First, tonight’s slate. We like Hofstra in a close one and Ga State in a not close one.

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What do we make of Tony Shaver’s Tribe?

William & Mary held UConn close and we rationalized it. They lost to Harvard and we figured it. They beat Richmond and we cheered it. Manhattan was nice and Hampton expected and Wake Forest unexpected and suddenly Tony Shaver has a 4-2 team brimming with confidence and chemistry.

Bully for Shaver, who wisely regrew his trademark mustache. You know he is one of the nicest coaches in the business, but what you may not know is that he is also one of the most competitive. It’s a quiet competitiveness, but Shaver, in ESPN parlance, “gets after it.”

Now here’s the thing–and doesn’t every good team always have “a thing,” that thing that will inevitably torpedo their season? William & Mary has accomplished all of this without Ken Brown, one of its most athletic and talented players. Brown injured his foot in the preseason and is ready to come back, if only for spot minutes until he gets fully comfy.

You have to wonder about the true impact of chemistry on a team, and thus the disrupting of said-chemistry. You see, chemistry appears to be at work here. Ask any Tribe fan, or any CAA fan, who they’d rather have: Marcus Kitts and Steven Hess or Pete Stein and Chris Darnell. You are lying or related to Kitts and Hess if you named the first two. But those are the guys getting it done. Plus, Schneider and Sumner seem far more comfy with the two freshmen (Rum and Galliard).

Here’s what I say: short term pain for the Tribe. Everybody will have to readjust. Schneider, Rum, and Sean McCurdy’s minutes will decrease to allow Brown to do his thing at the point. And the reduced minutes is a good thing over the course of a season. Schneider at 25 mpg instead of 35 mpg come February is helpful. Rum is going to get into conference season and get beaten around, so 10 minutes of beatings instead of 20 is good, no? And McCurdy can flat out play harder in shorter bursts. He’s an energy guy and could use shorter, more fierce bursts.

And in the end, it comes down to this: Ken Brown has more talent, and talent always wins.

So stick with the Tribe, even if December is cruel to them.