Category: NEC

NEC Team Primer: #8 Sacred Heart Pioneers

Head Coach: Anthony Latina, 1st year
Last Season: 9-20, 7-11 (NEC), Failed to Qualify for the NEC tournament
RPI/KenPom: 242/268
NEC Preseason Poll: 8th out of 10 teams
State of Programs: Reloading
Starters Returning: 3
Key Loss(es): Shane Gibson (21.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.2 spg, 41.6% 3PT%), Justin Swidowski (7.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg), Nick Greenbacker (4.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.0 bpg)
Incoming Players: De’von Barnett (F), Leo Vincent (PG/G), Cole Walton (C), Tavon Bookman (G)

Sacred-Heart-1_220_220_sProjected Starting Lineup:
PG: Phil Gaetano (4.8 ppg, 7.9 apg, 2.3 A/TO)
G: Steve Glowiak (10.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.5 spg)
G: Chris Evans (DNP due to injury)
F: Louis Montes (14.4 ppg, 6.2 rpg)
C: Cole Walton (Fr.)

Key Reserves: Evan Kelley (G), De’von Barnett (F), Tevin Falzon (PF), Leo Vincent (PG/G), Mostafa Abdel-Latif (PF/C)

Major Storylines:

  • Staying Out of the Trainer’s Room – Good health wasn’t on the Pioneers’ side last season, as Chris Evans, Evan Kelley, and Justin Swidowski – arguably three of the team’s six best players – played a combined 17 games because of injury. The misfortunate was enough to completely strip Sacred Heart’s depth, resulting in an ugly end of year slide that pushed the Pioneers out of the NEC postseason. Now in Anthony Latina’s inaugural season, SHU desperately needs better fortune health wise, if they want to possess any chance to compete in the deep NEC.
  • Replacing an All-Time Great – For the past two seasons, Shane Gibson posted an offensive rating north of 106, despite handling more than 30% of Sacred Heart’s possessions. How exactly does a team replace that production? With a bevy of athletic guards and forwards at Latina’s disposal, the solution to Gibson’s graduation will be through a balanced approach. Five, six, maybe even seven players can lead the team in scoring any given night, so this newfound balance should make it more difficult to scout/defend the Pioneers. At least that is Latina’s hope.
  • A Bland Look No Longer – As good as Dave Bike was coaching offense, he was equally as bad getting his team to defend. The last five seasons under Bike produced the following defensive efficiency ranks: 305, 276, 271, 310, and 295. Oh dear. To improve on this facet, Latina has focused more of his coaching efforts on the defensive end this preseason. The team plans to change up their defensive looks throughout the game, as well as apply full and half-court pressure (think Mount St. Mary’s Mayhem style) when warranted. It will be an entirely different look for the Big Red, and one that could pay dividends during league play.

The Skinny:
After patrolling the sideline for 35 seasons, Dave Bike has retired, paving the way for long time assistant Anthony Latina. To be frank, the coaching change was likely overdue, as the defenseless Pioneers had missed the NEC playoffs three of the past four seasons. Enter the enthusiastic Latina, who must navigate without one of the greatest Pioneers ever to wear the red and white, Shane Gibson.

Gibson was a magnificent scoring machine, averaging 22.0 and 21.6 ppg in his final two seasons, respectively. He was a joy to watch, yet his graduation may serve as a blessing in disguise for a hungry head coach eager to install an up-tempo, balanced system. Despite Gibson’s greatness, the Pioneers morphed into a one-dimensional squad on both sides of the ball. It made the team somewhat easy to scout and defend against, especially late in the game.

In the present, this may be the deepest, most athletic team Sacred Heart has ever trotted out in its 16 year Division I history, and Latina plans to fully utilize these assets. The rotation will feature nine to ten players, highlighted by a bevy of versatile veteran guards. Phil Gaetano leads the charge as the heady facilitator, as evident with his marvelous 38.6% assist rate last season. The selfless floor general simply excels at making his teammates better, but in order to emerge into the all-conference discussion, he’ll need to cut down on his turnovers and improve his shooting percentages.

