New London gets another chance

Craig Parker, owner of three state championships as a head coach at New London, has been trying to get his players to understand the opportunity that lies in front of them at 6:30 tonight in the CIAC Class L state title game at Mohegan Sun Arena.

"We get an opportunity to play a state championship game against a team that beat us in the first game of the year," Parker said following practice at Conway Gym on Wednesday. "You don't have many opportunities like that. Those kinds of things don't happen often."

Indeed, the second-seeded Whalers (25-1) play the top-seeded and unbeaten Red Devils (26-0), the same team that handed New London its only loss, 68-57, back on Dec. 16. It has the potential to be the irresistible force against the immovable object, with the latter coming in the form of 6-foot-5 Stratford big man Brandon Sherrod, the state's Gatorade Player of the Year, who had 25 points and 14 rebounds in the regular-season meeting.

In that game, New London trailed by as many as 14 points before taking a one-point lead with five minutes to play. The Whalers scored just one point the rest of the way.

"We've improved, but I'm sure Stratford has, too," Parker said. "Our players are more comfortable with each other and with their roles. I think we've matured as a team, even though we're still young. We're definitely a better team than we were (in the first game) and we should be."

New London won its first two tournament games despite some tough stretches in both. In their semifinal win over Bristol Eastern on Tuesday, the Whalers put together one of their best all-around games of the season.

"That's important," Parker said. "We talked to the kids prior to coming up the stairs (for practice on Wednesday) that the hard part is over. We're in the state championship game. The hard part is getting there. Now it's just a question of going out there and playing 32 minutes. That's essentially what we have left in the season. Hopefully we play hard and with passion and energy."

That shouldn't be a problem.

New London plays at a breakneck pace with traps and presses coming from seemingly every direction. The pace helps the Whalers create more offensive possessions, and if their shots are falling, they can beat anybody.

While Sherrod presents matchup problems, Parker is also wary of point guard Russell Payton, saying "he makes them go."

New London has sophomore centers Malcolm Simmons (6-4) and Voghens Larrieux (6-6) to throw at Sherrod, as well as freshman forward Keith Porter (6-2). Simmons had one of the best games in his young career against Bristol Eastern on Tuesday, finishing with 17 points and nine rebounds, but knows the hard work isn't over.

"We can't get relaxed," Simmons said. "We have to get back to work."

The Whalers will be looking for the school's ninth state title in basketball (one as Bulkeley High School). They have won eight state titles in 11 chances.

"This is it," Parker said. "We talk about maximizing the season and we've done that. We got to the ECC final, we got to the state final. The hard part is over. We're here."

o.poole@theday.com