have problems defending for the entire shot clock. If you add those factors together, with the road, you can understand that The Boys can frustrate them with patience and shot selection. Despite their record they haven't faced 'Bigs' yet this year like 'TheBigDog' and Lynch, who can score the ball down low. Less long RB's means that they're not getting off to the races on their break. And for those concerned that we might not measure up in a 'city game', where there will be a lot of trash-talking, bear in mind that Jake and Joey grew up playing with these kinds of guys in Jersey, and Nolan's from Akron, Ohio, and won't be intimidated.
On balance it's my take we'll survive and move on to the next four team tournament. Know that any mistakes are magnified and can be fatal at this time of year, but like the way our guards operate under pressure. That's a hidden advantage. If you hadn't heard, Ryan was named first team all-nescac and as nescac POTY. Joey joined him on the first team. And JeffB. was named Coach of the Year. A big shoutout to all 3 for the honors earned. Depending on how the bracket goes, hosting a second weekend is not out of the question, but we certainly need Ohio Wesleyan to go home early to make that a possibility. See you all at Pepin tomorrow. If you can't get there The Boys will be on the small screen.
And remember.. "off the Pine Room keg, down The Alibi stairs, off DicktheHealer's hot tub, nothin' but net". Be well. Clubbo.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
"let's go cut down their nets.."
Pepin was sold out before Friday. Some sources said there were 'scalpers' in the pubs offering their wares by happy hour on Friday. While the Trustees might not look favorably on such practices, it certainly demonstrates that there are others besides those in the economics department that know how to apply the law of supply and demand. Further it illustrates how the success of JeffB.'s program has created this new fan base with both the campus and the 'townies' now buying in. By tip time the place was in a frenzy, and 'The Boys' did not disappoint.
Lead by 'TheBigDog', Ryan personally took the game on his shoulders (All-Americans will do that) at both ends, and Midd went from down 10-7, out to a 17-10 lead. The 'D' which had been torched up in the first meeting, made all necessary adjustments, and pretty much didn't give Williams any good looks from beyond the arc. If you rely on 3's the way they do, a 4 for 29 night means curtains! And Mayer's effectiveness was limited by Lynch, and 'LongJack' Roberts, who had his best game of the season. The G. rotation delivered its come-to-be-expected virtuoso performance and closed the Eph-Men out from the line, down the stretch.
The Panther Express will be pulling out for Amherst and the nescac finals. But before everybody gets too giddy with anticipation for the rematch with Toomey and the rest of the LordJeffNation, there's serious business to be attended to, namely Shasha Brown and his Wesleyan pals. This team has bought in to Joe Reilly's philosophy and continues to improve. That they are here doesn't surprise me in the slightest, because they've been pretty consistent in their efforts and have learned to win on the road, two characteristics of top teams. They've got 20 'W's already, and pretty much have locked up an at-large ncaa bid for their efforts. They are familiar with playing in this building since they're here every season, and Amherst only beat them by a bucket in their earlier visit. All that having been said, there are some adjustments that 'The Boys' can make that strengthen Midd's advantage. First time around, 'TheBigDog' only had 9 attempts (made 7). We need something on the northside of 16 in that area, since getting him the rock down low is a large positive. More minutes required from Lynch. If he's not in foul trouble, he gives us an inside punch with Ryan on 'O,' that Wesleyan can't match. Looking for the new #44's 'O'. Also in our favor is that this time we've got Nolan T. at full strength, which wasn't the case in the first meeting. Ditto for 'LongJack' who was just coming back from his knee rehab. Also a good place for the continued usage of Dylan and NateB. in spots, while both are appearing more comfortable on the floor. My take is Wesleyan is do-able, and in moving on, The Boys will have won the right to host in the ncaa first round.
That brings us to 'rematch Sunday'. No surprises here. This is a big game between the two best teams in the east. Riding on it for sure are the nescac title, and who gets the number-one slot in the eastern half of the ncaa's and maybe the country. It also will determine who gets to host in the first and second round of the ncaas which will have a lot to say about going back down the Blue Ridge, because it's my thought that no matter the outcome, we're going to have to deal with each other, one more time. Suffice it to say that we're rooting for the next one top be at Pepin. Same keys will be necessary on 'D', and figure that in a title game the officiating will match up to the moment. That should allow 'TheBigDog' a little more freedom to roam down low. If everything else is even, that ought to be enough, presuming good execution in other areas.
Let's go cut down their nets. In their building, can't think of anything much sweeter. Till next time, remember.."down LordJeff's snooty nose, off the wall of the Old Cage, a bounce over the nescac ticket table, nothin' but net." Be well. Clubbo.
Lead by 'TheBigDog', Ryan personally took the game on his shoulders (All-Americans will do that) at both ends, and Midd went from down 10-7, out to a 17-10 lead. The 'D' which had been torched up in the first meeting, made all necessary adjustments, and pretty much didn't give Williams any good looks from beyond the arc. If you rely on 3's the way they do, a 4 for 29 night means curtains! And Mayer's effectiveness was limited by Lynch, and 'LongJack' Roberts, who had his best game of the season. The G. rotation delivered its come-to-be-expected virtuoso performance and closed the Eph-Men out from the line, down the stretch.
