MIT backup plan now takes root
Injuries can have a way of pulling the rug from under a great season, but MIT coach Larry Anderson understands that it comes with the territory.
“Injuries and athletics go together just like peanut butter and jelly,” Anderson said.
It can seem that simple, but the situation Anderson has been dealt is far from it. In the midst of a promising season, the Engineers learned the hard way that injuries are the cost of doing business as junior Bradley Jomard, arguably their best player, went down with a seasonending injury.
The injury, of which Anderson would not provide details, happened on Jan. 31 against Babson. It was a crushing blow to MIT, which started the season 17-2 and was ranked as high as No.8 nationally. The Engineers have struggled to adjust without Jomard, their do-everything point guard who led them in points and assists. Including the Babson game, they’re 1-3 in his absence.
“Any time you lose a player of his caliber, I think there’s some adjustments that need to be made,” Anderson said. “It’s a work in progress right now, but if you were in our practice every day, I think you’d see how hard the guys are really working. …
“They’re playing in a sense for (Jomard) and saying, ‘Look, we’re going to make this work.’”
This is not unfamiliar territory for MIT. Jomard missed 13 games last season to injury, and the Engineers went 11-2 without him. Anderson said he prides his program on collective development, so that the loss of one player doesn’t crush the team. Even before Jomard went down, MIT has regularly practiced situations without him.
“What we’re doing right now as a coaching staff, is just see how we can step up collectively,” Anderson said. “That’s the way we’ve always tried to play.”
The Engineers have two regular-season games left before the NEWMAC tourney, and they’ll likely be back to the NCAA tournament. Despite back-to-back losses last week, Anderson has liked the fight he’s seen in his team.
“I think there’s a lot of teams out there who would love to be 18-5 right now,” Anderson said. “We’re concerned with the losses that we’ve had the last two, and we’re concerned with the loss of Brad, but we feel like it’s an opportunity for us to help take our team and program to another level.”
Viking resurgence
When Salem State lost by 48 to MIT on Nov. 30, coach Chris Harvey used it as a teaching point. After the game, he preached to his Vikings that they needed to be engaged in the moment and embrace physicality.
They’ve taken it to heart. Salem State has lost just once since and is 11-0 in conference play. Last week, they clinched the No. 1 seed in the upcoming MASCAC tournament.
“We’ve had some good fortune and I think that comes from hard work and being opportunistic,” Harvey said. “This is a group that from Day One, has been locked in.”
The Vikings have one game left before the conference tourney, but even at 21-3 overall, Harvey isn’t banking on his team being an at-large choice to the NCAA tournament. He wants to get to 22 or 23 wins in the event they lose the conference tournament, and then go from there.
“If we get in the NCAA tournament and get the right bracket, we can do something,” Harvey said.
Lewis a key
While Harvard might have talented perimeter players, coach Tommy Amaker has long believed his program is built on playing inside out. It’s what makes Chris Lewis so critical.
Much like Keith Wright once was, the Crimson play through Lewis. The 6-foot9, 235-pound forward is flourishing in his sophomore year — a highlight being his career-high 25 points on 10-for-14 shooting in Harvard’s win over Penn on Saturday.
“We have a presence in there, and it’s a big weapon to have,” Amaker said. “. . . That’s our philosophy and our belief. That’s how we love to play and what’s been successful for us.”