Freshmen and a senior

Chalk yesterday up to a group of young kids who came off one of the most draining games of the season and quite frankly, appeared to have nothing left.

Perhaps they came into the game thinking this one was going to be easy (they should have read the preview I wrote to know the Blackbirds were 8-3 at home and fighting for a berth.) But there were several times when they tried to mount a rally, but you could tell that the guys just weren't there mentally.

Stinkers like that are common for young teams, but can happen to anyone (I was at CCSU's game at FDU last year when the Blue Devils just stopped playing, and anyone who saw UConn on Saturday knows it even happens to ranked teams, too). Horton's quote was accurate... days like that happen, but can't happen in March.

I wouldn't get too worked up over these losses... the RMU game was a game agaisnt an older team that Central wins by 10 two years from now. And, as hurtful as the LIU one was, you can't say you're truly surprised if you've watched this team over the course of the year... sometimes they lose their steam.

As for Tristan: He might very well still be sick (he'd never admit it) but the bigger issue with him is that he's the focus of every team's defense. Throw in the fact that the players around him are still getting their legs under them in terms of being go-to players (some times they feel it, sometimes they don't), and it can be tough for him to take over games in the way some people want him to.

Another HUGE factor is that he's asked to do much, much more than score. He's the primary defender, the main ball-handler and the team's pillar of strength. It can be a tiresome burden to mean so much to a team. Last year he could fill in for a night when the emotional leader (Javy) had an off night or the pillar (Obie) was missing.

This year he's asked to do it all almost every night. Many times he has. Sometimes he struggles. It's perfectly fair and understandable to rip a kid when he has a bad night (he didn't do very many productive things against LIU, I'll be the first to say it) but, as someone who's around the team quite a bit, I must take issue with the questioning of his leadership. He is revered by his teammates and does more little things than most will ever know.

And remember one final thing: The other team is playing defense, too. Sometimes, they do it well.