The rest of the guard rotation will feature three juniors, two of whom are coming off red-shirt seasons in Evan Kelley and Chris Evans. Now healthy (although both players were a little banged up last week in practice), both guards not only improve the Pioneers’ backcourt depth, but they also add versatility, ball handling, and perimeter defense, all of which were sorely lacking last season. Evans and Kelley, along with sharpshooter Steve Glowiak, who should lead the team in made threes, will play most of the minutes at the “2” and “3”.

The starting power forward is the consistent Louis Montes, who’s coming off one of the more underrated seasons in recent memory. Playing in the shadow of Gibson, Montes averaged 14.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. As an undersized “4”, Montes is a difficult cover who adeptly uses his body and sneaky athleticism to create opportunities near the rim. Improving his free throw percentage would be more than welcome, since the senior is fantastic at drawing contact and getting to the line.

After those five aforementioned upperclassmen lies uncertainty, albeit intriguing uncertainty, with the remainder of Latina’s roster. Freshman swingman De’von Barnett possesses jaw-dropping athleticism that may find him in the running for NEC Rookie of the Year. Latina expects Barnett could play 20 minutes per game backing up Evans and Montes at the “3” and “4”. Next is the enigma of Tevin Falzon, a tantalizingly talented stretch four who has a promising future in this league if he can just gain some confidence. Red-shirt freshman center Cole Walton, who’s added several pounds of muscle to his skinny frame last season, could provide an impact in the low block on occasion. Finally, there’s combo guard Leo Vincent, who should back up Gaetano at the point, but likely will be featured off-the-ball more next season.

Add it all up and you have a solid collection of players, making Sacred Heart one of the most balanced squads of the NEC. It remains to be seen if the apparent lack of a go-to-scorer will haunt this team during conference play.

Coach’s Quotes:

“I want to press, but I will only press a lot if we are at full strength. If we lose a perimeter guy, we’ll go more for half-court type of pressure a lot like (Mount St. Mary’s).”
– Latina, when talking about his new look defense

“He’s going to force me to start him (eventually). I want him to play about 20 minutes per game this season.”
– Latina, when asked about the potential of freshman forward De’von Barnett

Predictions:

Ryan – As optimistic as I try to be when assessing my alma mater’s chances, I simply can’t ignore how deep the NEC is this season. There will be no cupcakes on the schedule, so it’s going to be a battle every night. Sure, the Pioneers can sneak into the league’s top five with good health and terrific production from their underclassmen, but the safe bet is guessing they’ll settle into the 7th or 8th slot at season’s end. (12 total wins, 7-9 NEC)

John – Well, I bet that Sacred Heart is going to be a lot more fun to watch this season, but will they be better on the court? That’s tough to say. Getting key pieces back from injury definitely helps, but Shane Gibson was a humongous part of what this team has done the past few seasons. Now that he’s gone there are a lot of extra possessions to pick up. It just feels like a lot of work. Sure, SHU could surprise in Anthony Latina’s first season, but this is probably a step back in order to move forward. (11 total wins, 6-10 NEC)

Other NEC Team Primers:
#10 Fairleigh Dickinson Knights
#9 St. Francis (PA) Red Flash

A Quick Comparison of Pomeroy and Hanner Predictions

Two very smart people have released preseason college basketball ratings that span the entire breadth of Division I. Even though Ken Pomeroy and Dan Hanner use different methods to make their predictions the results were quite similar last season. Still, there are some outliers. Here are a few of the more interesting one. Continue reading “A Quick Comparison of Pomeroy and Hanner Predictions” →

