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THE TRIBE IS MAKING HISTORY
Dec.
8,
2009
In a town steeped in history, William and Mary’s men’s
basketball team is making history of its own. In a week
that saw the Tribe defeat Wake Forest in Winston-Salem,
followed by wins over Longwood and perennial Colonial
Athletic Association (CAA) power VCU, William and Mary
(6-2) is off to its best start since the 1992-93 season.
W&M is currently ranked 20 in the CollegeInsider.com
Mid-Major Top 25, and has garnered votes in both the
ESPN/USA Today and the AP top 25, not to mention being
ranked as high as 13th in various RPI polls.
After losing its first two games of the season at UCONN
and at Harvard, the Tribe has reeled off 6 straight
including the impressive wins over Wake and VCU last
week.
Of the new found national attention, Tribe mentor Tony
Shaver said, “We’ve received lots of calls, so it’s very
exciting for our players and our program. It’s a new
problem for us, to deal with all of the attention. We’ll
keep their hands in the fire and keep our focus.”
Coming off a 10-20 campaign, including a 5-13 mark in
the highly regarded CAA, expectations around the league
were not high for William and Mary.
“Our expectations were higher than others. Most people
picked us around 10th or 11th in the league, but that’s
ok. We did not have a very good season last year. From
the spring on, however, our kids have really worked hard
and have developed great chemistry. This was the best
pre-season we’ve had since I have been here. Our four
seniors have provided great leadership and chemistry for
us,” noted Shaver, in his seventh year at the helm.
The success of the Tribe follows a formula often seen at
the mid-major level, with a group of seniors leading the
way. Seniors David Schneider, Danny Sumner, and Sean
McCurdy have started all 8 games, with Schneider and
Sumner averaging in double figures, while McCurdy is
shooting 40% from three point range and leading the team
in assists. Steven Hess, a 6-10 senior has played in
five games as he recovers from injury.
“David Schneider and Danny Sumner have been our
cornerstones,” said Shaver. “Last year, they probably
tried to do too much. This year, they are very unselfish
and playing within themselves, and Sean McCurdy
(Arkansas transfer) is like a new kid after having
surgery on both ankles last spring.”
Long regarded as one of the top liberal arts colleges in
the country, William and Mary is off for two weeks for
exams, after which the Tribe is a safe bet to add to
their win streak with a post-exam matchup against
Division III Vassar. Following that, they will play five
of their next six on the road, including a three game
road trip at 2009 NCAA tourney participants Radford and
Maryland, followed by a CAA tilt at Hofstra.
Of the break, Shaver said, “Of course we’d like to keep
playing, but we can’t do much about that. We’ll use the
time to get healthy and improve. We know we have a tough
stretch ahead of us, but we are really proud of our
guys.”
How William and Mary handles the break and the ensuing
seven games will go a long way towards determining
whether their flirtation with national attention is
short-lived or part of a history making season in
Williamsburg.
Brian Doyle is an Assistant Principal and Associate Head
Coach at Centreville High School in Clifton, Virginia.
Prior to becoming Assistant Principal, Doyle was a high
school head coach for thirteen years. Brian also serves
as member of the voting panel for the prestigious Hugh
Durham National Coach of the Year Award.
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