The judgment might be in but the jury is still out. In the court of public opinion, even Louis Brandeis would have a tough time reaching a verdict on this team. It was a season of highs and lows, of overall success and crushing defeats, of gargantuan potential but only humongous results.Look at their season-ending loss in New York as a microcosm of the first year of Coach Brian Meehan's youth movement. They lost to a team they had beaten already and needed to beat again to make the ECAC playoffs, but still had their best record in ten years.

Inconsistencies have to be expected from a team with nine rookies. Florian Rexhepi '08 was the slick-shooting UAA Rookie of the Year for most of the season, but struggled in later games. Kwame Graves-Fulgham '08 looked like Allen Iverson a few times this season, driving past three defenders and burying any shot he wanted, but at other times failed to score in double digits. Fellow rookies Steve DeLuca, Joe Coppens and Rocco Toppi all had games in which they dominated, and games in which they disappeared. Almost all of Meehan's boys can be a significant threat, but the jury is hung on who will have the consistency needed to actually lead this team to its first conference title.

But in the name of justice, it is impossible to criticize Meehan's work over the past two years. He inherited a Brandeis team that was wallowing in the muck of the extremely competitive UAA conference. His seven successful seasons at Salem State, including six berths in the NCAA Division III tournament and one final-four appearance, made him more than qualified to clean up the mess left by former Celtics coach Chris Ford.

It took Meehan almost no time to make his mark on the team. Along with bringing in an elite recruiting class in the region in his first recruiting year and cutting two upperclassmen, he also brought in a new philosophy: He stressed defense, fundamentals and each player knowing his role. This meant talent from the young guys, leadership from the upperclassmen and commitment from everyone.

As much as this season was about the emergence of the young guns, it was also about four dedicated seniors whose effect on the team will be evident for years to come. Scott Green '05, Yogev Berdugo '05, Omri Ayalon '05 and Bryan Lambert '05 will be missed next year for their leadership and maturity on and off the court.

For Lambert, this season was an unbridled success. The fifth-year senior improved greatly from last season. He led the Judges in both scoring and rebounding, and trying to fill his role in the low-post will be one of the biggest challenges for the team next season.

So, while the jury is still deliberating, things are looking pretty good for these Judges. The evidence is still surfacing, and the court will be watching closely to see whether the team can live up to the hype. A winning season is a nice start, but it will not be good enough to win the court's favor. Meehan needs to take these guys to the NCAA tournament, and they've got the talent to go deep once they get there. They certainly have the keys, but the burden of proof is on them to show what kind of team they are. It is going to be tough, but I'm going to bet that come judgment day, the ruling will be unanimously in the Judges' favor.