Merkle’s continued absence shouldn’t hurt Harvard-Westlake too much
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
According to the Daily News, Harvard-Westlake senior Ryan Merkle will not play for the Wolverines in the playoffs after missing a month of school because of personal reasons. The UC San Diego-bound guard played in nine games this season, averaging 5.7 points.
The Wolverines have won plenty of games without Merkle in the lineup, even though his absence has taken a toll on the Wolverines’ depth. Injuries, including the plague of back spasms that afflicted Erik Swoope, played a big role in Harvard-Westlake’s fall from grace in the second half of Mission League play.
Still, don’t expect the Wolverines to have too many problems in their first-rounder against either Westlake or El Segundo (by the way, I’m blogging from that wild-card game, tonight). Renaldo Woolridge, Damiene Cain, Austin Kelly and the rest of the Wolverines are too polished to fall short in the first round.
After that, however, winning a Division I-AA title likely means a head-first charge through SoCal powers Mater Dei and Simi Valley -- and that definitely won’t be easy.
-- Austin Knoblauch
