By Brian Falzarano
Columnist, D3hoops.com

Andrew Locke and his fellow freshman class helped bring Middlebury from a basketball afterthought to a Final Four team as seniors. Rochester athletics photo

Prior to the arrival of their three senior co-captains four years ago, Middlebury men's basketball never knew the thrill of making a run through an NCAA bracket. So, in a sense, the trio of Jamal Davis, Andrew Locke and Ryan Wholey could be considered the Panthers' pioneers of the hardwood.

And while Middlebury's senior class has helped pilot four trips to the NCAA Tournament, including this season's breakthrough run to its first Final Four, they are quick to credit the senior class which charted their current course when they just wide-eyed freshmen getting acclimated to the college game.

“All the credit goes to them,” said Locke, a 6-10 center averaging 10.0 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.2 blocks. “They made the choice to turn the program around. They did it through sheer example.

“They just worked so hard everyday. And now it's become the norm.”

Middlebury's diligence and perseverance paid off last weekend. With a pair of second-half comebacks at the University of Rochester – where they made their first Division III NCAA Tournament appearance in 2008 – the No. 2 Panthers (28-1) punched their ticket to the national semifinals in Salem, Va. They will face St. Thomas on Friday night and, with another victory, could face either Williams or Wooster with a chance to add to their school's collection of 31 national championships over the past 16 years.

Unlike most of the programs at Middlebury, the trophy case for men's basketball is not teeming with reminders of past successes. When Davis, Locke and Wholey came to campus their freshman year, 14th-year head coach Jeff Brown admitted, “We had zero history.”

Although Brown successfully sold his current seniors on his vision of filling Pepin Gym for big games and experiencing future thrills in March Madness, as any coach worth his game plan would when pitching to a prospective recruit, without a proven track record his senior tri-captains were relying on little more than blind faith when pledging to play for the Panthers.

It all started one offseason day after the Panthers lost to Colby in the NESCAC quarterfinals when the 2007-08 co-captains, Michael Walsh and Andrew Harris, went to Brown's office and told him they wanted more from their teammates and their program.

“They were able to increase the work ethic and the accountability factor,” Brown said. “A lot of the development comes in the offseason and they really instituted a fall program where guys were challenged to get stronger in the weight room and play a lot of basketball in the offseason. Those seniors did a tremendous job of building the base.”

Although Locke was the only freshman to see regular action in 2007-08, averaging 2.1 points and 2.1 blocks in eight minutes a game, the Panthers set a school record with 19 victories. They lost to Trinity in the NESCAC semifinals, turned in their uniforms and started to focus on the following winter when they earned an unexpected at-large invitation to play their first NCAA game at Rochester.

While they suffered a 13-point setback against Rochester, the Panthers' underclassmen saw an opportunity to build off what Harris and Walsh began.

“Coming in as a sophomore, we had something to live up to,” Davis said. “It wasn't just make the NCAA tournament. It was let's win the NESCAC ... not just that we hope to be there, but that we should be there.”

For an encore, Middlebury captured its first NESCAC crown before falling again in its first NCAA game. Last winter, the Panthers eliminated Gordon for their first NCAA victory before Rhode Island denied them a trip to the Sweet 16.

And now, the trio of Davis, Locke and Whorley have been leaders in Middlebury achieving new levels of success. They showed their balance, depth and versatility on the road in Rochester last weekend, taking down the home team and St. Mary's (Md.) to earn their way to Salem.

“I think the team feels very confident in ourselves,” said Davis, a 6-4 forward and one of Brown's best reserves. “That's a very important attitude to have. In previous years we were confident in ourselves, but not to the extent we are now. We realize that if we play to best of our abilities, we could make it to championship.”

Their confidence, their title talk – this has energized basketball alumni going back to the 1960s. But while Locke is quick to credit his predecessors – “Our success is very much their success,” he said – Brown is appreciative of what his senior class has given Middlebury most of all: a winning legacy.

And a chance to compete for a national championship.

“They're just really great young men,” Brown said. “They've really grown into the leadership piece. They certainly have arrived.”