Fairfield Stags head coach Sydney Johnson knows that his team has been searching for answers since last season’s collapse that led to the seventh seed in the MAAC tournament. Continue reading “Fairfield Sydney Johnson on Question Marks Addressed”
On Friday teams will see the full effect of the new NCAA rules in action, rule changes that prohibit hand checking and that will open up the offensive flow of the game. Continue reading “MAAC Coaches Not a Fan of New Rules”
While the MAAC makes it more difficult than most conferences by naming three all-conference teams in preseason, there are a number of players that could become important pieces for their squads come March. Avoiding (most of) the 17 (yes, 17) players that MAAC named to preseason all-conference teams here are a few players who could impact which team cuts down the nets in Springfield. Continue reading “MAAC Breakout Players 2013-14”
As Fairfield head coach Sydney Johnson heads into his third year as head coach of the Stags, his main concern appears to be fixing an offense that took a sharp turn for the worse at the end of last season. Continue reading “Sydney Johnson on Improving Fairfield’s Offense”
Fairfield head coach Sydney Johnson received a bit of good news recently when Malcolm Gilbert, older brother of sophomore Marcus, who transferred to the school from Pittsburgh in January received a waiver. Continue reading “Malcolm Gilbert Receives Waiver at Fairfield, Three Years of Eligiblity”
After two seasons at Fairfield, head coach Sydney Johnson’s program has been evolving from when he took over on April 4, 2011.
With senior Mo Barrow being the only remaining player left from the Ed Cooley era, Johnson will be fully equipped with a team ready to fully commit to his style of basketball. Johnson said they like the group they have coming in, with two scholarships still available to use.
Continue reading “Fairfield’s Johnson On Summer Session, Recruiting Class”
Loyola (MD) might be leaving the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in July, but their rivalry with Fairfield will resume for the foreseeable future.
The two schools have agreed to a four-year series, starting in Baltimore, that will likely be a home and home series until the 2016-17 season. Officials on both sides confirmed that a deal is in place and that the first game of the series will have the Stags travel to meet the Greyhounds on November 16, 2013.
The two faced off in the 2012 MAAC Men’s Basketball Championship game in Springfield with the Greyhounds prevailing 48-44. Fairfield leads the overall season series 36-19, but Loyola (MD) has won five of their last six meetings. The two schools played each other for the first time during the 1977-78 season and have played each other twice a year since Loyola (MD) joined the league in 1989.
Changes have come for the Greyhounds since it was reported the two schools were looking to continue the series in January. Head coach Jimmy Patsos moved on from Loyola (MD) to Siena, a move he said he would not have considered if Loyola (MD) had remained in the MAAC. Subsequently, the school did not have to look far for their next head coach. The school quickly hired Patsos’ assistant coach G.G. Smith, son of Texas Tech head coach Tubby Smith, to take over the program.
Loyola (MD) officially moves to the Patriot League in all sports on July 1 with Boston University to give the league 10 members.
Ryan Restivo covers Stony Brook, Hofstra and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference for Big Apple Buckets. You can follow Ryan on Twitter @ryanarestivo. For more non-conference schedule dates, check out the non-conference schedule tracker.
For a team that rode two win streaks of five and six games throughout the season, the Stags appeared to be a top contender in the MAAC. They rode their strong 19-16 season into a CollegeInsider.com Tournament invitation, falling to Kent State on the road.
Continue reading “Fairfield’s Sydney Johnson on Up and Down Season”
The Fairfield Stags named MAAC co-Rookie of the Year and rising sophomore Amadou Sidibe team captain for the 2013-14 season.
Sidibe averaged 5.7 points per game and 6.2 rebounds per game as a freshman, sharing Rookie of the Year honors with Manhattan’s Shane Richards.
Fairfield head coach Sydney Johnson said he expects Sidibe to fill the leadership void left by the exiting senior class of Derek Needham, Colin Nickerson and Desmond Wade.
“Your leaders in many ways come from those who were the best followers,” Johnson said. “Amadou Sidibe is a guy who quickly comes to mind. He followed everything that Derek, Des and Colin tried to be about in terms of getting good grades, taking pride in their basketball game, competing hard.”
“He was one of the best guys in following that lead and so it’s natural to think he’s going to be one of the best guys to be a leader. Amadou is a name that comes right off the top of my head because of how good he was following our seniors. I think he could be a great leader of other guys.”
Sidibe was one of the five man freshman class that aided the Stags to their fourth straight postseason appearance. The Stags will return one rising senior and the only remaining player from the Ed Cooley era in Mo Barrow.
Fairfield adds two transfers for the 2013-14 season from the Big East that will likely have an impact early on. Seton Hall transfer Sean Grennan will be eligible to start the season. Johnson said that Fairfield will apply for a waiver so that Pitt transfer Malcolm Gilbert can play with his brother Marcus right away.
“We are pushing for him to be eligible in the fall,” Johnson said of Gilbert who has two years of eligibility remaining. “He’s got a pretty substantial case for having a waiver granted by the NCAA, but we just have to submit all the paperwork and hope for the best.”
Gilbert transferred to Fairfield over mid-semester break and practiced with the team for the first time on January 7. Johnson said he recruited Malcolm when he was at Princeton and was notified over the break that he wanted to join his brother Marcus at Fairfield.
Ryan Restivo covers Stony Brook, Hofstra and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference for Big Apple Buckets. You can follow Ryan on Twitter @ryanarestivo.
Fairfield junior Keith Matthews will transfer out of the school and look to pursue his senior season closer to his home in Florida, head coach Sydney Johnson confirmed today.
Matthews, the Sebastian, Florida native, will look to transfer to a school closer to home after averaging 5.1 points per game and starting 21 of the 35 games he appeared in this season.
“It was tough for Keith not to play this year,” Johnson said. “He did play for the first half of the year and I personally thought some other guys emerged. I think it’s hard when you’re an upperclassmen and you’re not playing as much.”
“He was honest with it. He’s an outstanding young man, he was honest and forthright about it and I also feel just the desire to be closer to home was a pretty big draw too.”
Johnson said that he and the staff will help to find Matthews a place closer to home in Florida. Matthews had offers from Youngstown State and Winthrop, but picked Fairfield over them when Ed Cooley was head coach.
“I can’t say enough good things about him,” Johnson said. “Anything that we can do, we will do.”
Matthews is the second player to transfer out of Fairfield under Johnson’s watch. Jemel Fields transferred to St. Peter’s after Johnson’s first season leading the Stags.
“We don’t expect anyone else to transfer out,” Johnson said. “That has been something that has happened an incredible amount across the country. So can never say never, but right now I really don’t expect anybody else to transfer.”
Ryan Restivo covers Stony Brook, Hofstra and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference for Big Apple Buckets. You can follow Ryan on Twitter @ryanarestivo.
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