Wow was I wrong about a week ago when I said the regular season title would end up with Hanover! While that can still happen, it seems like Anderson really has things rolling right now. But who knows, the DCJackets curse just might be developing right before our eyes. Hanover, Anderson, and Manchester have a lock on the top 3 spots and do not seem to be showing any signs of giving them up. Even though the Panthers gave the Hanover faithful quite the scare after losing 3 in a row. It will be interesting to see who ends up as the HCAC regular season champs.
As for the other 3 spots in the tourney, it seems like tonight is a make or break night for both Defiance and Franklin. They are both sitting two games back of the 6th and final spot and have tough games tonight with Defiance playing Manchester and Franklin playing Transy. If they lose, they are both certainly not totally out of it, but making the conference tourney will be a very hard task and they will both need some help to get in.
I have been really disappointed in the fall of my Jackets. They have been playing very uninspired basketball lately and it has been showing in the last 4 games. They have not led for one second in the last 3 games! That is something a DC fan has not been used to in the last 4 years. Their offense is one dimensional, with Wolfrum having to create every play for a team that has limited playmakers and having the ball in his hands nearly 90% of the time. The rest of the HCAC has figured that out and are exploiting it. The issues defensively are a mile long but can be solve with one thing, TOUGHNESS! This group has not shown any of the toughness that the team had last year with the core group of seniors. Nate Conley has been a huge loss for this group. He was very unheralded as a contributor for last years team but he set the tone for the Jackets defensively. Not having his leadership and Sales and Floyd's playmaking abilities has really hurt this young DC team and hopefully one of them can find that same fire that Conley had and get the rest of the guys to follow. Either that or I hope Coach Brumett can find a group of recruits just like the group Miller brought in with Sales, Floyd, Conley, Stolly, Armstrong, and Stuckey. This DC team needs to find that toughness that the program has steadily built over the last 4 years with that group of seniors last year. Once this group realizes that, I see them going nowhere but up. Until that day comes, I just hope they make the conference tourney!
As for the other 3 spots in the tourney, it seems like tonight is a make or break night for both Defiance and Franklin. They are both sitting two games back of the 6th and final spot and have tough games tonight with Defiance playing Manchester and Franklin playing Transy. If they lose, they are both certainly not totally out of it, but making the conference tourney will be a very hard task and they will both need some help to get in.
I have been really disappointed in the fall of my Jackets. They have been playing very uninspired basketball lately and it has been showing in the last 4 games. They have not led for one second in the last 3 games! That is something a DC fan has not been used to in the last 4 years. Their offense is one dimensional, with Wolfrum having to create every play for a team that has limited playmakers and having the ball in his hands nearly 90% of the time. The rest of the HCAC has figured that out and are exploiting it. The issues defensively are a mile long but can be solve with one thing, TOUGHNESS! This group has not shown any of the toughness that the team had last year with the core group of seniors. Nate Conley has been a huge loss for this group. He was very unheralded as a contributor for last years team but he set the tone for the Jackets defensively. Not having his leadership and Sales and Floyd's playmaking abilities has really hurt this young DC team and hopefully one of them can find that same fire that Conley had and get the rest of the guys to follow. Either that or I hope Coach Brumett can find a group of recruits just like the group Miller brought in with Sales, Floyd, Conley, Stolly, Armstrong, and Stuckey. This DC team needs to find that toughness that the program has steadily built over the last 4 years with that group of seniors last year. Once this group realizes that, I see them going nowhere but up. Until that day comes, I just hope they make the conference tourney!