Posted 5:22 a.m. Feb 13, 2022 by 20 Second Timeout
Last year, my Eastern Divison and Western Divison previews each correctly picked six of the eight playoff teams. I thought that Springfield would be the best team in the West in 2021 but injuries to Chandler Dawes and Paul Hammond slowed them down and by the time they faced Dallas in the second round I wrote that very little separated the two powerhouses. I predicted that Springfield would prove to be "thismuch" better but of course Dallas narrowly prevailed. Chandler Dawes appears to be in good health entering the 2022 season, as do Hammond and Conor McCaffrey, so I look for the Springfield to not only be the best team in the West but to claim their fourth AAU National Title of the Dawes era. I recently posted my 2022 Eastern Division Preview; here is my Western Division preview:
1) Springfield: Reasons for hope: Chandler Dawes, Paul Hammond, Conor McCaffrey and Will Jenkins. Springfield has three of the top individual players in the league and one of the game's great coaches. That has proven to be a championship winning formula in the past as long as Dawes is healthy. Reasons to mope: Hammond is known as "El Contusion" for a reason: his relentless, no holds barred style leads to a lot of bruises. On paper, Springfield look deep but guys like Clarence Davis, Sir Jamison Jones III and Malcolm Thomas all have a lot of mileage on their odometers. Springfield need their big three to stay healthy throughout the season and especially during the playoffs. Bottom line: Chandler Dawes has yet to win back to back championships but three titles in the past eight seasons suggest that it might soon be time for Springfield to hoist another banner.