NEC Team Primer: #9 St. Francis (PA) Red Flash

St. Francis PA Red Flash logo

St. Francis PA Red Flash logo

Head Coach: Rob Krimmel, 2nd year
Last season: 5-24, 5-13 (NEC), failed to qualify for the NEC tournament
RPI/KenPom: 322/329
NEC Preseason Coach’s Poll: 9th out of 10 teams
State of Program: Slowly rebuilding
Key Loss(es): Umar Shannon (11.2 ppg, 3.3 apg, 2.3 rpg), Anthony Ervin (4.5 ppg, 2.4 rpg)
Incoming Players: Malik Harmon (PG), Georgios Angelou (PG), Patrick Wrencher (PF)

Projected Starting Lineup:
PG: Georgios Angelou (Fr.)
G: Ollie Jackson (7.9 ppg, 2.3 rpg)
G: Stephon Whyatt (6.7 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 2.2 apg)
F: Earl Brown (10.1 ppg, 8.1 rpg)
F: Stephon Mosley (7.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg)

Key Reserves: Ben Millaud-Meunier (G), Greg Brown (G), Malik Harmon (PG), Ronnie Drinnon (PF), Patrick Wrencher (PF), Dominique Major (G)

Major Storylines:

  • Clean Up Mistakes – The Red Flash turned the ball over on 23.3% of their offensive possessions last season, the worst rate in the NEC. St. Francis just can’t afford to give possessions away. Whether that rate improves will heavily depend upon two talented freshmen. Georgios Angelou (Greece) and Malik Harmon (Christ the King, NYC) will split the duties at the point and Krimmel hopes that the combination of the two can provide a steady hand for the offense. Avoiding turnovers though is a focus for the entire roster as Krimmel wants his more veteran players to take some of the pressure off the freshmen.
  • Staying Healthy – Only two players managed to play in every game last season for the Red Flash. Health will be a major factor for SFU, especially because Rob Krimmel just doesn’t have much depth in the front court. Losing any of his three veteran rotation players up front could have disastrous results. There are only four players on the roster 6’6″ or taller.
  • Continue Building – There are no seniors on St. Francis’ roster this season. Krimmel is asking junior forward Earl Brown to be a more vocal leader. Assuming this entire core sticks around for one more season in Loretto, this could be the warmup to a breakout season for the Red Flash in 2014-15. One of the most important aspect of that will be getting plenty of playing time for all the talented young players on the roster.

Lineup Analysis: There is a lot of depth in the backcourt for the Red Flash. Two freshmen point guards are going to try to replace the departed Umar Shannon, who transferred to former conference foe Quinnipiac for his final season. The wing spots can be split between four talented players and the 5’9″ Dominique Major will also play a role. The loss of Anthony Ervin is also a blow for the Red Flash; he was the team’s most efficient scorer a year ago. Another talented scorer was Ben Millaud-Meunier. Described as a “gym rat” by his head coach, Millaud-Meunier shot 47.6% from three on 84 attempts last season. That’s bound to regress if he’s given more playing time, but he’s certainly one of the best shooters in the entire conference. The sophomore guard could start the season on the bench, but expect him to break through as the season progresses.

Up front it’s all about health and finding a way to rebound, while being incredibly undersized. The Red Flash ranked 336th in effective height last season, as opponents were an average of 3.7″ taller. That deficiency revealed itself mostly on the defensive end where opponents grabbed 35.2% of their misses. With a young team, Krimmel is focusing on making sure everyone gets stronger. That’s super important because players like Earl Brown, Stephon Mosley and Ronnie Drinnon have to be more aggressive on the boards. Brown grabbed 8.1 rpg last season while having the 14th best defensive rebounding rate in the nation. He needs help though. Health is also hugely important for the Red Flash. Drinnon has already been a little banged up during practice and Krimmel and his staff are working him back slowly so that he’ll be available during NEC play.

Ultimately this roster has enough talent to challenge for a playoff spot in the NEC. The Red Flash certainly won’t be a pushover. SFU finished 5-13 last season and even with the 16-game schedule it’s possible that they’ll improve upon that win total and be competitive in most games. Also, unlike last season when the Red Flash went winless in non-conference play, there’s an opportunity to grab some victories before diving into the teeth of the NEC slate.

