Tough Stretch
January 15, 2005 01:42 PM | General
Friday, January 14, 2005
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- John Beilein doesn’t make excuses -- it’s not part of his personality. That’s a good thing, coaches who are constantly whining or playing the “world is against us” card wear out their welcome in a hurry.
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| Tyrone Sally and his teammates are headed for a very difficult stretch of games, according to Tony Caridi.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo |
And, while Beilein wouldn’t even allow the word tired to be used to describe his team’s performance last Tuesday in Charleston, the truth is that they were. The first thing to go is your legs when fatigue hits, and watching the team go through warm-ups it was clear that something was wrong just by the mere volume of missed jumpers that kept clanging off the rim.
The truth is that the Mountaineers were quite fresh during the first month of the season. They opened the year by playing their first four games over a 14-day span with two of the four games on their home floor. Games four through eight also took place over a span of 14 days with three of the four dates at the Coliseum. Following an eight-day Christmas break, the Mountaineers knocked off nationally ranked George Washington. It’s at this point that the Mountaineer schedule took a major turn.
Beginning with the January 2nd date at North Carolina State, WVU played four games in nine days, three of which were played away from the Coliseum. The combination of playing that many games in a short span of time and being away from home led to a 2-2 record.
Whether they want to admit it or not the facts are clear. After playing a very balanced schedule with rest time in November and December, the January schedule hit the Mountaineers with a fury and affected their performance. If a horse is conditioned to run one mile that’s not a problem. When you ask that horse to run a mile-and-a-half in a shorter span of time, you’ve got a problem. If you don’t believe me, then allow me to introduce you to my friend Smarty Jones.
Starting with Sunday’s game against Boston College the Mountaineers will begin another four-game-in-nine-day stretch. Fortunately, three of the four games will be played in the Coliseum. Unfortunately, three of the four opponents are currently ranked in the top-25.
The Mountaineers have arrived at this season’s threshold. The question is whether they’ll be able to jump over that threshold into the Promised Land of the NCAA tournament. Last week’s loss in Charleston will not determine this squad’s post-season fate, what will is the incredible seven-game run they’re about to begin. WVU will likely be an underdog in all seven games, four of which will be played at home.
Earning an NCAA berth is not an easy thing to do, nor should it be. The Mountaineers are about to get their chance to show they belong.
Sit back, cheer loud, and enjoy what could be one of the most demanding seven-game stretches in school history -- seven games in 17 days against teams with a combined record of 70-13.
