M. Basketball concludes 2012 season

One of the best seasons
in recent years for the Hopkins
men's basketball
team
came to an end
last Wednesday
night, Feb. 22nd,
as the Blue Jays
dropped a Centennial
Conference
tournament
first round
game to Washington
College
by a score of
56-53. The loss,
however, should
not overshadow
what was an extremely
successful
season for the Blue Jays.
The Conference quarterfinal
game was played
in front of a raucous crowd
in Goldfarb Gymnasium. It
was tightly contested, as the
contest saw 12 lead changes
and 11 ties, with neither
team being able to stretch
a lead larger than seven
points. The Jays took an evanescent
two-point lead after
freshman forward phenomenon
George Bugarinovic
sank a pair of freethrows
with 1:10 remaining in the
game only to see the Shoremen
drive down the court
and nail a three-point basket
to put Washington on
top for good. This came after
a few missed Blue Jay jumpers
and made opposing free
throws.
Bugarinovic led all Blue
Jays in scoring with 14
points while also collecting
eight rebounds, while
senior forward and co-captain
Tim McCarty notched
13 points and 11 rebounds
in his final game as a Blue
Jay. Although the Jays outrebounded
the Shoremen,
Hopkins was hurt by poor
free throw shooting, as
they went 12-for-24 at the
charity stripe.
The 2011-2012 campaign
for Blue Jay Basketball was
an up-and-down season,
one which ultimately saw
the team finish with a winning
record for the first
time since 2008 at 15-11 and
11-7 in conference. JHU
also made the Centennial
Conference Tournament
for the first time since that
same year.
This season saw the Jays
notch two All-Centennial
Conference players in their
top two scorers: Bugarinovic
and sophomore guard
Daniel Corbett. The accolades
kept on coming for a
team that was chosen by the
coaches in the preseason to
finish ninth in the conference,
as coach Bill Nelson, in
his 26th season at the helm
of the program, was named
Centennial Conference
Coach of the Year.
The team benefited from
a unique combination of
veteran leadership and
youthful talent, as they improved
their average scoring
per game by five points
while also holding opponents
to four fewer points
per game. This was partly
due to stifling defense on
the perimeter that led to
the Jays being ranked second
in the nation in threepoint
field goal defense.
"We had great leadership
from our seven juniors
and seniors," coach Nelson
said. "Practices were sharp
and we had very few distractions
over the course of
the season. . .Although we
were still very young, the
team vastly matured both
on and off the court."
While looking back on
a successful season is well
and good, the Jays are not
ready to rest on their laurels.
Hopkins is already looking
forward to next season, a
campaign that will see the
team lose only one of their
starters in McCarty and return
10 guys who played
double-digit minutes per
game in 2011-2012.
However, a veteran
coach like Nelson knows
that there is always room
for improvement.
"We must get stronger
inside," the skipper recounted,
"and we need to
find another scoring threat
inside other than Bugarinovic.
Hopefully
the guys
have already
started getting
ready for
next year in the
weight room."
A final factor
that contributed
to the
Blue Jays success
this season
was an enormous
increase
in fan support
at home games.
The group that
has become
known as 'The Goldfarb
Gang' made their presence
felt at many of the home
games, both through their
vociferous cheers and flamboyant
costumes, making
opposing teams feel uncomfortable
as if there was
a proverbial 'sixth man' on
the court. The support only
increased as the season
wore on, and the Jays made
their push towards the players
prompting junior guard
Adam Spengler to say
"They're crazy. I love it."
The future looks bright
for the Jays of the hardwood,
as they return a
strong nucleus and hope to
build on their recent success
in pursuit of their dream:
to make a run through the
NCAA tournament in 2013.
"We'll be looking for
more consistency and focus
if we want to reach the
NCAA tournament next
year," Nelson added.
The Blue Jays will be
back with a vengeance next
year after getting a taste of
postseason play, and, this
time, they'll be ready to
take the whole thing