The Panther Express will be pulling out for Amherst and the nescac finals. But before everybody gets too giddy with anticipation for the rematch with Toomey and the rest of the LordJeffNation, there's serious business to be attended to, namely Shasha Brown and his Wesleyan pals. This team has bought in to Joe Reilly's philosophy and continues to improve. That they are here doesn't surprise me in the slightest, because they've been pretty consistent in their efforts and have learned to win on the road, two characteristics of top teams. They've got 20 'W's already, and pretty much have locked up an at-large ncaa bid for their efforts. They are familiar with playing in this building since they're here every season, and Amherst only beat them by a bucket in their earlier visit. All that having been said, there are some adjustments that 'The Boys' can make that strengthen Midd's advantage. First time around, 'TheBigDog' only had 9 attempts (made 7). We need something on the northside of 16 in that area, since getting him the rock down low is a large positive. More minutes required from Lynch. If he's not in foul trouble, he gives us an inside punch with Ryan on 'O,' that Wesleyan can't match. Looking for the new #44's 'O'. Also in our favor is that this time we've got Nolan T. at full strength, which wasn't the case in the first meeting. Ditto for 'LongJack' who was just coming back from his knee rehab. Also a good place for the continued usage of Dylan and NateB. in spots, while both are appearing more comfortable on the floor. My take is Wesleyan is do-able, and in moving on, The Boys will have won the right to host in the ncaa first round.
That brings us to 'rematch Sunday'. No surprises here. This is a big game between the two best teams in the east. Riding on it for sure are the nescac title, and who gets the number-one slot in the eastern half of the ncaa's and maybe the country. It also will determine who gets to host in the first and second round of the ncaas which will have a lot to say about going back down the Blue Ridge, because it's my thought that no matter the outcome, we're going to have to deal with each other, one more time. Suffice it to say that we're rooting for the next one top be at Pepin. Same keys will be necessary on 'D', and figure that in a title game the officiating will match up to the moment. That should allow 'TheBigDog' a little more freedom to roam down low. If everything else is even, that ought to be enough, presuming good execution in other areas.
Let's go cut down their nets. In their building, can't think of anything much sweeter. Till next time, remember.."down LordJeff's snooty nose, off the wall of the Old Cage, a bounce over the nescac ticket table, nothin' but net." Be well. Clubbo.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
'the road to the top just got a little steeper...'
In front of the LordJeffNation, the Panther Faithful were served a double-dose of 'the reality of the road' last Saturday. Amherst opened hot, their joint was rockin', and the LJN was screaming itself hoarse when 'TheBoys' were 16 down, early. The Zebras thought their main job was to protect the purple and white at every turn. Amherst pounded on Big Ryan like he was a bass drum. Several times shots of his leaked out of his hand, like he had suddenly been overcome by palsy. But alas, no trips to the line. 'TheBoys' methodically worked their way back into it, and following a terrific block at the basket by Nate B., only trailed by four at half. They finally caught Amherst at 62-all, and down the stretch our 'D' was pretty terrific. The Zebra crew duly noted that, and rewarded Toomey and his pals with more bailouts than the banks got at TARP time.
In fact, after the Hixons went up 61-55 with 7:41 left, they only scored on Barrise's '3' at the 1:05 mark to tie it, and on the putback that sealed it in OT. Everything else was courtesy of those men in stripes. Don't be fooled by the team foul numbers. 'Brutal', but sometimes to be expected on the road. Usually not in games between top teams. 'Awful', probably more appropriate - it was a continuous hosing. The magnitude of the difference was in focus as soon as the scorer's ink was dry on the page, because Midd slips to #2 in the nescac and now gets to host Williams, absolutely the most dangerous conference 7-seed in the country. Toomey and his pals stay home, facing Hamilton, certainly the lesser task, and look forward to hosting the nescacs.
Having recently seen the Eph-Men give one of their best performances at Pepin, it's clear this is one of those times where full impact of the post-season looms. The road to the top just got significantly steeper for The Boys. The depth of the nescac is on display with teams like Bowdoin and Williams as 6 and 7 seeds. Thankfully, The Boys have been taught to take it one game at a time, have a guard rotation that knows that the possessions get a little bigger at this stage of the year, and use that knowledge and experience every night. For our 'nervous nellies' who point to what happened last time, my take is that JeffB. and company have probably already addressed those issues. The thought is that seeing a different alignment/match-up on 'D' is more probable than not. Meaning that you won't have 'TheBigDog' roaming around out on the arc, which takes him away from his effectiveness on the glass. Another soldier will be dispatched to keep track of Epley out there, sit on his left hand and try to get him to put it on the floor. Doubt with that scenario in mind he can match his career best. Controlling Robinson and Wang equally well as was done in game one would be acceptable. Both are well known commodities that won't be overlooked. Freeing up Big Ryan from his perimeter duties, also means he's available for Mayer-stopping. Also like that Lynch, who has shown growing, consistent inside strength this season, can put his body on Mayer. My take is that Mayer can be muscled around - having seen the Wesleyan 'Bigs' do that effectively in their blowout 'W' earlier. That might be a page to be taken from that lesson.