Coach’s Quote:

“As a team we were inexperienced. I was inexperienced.” – Rob Krimmel on his first season as head coach in Loretto, PA

“Our freshmen point guards are playing well. They’re trying to figure out the pace of the game. Their style of play and their personnel. It’s easy in workouts, but when you go 5-on-5 you have to put all those pieces together.” – Krimmel on his two young point guards

“I just feel confident all around. From outside in the perimeter. From in the post. Even just being a leader. I think that’s what’s changed the most, trying to be more vocal on the court.” – Earl Brown about stepping up during his junior season

Final Prediction:
Ryan – There are some intriguing young pieces in Loretto, but it’s really hard to rely on two rookie point guards. Really hard. If Angelou and/or Harmon develop ahead of schedule and Earl Brown takes the next step toward NEC stardom, though, it isn’t wacky to envision a fifth or sixth place finish in the conference. The more likely scenario has them fighting with Sacred Heart for the final NEC playoff berth. I’m currently in that camp. (8 total wins, 5-11 NEC)

John – This is still certainly a rebuilding season, but the Red Flash can be competitive in the NEC. We might look back at this ranking and regret it a bit. Or SFU might get hit by injuries and struggle to top last season’s five victories. (7 total wins, 4-12 NEC)

Other NEC Team Primers:
#10 Fairleigh Dickinson

Bryant, Tim O’Shea Asking Corey Maynard to Play Point Guard

What a difference a year can make for Bryant head coach Tim O’Shea. At this point last season, the Bulldogs future was uncertain, coming off a dismal two-win season in the final year of an arduous Division I transition. Sure, the 2012-13 roster was instantly upgraded with the addition of transfers Dyami Starks and Joe O’Shea, but the long time coach was still unsure how everything would pan out.

“I knew we were going to be a lot better, but my apprehension coming (to NEC media day) last year was we were going to be picked last (in the NEC preseason coaches poll),” admitted O’Shea. “You never want to be first, and you certainly don’t want to be last. We were at the point where we needed to turn a corner and the hardest thing to shake off after a transition is – and Pat Duquette (at UMass-Lowell) is going to go through this – all the losing. How do you take a losing mentality and start to develop a winning mentality?”

Fast forward one year later. Bryant, along with Towson, had engineered one of the greatest turnarounds in Division I history by winning 17 more games than they did in the previous season. The Bulldogs also won twice as many conference games as they lost, thanks to a wonderfully efficient season scoring the basketball. In league play, Bryant scored 117 points per 100 possessions, easily the best mark in the NEC for quite some time.

Forging ahead, O’Shea must go on without point guard and NEC all-conference third team selection, Frankie Dobbs. The do-everything floor general masterfully ran the offense in his senior season, finishing in the top 15 of the conference in points (13.4 ppg), assists (5.3 apg), steals (1.2 spg), and assist to turnover ratio (2.2). How exactly can that superb production be replaced?

While an unconventional choice, Corey Maynard gives Bryant leadership and stability at the point.
While an unconventional choice, Corey Maynard gives Bryant leadership and stability at the point.

Look no further than veteran guard Corey Maynard.

“I talked to Corey about playing point – and he had always done that when he played for the Australian national team,” said O’Shea. “He’s really looked good in practice. Corey knows how to play that position, he’s crafty. He’s really a good player.”

The statistic similarities between Maynard and Dobbs – who both stand at 6’3″ – are striking. Both posted A/TO ratios of 2.0 or greater, while filling up the stat sheet in a variety of ways. Both guards can score anywhere on the floor, add toughness rebounding the basketball, and are crafty and creative enough to make their teammates better. The latter point will be especially important for Dyami Starks and Alex Francis, the two focal points of O’Shea’s high-powered offense.

