In this piece, I will briefly touch on some games that we (MIT) have played this season and how two of our post players made significant impacts in those games.
The impact that a solid post presence has on the game is often overlooked in D3 basketball. This division is guard heavy and, as a result, many systems are built around guard play. This season I have had the privilege of playing alongside two outstanding big men. Night in and night out Bill Johnson (Everett, WA) and Hamidou Soumare (Bamako, Mali) do the dirty work that is mostly underappreciated.
On November 27, 2007 Gordon College came into our gym on a roll. At the time Gordon was 3-1 and MIT was 4-1. It stayed close for most of the first half but we closed out on a nice run to put us up 37-25 at half. Gordon is a great shooting team and was really trying to get it going by getting to the rim early to open up their outside game. Dou displayed his tremendous athletic ability by blocking 3 or 4 of Gordon’s shots. He finished the night with 15 rebounds and 5 blocks. The next game he had 22pts, 16 rebs, and 5 steals.A block is often more than just a play that alters a shot. It changes the opponent’s perception of what type of shot he will be able to take. I have seen a few players choose to ignore an open lane to the basket because they have recently had similar shots blocked. As a guard it is a wonderful feeling to be able to pressure the defense intensely because I know that I have a player like Dou behind me. These tiny parts of the game all add up and can be the difference between a win and loss at the end of the night.
On December 6, 2007 we headed to Amherst in what was going to be a battle. Amherst is known for having a strong interior with a lot of height. They are a great team but Bill and Dou really established themselves as elite players that night. MIT held a 34-26 lead at halftime. Amherst came out and went on a solid run to go up about 12 with 4:40 left in the game. MIT came back and hit some tough shots to get it to 2 with 1:23 seconds left. It was as close as we would get as I missed 2 shots to tie (what I would give to be able to take those again). However, our post players were the reason that we had those shots.
A versatile post player is, in my opinion, the most dangerous player on the floor. Bill Johnson is the definition of versatile. He is 6’8”, is arguably one of the best shooters that I have ever played alongside, is developing a killer post game, and is one heck of a teammate. This versatility gives coaches a lot of options in games. Against Amherst we were able to pull Bill outside to open the lane for others. Amherst had to guard him because he is such a tremendous shooter. On the other end of the court he played straight lock up defense on some very good athletes and players.
Sometimes I feel that guys with height are always expected to just get rebounds and play with their back to the basket. This is true in certain cases but when versatility is such a valuable asset at the D3 level, I feel that using that versatility in different ways is critical. So much of interior defense, screening, and post play is overshadowed by fancy passes or deep threes. The truth is that the inside game is as important as any other facet of basketball.
As far as conference play is concerned, the NEWMAC is crazy right now. The conference has very solid teams from top to bottom. After a few weeks of play it is clear that any team can win on any given night. It is a great way to play and I am really looking forward to seeing how the rest of the season unfolds.
Take care,
Jimmy Bartolotta