Johns Hopkins preview
Thursday’s entry is the fourth installment of a week-long series taking a look at each of the seven Division I programs in this state according to their order of finish from last season. Check back on Friday for a preview of Loyola, and The Sun’s lacrosse preview is slated to be published on Thursday, Feb. 17. Today is Johns Hopkins’ turn.
Overview: The Blue Jays are out to prove that last year was an aberration. In compiling the program’s first sub-.500 record since 1971, the team dealt with a four-game losing streak and seven losses in nine contests. But the squad rebounded and qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the 39th consecutive time. A loss to eventual national champion Duke in the first round had coach Dave Pietramala pledging to review and change anything and everything associated with the program. Johns Hopkins is trying to keep pace with the likes of Virginia, Syracuse and North Carolina, and time will tell if the Blue Jays’ work in the offseason will pay dividends.
Reason for optimism: While the graduation of attackman Steven Boyle (32 goals and 23 assists in 2010) and midfielder Michael Kimmel (23, 16) would seem to cripple the offense, the unit does welcome back fifth-year senior attackman Chris Boland. He led Johns Hopkins in scoring with 46 points in 2009, but tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee last March. Boland, who did not participate in the fall, is expected to join senior Kyle Wharton and sophomore Zach Palmer on the first attack. “Chris has a really good sense and feel for the game,” Pietramala said. “He’s our smartest player. So he see two passes ahead, he understands where the open man is going to be, he understands pace and tempo. He’s a fifth-year senior, so not only does he bring his abilities, but he brings – even though he missed a year – a wealth of experience, having been here this long, to a young team. And that’s invaluable at this point.”
Reason for pessimism: The Blue Jays relied on a large senior class last season, and that class is now gone. Pietramala said the program graduated over 250 games of experience and now return no more than 76 games of experience. “So you’re replacing a lot,” he said. “While we were young last year, we’re probably younger this year because there is no more [goalkeeper Michael] Gvozden, no more [defenseman Matt] Drenan, no more [defenseman Sam] DeVore, no more Kimmel, no more Boyle. There are five guys who played a lot of lacrosse in their careers here at Johns Hopkins. So you lose a lot there.”
Keep an eye on: Pierce Bassett in his first full season as a starting goalie will be key, but Pietramala is cautiously optimistic about the ongoing development of John Greeley and John Ranagan. The sophomore midfielders combined for 15 goals and seven assists as starters, and their progress could go a long way to taking some of the pressure off of the attack. “I felt like each time they walked on and off the field, John Ranagan and Johnny Greeley weren’t aware of each other,” Pietramala said. “They weren’t sure of how to play with each other, they weren’t sure how to play off of each other’s strengths. My sense now in watching them practice and watching them walk onto the field is that they’re much more aware of each other. They’re much more aware of how the other impacts them and the strengths of the other compared to their own. So that’s been really nice to see, their growth there.”
What he said: Practices have been crisper and more intense lately, which would seem to indicate that the Blue Jays are chomping at the bit to answer last year’s critics. “I’m excited to get back out and play because we all have a bad taste in our mouths from last year,” Pietramala said. “And that bad taste comes from no one but ourselves. We have a sense that people don’t think a whole lot of us because of our youth. We’re ranked probably right where we belong. We’re young and based on last year, we’ve got to do our job. There’s no need to talk. We don’t have any room to talk.”
