(Peter Caty/The Mirror)
In six days, there will be basketball.
There will be a capacity crowd at the Times-Union Center, there will be a ticket to March Madness on the line and, just like death and taxes, you can guarantee this: the Siena Saints will be playing.
The rest of the script, like most basketball in the month of March, is anyone’s guess. And that really is the beauty of March Madness, an opportune time of the year to embrace clichés, which makes it even more appropriate that the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament, which starts this Thursday night in Albany, opted for a lame, whimsical quote for the tournament – “Where Magic Happens”.
Magic may be a bit of a stretch, but it seems as perfect a season as ever to dream of the possibilities, the prospects, the potential.
In the years past, the dreams were far different and far implausible. One win in the tournament was realistic. A trip to the semifinals was possible. Anything beyond that was anyone’s guess.
And no one knows that more than Fairfield.
“Four short years ago they said you couldn’t,” head coach Ed Cooley said. “Anthony and this class have shown you can.”
Four years ago, they said you couldn’t even win a game. Four years later, it seems a virtual certainty that the Stags will win at least one.
Four years ago, they said the top of the standings seemed as distant as Cooley’s days in uniform at Stonehill. Four years later, the Stags are the second seed and seem poised for their best chance to reach the championship game since the dawn of the Siena dynasty.
Four years ago, they said the Stags were too reliant on a singular senior. Four years later, the Stags rely yet again on a senior, only he’s far from the only offensive threat, and if last week’s display of dominance – “absolute, absolute dominance,” said Cooley – is any indication, Anthony Johnson isn’t quite finished writing his legacy just yet.
“Right now I feel like I am living a dream,” Johnson said.
Four years ago, they said the Stags were too green, too young. Four years later, the Stags love that they’re green, that they’re young, and that the best is yet to come for Derek Needham, Colin Nickerson, Ryan Olander and the majority of the team.
Four years ago, they said the team was too many individuals and not enough collectiveness. Four years later, the head coach uses the word “family” and “community” in his post-game press conferences as much as he uses “wins” and “losses”.
“A bunch of fun kids,” Cooley quipped. “I love being around them, and if you write anything, this is more a family win and that family is our entire community.”
Four years ago, they said they were an injury away from disaster. Three years ago, and a season ago, they said the injuries were insurmountable. Four years later, they choose their words more wisely.
Four years ago, they said they couldn’t. Four years later, and possibly six days from now in the lion’s den against the defending champions, they might.
Go ahead, though. Doubt them, pick Siena, label them as the ultimate underdogs.
But if the last four years has proved anything, it’s this: be careful with ‘can’t’.
Leave a Reply