On offense, it's obvious we need 'TheBigDog' for more than the 23 minutes he got in game one. Don't think that Mayer or Emerson can remotely match up with him on the low blocks. If they don't, he can growl and bark with the best of them, giving us big positive results. And if they cover, he can trigger the inside-out response with good shooters getting good 'looks'. Also like that for our younger guys, this is a good spot to begin their post season course load. Having seen Williams up close, they'll have a better sense of focusing on what needs to be accomplished to get to the rematch with Toomey and his pals next weekend. Obviously a lot riding on the outcome - the nescac crown, ncaa bids and ncaa hosting. Although the 'nervous nellies' may overload the pre-game lamaze sessions, my take is that 'TheBoys' took Williams' best punch in game one and survived. Believe that our balance, 'D', depth and 'home-cookin' are all strong factors that Maker and his boys can't quite measure up to, so that Midd will move on, and the talk in the pubs on Saturday night will again be of the nescac finals.
Expect Pepin to be packed again - the Midd fans lead the nescac in attendance by a large margin- but unfortunately won't be in town to see this one live. Will have to survive by video, but looking forward to Amherst next week. And remember... "off 'The Pine Room' keg, down 'The Alibi' stairs, over Maker's best supporting-actor nomination letter, nothin' but net." Till next time. Be well. Clubbo.
In fact, after the Hixons went up 61-55 with 7:41 left, they only scored on Barrise's '3' at the 1:05 mark to tie it, and on the putback that sealed it in OT. Everything else was courtesy of those men in stripes. Don't be fooled by the team foul numbers. 'Brutal', but sometimes to be expected on the road. Usually not in games between top teams. 'Awful', probably more appropriate - it was a continuous hosing. The magnitude of the difference was in focus as soon as the scorer's ink was dry on the page, because Midd slips to #2 in the nescac and now gets to host Williams, absolutely the most dangerous conference 7-seed in the country. Toomey and his pals stay home, facing Hamilton, certainly the lesser task, and look forward to hosting the nescacs.
Having recently seen the Eph-Men give one of their best performances at Pepin, it's clear this is one of those times where full impact of the post-season looms. The road to the top just got significantly steeper for The Boys. The depth of the nescac is on display with teams like Bowdoin and Williams as 6 and 7 seeds. Thankfully, The Boys have been taught to take it one game at a time, have a guard rotation that knows that the possessions get a little bigger at this stage of the year, and use that knowledge and experience every night. For our 'nervous nellies' who point to what happened last time, my take is that JeffB. and company have probably already addressed those issues. The thought is that seeing a different alignment/match-up on 'D' is more probable than not. Meaning that you won't have 'TheBigDog' roaming around out on the arc, which takes him away from his effectiveness on the glass. Another soldier will be dispatched to keep track of Epley out there, sit on his left hand and try to get him to put it on the floor. Doubt with that scenario in mind he can match his career best. Controlling Robinson and Wang equally well as was done in game one would be acceptable. Both are well known commodities that won't be overlooked. Freeing up Big Ryan from his perimeter duties, also means he's available for Mayer-stopping. Also like that Lynch, who has shown growing, consistent inside strength this season, can put his body on Mayer. My take is that Mayer can be muscled around - having seen the Wesleyan 'Bigs' do that effectively in their blowout 'W' earlier. That might be a page to be taken from that lesson.
On offense, it's obvious we need 'TheBigDog' for more than the 23 minutes he got in game one. Don't think that Mayer or Emerson can remotely match up with him on the low blocks. If they don't, he can growl and bark with the best of them, giving us big positive results. And if they cover, he can trigger the inside-out response with good shooters getting good 'looks'. Also like that for our younger guys, this is a good spot to begin their post season course load. Having seen Williams up close, they'll have a better sense of focusing on what needs to be accomplished to get to the rematch with Toomey and his pals next weekend. Obviously a lot riding on the outcome - the nescac crown, ncaa bids and ncaa hosting. Although the 'nervous nellies' may overload the pre-game lamaze sessions, my take is that 'TheBoys' took Williams' best punch in game one and survived. Believe that our balance, 'D', depth and 'home-cookin' are all strong factors that Maker and his boys can't quite measure up to, so that Midd will move on, and the talk in the pubs on Saturday night will again be of the nescac finals.
Expect Pepin to be packed again - the Midd fans lead the nescac in attendance by a large margin- but unfortunately won't be in town to see this one live. Will have to survive by video, but looking forward to Amherst next week. And remember... "off 'The Pine Room' keg, down 'The Alibi' stairs, over Maker's best supporting-actor nomination letter, nothin' but net." Till next time. Be well. Clubbo.
Friday, February 10, 2012
..Can you say Big Game?
