D3hoops.com: Notables

By Evans Clinchy
For D3hoops.com

To say the least, Salem has gotten to know the Amherst Lord Jeffs well over the past half decade.

This is the fourth Final Four trip in five seasons for the defending champions, who went 30-2 last season and knocked off Virginia Wesleyan 80-67 for their first title. But now, as they revisit their annual spring break retreat in Salem, they'll be headed to the Civic Center for the first time without the winningest class in program history.

Four seniors -- quad-captains Dan Wheeler, Dan O'Shea, Tim McLaughlin and Mike Salerno -- graduated last May with 111 wins in four years. Wheeler was a Jostens Trophy finalist and first-team All-NESCAC selection, O'Shea was a steady inside presence as a 6-7 center, and McLaughlin and Salerno were reliable defensive stoppers on the perimeter. All four left big gaps to fill for the 2007-08 Lord Jeffs.

There was plenty of talent waiting in the wings to fill them.

Three juniors who came off the bench in last year's championship game -- big men Fletcher Walters, Kevin Hopkins and Brandon Jones -- have now stepped up to provide senior leadership to the '08 Amherst team. All three are now starters averaging double figures in scoring, providing three dangerous options down low for their point guard, senior captain Andrew Olson.

"It's funny," said Walters, an All-NESCAC first-teamer. "(Olson) was playing with the upperclassmen for years, and now he's playing with his roommates."

"We're all really close. The five of us seniors, we've lived together for years. It's fun now that all of us are playing. Before, half of us were playing and half of us weren't. There was kind of an unspoken anger -- not at each other, but just at the system. It's pretty cool that all of us are contributing equally now."

Hopkins, named a third-team All-American by D3hoops.com this preseason, averages 10.1 points per game and a team-leading 1.6 blocks. Jones, who stepped into the starting lineup in midseason, now averages 12 points and 5.3 boards. And Walters, who played just eight minutes in last year's national title game, now leads the team in scoring (14.6), rebounding (7.3) and steals (1.4).

"It was kind of weird," Walters said. "I've never been a leading scorer on any of my teams. Not even in high school. It's about confidence, really -- just knowing I could stay in the game and take the shots I wanted to take."

For Hopkins, a key contributor in last year's NCAA run, the move from sixth man to starting center was an inevitable one. But as he points out, the increase in minutes hasn't brought any added pressure.

"I've stepped into a starting role now, and I've kind of been a main big guy," Hopkins said. "But we've had a lot of options. With Brandon Jones becoming a main big man, and Fletcher Walters has obviously come on strong, there's always going to be a lot of guys. We've got a lot of options."

Jones agrees. The 6-7 forward was thrown into the fire in January just as the NESCAC portion of the Jeffs' schedule rolled around, and he made his first career start Jan. 12 against archrival Williams. He dropped 18 and nine on the Ephs, silencing all doubters from the start.

"I don't think that there's more pressure," Jones said. "Basketball is basketball. Even though I didn't have as much of a role last time, I'm just trying to do whatever the coaches ask me to do for the team."

Between Walters,
Hopkins and Jones, three-fifths of last year's starting five has been scrapped. The only returning starters are Olson and junior shooting guard Brian Baskauskas. While the Amherst program has never been one for season-to-season continuity, that never seemed to faze Olson.

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"We mix it up in practice, so he usually gets the chance to play with a bunch of different guys," Hopkins said. "And for a player of his skill set, it's a pretty easy to adjust. The challenge is more with us ... He's never had a problem playing with different guys with different styles."

"He's probably the smartest player that I've ever played with," Walters added. "He knows each of his teammates' strengths and weaknesses, and he's able to get them all involved in the game. He really just controls the pace of the game, and he's crucial to our success."

So after four years at Amherst, Walters, Hopkins and Jones will all make their first career Salem starts. It's a long time coming, after three years on the bench. Under coach Dave Hixon, underclassmen are no strangers to riding the pine.

"I figured that my time would come," Walters said. "When I was a freshman and sophomore, some of the upperclassmen did the same thing. I knew that it was Coach Hixon's policy, and it wasn't anything personal. I kept working hard in practice and kept improving."

"I think it takes adjusting on anyone's part when they come from being a primary option in high school to being the last option on a college team," Jones added. "But I think anyone who has a desire to be at a place like Amherst knows it's a place to be one of the best. You're sacrificing individual success for team success, and winning championships."

For the senior Jeffs on their third trip to Salem, it's finally their turn to lead the way. And it never hurts to have a couple trips to the Civic Center under your belt already.

"I think experience could play a huge role," Hopkins said. "Our first time down there, a lot of us were just in awe of the situation. The second time, it was more business. We were more focused on the task at hand, which was winning a national championship."

This weekend, they'll try to do it again.