With the calendar flipped to February and the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) tournament just around-the-corner, it’s time to take a look at the conference standings, as the “contenders” begin to separate themselves from the “pretenders.” The great Benjamin Franklin once argued, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” With all due respect to Mr. Franklin, we’d like to add “the yearly loss of senior leadership” to his list. Quite frankly, we here at “Warm up the Bus” are unsure how it failed to make the cut in the first place, but since he invented electricity and all, we’ll cut him some slack. Last season, the Huskies enjoyed a wealth of senior leadership with Bennet Davis, Bobby Kelly and Adrian Martinez willing Northeastern to a CAA fifth place finish. The trio combined for nearly 57 percent of the team’s scoring, led by Davis who averaged 15 ppg en route to a third Team All-CAA selection. However, with the absence of those three seniors, the Huskies have gone through more growing pains than Kirk Cameron. But they are not alone. In 2006-07, Old Dominion went 24-9 and received an “at large” bid to the NCAA tournament, where they were eliminated by eventual Sweet 16 participant Butler in the opening round. But this season, without all-conference performers Valdas Vasylius and Drew Williamson, the Monarchs have struggled to a (11-12, 6-5 CAA) record. The same can be said for Hofstra and Drexel, who each reached the NIT a season ago. While both teams boast terrific seniors (in Antoine Agudio and Frank Elegar, respectively), each side has found it difficult with the absence of last year’s seniors. Hofstra lost 2006-07 CAA Player of the Year Loren Stokes, along with four-year starter Carlos Rivera. Drexel graduated 2006-07 CAA Defensive Player of the Year Chaz Crawford, as well as all-conference performer Bashir Mason. Not coincidentally, both Hofstra and Drexel find themselves at the bottom of the CAA standings. Meanwhile, three senior-laden teams have shown tremendous growth after sub-par 2006-07 campaigns. George Mason again has the look of an NCAA tournament team after reaching the Final Four two seasons ago, thanks in large part to seniors Will Thomas and Folarin Campbell. One year after going 7-22, UNC-Wilmington find themselves back atop the league with four seniors averaging in double-figures. And William ‘ Mary continues to improve behind the strong play of seniors Laimus Kisielius and Nathan Mann. The only exception to the rule is Virginia Commonwealth, who remains in competition for a second straight CAA Championship despite the graduation of B.A. Walker and Jesse Pellot-Rosa. Of course, having Eric Maynor on your team doesn’t hurt. So what does all this mean for the Huskies? It means inconsistency will be the norm for the time being, while a team with four underclassmen in its starting lineup learns to compete in a senior-laden league. It means Northeastern will be capable of losing to teams at the bottom of the conference (as they did to Hofstra Jan. 26). But also capable of beating the top teams in the CAA (as they’ve shown twice against Delaware). It’s easy to look at this year’s roster and decide that the Huskies are more talented than a season ago. After all, NU has added transfers Nkem Ojougboh (UT-San Antonio) and Chris Alvarez (Dayton), as well as impact freshman Chaisson Allen. Together they form a nice nucleus with sophomores Matt Janning and Manny Adako, who continue to mature with the help of head coach Bill Coen. But none of those five have the experience or leadership qualities of a senior. Not yet anyway. Husky fans must learn to exercise patience when it comes to this young roster. Look on the bright side, in two years Janning, Adako and Ojougboh will all be seniors. And that should put a smile on the faces of Northeastern basketball fans everywhere.
Tune into 104.9 FM or www.wrbbradio.org to hear all the action of your Huskies. This week, basketball coverage is Wednesday at 6:45 p.m. against Old Dominion and Saturday at 12:45 p.m. against William ‘ Mary. Hockey coverage is Monday at 4:45 p.m. for the first round of the Beanpot against Harvard and Friday at 6:45 p.m. at Merrimack.
– Adam Jones can be reached at [email protected].
