In year one of Tommy Dempsey’s rebuilding effort in Binghamton, his first commit Jordan Reed showed signs of being one of the best players in the league, which only increases the opportunity for progress in year two.
The sophomore Reed was named to the Preseason All-America East team after leading the team with 16.6 points per game and 9.5 rebounds per game. Reinforcements are behind him this year as Dempsey brings in a talented class of guards and forwards who are set to make an impact right away.
“I think the future is very bright,” Dempsey said. “We’re inconsistent. We have a lot to learn. There’s a lot of coaching, that’s fun but we struggle for leadership.”
Dempsey will likely lean on freshmen in the starting lineup around Reed and Robert Mansell, who redshirted last season after suffering a knee injury in 2012. While the redshirt junior, who was the team’s leading scorer prior to Dempsey’s arrival, was fully recovered and healthy by the middle of last season. The decision to redshirt has helped him become a focal point of Dempsey’s rebuilding effort. Now Mansell’s addition will be similar to adding a valuable transfer to the roster.
“I think the biggest thing for him is being out of game action for quite a while,” Dempsey said. “He’s been practicing, working out. Between rehab, getting himself ready, practice, workouts, lifting and all those things it will be 20 months between games for him. I know he’s healthy and he’s anxious.”
Meanwhile opponents will be worried about what Reed will offer in his second season in the conference. A key for Reed’s development this season will be deferring more to his teammates, after taking almost a third of the team’s shots last season when he was on the court. Dempsey said they have been working on getting him to trust in his teammates.
“Now I need him score, rebound and make plays for himself, which he’s very good at, but I also need him to take that next step in his development and become a really good teammate,” Dempsey said. “He draws a lot of attention. I think as opposed to forcing bad shots and turning the ball over, he needs to take that next step in his development.”
“When he draws a crowd, because he’s very difficult to guard one-on-one, he needs to be comfortable making the right play and trusting that his teammate is going to be able to knock down the shot or make the play. He doesn’t have to make every single play.”
Those options include a two freshmen point guards who will likely battle for the starting spot in Marlon Beck and Yosef Yacob.
“I think they may both start,” Dempsey said. “I’m going to throw a couple of different combinations out there early in the year and that includes them playing together in the starting backcourt.”
The likely front court starters will be freshmen Magnus Richards and Nick Madray who Dempsey describes as both being “very high level athletes” that could also stretch out and make jumpers.
“They could both be small forwards and they both have the games of small forwards,” Dempsey said. “Richards is more of an attacking wing, driving athlete who is a fair shooter. Madray is as good a jump shooter as we have on the team. He can shoot it.”
The teams that Dempsey has thrown out there throughout his career as head coach, which included a seven-year run at Rider prior to Binghamton, traditionally use a hybrid forward that could shoot as their last big. Dempsey’s teams are also known to play at a faster tempo and make more three pointers than their league worst 29% last season.
“I think that with Reed, Madray, Richards: their athleticism, their versatility, their youth, that’s an exciting group,” Dempsey said.
Ryan Restivo covers the America East for Big Apple Buckets, read his America East preview on ESPN.com as part of the ESPN Insider College Hoops 2013-14 Preview. You can follow Ryan on Twitter @ryanarestivo or contact Ryan at rrestivo[at]nycbuckets.com.
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