Eight men out for OC men's basketball team

With the departure of first-year LeMont Bennett earlier this week, the Yeomen were forced to compete with eight players instead of the usual roster of 12.

This lack of depth is nothing new. Starting the season with 11 players, the Yeomen's bench started to shrink after junior Kali Griffin and sophomore Raphael Ginsburg left the team earlier in the season. First-year guard Maurice Elrod said, "The short bench definately hurts us, but we've been doing it since the beginning of the season. We have gotten used to doing it."

One of the most poignant examples of where this lack of players hurts the team is in practice. As basketball is a five-on-five sport, playing five-on-three has its limitations. Senior Josh Ellison said, "We don't have any kind of depth. It really hurts in practice. We can't even go five on five. The problem is that we have to adjust during the game...we can't prepare beforehand in practice." Elrod said, "If we have more people, we could simulate game situations better. Three people can't simulate the presses and zones that we face."

This inability to practice certain game situations, combined with a shortened bench and a seven-man rotation, has exacted a rich toll on the Yeomen, noticeable especially in recent close losses to Waynesburg, Washington and Jefferson College, and Denison University.

To be fair, these losses were not inevitable. The Yeomen do have many strengths, including athleticism that few teams can match, aggressiveness and an ambition that embodies a 21-2 team rather than one that is 2-21.

Critics of this team need to remember that although it is true that the Yeomen have lost many close games, it is also true that these games were close. Though still not fearful of the Yeomen, teams can no longer afford to view a trip to Philips gymnasium as they might a trip to Disneyland.

In many of the recent games, the Yeomen managed to stay close most of the game and then blow it at the end. Why? Some may be attributed to youthful inexperience.

However, one of the benefits of a shortened bench is that Oberlin first-years have earned much more playing time than first-years for other schools. With the extraordinary amount of playing time they have accumulated, at this point in the season it may be time to view these first-years as basketball sophomores and raise expectations of them accordingly. Youthful mistakes should be behind first-years Elrod, James Knight and Zelko Petrovic.

But excessive playing time can be a curse as well. Elrod recently played two consecutive games versus Case Western Reserve University and Denison University without so much as one substitution, and fellow starters juinior Jabali Sawicki, Ellison, senior Kiese Laymon and Knight are averaging well above 30 minutes a night. Seen in these terms, perhaps the difficulties of keeping an opposing guard with fresh legs and natural quickness out of the lane may be properly realized.

To be sure, all of these losses cannot be fully contributed to tired legs and winded lungs. However, some of the Yeomen's weaknesses are exacerbated by these impediments. As insinuated above, Oberlin's containment defense leaves much to be desired, expecially late in the game.

In recent games versus Washington and Jefferson, Waynesburg, and Denison, guards seemed to be able to drive almost at will. Co-captain Ellison commented on this. He said, "Coach has been telling us all season 'don't give up the middle, don't give up the middle.'"

The Yeomen's aggressive defensive is to be encouraged, for it many times is the spark of their transition. However, because of the minutes that many of these athletes have played, late in the game their tired legs allowed offenses to exploit this aggressiveness and drive the lane.

Ellison said, "When opposing guards penetrate, the big men have to come up and guard the penetrator and give up our position for the rebound."

The last regular season game remaining for the Yeomen will be played at home on Saturday versus Earlham College. The winner will proceed to the post-season tournament to take on first-seeded The College of Wooster.

Flying high: Oberlin crashes the boards in their loss to Washington and Jefferson on Monday. (photo by Zach Fried)