Wow, where to start.
Ok, first, the Sacred Heart game. Central, as Howie put it best, wasn't going to win that game if it had gone on until Christmas.
The Pioneers, at least at this stage in the season, are too big, too versatile, and too experienced for the Devils.
The Mount was a different story. Central bore down on defense, got tough on the boards and battled all night long. The Blue Devils just lack players who can provide consistent scoring. Three years from now, I'm convinced Ken Horton will be a player. I think Palmer has potential, and could find his niche by February. I like that Joe is adding more dimensions to his game and doesn't seem to mind playing any role.
All that however, won't lead to wins unless someone can take the round orange thing and put it through that red cirlce with the net on it.
There were some prime examples of the lack of luck and execution on Central's behalf on Saturday. Simmons' trip into the lane in the final minute showed his tenacity, and he ended up getting an extra point out of the deal, but if he'd made the dunk, Central might have had time to foul at the end after Shemik's three.
As for those critical of the press after Simmons' play... MSM was good at the line, and I'm siding with the four-time coach of the year on this one.
I don't know if this was his reasoning, but here's mine for playing it that way. Central, if it got the steal, only needed to score once. If you foul, then they make free throws, you might have to score twice as the game goes on and you're doing the whole foul-score-foul thing. The fewer possessions Central needs this year, the better. Besides, if Tristan gets the steal, which he darn near did, coach looks like a genius.
The second one was a bright spot for Simmons, worked his tail off, as exemplified by his saving a ball in the paint and baseball passing it ahead to Dannie. I like Dannie in the lineup, I think it spreads out the duties and helps on defense, but he'll have to show he can score a little to earn that role consistently.
In the end, I think Central's best chance to turn this around for this season is to win defensive struggles. If Central can stop the opposition, it won't need tons of points. And if the others can do just enough to get Tristan going, I think the Blue Devils have seven or eight NEC wins in the 60's in them.
But until someone else steps up and scores, and until the Blue Devils show they can defend on a regular basis, there is much work to be done. Let these last few non-league games become a final training camp.
Then the real fun begins.
