Colonial Athletic Association Notebook
by Jay Pearlman
They’re the CAA school different from all the rest, academically, architecturally, sociologically. They’re one of five Virginia schools in a Virginia-based league, in fact, directly centered between stalwarts Virginia Commonwealth and Old Dominion on I-64. When one lists the Virginia schools in the CAA, one often lists VCU, ODU, George Mason, James Madison, and “one more I can’t think of.”
Personally, this is my second season in the league, and in addition to every Northeastern game this season (and most last year), I’ve seen some conference opponents 6 or 8 times, live and on television. Until last Wednesday, I hadn’t seen William & Mary play one time. Oh yes, they’ve won five conference games in a row, and are now tied for second with GMU and Delaware, just one game behind VCU.
Of course, I heard about sophomore shooting guard David Schneider and watched some tape of him before voting for last year’s all rookie team. I’d also heard about senior forward Laimis Kisielius, and more recently about sharp-shooting fellow senior Nathan Mann. And I’d been told that long-time Hampden-Sydney coach Tony Shaver’s teams are fundamentally sound, that he gets more out of less than anyone around.
Watching tape in preparation for last Wednesday’s game against Northeastern, I began to see what I’d previously only read about. I was watching a southern version of Princeton, of Wisconsin-Green Bay, of hold the ball, walk the ball, shoot the ball. The three stars terribly non-athletic (and how does Schneider’s father let him shoot like Dick Barnett of the late 60’s Knicks?), they guard for the full shot-clock, slow down the pace, make their opponent also guard for the full 35, wear opponents down mentally, and make shots. Often those shots are three-point shots, and the Tribe is a healthy 123-361 from behind the arc for the season (34 percent).
Having coached against both Princeton and Wisconsin-Green Bay, and covered Princeton for radio and print during two different eras, I think I know how to beat them (press, run, open up the game, get the score to 90, turnovers and the torpedoes be damned). Easier said than done, though, especially down in Williamsburg. But in watching that tape, I was looking for one thing above all else: the tiniest bit of athleticism from anyone on the roster. But alas, I didn’t watch closely enough (those non-television managers’ tapes are brutal), and I never found what I was searching for. Then I saw them in person, last Wednesday evening against Northeastern.
What do I mean by athleticism? Well, running, jumping, strength to rebound and retain the ball, quickness with and without the ball. The game against Northeastern went as I expected, with Northeastern’s superior athleticism supporting some first half transition, resulting in a 14-point lead at one point, then 12 at the half. Then, in the second half, Tony Shaver’s Princeton Tigers (uh… I mean William & Mary Tribe) asserted their collective will on the game, playing hard defensively, controlling their defensive boards, walking the ball up, and slowed the game to barely a crawl, grinding down offensive possessions.
But even in that context, to make up a 12-point halftime deficit, someone had to make plays, someone had to beat his man off the dribble, someone had to run a little bit, jump a little bit, slash a little bit. That someone turned out to be Chris Darnell. And it was Darnell’s play in the second half that earned William & Mary a win over Northeastern.
Not surprisingly, Darnell played for his father at North Stafford High School. Through two college seasons, he started only three games, averaged only 11 minutes per game, scored two points per game and grabbed two rebounds (two rebounds is a ton in just 11 minutes). Now a junior, starter of 13 of his team’s 17 games to date, the 6-9, 235-pound forward is responsible for rebounding (5 per game), scoring (6.5 per game), and defense both under the basket and out on the perimeter.
In the second half of the Northeastern game, when his team needed it most, Darnell slashed to the goal against both zone and man-to-man defenses, made medium range shots, made himself tough to guard, and dominated the half. Darnell’s 10 points in the half (a half in which the Huskies scored but 19 as a team) was the difference. Statistically, in the half Darnell was 4-6 from the field, 1-1 from behind the arc, scored 10, grabbed 3 rebounds, and had one all-important assist.
Now it would have been nice if Darnell followed up that monster half with a strong performance on Saturday against Towson, but he was quiet that day, and his team didn’t need him. Going forward, though, if William & Mary is going to stay near the top of this rough and tumble conference, they’re going to need more night-in and night-out from their most athletic player, junior forward Chris Darnell. In fact, that athleticism should be needed their next time out, as William & Mary heads to Philadelphia on Wednesday to face the tough man-to-man defense of Bruiser Flint’s Drexel Dragons.
CAA news and notes
- He got hot last Saturday against Northeastern, and has obviously stayed that way: this Saturday Dre Smith set an NCAA record with 10 three-pointers without a miss (10-10), and his 34 points led GMU to win going away at JMU, 96-75.
- What a brutal three-game swing for Delaware: at VCU last Wednesday, at Northeastern Saturday, now back to Virginia to play at James Madison Wednesday. Having lost the first two legs of this three-legged monster, Monte’ Ross’ 5-2 Blue Hens will try to right the ship against 3-4 JMU, themselves losers of two in a row.
- With George Mason really hitting its stride the last week and a half, Jim Larranaga is about to enjoy a stretch of 3 out of 4 at home. That begins tomorrow night with Blaine Taylor’s ODU team in town, then a trip to Wilmington on Saturday, then the game of the year in the CAA next Tuesday (Jan. 29) as Anthony Grant’s VCU Rams visit the Patriot Center, followed by a visit from James Madison the following Saturday.
- Remember that with an unbalanced schedule in the conference, despite the geographic proximity, George Mason will not have to make a return trip to VCU this season.
