Krause: Don’t count out English just yet

The question on a lot of people’s lips these days is what has happened to Lynn English boys basketball?The first indication we got that things might not go as smoothly for the Bulldogs this year came early, when they fell to Beverly. But between last Friday and Tuesday, it almost looks as if the bottom has fallen out. The Bulldogs lost two straight, to Danvers (by 30 points) and to Winthrop.But before anybody panics, let’s remember that English’s big center, Keandre Stanton, wasn’t in the lineup for either game, due to a suspension for violating team rules.Think of the Patriots playing without Tom Brady. You’d agree that regardless of what anybody else on that team is capable of doing, the Patriots without Brady stand very little chance of beating too many teams. His presence in the lineup makes too much of a difference.That’s how it is with Stanton. So much of what English does – on both ends of the floor – revolves around Stanton that without him, the Bulldogs aren’t even close to being the same team.This isn’t the same unit that featured Ryan Woumn or Travonne Berry-Rogers. Outside of Stanton, English’s next most experienced varsity player is Freddie Hogan, who’s a sophomore. This is a brand new team, practically, and without Stanton, it’s even more inexperienced.Whatever’s going on with Stanton, perhaps the best solution here is for the player himself to take a good, long look in the mirror. There’s still plenty for English to accomplish in 2012, and having a re-committed Stanton would go a long way.And don’t forget, too, the two most recent English defeats came at the hands of teams that are having phenomenal seasons. Danvers is 7-2, and has obviously built from last year’s success. And Winthrop is the defending Division 4 state champion, and is equally strong this year.Don’t write the Bulldogs off yet.With any luck, St. Mary’s and Winthrop will be the Nos. 1-2 seeds for the Division 4 boys next month. One can only hope. The two teams met in the North final last year, with Winthrop pulling away for the win. It would appear they’re the two best teams this year, too.The matchup might not rival St. John’s-Central Catholic from the previous two years (at least in terms of region-wide interest) but a Spartan-Viking final would be intriguing for all the subplots (not the least of which is that Winthrop coach Dave Brown is a St. Mary’s alumnus).Let’s hope we get what we all want here.Last week, the Classical girls caught English napping a bit and almost pulled out an improbable upset. You’d have thought that would have been the springboard for success for the Rams.Instead, the opposite happened. Classical hasn’t won since, and the Rams have fallen to 2-8.All that does is reinforce the notion that there are no such things as moral victories, and that a loss is a loss, and it’s difficult to build off a loss ? even a close one.Remember that the next time some team starts crowing about having kept itself in the game. All that means is that the team still lost.We have several games to watch next week. First, Classical and English meet Wednesday in the Bulldogs’ gym. The teams agreed to push the first of their two regularly-scheduled games to this coming week because they didn’t want to play each other so soon after the Boverini Tournament ? Next Saturday afternoon (4) at Emmanuel College in Boston, the St. Mary’s girls play Coyle & Cassidy, the team it defeated to win the Division 3 state semifinals last March. It’ll be a totally different Spartan team, minus the three seniors (Kirsten Ferrari, Tori Faieta and Cassi Amenta) that led them to the championship. Sophomore Brianna Rudolph is also out with a broken ankle ? And a week from Sunday (Jan. 22) St. John’s travels to Central Catholic for a continuation of that rivalry. And that’ll be quite the day if the Patriots are playing for the AFC championship, won’t it?Steve Krause can be reached at [email protected].