PAYING TRIBUTE
			It would not be appropriate to let the final week of the 2007-2008 season pass without remarking on what may be the finest senior class in Bard basketball history?Raymond Arocho, Demitrius Washington and Trevor McGinn.
			While the seniors on the 2005-06 Raptor team were also undeniably talented, including the consensus best player in Bard history (Adam Turner), Bard?s all-time blocked shot leader (Josef Woldense) and the team?s all-time assist leader (Drew McCormack), Ray, Demitrius and Trevor have brought this program to a new level. It would be silly to dismiss what Adam Turner and company did?let us not forget that class also included Collin Orcutt, a huge contributor who slayed JohnsonState with a buzzer-beater, then St. Joseph?s of Brooklyn to win an HVMAC title, and Alexei Phillips, whose undeniable determination made him the glue of every team he joined.
			But Ray, Demitrius and Trevor built upon that group?s success, leaving the Raptors in position to dominate the Skyline Conference in the coming years.
			Ray, simply put, is the best pure shooter Raptormania! has ever seen at Bard. We attended a practice early in his freshman year, and quickly understood that he was capable of things on the offensive end that hadn?t been done by a Bard player. His passion, his smooth jump shot, they will be missed. He will be missed?Raptormania! wishes we had gotten to know him better, and can?t wait to see what the future holds for him.
			Demitrius Washington, in many ways, signaled the new era at Bard- the talented playmaker transferred from Chaminade, a D-II school with an annual TV appearance, to play for the Raptors. His defensive intensity, desire to take the big shot, and the evident joy with which he plays the game only magnify his contributions. Raptormania! has no doubt that he has made Bard a better place to play basketball. More importantly, he made Bard a better place to go to college.
			Raptormania! first met Trevor McGinn in the fall of his freshman year. He was capable of a reverse dunk, but he was just as capable of providing self-effacing humor. Trevor has been such an integral part of the Bard basketball universe, it is incomprehensible to Raptormania! that we will attend games next year, and not see him in the middle, battling, seemingly always, MUCH taller interior players, yet coming away with more than his share of points and rebounds.  Trevor once contributed to a Bard victory, then ran across campus and played the lead in Wozzeck- he is that kind of person, harnessing multiple talents and letting those of us fortunate to know him enjoy the show.
			Raptormania! has no doubt that just as Ray, Demitrius and Trevor built upon the successes of Adam, Josef, Collin, Drew and Alexei, a young group led by Justin White, Eli Strauss, and players we have yet to meet will build upon the current success, perhaps even trumping the results on the court. Having spoken at length to all three, Raptormania! knows they wouldn?t have it any other way.
			But it would not be appropriate to let this final week pass without paying tribute to these three men. Raptormania! has been privileged to see them play. But far more importantly, Raptormania! has been privileged to get to know them. So has Bard College. And so is anyone that gets the chance to encounter them along a path that we are certain holds so much success.