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Date Posted: 04:27:39pm 11/29/05 Tue,
Author: JoeStag
Subject: CT Post - MOS could be lost for up to 12 weeks.
The Chris Elsberry column did not reach the online version of the CT Post, but here it is below. It says that MOS could be out for 12 weeks..... thats like mid February. Its torn ligaments not just a sprain. TOT says. "This is our reality. This ain’t going away. And so, you can either make excuses and alibi’s, or you can scrap and fight and figure it out.” IMO, It looks like MOS could be out for the year.
BRIDGEPORT -- The words echoed in their ears. They would not go away, nor did any of the Fairfield Stags want them to. They needed to hear them, over and over. A constant reminder of all the things that they never want to have happen again.
Fairfield had not played the way he’d hoped against St. Joseph’s in their first “big” home game in a long time at the Arena. The Hawks had come into town and pushed the Stags around. And Fairfield, for whatever reason, had not pushed back.
So, coach Tim O’Toole said just that. He didn’t rant. He didn’t scream. He simply told the truth.
And a lot of times, the truth can sting. A lot.
He didn’t come right out and say his players were soft, but you couldn’t help but read between the lines. Now, O’Toole hates losing as much as any coach but he can at least stomach it when his players give him their best efforts. That did not happen against St. Joseph’s.
In the past, that was how Fairfield won games. They don’t have the luxury of size, or athleticism, or depth to simply of the big-time schools to beat a lot of teams head-to-head. But they would use other things, like determination and intensity. Most importantly, they used heart.
That heart was obvious Monday night. Providence came in to the Arena, bringing their Big East bravado with them and at the end, the Stags were right there, scrapping and clawing and fighting like it was their NCAA championship. They lost, 81-78, but man, they played with some bravado of their own.
“As a man, we brought it tonight,” said Carter, the 6-foot-4 senior that played more like he was 6-9, grabbing a team-high seven rebounds to go along with his six points. “I was so proud of all our young guys. We talked about it all week. Coach had us doing defensive drills all week, we didn’t do one offensive drill and we came out hard and played well. We’ve all got to scrap. We’re a quick team and we have to use that to our advantage.”
Marty O’Sullivan, the Stags lone veteran inside presence at 6-7, was on the bench in street clothes, using crutches to hobble into the pre-game huddle. He had sprained his ankle during practice on Saturday and, according to O’Toole, has some torn ligaments could be lost for up to 12 weeks. His loss meant that Carter would have to play the post. And play with heart.
It meant that Terrence Todd and Michael Bell were going to have to penetrate and be aggressive on the offensive end. And play with heart. It meant that Danny Oglesby, Michael Van Schaick and Herbie Allen were going to have to contribute significant minutes. And play with heart.
It meant that Jonathan Han would just have to keep being Jonathan Han.
“Guys came in and they stepped up and they made plays,” O’Toole said. “And they made plays when they had to.”
They played with the kind of aggressive nature that should pay dividends down the road. Yes, Fairfield is small. Yes, there are new faces in new positions but if they continue to play with the same kind of effort they showed against the Friars, this team might finish with a lot better record than people think.
“This hopefully, will prepare us for our league,” O’Toole said. “You learn to fight, you get beat up a little bit and you learn to fight back.”
Consider Providence a lesson learned. With O’Sullivan on the bench, O’Toole got the kind of intensity and passion he’d hoped to get. From everyone.
Carter played tall. Todd (14 points) looked for his shot.
Allen, Geoff Middleton and Michael Bell gave the Stags significant minutes. Oglesby (a career-high 24 points) and Van Schiack (14) gave them offense.
And Han was Han.
And while all that put together might not have been enough to beat the taller, stronger and more athletic Friars, it will give Fairfield a much better chance to beat the teams they need to beat in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
“We showed some grit, which we didn’t show in the first two (games),” O’Toole said. “That was encouraging. This is our reality. This ain’t going away. And so, you can either make excuses and alibi’s, or you can scrap and fight and figure it out.”
Monday night, all the Stags fought.
Chris Elsberry is a sports columnist. He can be reached via e-mail at celsberry@ctpost.com
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Re: CT Post - MOS could be lost for up to 12 weeks. -- Staginthesun, 06:27:50pm 11/29/05 Tue, [1]
Interesting to see the need for Todd and Bell to penetrate and be aggressive on offense when juxtaposed with the "Fast Fact" from the Post's report card on the game:
It took Fairfield 18:38 to attempt its first free throw of the game, one game after not attempting one in the first half against St. Joseph's.
One can also point to the turnover ratio as a plus, but consider the rebounding numbers to spotlight the problems we have as a short team.
As I have said before, we are what we are, which is an 0-3 team, hoping to be a 1-4 team after this weekend - which still is lousy. The hope is to improve gradually, but let's try for consistency as well. Anyone can have a 24 pt. game (especially with his credentials), but the key is to do it consistently - that's what will make him a star and the Stags a better team.
.
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Re: CT Post - MOS could be lost for up to 12 weeks. -- running man, 02:09:37pm 11/30/05 Wed, [1]
Redshirt MOS.
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Re: CT Post - MOS could be lost for up to 12 weeks. -- FUAlum, 05:46:58pm 11/30/05 Wed, [1]
Yikes, we are really thin up front. Redshirt is a good idea.
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Re: CT Post - MOS could be lost for up to 12 weeks. -- Frank F, 07:04:50pm 11/30/05 Wed, [1]
"thin" up front??? That is the understatement of the year. We have nothing up front.
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Re: CT Post - MOS could be lost for up to 12 weeks. -- Antman, 08:36:28pm 11/30/05 Wed, [1]
Will Hawkins be red shirted?
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Re: CT Post - MOS could be lost for up to 12 weeks. -- JoeStag, 11:48:08pm 11/30/05 Wed, [1]
The timeframe of MO's injury has to be speculative at this point. He injured it on saturday, and usually yuo cannot make good determniations until after the sweling goes down.
Since its ligaments, and not just a ankle sprain I think we are looking at somwhere between 4 and 12 weeks.
If its 12 weeks, then Red shirting is a real possiblity, 4 weeks and he will be ready for most of theh MAAC season. Anything in between is debatable. But a decision does not have to be made until he is ready to play. He cannot play more than 6 games in order to redshirt.... I think thats the rule.
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