The Panther Express continued to roll last weekend holding off a very hot and tougher-than-expected Bowdoin squad at Pepin. 'ThePolarBears' shot 66% in the second half (6 of 8 from 3-land) and made some from spots beyond the arc that have had little traffic since yours truly was firing them up from just over the horizon 40-plus years ago. They kept coming on late, and only a top performance from the free throw line kept them at bay. That illustrated two salient points about 'TheBoys' this season. Midd is now a much tougher out than even our recent editions, because they've shed the moribund (low-60's) FT percentage and are now in the mid-70's, and have learned to keep the ball in the hands of our best shooters with the game on the line. That means that down the stretch, 'TheBigDog', Ryan Sharry gets it down low where the result is usually a deuce or a visit to the line, Jake, or Joey, who has the stroke and requisite ice-water in his veins (he's at 90%) to be the closer.
The second key point is that we have enough offensive balance to offset a team that gets very hot. This is a necessity if The Boys are going to make a deep post season run. Although our team 'D' is solid - and we've got a lot of contributors, we haven't shown the knockout punch that the defense specialized in last year. All that having been said, it's my take that this group is more versatile, that Ryan is pretty much unstoppable down low, (especially when Peter Lynch, the new #44, is in the game), and that the G. rotation, particularly Joey, continues to improve, mature and mesh on both ends. That versatitlity, and our depth was on display in the Colby game. Colby tried hard, but was badly overmatched, and the 'D' rose up especially by the mid-second half as the lead stretched out to 64-36. Everybody got some minutes-nice especially for Winslow and Carl G. who have soldiered on, and played well. Also notable, was yet another good segment by 'The Smoothie', Dylan Sinnickson. In a group of frosh that makes the future bright, he is currently the leader, and from what I've seen, the best of the nescac. Dean B. is starting to find his way out there in 3-land, more comfortable,his release is improving as he transitions from being a high school '4' to a '3'. Also liked the way that Eamon Cuddy handled himself, think he'll be heard from. 'Winston' could've brought the house down with thunder dunk, didn't make up his mind before taking off, but left everyone with the realization that it's there. He did make a sweet back door pass to a cutter for a bucket.
Tonight Trinity will be scrapping and clawing as they try to hold onto the last playoff spot in the nescacs. Their frosh are now carrying a lot of the load, so they have a different look than The Boys have seen, but it's my take that most nights they don't score the ball well, and are inconsistent at best from the outside. We're better up front, our G. rotation has more working parts, and the depth down the bench give us recognizable advantages. But this is 'the road' and it is in a building where we've yet to take early control of a game. As always, counting on JeffB's preparation to focus on the business of the now against a team that is 'do-able'. Hoping that it's not a nail-biter so that our main guys don't have to go past 28 minutes, but that may be wishful thinking on the road.
Can you say Big Game? That's tomorrow in front of TheLordJeffNation. Number 6 hosting Number 2! More or less the season on the brink. The winner gets to host the nescacs -a huge advantage. The winner will be the undisputed #1 in the ncaa regional rankings, and that will have a serious bearing on who is #1 in the eastern half of ncaa brackets. 'TheBoys' have their work cut out for them. Amherst has firepower, solid G. play, 'Bigs' that can hurt you, and home cookin'. My take is that if we cover Barrise on the arc and don't let him get going from 3, that's a big plus. That means Toomey will have to try and do more on offense, which should be to our benefit. Workman, their '3', has not really shot the ball that well from outside this year and is more of a 'slasher that can be defended. Which Waller shows up may be the deciding factor. He has strung together several good outings of late, but has serious tendencies to be lazy on 'D', and reach, and thus is foul prone and which limits his minutes and them. My take is that as good as Toomey's press releases have been, Joey has an edge. And Jake and Nolan always show up, particularly in big spots -got to think this will be one of them. And 'TheBigDog' will be the best 'big' in the building. We've got to get him north of 18 attempts preferably down low, and his bark will keep TheLordJeffs off the porch. Slight edge - Panthers!
Of course for our newly minted fans, who think they might encounter breathing problems during the game, lamaze sessions are available on the Panther Express during the pre-game hours. If you think you can handle it, without the lamaze, the rest of us will be at The Pub in Amherst about 1:45 for burgers and beers. Hope you can make it- it oughtta be a helluva game. Remember, down LordJeffrey's snooty nose, off the wall of the 'cage', past Hixon's shoe, nothin' but net. bew ell. Clubbo.
The second key point is that we have enough offensive balance to offset a team that gets very hot. This is a necessity if The Boys are going to make a deep post season run. Although our team 'D' is solid - and we've got a lot of contributors, we haven't shown the knockout punch that the defense specialized in last year. All that having been said, it's my take that this group is more versatile, that Ryan is pretty much unstoppable down low, (especially when Peter Lynch, the new #44, is in the game), and that the G. rotation, particularly Joey, continues to improve, mature and mesh on both ends. That versatitlity, and our depth was on display in the Colby game. Colby tried hard, but was badly overmatched, and the 'D' rose up especially by the mid-second half as the lead stretched out to 64-36. Everybody got some minutes-nice especially for Winslow and Carl G. who have soldiered on, and played well. Also notable, was yet another good segment by 'The Smoothie', Dylan Sinnickson. In a group of frosh that makes the future bright, he is currently the leader, and from what I've seen, the best of the nescac. Dean B. is starting to find his way out there in 3-land, more comfortable,his release is improving as he transitions from being a high school '4' to a '3'. Also liked the way that Eamon Cuddy handled himself, think he'll be heard from. 'Winston' could've brought the house down with thunder dunk, didn't make up his mind before taking off, but left everyone with the realization that it's there. He did make a sweet back door pass to a cutter for a bucket.
