The Justice

Head coach Brian Meehan, right, gazes down the Brandeis bench during last Sunday's 71-69 loss to WashU. David Sheppard-Brick/the Justice

A team never outright loses a game on one possession, yet one possession can be emblematic of its structural flaws.

After Washington University in St. Louis senior center Troy Ruths gave the Bears a two-point lead with 20 seconds remaining in last Sunday's game, the execution of the men's basketball team's last possession would have made even a casual fan cringe. Point guard Kwame Graves-Fulgham '08 unhurriedly dribbled the ball up the court, looking for his go-to guy to bail him out.

Except his go-to guy was sitting in street clothes, sidelined for the rest of the season with a mysterious back ailment.

The best the Judges could do with the 20 seconds they had to set up a play was a desperation three-pointer from Joe Coppens '08 with five seconds left.

Such is life without star forward Steve DeLuca '08, and although it officially took 14 games, it's now clear the Judges miss him dearly. Yes, there's still plenty of time left to pick up the pieces this season, but if there's anything last weekend's losses to WashU and the University of Chicago demonstrated, it's that the time has come for this team to alter its style.

For two full years, the Judges won games with pressure defense that masked a disorganized half-court offense. The devastating full-court pressure led to turnovers and what coaches deem "early offense," in which the Judges got open shots before the opposing defense was set, knowing that such attempts would undeniably be better than any shot garnered in their half-court offense.

Essentially, they won games with effort, not execution. And yet, it worked even against good teams, because when they couldn't create the opportunity themselves, there was DeLuca to bail them out, like he did when he scored 10 overtime points, including a fadeaway three-pointer that left this reporter's mouth agape, to close out the team's first-round NCAA tournament win over Trinity College last season.

Under this system, coach Brian Meehan substituted chronically, because all he needed from his complementary players were quick bursts of energy. Last season, DeLuca was the only player to average over 30 minutes per game, and 10 different players averaged at least 10 minutes per contest.

Continued...

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