Basketball Squad Finishes Season 13-13
by: Jarrod Ficklin ‘11ODAC teams occupy top 5 spots in post-season, George receives Rookie honors
Senior Captain Turner King
After a season of highs and lows, the Tiger basketball team’s season came to an end in the quarterfinals of the ODAC tournament at the hands and the shooting of Randolph-Macon. The Tigers showed flashes of brilliance throughout the season but were unable to make a run at the school’s 11th ODAC Championship because of the powerful talent in the conference. The Tigers did have some talent of their own in Turner King and Harrison George who garnered All-ODAC honors and ODAC Rookie of the Year Honors respectively. Although they finished .500 for the 2nd straight season, the Tigers are certainly in good position for next season.
The 2009-2010 Tigers were very talented, but consistency was a problem. The Tigers had winning streaks of 4 and 5, but they lost two or more games in a row four different times this season. In their defense, the Tigers did have the toughest schedule in the ODAC considering they played the top 4 teams in the conference (Eastern Mennonite, Guilford, Virginia Wesleyan, and Randolph-Macon – all top 20 teams nationally) twice each. In those 8 games, the Tigers lost 6 times – 4 of which were by 5 points or less. The Tigers did knock off #11 Eastern Mennonite at home, but their best win of the year came at #16 Randolph-Macon.
That win seemed to give them plenty of momentum heading into the last home game vs. Virginia Wesleyan, but the second leading scorer in the conference, Stephen Fields, dropped his number (34) against the Tigers on February 20 in route to a 89-79 victory for the Marlins in Fleet Gymnasium. Despite that loss, the Tigers still locked up a #5 seed and a first round bye in the conference tournament, which lead to a quarterfinal match-up against the #4 seed Randolph-Macon. The Yellow Jackets started the game hitting on all cylinders and never looked back, eventually securing an 84-48 victory over the Tigers. The Yellow Jackets then knocked off the #1 seed Eastern Mennonite in the semifinals, but eventually succumbed to Guilford in the ODAC Championship Game. After the conference tournament, the ODAC’s prominence was rewarded. Guilford, Eastern Mennonite, Virginia Wesleyan, and Randolph-Macon accepted 4 bids – the most of any conference – to the NCAA Division III Tournament. When Tiger fans think about that statistic, finishing in 5th place in that conference is not so bad after all.
The night before the ODAC Tournament began in Salem, VA, the ODAC awards banquet was held. Harrison George accepted Hampden-Sydney’s first ODAC Rookie of the Year Award and added All-ODAC Honorable Mention accolades to his résumé. George’s 58.5% shooting percentage was good enough for 4th in the conference, while his 7.2 rebounds per game were good enough for 5th. The freshman phenom also tallied 48 steals on the year and averaged 14.4 points per game (16.2 in conference). Turner King collected his third consecutive All-ODAC Award by being named to the 2nd Team. The senior whose teammates call him “Superman” because of his tenacity on the court, his ability to handle adversities, and his smooth shooting stroke averaged a team high 16.9 points per game and 5.9 rebounds per game. King also shot 41.2% from behind the arc this season. King certainly left a legacy on the hardwood by becoming #4 on Hampden-Sydney’s all-time scoring list with 1,801 points.
Looking ahead to next year, the Tigers can certainly smile. The Tigers, by far, had the best and most productive freshman class. It will be tough losing captains Turner King and Jonathan Mudd, along with seniors Karlis Trops, Lane Medlin, Hakeem Croom, and Larry Henshaw, but the Tigers still have plenty of talent. Five of the top seven scorers from this year are returning: Harrison George, Ben Jessee, Colin O’Neill, Randall Ward, and Alex Potapov, who combined to average 41 points per game. The Tigers also have transfers Tom Hart, who showed promise in his appearance late in the season, and Ru White, whose talent impresses the coaches and players more every day. If the coaches get another recruiting class whose talent was equal to this past one, then the Tigers will be good to go for years to come.
Related posts:
Loading ...