After coming up just inches short in their last regular season game against the Amherst Lord Jeffs, the men’s basketball team had every reason to be confident heading into the first round of the NESCAC playoffs against the same Amherst team. Although they fell 77-80, the Cardinals played their best basketball of the season in the second half, stifling the Lord Jeffs on the defensive end while lighting up the court with their offensive prowess.
Unfortunately that was not the case this past Saturday, as Amherst made several adjustments and simply overpowered the Cards on both ends of the floor. By defeating Wes by a score of 97-65, the Lord Jeffs put an end to an outstanding Cardinal season .
In the first half, the Lord Jeffs took command with a barrage of three-point field goals, while the Wes perimeter gam—nd the offense as a whol—ailed to get going. Of their 48 points in the first half, Amherst scored 21 of those on three point field goals, finding several holes in the Cardinal defense. Despite a strong performance by co-captain Kanem Johnson ’04, who led the Cards on the offensive end, Wes simply could not match the Lord Jeff’s intensity on both ends of the floor.
In the unbelievable second half run two weeks ago, the Cardinals found a way to limit the Jeff’s offense to just 21% from the field with a 3-2 zone defense. However, a week of preparation between games allowed the Lord Jeffs to make several adjustments on their zone offense.
“[Amherst] adjusted to our 3-2 zone from the last game. They were able to penetrate the lane much better, and broke through our zone. This allowed them to kick the ball back out to their three-point shooters, and they shot [our] lights out,” point guard Jarred Ashe ’07 said.
The contest saw the end to the careers of two of the most prolific players ever to set foot at Wesleyan in Keala Mills ’04 and Johnson.
Johnson, the school’s all-time leading scorer, ended his season on a strong individual note with 26 points and 10 rebounds, using his dominating presence down low as he had all season long. Johnson also finished second all-time in season scoring with 524 points this winter.
Perhaps most impressively, the senior co-captain finished his career with a remarkable 58.5 shooting percentage, the best in team history.
Mills, arguably the best pure shooter to play basketball at Wesleyan, finished his remarkable career right along side Johnson, finishing fifth in career scoring with 1,156 points and averaging just under 22 points a game this season. Mills, whose unbelievably quick first step and three-point ability struck fear into opposing defenses, also finished second all time in free throw percentage, shooting 84.5% from the line.
“It has been an honor playing with Kanem and Keala. They are certainly great players, and it’s going to be tough to fill their shoes next year. Watching them game in and game out, their work ethic certainly showed, as they never took a game off. They are two best players I’ve ever played with in my life,” guard Doug Rubenstein ’07 said.
Reflecting on this past season, Mills noted the growth the team demonstrated throughout the season.
“We’ve gotten much better as the season progressed, especially at the end,” said Mills. “We grew as a team. We suffered disappointments, but we certainly made progress as a team.”
As for next year, the Cardinals will certainly miss the contributions from Johnson and Mills. The team will be very young as a whole, and new leaders will need to emerge.
“I’m ready to take on the scoring load of the team,” Tim Holland ’05 said. “I’m going to have to try to pick up where Keala and Kanem left off. I have to have to step it up a notch on and off the court by lending leadership to the younger guys, being the only senior besides James Wallace next year.”
The team will be in good hands for the future, with returning players like Holland ready to step up. The seniors can feel confident their teammates will carry on the squad’s tradition.
“The team as a whole learned and gained experience as the season went on, which will help them in the future,” said Johnson. “They understood what happened when some people left the team, but they stuck through it all. They developed a toughness that will help them next year and in the future.”
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