Tonight Trinity will be scrapping and clawing as they try to hold onto the last playoff spot in the nescacs. Their frosh are now carrying a lot of the load, so they have a different look than The Boys have seen, but it's my take that most nights they don't score the ball well, and are inconsistent at best from the outside. We're better up front, our G. rotation has more working parts, and the depth down the bench give us recognizable advantages. But this is 'the road' and it is in a building where we've yet to take early control of a game. As always, counting on JeffB's preparation to focus on the business of the now against a team that is 'do-able'. Hoping that it's not a nail-biter so that our main guys don't have to go past 28 minutes, but that may be wishful thinking on the road.
Can you say Big Game? That's tomorrow in front of TheLordJeffNation. Number 6 hosting Number 2! More or less the season on the brink. The winner gets to host the nescacs -a huge advantage. The winner will be the undisputed #1 in the ncaa regional rankings, and that will have a serious bearing on who is #1 in the eastern half of ncaa brackets. 'TheBoys' have their work cut out for them. Amherst has firepower, solid G. play, 'Bigs' that can hurt you, and home cookin'. My take is that if we cover Barrise on the arc and don't let him get going from 3, that's a big plus. That means Toomey will have to try and do more on offense, which should be to our benefit. Workman, their '3', has not really shot the ball that well from outside this year and is more of a 'slasher that can be defended. Which Waller shows up may be the deciding factor. He has strung together several good outings of late, but has serious tendencies to be lazy on 'D', and reach, and thus is foul prone and which limits his minutes and them. My take is that as good as Toomey's press releases have been, Joey has an edge. And Jake and Nolan always show up, particularly in big spots -got to think this will be one of them. And 'TheBigDog' will be the best 'big' in the building. We've got to get him north of 18 attempts preferably down low, and his bark will keep TheLordJeffs off the porch. Slight edge - Panthers!
Of course for our newly minted fans, who think they might encounter breathing problems during the game, lamaze sessions are available on the Panther Express during the pre-game hours. If you think you can handle it, without the lamaze, the rest of us will be at The Pub in Amherst about 1:45 for burgers and beers. Hope you can make it- it oughtta be a helluva game. Remember, down LordJeffrey's snooty nose, off the wall of the 'cage', past Hixon's shoe, nothin' but net. bew ell. Clubbo.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
'..takin' it in stride..'
'The Boys' survived Maker's histrionics (which should land him a nomination for best supporting actor) and dealt with the hated EphMen at Pepin to the delight of the SRO crowd. But 'the road' proved more than an equalizer, to a team that already had rung up eleven tallies in unfriendly confines this season, when The Boys came up a point short at Keene State. This was one of those spots long ago marked with a 'danger' sign, but it looked like Midd would escape the ax man's blade when they pushed the lead out to ten with 6:16 remaining. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be, as we managed to have more turnovers than points down the stretch. Although we got the last two shots, neither was great, and more importantly didn't go in.
In a way, getting nicked, especially late, may have a long term benefit to remind The Boys of their mortality and sharpen the focus for Bowdoin now, and for the Trinity-Amherst trip next week. The first goal is to secure the nescac season title. That creates a lot of good things. It means we get home cookin' through the nescac playoffs, and would give us a leg up on hosting come the ncaa's. But first things first. Russ Hanley, arguably the second best 'big' in the nescac, and his fellow PolarBears will visit Pepin on Friday. He is dangerous and can keep them in most any game, but his supporting cast has been underwhelming more than a few times this year. Even given that Hanley's an even match with 'TheBigDog', our trio of guards, backed by the inside punch of Lynch, who keeps coming on, and the bench support of Jensen, Dylan, and Dean B. gives The Boys a scoring, defensive and explosiveness edge that the rest of the Polar Bears don't come close to matching. Add in 'Long Jack' Roberts, maybe 'Winston' Churchill, (who is ready to get some minutes), and Nate Bulluck, in spots and you've got a depth that even a Polar Bear chasing a seal couldn't dive to. In my parlance Bowdoin is 'do-able'.
Saturday we have 'WhiteMules' on the menu, and while Colby is usually a tough foe, this is a down year for them. They lack firepower and 'bigs', not a recipe for success on the road against a major power. Certain, because of our ranking and the fact that they probably will have gotten torched at Williams on Friday, that they'll circle the wagons and try to put up a good effort. Just don't see that extra resolve will make up for the size, depth and explosiveness differential. It's 'senior day', and it should be noted that although Ryan gets the press because of his talent and career numbers, there are some other 'Boys' who have contributed their time and talent to this great run of the last four years. Winslow Hicks and Carl Gayle are two of the unsung who have worked just as hard and are solid teammates, although we only see them in limited spots. Every team needs those guys for their commitment and contributions to complete the chemistry that makes the program work. Also add to the fact that "Hank, the Tank", Henry Butler hasn't left the team and still is down there on the bench, even though he was taken down by a bad hip for two seasons.
