Farmington at Bristol Eastern: Game Notes

Tonight, I got my first taste of seeing my alma mater Farmington Indians in action this year after losing a very strong senior class which included Spencer Noon, Ryan Murphy and Devin Hahn, who are all playing at the next level. The game was at Bristol Eastern, and the first thing I noticed and was disappointed about was the lack of student support from Farmington, as it was virtually a home game for them, being that close. There were probably less than 5-10 Farmington students I saw that were not affiliated with the team. The Farmington student section's of past would've probably filled up a whole section of the gym with an away game so close.

That wasn't the only thing I was slightly disappointed about by Farmington. Bristol Eastern's fierce half-court trap defense forced numerous Farmington turnovers, and the Indians could just get absolutely no offense going whatsoever. Other than Ben Pollack, who as a 6'6" sophomore is a big name to watch in the CCC over the next few years, and at times Senior G Greg Rosshirt, Farmington has very few players that can be trusted with shooting or handling the ball. They've got many athletes that keep them in the game defensively, but a few of these players lack any offensive skillset and hurt the team that way. They must've had about about 30 turnovers in this game, a lot of them credited to Bristol Eastern's tough defense, but also some credited to poor handling skills from Farmington.

Ben Pollack, on the other hand, is going to be a great player for Farmington. He finished with 17 out of the team's 37 points, and could've scored more if he had converted some layups that he usually makes. He's a real big kid for his age, but also athletic down low and can make a jump shot or drive to the hoop from the high post. He is also a very good free throw shooter, which is a major plus for someone who gets to the line as much as he did. He's done a very good job replacing Murphy, but someone (or a few people) need to step up to try and replace Noon (and his 22 PPG) in order for this team to be competitive.

Growing pains are expected for this Farmington team...they return less than 10 points per game from last year. But they're going to need to handle the ball better if they want to get back to the state tournament again.

As for Bristol Eastern, they are a very good team, probably among the top 10 or 15 in the whole CCC. Xavier Wade impressed me very much at point guard, and Chris Colon, who sat out last season injured, is a major contributer as well. They came out with a big win against a Deshawn Hamlet/Chaz Arnold-less Bulkeley team about a week ago, and are still riding the momentum from that.