While Maynard’s presence at the point gives Bryant the experience of a grizzled upperclassman, it also allows O’Shea to field a bigger lineup. It’s nothing against freshman Justin Brickman or sophomore Shane McLaughlin, who has also looked good this preseason. 

“(This move) allows Joe (O’Shea) in the starting lineup, which now gives us a chance,” explained O’Shea. “Basically what happened was Shane McLaughlin was doing a nice job, but if I started Shane, Dyami and Corey, that’s makes us really small. And Joe O’Shea was playing so well, it seems to me imperative to get him in the starting lineup to give us some real size.”

As a 6’5″ swingman, O’Shea is coming off an underrated season, to say the least, by posting an impressive, team high 115.7 offensive rating. His versatility and ability to get to the free-throw line, while limiting his turnovers (14.0% turnover rate, 280th best nationally) should optimize Bryant’s starting lineup. In addition, O’Shea can also stretch the defense with his perimeter scoring, much like teammates Maynard and Starks.

With a starting lineup featuring Maynard, Starks, O’Shea, Francis, and fifth year senior Claybrin McMath, it remains to be seen how the team will respond on the defensive side of the ball. The team’s lack of depth and athleticism in their first Division I postseason eligible season led to rather porous defensive effort, one that allowed opponents to score 107 points per 100 possessions. That ranked eighth among 12 NEC clubs last season.

O’Shea, however, is encouraged with the frontcourt depth he’s added, even if it’s unknown who will emerge to fill his bench minutes. Whoever rises to the top, whether it’s red-shirt freshman Andrew Scocca, sophomore Curtis Oakley or freshmen Ellis Williams, Daniel Garvin, and Bosko Kostur, O’Shea feels they’ll be better prepared to defend the paint.

The head coach agrees, “We needed to get bigger in the interior. Alex (Francis) used to score at will in practice. He has a hard time scoring in practice, because of the added size and length that we’ve brought in.  There, at least, are those kinds of options where a year ago, there were no options.”

“The hardest thing is I’m going to get it down to eight or nine guys and three to four guys – who are legitimately good players – will have to wait until their time comes. That’s going to be the challenge chemistry wise.”

It’s certainly a good problem to have if you’re O’Shea, considering the Bulldogs had difficultly fielding a starting lineup of Division I capable players just two seasons prior. Now, as a preseason number two ranked team (tied with Robert Morris), Bryant is in a position they’ve never been in before. And they’re counting on the versatile Maynard to lead them as the facilitator.

You can follow Ryan on Twitter @pioneer_pride

Wagner Leads NEC Preseason Poll; Brickman Makes Preseason First Team

After spending much of the preseason debating where each NEC team properly belongs in the NEC preseason poll, the coaches of the leaues have made their selections.

  1. Wagner
  2. Robert Morris
  3. Bryant
  4. LIU Brooklyn
  5. Central Connecticut
  6. Mount St. Mary’s
  7. St. Francis Brooklyn
  8. Sacred Heart
  9. St. Francis (PA)
  10. Fairleigh Dickinson

In addition, the NEC preseason all-conference first team was also released.

Jason Brickman, PG, LIU Brooklyn
Kyle Vinales, G, Central Connecticut
Dyami Starks, G, Bryant
Alex Francis, PF, Bryant
Jalen Cannon, PF, St. Francis Brooklyn

In regards to our all-conference first team, Big Apple Buckets is mostly in agreement with the coaches, with the lone exception being Lucky Jones.

You can follow Ryan on Twitter @pioneer_pride

LIU Brooklyn Badly Infected By the Injury Bug

The 2011-12 season was a magical year for LIU Brooklyn, as Jim Ferry rode off into the sunset after securing his second straight NEC championship. The Blackbirds were ferocious on the offensive end of the floor, averaging 1.12 points per possession in league play while executing at a dizzying 75.9 possessions per game pace. Continue reading “LIU Brooklyn Badly Infected By the Injury Bug” →