Midd's run as Number One most likely is over, because of the way that some of the pollsters have viewed us all year. There are those, and it's clear from listening to 'Hoopsville' on Sundays or Thursdays, that have gone for the MikeMaker spin doctoring that Williams is still a great national power somehow arriving late to the scene this year, hook, line and sinker. Please! Five L's and currently 6th in the nescac. You are what your record says you are, per Bill Parcells. And that is not 16th in country. Nor were they the national third place team last year. There was no third place game or even a coin flip, so why is that b.s. on their website? It's all about the spin. And just another reason to have them lose as often as possible. The Boys did not play like they were 'deer in the headlights' at Keene, and may have a chance to redeem themselves in the future. But right now they need to finish the deal against Bowdoin, then Colby and move on. Till next time... 'down the Alibi stairs, off DicktheHealer's table, past Wendy's skates, nothin' but net'. Be well. Clubbo.
In a way, getting nicked, especially late, may have a long term benefit to remind The Boys of their mortality and sharpen the focus for Bowdoin now, and for the Trinity-Amherst trip next week. The first goal is to secure the nescac season title. That creates a lot of good things. It means we get home cookin' through the nescac playoffs, and would give us a leg up on hosting come the ncaa's. But first things first. Russ Hanley, arguably the second best 'big' in the nescac, and his fellow PolarBears will visit Pepin on Friday. He is dangerous and can keep them in most any game, but his supporting cast has been underwhelming more than a few times this year. Even given that Hanley's an even match with 'TheBigDog', our trio of guards, backed by the inside punch of Lynch, who keeps coming on, and the bench support of Jensen, Dylan, and Dean B. gives The Boys a scoring, defensive and explosiveness edge that the rest of the Polar Bears don't come close to matching. Add in 'Long Jack' Roberts, maybe 'Winston' Churchill, (who is ready to get some minutes), and Nate Bulluck, in spots and you've got a depth that even a Polar Bear chasing a seal couldn't dive to. In my parlance Bowdoin is 'do-able'.
Saturday we have 'WhiteMules' on the menu, and while Colby is usually a tough foe, this is a down year for them. They lack firepower and 'bigs', not a recipe for success on the road against a major power. Certain, because of our ranking and the fact that they probably will have gotten torched at Williams on Friday, that they'll circle the wagons and try to put up a good effort. Just don't see that extra resolve will make up for the size, depth and explosiveness differential. It's 'senior day', and it should be noted that although Ryan gets the press because of his talent and career numbers, there are some other 'Boys' who have contributed their time and talent to this great run of the last four years. Winslow Hicks and Carl Gayle are two of the unsung who have worked just as hard and are solid teammates, although we only see them in limited spots. Every team needs those guys for their commitment and contributions to complete the chemistry that makes the program work. Also add to the fact that "Hank, the Tank", Henry Butler hasn't left the team and still is down there on the bench, even though he was taken down by a bad hip for two seasons.
Midd's run as Number One most likely is over, because of the way that some of the pollsters have viewed us all year. There are those, and it's clear from listening to 'Hoopsville' on Sundays or Thursdays, that have gone for the MikeMaker spin doctoring that Williams is still a great national power somehow arriving late to the scene this year, hook, line and sinker. Please! Five L's and currently 6th in the nescac. You are what your record says you are, per Bill Parcells. And that is not 16th in country. Nor were they the national third place team last year. There was no third place game or even a coin flip, so why is that b.s. on their website? It's all about the spin. And just another reason to have them lose as often as possible. The Boys did not play like they were 'deer in the headlights' at Keene, and may have a chance to redeem themselves in the future. But right now they need to finish the deal against Bowdoin, then Colby and move on. Till next time... 'down the Alibi stairs, off DicktheHealer's table, past Wendy's skates, nothin' but net'. Be well. Clubbo.
Friday, January 27, 2012
...'Purple Cows' along the Otter Creek... and 'The Trap'
The Continentals threw their best punch at 'The Boys' last weekend, but they took it in stride, broke a 55-all tie on a steal by Jake who fed 'TheBigDog' for the easy duece. Joey followed with an assist to rising Dylan Sinnickson; Jake drained a 3-ball; and long Jack Roberts fininshed the run with a lay-in to push it out to 64-57. Then the G. trio nailed all 6 FT's to seal it. Eleven W's so far on the road speaks well to the preparation, intensity, depth and 'game' that 'The Boys' bring every night. They followed that with another solid effort, and cruised by Plattsburgh to set up the confrontation with the hated Purple Cows from Williamstown.
'TheMikeMakers' will be at Pepin tomorrow. The joint will be rockin' with an SRO crowd of Panther noisemakers fully expected. Having seen them up close recently, a couple of data points come to mind. Although they are dangerous on their best shooting nights, this group doesn't measure up to the recent teams that featured Snyder, Geohegan, Schultz and Whittington. Their 'Bigs' have been adequate at best. My take is that our 'Bigs' can get to the rim and control the paint on both ends. This should create two major positives for 'The Boys'. When Williams has the rock, there will be added pressure to score from beyond the arc. That plays into the Panther's 'D'. We can cover out there, so there shouldn't be good 'looks' (for Klemm, Wang or Epley), and against our strength inside they should have a real problem getting to the rim, since none have looked great off the dribble. Part of that lies in the fact that if they do penetrate there's no real force inside for them to drop it off to. More pressure for their main guys.
