MIDDLETOWN — What Middletown”s junior varsity basketball team didn”t learn in its recently completed season is how to deal with losses.
But they shouldn”t be judged too harshly. They didn”t have any.
The Mustang JVs also failed to grasp that, in the schoolboy scheme of things, they were strictly a preliminary act. Bottom line, their place on the night”s game program is supposed to be just that … bottom line.
So, how is it that these undercard and underclass upstarts playing in last season”s varsity uniforms before the people upstaged the Middletown varsity and wound up being the toast of the town?
By going 20-0, that”s how.
More intriguingly is how they managed to string together 20 straight victories with an average per-game winning margin of 65-42.
Their modest coach, Tom Knowles, credits Mustang varsity coach Mike Mullin for this phenomenon simply by allowing the JVs to play “as a unit.” Even though in a difficult varsity season that wound up being moderately successful, Mullin must have been tempted to dip into his reserves. But he says no.
“We”ve needed (JV team players) at some point in past seasons, but we thought we had a good balance on the varsity and we didn”t need these guys up,” Mullin explained.
“We had a couple of JVs who could have come up, but it was more important to look to the future. We said, ?Let”s leave them together,” because there”s a chemistry that develops there.”
Explosive chemistry, as it turned out. Among its main components were:
n Guard Bo Sheffer, team-leader in scoring with 315 points, 3-point field goal shooting (33 of a team-total 77) and assists, 68
Knowles: “He”s the best player on the team. A good passer and a good finisher.”
n Guard Jereomy Hoefer, team-leading 74 steals, 238 points, 52 assists
Knowles: “Jereomy is like a little gnat out there. He”s lightning-quick and he screws up the mentality of the other teams because he”ll steal a ball … LIKE THAT! … and go coast to coast. Try to take the ball away from him coming up court … uh, on second thought, why bother?”
n Forward Chris Oatman, team-leading 170 rebounds despite missing three games
Knowles: “At 5-foot-11, he”s a classic rebounder. It”s timing. He”s up in the air while the other guys are on the floor. In one game he had more than 20 rebounds.”
n Center John-Wesley Davis, 238 points, 134 rebounds
Knowles: “John was 1-for-8 in free throws one game. He stayed after practice and shot maybe 75 free throws. Then he had to go home where he shot 50 to 100 more. Then he made the two most critical free throws of the season against Kelseyville.”
The Kelseyville game that Knowles referenced was, in itself, the most pivotal of the season. The game, the first of two meetings between the teams in North Central League I North play, took place Jan. 27 in Middletown, where the Mustangs cruised to a 44-19 halftime lead. But that entire lead disappeared down the stretch before Middletown finally prevailed 62-58, Davis” two free throws securing the victory.
Kelseyville had another chance to catch Middletown in the North standings when the two teams met again on Feb. 13 in Kelseyville.
“It was stressful,” Knowles acknowledged. “If Kelseyville beats us, they are league co-champions. And if we”d have lost to Lower Lake after that, we could have gone 18-2 and not win the league.”
But it didn”t happen … not even close. Middletown, behind 26 points from Sheffer, won 73-54 to lock up the North championship.
The rest of the season was pretty much a cakewalk for the Middletown JVs. They led from the first quarter in all but one of their other 19 games, the single exception being a game against Clear Lake when they were down by a point at half.
On the season, the Mustangs shot nearly 45 percent from the field, including 32 percent from 3-point range.
There are understandably high expectations for the JV unit”s future, who Mullin said will challenge his returning veterans.
“There is a high level of enthusiasm and they have a winning mentality,” said Knowles, who, ironically was not expected to coach the team until it was learned that the man who was — James Seymour — was taking the season off.
Knowles had little time to prepare. An assistant varsity football coach as well, he came to the gym late when the Mustang football team went two weeks deep into the North Coast Section playoffs.
“But making the decision to coach this team wasn”t that tough because they were pretty much ready to go,” Knowles said. “Mike and I had worked with them in the summer. All you had to do was plug them in. I”ve coached basketball and football here for nine years. This, as a group, is the most fun I”ve had working with.”
Mullin, who regards Knowles as more of a co-head coach than an assistant after the pair have been virtual bookends on the court for nine years, agreed.
“This is one of the most overall talented groups we”ve had,” Mullin said. “Across the board, they”re the best ever. They”re basketball-smart, have a working quality and are coachable.”
Not to mention their enthusiasm for the game. Mullin talked about one of five players brought up for experience during the varsity Mustangs” participation in the NCL I North postseason tournament. Just as the tournament title game and last game of the season against Kelseyville was ending, the player queried, “When does open gym start, coach?”
It was a season that couldn”t happen to a nicer guy than the affable, unassuming Knowles, who would look good seated on a horse in one of those old-time Hollywood oatburners. Obviously, the kind of man who would not let a season like the one just passed go to his head.
And then again, maybe not so obviously.
When Mullin told him about being so euphoric about beating archrival Fort Bragg in the first round of the NCL I North tourney that he was up at 3 a.m., Knowles quipped, “Don”t worry. After you win a few, you”ll be OK.”
