We're Back

Well, if you followed along last month, there was no season recap for the Winter because- well because we were just too sad to talk about it. After an electrifying first round win over Jeff, the Fighting Cantaloupe fell to Rated PG-13 in the second round, and that’s the last we'll be speaking on that. Now that the past is in the past, let us look ahead to the future and what this Spring season has in store for the Cantaloupe.

With Torney, Ryan D, Joey B, Pendry, Dennis, and Jordan’s contracts all expiring, along with Tim being expected to miss the majority of the year with a severe case of wanderlust, the team had some holes to fill. Luckily Coach/GM O’Neill wouldn’t need to look far as a few familiar faces stepped up to the plate (shoutout the Kiwi’s). Kev, Lou and Nick will all be rejoining the team after only being available as alternates in the Winter. While fans have been abuzz about the idea of seeing the Welsh Bro’s splashing three’s again, early reports out of training camp are saying “not so fast.” With virtually all of the teams height gone, rumor has it Coach O’Neill may be planning to stick Nick down on the block to help out in the paint. The media has been denied access to players until the season starts, but it’s this reporters opinion that the change could definitely ruffle some feathers. Nevertheless, the show goes on, and while Nick may find himself in a new role this season, Lou and Kev will be walking right back into their old ones. Lou looks to be the teams primary ball carrier while Kev will likely be relied upon to play heavy minutes at both the 4 and 5.

The rest of the roster looks pretty similar to the Winter. The Butler boys will be back alongside Ryan who is coming off one of the best offensive seasons in franchise history. Tyler and Conner will also both be back though they’ll be splitting a spot, and Tim will be making an appearance on opening night before his voyage to Utah begins. With Tim heading out West after game one, the team has reached an agreement with Mikey G to make his highly anticipated return to fill the spot for the remainder of the year.

With a smaller roster in terms of both height and depth, there has been a lot of focus on Strength and Conditioning coach Aldrin Alday and the work he’s done with some of the players this off-season. When asked if he felt he’d prepared the team for the increased roles they’ll need to play this Summer, he had this to say:

“The outside noise doesn’t bother our guys too much. They prefer to put the work in rather than get caught up in all of that. I’m really excited to see all their hard work pay off this season. The league isn’t ready for what they’re about to witness, everyone is getting put on notice.” For his sake, I hope he’s right. Fans and front office alike were not happy with the lack of development they saw- or should I say didn’t see from some of the players in Alday's strength and conditioning program last spring. However, if the reduced roster size experiment pays off, Alday could find himself in line for a nice contract extension come next offseason.

The Spring season kicks off tonight as the Fighting Cantaloupe look to avenge last seasons playoff heartbreak. Will Nick be making the move down low? Can the team overcome their lack of height? Will O’Neill’s decision to reduce the roster size payoff? Tune in tonight @ 8:30 as the Cantaloupe take on Coulda Been Pro to find out.

Written by: Jonathan Abbott

April 6th, 2022