This game was one of possible bumps in the road, when the schedules came out. Different than the last two in season games is that The Boys are now the 'hunted', and now we are at full strength
for the first time in these recent match-ups. I was on record several blogs back that we were not going down in this game. If you're one who thinks that we can be jinxed by taking a stand, take heart. This one is 'do-able'. My take is that they will have to shoot north of sixty percent from 3's, get 'The BigDog' in early foul trouble, have our G.'s forget to cover on the arc, and have us get nothing out of our bench to take down the second-to-last of the 'Tall Trees' in the D3 forest, only us and Hope (whose only 'L' was to a D1) remain standing. That should be too tall an order. The game is pretty giant on several fronts- it keeps us in the nescac lead and pointing towards the growing chance of a showdown with TheLordJeffNation; and it will tag the EphMen with their third nescac loss. That is good. It also should eliminate them from the top 30 in the nation, since no amount of spin doctoring by the ever resourceful Williams' advocacy group will be able to justify their fifth loss. That is sweeter.
Beyond this, the trap lies in the New Hampshire forests. 'Williams' at Pepin, has been the chatter on campus, and in the pubs all week. Everybody wants it. Feels it. And that is just fine with the Keene State Owls, who love to press end to end for forty minutes, and get us into an up tempo game where their 'chaos' and crowd just might take down a Number One. Have seen them, know they won't quit and can score the ball. On the 31st, 'The Boys' will be in a very dangerous spot. The big plus is that JeffB. has been so solid in his one-at-a-time approach, that the nervous can go grab a quick Lamaze session (to regulate their breathing), on the Panther Express (it is resting on a siding this weekend), and let The Boys will deal with Williams first. Once that is taken care of, the road to Keene State will be here soon enough.
Pepin will have a celebration for BBall Alumni tomorrow, and a strong turnout of Midd alums from our recent ncaa teams, and others from the late 70's to the early 'double-ohs', and the late 60's and early 70's- my squad, 'the team that turned the corner', and finally two stars, Charlie Sykes and Zip Rausa, from the great Tony Lupien-coached, Midd teams of '56-'58, will be on hand. It should be fun to reconnect the eras. If you're an alum and still on the fence, the game is at 11:30, with an informal lunch at 1:00 at Up's to follow. Williams' tip is at 4p.m.with a reception immediately afterwards. Remember... "down the Alibi stairs, off DicktheHealer's table, nothin' but net". Clubbo.
'TheMikeMakers' will be at Pepin tomorrow. The joint will be rockin' with an SRO crowd of Panther noisemakers fully expected. Having seen them up close recently, a couple of data points come to mind. Although they are dangerous on their best shooting nights, this group doesn't measure up to the recent teams that featured Snyder, Geohegan, Schultz and Whittington. Their 'Bigs' have been adequate at best. My take is that our 'Bigs' can get to the rim and control the paint on both ends. This should create two major positives for 'The Boys'. When Williams has the rock, there will be added pressure to score from beyond the arc. That plays into the Panther's 'D'. We can cover out there, so there shouldn't be good 'looks' (for Klemm, Wang or Epley), and against our strength inside they should have a real problem getting to the rim, since none have looked great off the dribble. Part of that lies in the fact that if they do penetrate there's no real force inside for them to drop it off to. More pressure for their main guys.
This game was one of possible bumps in the road, when the schedules came out. Different than the last two in season games is that The Boys are now the 'hunted', and now we are at full strength
for the first time in these recent match-ups. I was on record several blogs back that we were not going down in this game. If you're one who thinks that we can be jinxed by taking a stand, take heart. This one is 'do-able'. My take is that they will have to shoot north of sixty percent from 3's, get 'The BigDog' in early foul trouble, have our G.'s forget to cover on the arc, and have us get nothing out of our bench to take down the second-to-last of the 'Tall Trees' in the D3 forest, only us and Hope (whose only 'L' was to a D1) remain standing. That should be too tall an order. The game is pretty giant on several fronts- it keeps us in the nescac lead and pointing towards the growing chance of a showdown with TheLordJeffNation; and it will tag the EphMen with their third nescac loss. That is good. It also should eliminate them from the top 30 in the nation, since no amount of spin doctoring by the ever resourceful Williams' advocacy group will be able to justify their fifth loss. That is sweeter.
Beyond this, the trap lies in the New Hampshire forests. 'Williams' at Pepin, has been the chatter on campus, and in the pubs all week. Everybody wants it. Feels it. And that is just fine with the Keene State Owls, who love to press end to end for forty minutes, and get us into an up tempo game where their 'chaos' and crowd just might take down a Number One. Have seen them, know they won't quit and can score the ball. On the 31st, 'The Boys' will be in a very dangerous spot. The big plus is that JeffB. has been so solid in his one-at-a-time approach, that the nervous can go grab a quick Lamaze session (to regulate their breathing), on the Panther Express (it is resting on a siding this weekend), and let The Boys will deal with Williams first. Once that is taken care of, the road to Keene State will be here soon enough.
