I’ll be honest and say I felt sorry for Spaulding in this game. Eventually losing by 20 behind solid all around Windham play underneath (Jack Runde returning to form with key rebounds and putbacks and inside scoring after two pointless games) and timely shots from long distance, Spaulding was outmatched from the start. Now 0-17 on the year Spaulding looked dejected coming off the floor at the end. Meanwhile Windham was ebullient having had a chance to play some teammates that do not often see the court allowing them their moments to shine and have the crowd cheer behind them.
What I truly felt bad about was the decisioning of some schoolboard admin or athletic director with no actual education who sits watching the View and MSNBC mainlined into their grey matter, forcing the poor kids and Spaulding staff to wear masks. As if its not bad enough to be outmatched by a decidedly middle of the road (about .500 on the year) Windham team, they had to pretend that masks hung around their ears and over their throats while playing or in some half assed semblance of compliance while on the bench, were actually doing anything for what are healthy, vaccinated, young adults that see more of them die on ski slopes each year than at the hands of an octogenarian targeting virus. They looked like fish out of water…as if they had been left behind when everyone else has moved on…like I felt in second grade when my mom made me wear hand-me-down, plaid cotton pants that went out in the mid 70s and never seen again but I was begrudgingly wearing circa 1983…
On the other hand, rules or not, Windham has dispensed with the idea of complying with bureaucratic, do nothing, hacks…for the most part... Sure, sprinkled among the crowd here and there was a mask or two. But overall it was a maskless environment with everyone going about their lives. Even a number of parents with whom I have had significant disagreements with over the past two years appear to have come around and were now running around the court now sans-mask. Just takes people a while to get where they need to go sometimes I guess…
With Windham finishing out the year against some weaker opponents they should be able to target a winning season as an overall goal. They won’t lose a ton of players between ‘21 and ‘22. But what they will lose is size with Chris Billone (their leading scorer as well) graduating. It will fall upon Jack Runde to take on an even more physical, post presence in the next year because they will continue to be undersized. I’d like to see the year finish out with a two guard operation of Brian Desmarais and George Fortin on the floor for extended periods as even in last night’s game, with just the slightest of full court pressure from Spaulding, there were too many turnovers and silly passes. Having two individuals who can deftly handle the ball and smartly break the press is going to be a huge need. We’ll see how many more games I get to!
