When Sydney Johnson left his alma mater to come to Fairfield, he inherited a team that had won 48 games in their last two seasons.
Johnson, who led Princeton to the NCAA Tournament and nearly upset Kentucky in the first round, said that modifying the Fairfield roster to his Princeton style attack was a major adjustment in his first season. Continue reading “Fairfield’s Johnson Setting Foundation for Stags in Year Two”
Marist has ruled out freshman Khallid Hart for the season with cartilage damage in his right knee.
Hart, who had surgery Thursday on the damaged right knee, will rehab and recover and is expected to be ready for next season. Marist plans to redshirt Hart for the 2012-13 season.
Head coach Chuck Martin said that they first learned of Hart’s injury two weeks ago and that he was unsure when Hart injured his right knee.
“We just kind of went to the doctor just to check it out and see what’s going on,” Martin said. “When we went to the doctor we realized maybe it was a little more serious and then we just moved quickly at that point.”
Hart had surgery to clean the damage to the cartilage in his right knee on Thursday.
The newcomer Hart was named the 2012 Delaware Player of the Year and led all players with 23.4 points per game playing for the US Virgin Islands team during the summer at the five-day FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship.
Martin was expecting to have Hart on the floor during his freshman year but now will have to wait one more season before using him in the rotation.
“We were expecting a lot from him,” Martin said. “He would have been a really nice addition to what we got already, which I think would have made us better. The silver lining for us is all starting five guys are back and healthy.”
Martin said that his roster will stay where it’s at right now, with a starting five that returns from last season and that guards T.J. Curry and Devin Price will likely see slightly more time due to Hart’s injury.
“We kind of stay where we’re at,” Martin said. “We certainly have enough guys in the rotation on the team that can step up and make up for the loss.”
The Red Foxes open up the season on November 9th when they host Stony Brook at the McCann Arena.
On August 29th, Loyola University (Md.) shook the MAAC membership when they announced that their move to the Patriot League beginning next season. Continue reading “Loyola tries to defend MAAC title before moving on”
Last season: 21-13, (12-6 MAAC), Lost to Fairfield 69-57 in CIT
State of Program: Building a perennial contender
Key Players Lost: Kidani Brutus, Liam McCabe-Moran
Incoming Players: Shane Richards (F), C.J. Jones (G), Sky Williams (G), Adam Lacey (C), Paul Bayt (G), Ashton Pankey (So., from Maryland)
Projected Starting Lineup:
G: Michael Alvarado
G: Mohamed Koita
G: George Beamon
F: Emmy Andujar
F: Rhamel Brown
Key Reserves: Roberto Colonette (F), Donovan Kates (G), Ryan McCoy (F), C.J. Jones (G), Adam Lacey (C), Paul Bayt (G), Ashton Pankey (F – if eligible)
Biggest Storylines:
1) How will Manhattan deal with being the favorite in the MAAC?
2) The Jaspers struggled a bit towards the end of last season. Did the MAAC catch up to Manhattan’s defensive system?
3) Can Emmy Andujar join George Beamon as a First Team All-MAAC level player?
Analysis: After the biggest turnaround in the country last season the Jaspers appear to be on the fast track towards being a competitive basketball program. Head coach Steve Masiello continues to bring great talent to Riverdale and it should give the Green & White the building blocks of a strong foundation moving forward. The return of a healthy Michael Alvarado is what makes this team so dangerous. His injury near the end of last season was a big blow. Alvarado, Andujar and Beamon will have to stay healthy if the Jaspers are going to put a team that can win multiple NCAA tournament games on the floor. But make no mistake, that’s definitely the goal.
Final Prediction: Manhattan looks like the favorite in the MAAC this season. The Jaspers had the best defense and second best offense in the conference in 2011-12. The defense will be even better in year two under Masiello’s unique defensive schemes. The non-conference schedule is daunting, but the Jaspers won’t have to worry about it if they show up for the MAAC tournament in March.
The defending MAAC Champions will be without yet another piece of their 2012 MAAC Tournament Championship team.
Continue reading “Loyola loses R.J. Williams for first half of season”
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.
Big Apple Buckets had a chance to catch up with MAAC Commissioner Rich Ensor in early September and not only got his take on conference expansion but also talked about the work he will be doing with Men’s College Basketball Officiating LLC, what he thinks of the state of officiating in the game as well as his thoughts on the best atmosphere to watch basketball in the MAAC. Continue reading “Q&A with MAAC Commissioner Rich Ensor”
For the Manhattan Jaspers, next season became this season on Friday. Steve Masiello put his players through their paces on the defensive end in the first practice and then the players got to have some fun during Manhattan Madness with a bunch of screaming fans with glow sticks. Continue reading “Many Jaspers ready to lead Manhattan to NCAAs”
Rider head coach Kevin Baggett said he was on his way home Friday when he got a call from athletic director Don Harnum.
Jim Baron did not have to look far for his next job after spending over a decade at Rhode Island. Less than a month after leaving the Rams, Baron was at Canisius.
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