I want W&M to succeed. I want Dane Fischer to build on the fine start to his head coaching career. I want the kids to thrive.
I don't want Samantha Huge to be rewarded for the way she fired Tony Shaver.
And those are the dueling emotional states that have informed my interest in this most intriguing of seasons.
After starting 6-0 in league play, W&M stumbled a bit, losing five of their next seven games before righting the ship and winning two in a row. The Tribe are now 18-10, 10-5 in the CAA, good for outright second place behind red-hot Hofstra. They'll be favored in each of their final three games (at Towson and Elon, and home against James Madison. The likely worst-case scenario for Fischer's team is a top-four seed in a CAA Tournament that promises to be wide open.
#1bid4wmtribe isn't necessarily likely, but it's a hell of a lot more possible than our early-season prognostication might've suggested. We didn't think they'd win 10 games after losing six of their top seven scorers from 2018-19 via graduation or transfer. Dane Fischer, it turns out, can coach.
The 39 year-old Fischer is calm, measured, and smart. He reminds me a lot of Brad Stevens on the sidelines. I've seen the Tribe play twice in person this season, the latter of those games from front-row seats, courtesy of W&M's athletic development staff. During that game, Samantha Huge sat down right next to me and spent about a half engaging with the high-dollar donors that also had seats in the area. She may have thought that I was one of those fancy types. Reader, I tell you that she is very invested in Fischer's success. I did not offer my opinion of the way the young coach got his job. Who do you think I am, Marls?
On the court, Fischer's team is winning through a combination of a very unique pair of lefty bigs, defensive effort that's not been the norm in Williamburg, and balance throughout the team after those twin towers.
Knight needs 108 points to become W&M's all-time leading scorer (he has at least four games left). He'll finish third all-time in rebounds, and second in blocks. It is possible - and increasingly logical - to argue that he's the best player in Tribe history. And if you know how I feel about Marcus Thornton (who's jersey was retired on Saturday), you'll know how blasphemous that sounds. But it's getting closer to true.
7'0" senior Andy Van Vliet (a lefthander like Knight), averages 13.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, and makes 36% of his threes (he's taken and made more than any other W&M player). Junior guard Luke Loewe averages 10.4 points per game and has proven to be a very effective on-ball defender. In two games against Charleston, Loewe held defending CAA Player of the Year and likely NBA draftee Grant Riller to 20 points on 6-21 shooting. Four other Tribe players are getting at least 4.4 points or 2.0 rebounds. They're all chipping in.
As always, the CAA Tournament will be a crapshoot. League leader Hofstra will deserve the top seed they'll likely get, and they beat W&M by 23 in Williamsburg a few months ago. But the Tribe beat them by 27 on Long Island in January. The Tribe have beaten every team that's beaten them in league play, other than Towson, and they'll get a chance to rectify that on Thursday.
This will be Dane Fischer's first trip through the postseason as the head man. The evidence suggests it won't fluster him. Seeing W&M get to the tournament final might fluster me, though.
I'd probably get over it.
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13 comments:
Rob, your sustained interest in Tribe hoops is impressive, though apparently much of a conversation generator.
Shouldn’t it be “Wreckoning”?
On a related note, I saw a guy at the gym the other day wearing a green and gold shirt, with a picture of a championship ring and William and Mary on it.
I knew something was amiss, and went to inspect it more closely. It was from his intramural squad when he was a law student at W&M.
Was it Coby?
No. But he looked like the type of guy who'd like his playlist.
my wife and i saw parasite this afternoon. holy shit. i insist that you all see it.
It is a very good movie film
Is that the one with subtitles? I’ll pass.
it *is* hard for jmu grads to follow, but my wife managed okay
I had read good reviews about Parasite and saw the Oscar win, but I was waiting for someone I know and whose taste I trust to recommend. I'll now check it out.
So thanks, Teej.
the news about the ryan newman crash at daytona does not look good. the wreck was crazy, and it's being reported that he's been taken directly to the hospital and that the media's been cleared from pit road. that's ominous.
We were watching the last 15 min so we saw it. Very bad...and the way the coverage was playing out post facto was a bit telling, as if the insiders knew he was not with us anymore. Sad. Note...it isn’t official so I hope I am wrong.
The Netflix doc on Aaron Hernandez is pretty intense.
The Human Centipede > Parasite.
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