Local seniors helped MCLA

NORTH ADAMS -- It doesn't mean anything if you're the game's leading scorer and your team doesn't win.

MCLA men's basketball coach Jamie Morrison had the luxury of having four seniors from Berkshire County who understood this team dynamic.

Brendan Kordana, James Rivers, Kris McLaughlin and Adam Tarsa each played one full season as a unit and led the Trailblazers to a 17-10 record, MCLA's first winning record in over five years and its first Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament bid ever.

Collegiate sports are different than high school sports in that the level of play is usually always higher. That being said, each player on a collegiate team likely was one of their high school team's best players.

That can often be a difficult adjustment for a player who is used to putting a team on their backs to win games.

McLaughlin is a 2007 graduate of Pittsfield High School and he was one of the county's most dominant players in high school, especially because of his three-point shooting and defense.

However, in college, not every player gets to be the go-to person for scoring. Sometimes it's just as important to do the things that facilitate scoring as opposed to just lighting up the scoreboard.

After transfering from Fitchburg State after one season, McLaughlin came into his new team knowing what type of a player his team needed him to be.

Seeing his effort made everyone around him embrace him as a leader.

"He's probably one of the most respected guys on the team," Morrison said of McLaughlin. "He's an energy guy off the bench and he always puts the team first."

Kordana, a graduate of Hoosac Valley, played the most consistent minutes out of the bunch, averaging 20 minutes per-game while playing in all 27 games (26 starts, one off the bench) for the Blazers.

Kordana worked on taking better shots this season, as well as being more physical on defense and at the free-throw line.

Morrison noted how much Kordan's hard work paid off for the team.

"Brendan was one of our most important guys on the offensive side of the floor," Morrison said of Kordana. "Coming into the season, he had to play well if we were going to be any good."

Kordana transfered in from Southern Vermont University, where the team consisted of about seven players and Kordana was called upon to play about 40 minutes per-game.

Yet coming back home to a situation that he fell into, Kordana said it did a lot for him as a person and it's something he can carry with him for the rest of his life.

"I've definitely matured a lot," he said. "When I first came here, I played just to play. Then it turned into playing for a conference championship. Your game and your personality changes. You grow up on and off the court."

Rivers was the type of player for the Blazers that had incredible nerves and came off the bench in any clutch situation. However he didn't have nearly as many minutes per-game as he did at Wahconah Regional High School.

Yet reality set in during his freshman season when he was cut from a team that was alrleady full of talented players at his position.

"It was kind of shellshocking for me," said Rivers. I thought, since I was so successful in high school that I could walk on to the program. College kind of makes you realize it's not all about you."

He has four made free-throws in four attempts this season and two of them came in a close game against New England College. With the game tied at 84 with less than 30 seconds remaining in the game.

Rivers got the call to come in for a spark and his physical play put him at the line for two shots. He nailed both of them and MCLA held on for the win.

Rivers and McLaughlin were all there when the Blazers were arguably at their worst, a 1-24 season in 2008.

MCLA improved to 9-16 in the next season when Kordana transfered in but something was still missing in order for the Blazers to get even better.

Tarsa was the final piece to the puzzle, trying out for the team in his senior season after focusing most of his time on soccer as the starting goalie for the Blazers.

Tarsa, who played alongside Kordana at Hoosac, shot 50-percent from the field while coming off the bench as a backup forward.

A group of players that can teach a team to embrace their individual roles can do wonders for a team's success. Changing the entire course of a team's history is even more special.

(Courtesy of North Adams Transcript)