Health, Young Guards Are Key For Holy Cross
WORCESTER, Mass. – It has been said a lot over the years, but it bears repeating: health is often a key to a team’s season. In the case of Holy Cross, it’s probably more crucial than for most other teams.
Last season was an injury-plagued one for the Crusaders, and it showed in the end result. In an up year for the Patriot League, the Crusaders were 15-14 overall but just 5-9 in league play, finishing last. It was not only a good year for the league, but also a competitive one, as two games separated third from eighth place, and entering the final regular season day there was a possibility of a six-way tie for third place.
This season, already the Crusaders are banged up. Senior point guard Pat Doherty, who just can’t catch a break from the injury bug, is sidelined indefinitely with the same foot injury that he battled last year. The optimistic guess is that he’s able to go once league play commences. Meanwhile, senior forward Alex Vander Baan has the same back problem and will be unpredictable. One day he’s fine, the next day he can barely do anything.
“If we have Pat and Alex healthy, we’re going to be a pretty darned good team,” said head coach Ralph Willard. “Health is going to be a huge issue; if we get healthy, we’re going to be good.”
Willard and his players aren’t going to say that if they aren’t healthy, they can’t compete, and that’s only natural. They all know that injuries don’t prevent a team from winning, they just make it more difficult.
“Health wasn’t the reason we didn’t win games last year,” said Vander Baan. “We lost some guys, but we should have been good anyway.”
With Doherty out, two keys will be the players who try to fill that spot, sophomore Andrew Beinert and freshman Devin Brown. Beinert has had his struggles but now has a year under his belt, while Brown injected a lot of energy off the bench in their exhibition win over Assumption College. Don’t be surprised if Brown, who isn’t a true point but looks very capable, gets major minutes early on.
Off the ball, the Crusaders figure to go big with 6’8″ junior Adam May. The skilled wing can cause some matchup problems and looks to be fully healthy now, so he should be more productive. Another freshman, R.J. Evans, will be to that position what Brown can be to the point guard spot. Evans can score and brings energy off the bench, and don’t be surprised if he sees a lot of minutes right away along with classmate Brown.
“Both of them are great kids, they both have talent, they’re going to get a lot better, and we’ve just got to bring them along,” Willard said of Brown and Evans. “Hopefully, we can bring them along where we can put them in, take them out and coach them, and put them back in again, and not have to be out there because of our health situation.”
Senior tri-captain Colin Cunningham will start on the wing after improving noticeably last season. Classmate Lawrence Dixon could be in the mix, but his knee is still not right and he doesn’t have a lot of explosiveness. Vander Baan could occasionally play there, or they could slide May to that spot or go with three big bodies.
Although big man Tim Clifford is gone, the Crusaders have plenty of big bodies up front and can go with a big overall lineup. Junior Eric Meister is the most likely starter alongside Vander Baan, and he gives them a solid rebounder inside. Andrew Keister looks better now that he’s healthy, and he’s capable of rebounding and stretching the defense with an occasional mid-range jumper. Senior Greg McCarthy is their tallest player at 6’11” and also likes to face the basket, with a touch out past mid-range. Sophomore Josh Jones is another solid body who can give them minutes.
The frontcourt is a microcosm of the team in a personnel sense. Holy Cross doesn’t appear to have a stud that can carry them, or a clear go-to guy. As such, they will need a balanced attack, and that appears to be what they want. Willard also sees this as a reason the team must improve defensively.
“I think we have guys who can score in a lot of different ways,” said Willard, adding that he knows the team probably isn’t going to score 75 points a game. “That’s why initially, we have to defend, get our defense down to where we can stay in games. As the offense gets better, we’ll be in better shape.”
The last-place finish a year ago wasn’t just the result of injuries and other struggles on the part of the Crusaders. What has happened in recent years is that as the Crusaders and arch-rival Bucknell became significantly better than other teams in the Patriot League, the other teams all did the only thing they could do: get better. The Patriot League had its highest RPI ever last season, and for the first time ever all eight teams won at least 10 games.
While both Bucknell and Holy Cross had lost some players to graduation who helped them have the great success of recent years, it’s not as if they had no capable players waiting in the wings and everyone else pounced on the opportunity. While both teams were hurt by injuries, the reality is that the other six teams all got better, and it showed. This season will probably be no different, so navigating the league won’t be any easier for the Crusaders.
“Teams at the bottom certainly got a lot better last year,” said Willard. “The league is getting better, and American has a very good basketball team with great guard play.”
The league looks to be solid once again, although some key players have already suffered injuries. It means that Holy Cross won’t have it easy, healthy or not, but there are some things helping them. Besides the many capable bodies, the Crusaders’ usual challenging non-league slate has a few good home games this season, so they won’t be living on the road. They open with Northeast contender Sacred Heart, then host Saint Joseph’s two days later as part of three straight at home. They later host MAAC contender Fairfield, MAC contender Western Michigan, and MAAC favorite Siena.
While it’s nice for the home fans to see some good opponents, Willard sees an added benefit. He knows the Crusaders need their freshmen to help this team early.
“It’s a lot easier for freshmen to learn at home than on the road,” Willard said.
If they come around, and the Crusaders can avoid much further injury, they should be contenders in the league. Vander Baan will be a day-by-day case, but there are plenty of capable bodies on the roster with good talent and/or experience. They give Willard plenty of options with his lineups, and given the balance this team appears to have, he’s sure to use most, if not all, of them, whether forced to by injuries or led to do it by other circumstances.
