2011-12 CAA Team Previews: William & Mary Tribe
The second in this season’s series of CAA previews is the William & Mary Tribe.
2010-11 in Review: After a 2009-10 season that saw Tony Shaver’s team go 22-11 before losing David Schneider and Danny Sumner, the Tribe went 10-22 with a 4-14 record in conference play for an 11th-place finish. William & Mary was hampered by 3 losing streaks of 4 games or more in CAA games, including one that was part of a 7-game overall losing streak from December into January. After opening the year with a pair of 24-point losses to Virginia and Richmond, W&M traveled to upstate New York where they gave #10/11 Syracuse a scare, taking a 4-point lead with 3:08 to go before eventually falling by 3. At the conference tournament in March, the Tribe squeaked out a 4-point victory over 6th-seeded James Madison and dropped their quarterfinal contest to Hofstra.
Against Northeastern: William & Mary traveled to Matthews Arena for the only matchup between the two teams in 2010-11 and left with a 3-point loss on January 24, despite Quinn McDowell scoring his 1,000th career point. Coming off of 3 straight games in which the team shot better than 47% from long range, the Tribe managed just 3 triples out of 18 attempts from beyond the arc for the game, including 0-for-10 in the first half. Despite cutting an 11-point deficit with 1:36 remaining to a 5-point hole with 24.7 seconds to go, W&M could not finish as a last-second timeout was not granted before the clock expired.
Key Losses:
- Marcus Kitts: The only member of the 2010-11 squad who will not be returning, the 6’9″ forward provided leadership, experience and efficiency on the court. Over his 4-year career in Williamsburg, he was among the best players in program history. He made more than half of his shots, both for the season and throughout his career, while his 60 blocked shots (1.9 per game was 3rd in the CAA) marked the 4th-most in a year for a William & Mary player and he became just the 4th member of the Green and Gold to record 100 career blocks. He wasn’t necessarily great at any one aspect of the game, but was a well-balanced player that could shoot, pass and defend.
Key Returns:
- Quinn McDowell: If not the preseason favorite for the CAA’s Player of the Year award, he will certainly be in the discussion all season after earning 3rd-team all-conference honors as a junior in 2010-11. The senior guard was the only player to start all 32 games, leading the team in minutes (33.7/game) and points (15.5/game) while ranking 2nd in rebounds (5.4/game), assists (2.1/game) and assist/turnover ratio (1.43, 67/47). He’s a very good shooter (47.5%) with excellent range (45.5% beyond the arc), and will be key for William & Mary’s success this year. For what it’s worth, he was also recognized with the Dean Ehlers Leadership Award at last March’s end-of-season banquet.
- Brandon Britt: An all-rookie selection, Britt was given opportunities right out of the gate and took advantage. He solidified himself as one of the main threats on the team early in the season, though he left room for improvement. He was 2nd on the team in scoring, at 10.9 points per game, despite shooting 38% from the field. Britt has three years to improve on that, and there’s no reason to think he hasn’t been working on that over the summer.
- Julian Boatner: After a very good first year, he fell just three points behind Frantz Massenat (Drexel) in the vote for the final spot on the all-rookie squad. He led all CAA freshmen in 3-point percentage, ninth overall, on his way to sinking a school-record (among freshmen) 58 triples. Tony Shaver doesn’t really need him to develop an inside game, but if he gets more aggressive it could help both him and the team down the road.
- Tim Rusthoven: He didn’t have an overly impressive stat line, but will need to step up to fill the void left by Marcus Kitts in the paint. A rising sophomore, he showed flashes last season and will need to be consistent both offensively and defensively down low to help balance out the team’s guard-heavy lineup.
- JohnMark Ludwick: As a 6’8″ 230 pound junior, he did most of his damage from beyond the arc. He’s a forward, but wasn’t found in the paint very often. If he can add strong inside play to his game as a senior, he’ll be even more valuable. Even if he doesn’t, it won’t hurt to have a big guy that can elevate over his defenders from outside and make the shots.
What to Expect: Not a whole lot has changed on this team, as the coach has been around for quite some time and there isn’t too much roster turnover. With just two freshmen and 3 seniors, the Tribe looks built to keep its storied ‘window’ open for a couple years. This year’s sophomore class is going to be key. If they got better over the summer and benefited from the experiences they gained last season, the Tribe could end up being a scary team. If they take a step back, it could be another tough year – but the safe bet is that there will be improvement. The club suffered a handful of close losses, and they can be hopeful that more experience will turn those into close wins. It’s hard to tell where they’ll finish in 2011-12, other than to say they’ll be somewhere in the middle. Tony Shaver’s team could finish anywhere from 5th-8th, but a little higher or a little lower wouldn’t come as a complete shock, either. No matter what, it won’t be a team that others want to see in Richmond.
