Iona’s Tavon Sledge, who transferred from Iowa State in April, received a waiver to be able to play immediately for the Gaels this season.
Category: Iona
NYC Team Capsules: Iona
Last season: 25-8 (15-3 MAAC), lost to BYU 78-72 in NCAA First Round
State of Program: Reloading, but still a MAAC contender
Key Players Lost: Scott Machado, Mike Glover, Kyle Smyth (Seton Hall)
Incoming Players: Too many to list
Projected Starting Lineup (to start):
G: Lamont “Momo” Jones
G: Tre Bowman
G: Sean Armand
F: Curtis Dennis
F: Shawn Jackson
Key Reserves: DeSean Anderson (Jr., F), A.J. English (Fr., G), DaShawn Gomez (Jr., G), Taaj Ridley (Sr., F), David Laury (So., F – could start when eligible)
Biggest Storylines:
1) How will Jones and Armand adjust to being “the guys”?
2) How prepared are the JUCO players to make an impact this season?
3) How does this team blend? What will the midseason addition of (at least) Laury do?
Analysis: With this roster it’s obvious that Tim Cluess wants to continue competing. The addition of Shawn Jackson and Curtis Dennis should help a defense that ranked fourth in the MAAC and 175th overall last season in terms of efficiency. The offense, though, is probably going to take a step back without the playmaking ability of Scott Machado. Once Laury is eligible in midseason, Iona should once again have a credible low-post threat and the Gaels should be able to compete – talent wise – with any team in the MAAC. Still, there is a ton of projection in trying to figure out just how good this team can be come March, but hopefully that’s exactly when Cluess will have this team at its peak.
Final Prediction: Duplicating last season’s record will be tough, but something like 11-7 and in the top four on the MAAC is definitely doable. Expect the Gaels to play in the postseason somewhere this season, but a return to the NCAA tournament would take a bunch of things going right.
Q&A with Iona head coach Tim Cluess
Big Apple Buckets had the chance to catch up with Iona head coach Tim Cluess on the future of Iowa State transfer Tavon Sledge as well as building a challenging non-conference schedule.
Improbable comebacks for Yale and Manhattan last season
If you were in attendance at either Yale’s victory over Columbia on February 11 or Manhattan’s last-second victory over Iona January 12, you probably already know you saw something special. The numbers now confirm it.
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Returning Possession Minutes and the MAAC
The MAAC is preparing for a wild 2012-13 season. After sending two teams to the NCAA tournament last season the conference is in flux.
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Tale of Two Teams for Iona’s Cluess
It appeared that Iona’s chances at an NCAA tournament bid were over in Springfield a week before Selection Sunday. Following a 85-75 loss to fourth-seeded Fairfield in the MAAC tournament semifinals, Cluess took to the podium and said his team was as good as any for an at-large bid.
Iona releases challenging non-conference schedule
Tim Cluess thinks he’s got another talented team at Iona this season, or at least that’s what today’s reveal of the Gaels’ non-conference schedule appears to reveal. While Iona is only guaranteed to play three major conference opponents, there are opportunities galore to score big wins against marquee mid-majors. There’s also no real let down on the schedule.
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What is the best NYC program of the past 50 years?
ESPN has concluded its 50 in 50 series. Of course, in order to figure out the Top 50 teams the stats department had to rank every team that played at least 15 seasons of Division I basketball during that time period (309 total). The comprehensive rankings were just tweeted out by Brett Edgerton. The best New York City mid-major during the past 50 years was…
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Norvel Pelle signs with Iona
Former St. John’s recruit Norvel Pelle has signed with Iona according to Jon Rothstein. This is a huge signing for the Gaels, and not just because Pelle is 6’11”. He was ranked 51st in the RSCI Top 100 for 2011 as part of Steve Lavin’s impressive class. Pelle is super skilled and his brother has compared him to Kevin Durant.
MAAC Discussion: League’s Top 10
A few weeks ago we looked at the Top 10 players in the NEC, now I want to do the same exercise with the MAAC. This league is a lot tougher because of all the turnover and transfers coming in. There is no dominant team, so six of the 10 teams probably think they have a legitimate shot at winning the title. There’s also the pesky problem of transfers that aren’t eligible immediately or might not be eligible at all this season. I’m leaving those players off my Top 10 for now, but I’d certainly be willing to consider them in the future.
NYC Buckets Archive 