Pepin will have a celebration for BBall Alumni tomorrow, and a strong turnout of Midd alums from our recent ncaa teams, and others from the late 70's to the early 'double-ohs', and the late 60's and early 70's- my squad, 'the team that turned the corner', and finally two stars, Charlie Sykes and Zip Rausa, from the great Tony Lupien-coached, Midd teams of '56-'58, will be on hand. It should be fun to reconnect the eras. If you're an alum and still on the fence, the game is at 11:30, with an informal lunch at 1:00 at Up's to follow. Williams' tip is at 4p.m.with a reception immediately afterwards. Remember... "down the Alibi stairs, off DicktheHealer's table, nothin' but net". Clubbo.
Friday, January 20, 2012
'..at the Continentals.. and the divide'
'The Boys' had more trouble than expected with ConnCollege, and weren't able to coast before they took on much improved, and improving, Wesleyan. Wes was looking to cash their biggest trifecta in the JoeReilly-era, with Williams, the Panthers and the LordJeffNation in their building in a five day span. Having run Williams (then #12), halfway back to the Berkshires on Friday night, they were looking for another scalp with The Boys in their sights on Saturday. The game was hard fought all the way and with under three minutes, when it looked like Sharry, Kizel, Wolfin & Co. were about to get away, the refs decided that Wes needed some zebra intervention to find out if Midd was a legit numero uno. Although they had pretty much let it be rough 'n tumble (as expected on the road), a couple of moves that Callagahan put on Sharry hadn't been seen since the rodeo left Madison Square Garden. Of course the place was rockin', but Jake calmly drained one moving to his left with the clock going off, and TheBigDog kept Wes from getting to the rim, and Joey, per his usual icewater personna, calmly drained a pair of FT's to seal the deal. Nice to have guys that can deliver the big play every night.
In retrospect the 'W' earned looked even better by Tuesday night when Wes upended the LordJeffs, #4, to show that they will have to be reckoned with again. In recapping the game, it should be noted that the ball ought to get down to Sharry, because once he gets it, he's going to score and probably get to the line. The only critique is that 9 shots aren't enough. Unsung as usual down the stretch, was Nolan T. putting the cuffs on ShaSha Brown and keeping him under control.
The Boys are back on the road at Hamilton tonight. The Continentals have been a 'jekyll and hyde' group but hung in at Amherst recently for 30 minutes. At home they'll be tougher. My grapevine tells me that their frontcourt guys are on the slow side. That's a definite plus for our Bigs. And our G. rotation is getting stronger. Joey has emerged as big possession player and a go-to guy at crunch time. Add in the depth factor with Peter, Dylan, Dean B., long Jack Roberts, and others, and the Continentals ought to be 'do-able'. There will be a webcast covering the proceedings.
Presuming that The Boys survive another test with that big equalizer, the road, they will be at the divide of the nescac season at five and oh. Recognizing there is plenty of work remaining and goals to be accomplished, but in the one game at a time world of the post-season, they will have qualified for the nescacs. Whoop-de-do! Of course they qualified! Six or seven seasons back - like a time long ago, in a galaxy far away - everyone connected with the program would have been ecstatic. Shows how dramatic the leap forward has been, and how bright the spotlights have gotten. But I still like to keep tab on the reality of the day. The Panther Express should keep rollin', setting up a packed house for Wang and Pals, when the old Bball alums will be back to be honored and join in the festivities. Till next week, remember, "nothin' but net". Be well. Clubbo.
In retrospect the 'W' earned looked even better by Tuesday night when Wes upended the LordJeffs, #4, to show that they will have to be reckoned with again. In recapping the game, it should be noted that the ball ought to get down to Sharry, because once he gets it, he's going to score and probably get to the line. The only critique is that 9 shots aren't enough. Unsung as usual down the stretch, was Nolan T. putting the cuffs on ShaSha Brown and keeping him under control.
The Boys are back on the road at Hamilton tonight. The Continentals have been a 'jekyll and hyde' group but hung in at Amherst recently for 30 minutes. At home they'll be tougher. My grapevine tells me that their frontcourt guys are on the slow side. That's a definite plus for our Bigs. And our G. rotation is getting stronger. Joey has emerged as big possession player and a go-to guy at crunch time. Add in the depth factor with Peter, Dylan, Dean B., long Jack Roberts, and others, and the Continentals ought to be 'do-able'. There will be a webcast covering the proceedings.
Presuming that The Boys survive another test with that big equalizer, the road, they will be at the divide of the nescac season at five and oh. Recognizing there is plenty of work remaining and goals to be accomplished, but in the one game at a time world of the post-season, they will have qualified for the nescacs. Whoop-de-do! Of course they qualified! Six or seven seasons back - like a time long ago, in a galaxy far away - everyone connected with the program would have been ecstatic. Shows how dramatic the leap forward has been, and how bright the spotlights have gotten. But I still like to keep tab on the reality of the day. The Panther Express should keep rollin', setting up a packed house for Wang and Pals, when the old Bball alums will be back to be honored and join in the festivities. Till next week, remember, "nothin' but net". Be well. Clubbo.
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