With nearly half of the 2013 NEC all-conference selections no longer residing inside the conference, there’s plenty of opportunity for players to emerge into the limelight. Estimating who lands in the top 15 won’t be easy, but Big Apple Buckets will begin the process today by naming our all-conference second and third teams as the first installment of our two-part series. Tomorrow, we’ll present our NEC first team along with our player, rookie, coach, and defensive player of the year selections. Continue reading “Big Apple Bucket’s NEC All-Conference Second and Third Teams”→
Lots of talent has left the NEC, either via graduation or transfer. The result is a conference in flux that will be nearly impossible to predict. At the very least, most pundits would separate the NEC teams into the following tiers for the 2013-14 season:
The Contenders (in no particular order): Wagner, Bryant, Mount St. Mary’s, Robert Morris, Central Connecticut, LIU Brooklyn
A Fighting Chance To Contend If Things Break Right: St. Francis Brooklyn, Sacred Heart, St. Francis (PA)
Rebuilding Once Again: Fairleigh Dickinson
Whether or not you believe LIU Brooklyn should be bumped down a notch due to the condition of Julian Boyd’s knee, the contender tier is absolutely enormous! According to most, at least half of the conference possesses a legitimate shot to earn an NCAA bid. That’s where returning possession minutes (RPMs) come into play. The formula (a player’s percentage of minutes played multiplied by the number of possession he used up during the 2012-13 season) is quite simple, yet it’s a solid indicator in predicting which teams have the continuity necessary to thrive this upcoming season.
Let’s begin by ranking all ten clubs in RPMs:
Central Connecticut 78.4%
St. Francis (PA) 73.1%
Bryant 72.3%
Wagner 71.3%
St. Francis Brooklyn 64.3%
Mount St. Mary’s 61.9%
Robert Morris 55.3%
Sacred Heart 53.2%
LIU Brooklyn 40.6%
Fairleigh Dickinson 33.0%
Not surprisingly, CCSU heads the list illustrating why I consider them to be a dark-horse, even after an uninspiring seventh place finish the season prior. All of the Blue Devils elite level talent has returned in Kyle Vinales, Matthew Hunter, and Malcolm McMillan, so if you believe in continuity, then a top three finish in the conference makes sense. Of course, the incoming JUCO transfers (Faronte Drakeford and Juwan Newman) and freshmen (Khalen Cumberlander and Matt Mobley) must solidify the Blue Devils’ once nonexistent depth for this to occur. With the majority of the teams around them hemorrhaging players this offseason though, the case for CCSU has been getting stronger.
With more depth, Kyle Vinales and Matthew Hunter could conceivably spearhead a CCSU run to the NEC title. (Photo credit – CCSU Blue Devils)
One team that brings back a lot is Wagner. They lose Jonathan Williams and his stellar 109.3 offensive rating, yet Bashir Mason has plenty of firepower returning. And the 71.3% RPMs doesn’t include Valpo transfer Jay Harris, who may very well be one of the best shooters in the NEC. Just another reason why the athletic and deep Seahawks will be our NEC favorite before the first jump ball on November 9th.
The 2013-14 season presents Andy Toole with the biggest challenge of his young coaching career. Nearly half of Robert Morris’ RPMs have evaporated away and now the departure of big man Lijah Thompson (who doesn’t factor in last year’s RPMs due to injury) exacerbates the problem. With six talented newcomers now in Moon Township, Toole may very well figure out the puzzle, but he’ll likely need the non-conference portion of the schedule to play mad scientist. The results may not be pretty early on.
Another head coach with his hands full is Jack Perri, but you already knew that. Without the services of Julian Boyd – and his expected 30% possession rate – for the foreseeable future, it’s Jason Brickman, E.J. Reed, and a complete mystery after that. There will be a lot of possessions available for newcomers in the frontcourt and the seldom used Gerrell Martin (3.9% RPMs) and Troy Joseph (3.4% RPMs) on the perimeter. Someone likely will step up (we really like Martin’s chances), but the lack of data makes this arrangement impossible to predict. You’re surely taking a leap of faith if you consider LIU Brooklyn to be one of the NEC favorites.
The most curious case is Bryant. They’re top three in returning RPMs, but lost their do-all floor general, Frankie Dobbs. If O’Shea can find a competent point guard replacement by January, Bryant has to be considered as a strong contender. After all, 67.9% of Bryant’s 72.3% RPMs are tied up in four players – Dyami Starks, Alex Francis, Corey Maynard and Joe O’Shea – and the Bulldogs had the most efficient offensive attack (117.0 points per 100 possessions) in the NEC. If someone can just get those four the damn ball (I’m looking at you, Justin Brickman and Declan Soukup) and keep the turnovers somewhat down, then the Bulldogs have the upside to play on ESPN2 in mid-March.
Lastly, it’s going to be a rough season ahead for Fairleigh Dickinson. The ship is heading in the right direction under Greg Herenda, but with so little experience coming back – Sidney Sanders leads the team at 8.9% RPMs – it’s tough to envision FDU bettering their win total of a season ago at seven victories.
For your reference, here are the top eight returning players in RPMs:
Kyle Vinales, CCSU 28.3%
Alex Francis, Bryant 23.9%
Matthew Hunter, CCSU 23.7%
Kenneth Ortiz, Wagner, 20.7%
Dyami Starks, Bryant 20.5%
Louis Montes, Sacred Heart 18.8%
Rashad Whack, Mount St. Mary’s 17.6%
Jalen Cannon, St. Francis Brooklyn 17.1%
With the exception of possibly Ortiz, who now has more playmakers on the perimeter, I’d expect everyone else in the top 5 will finish that way at season’s end. Don’t be surprised if Montes and Whack emerge as all-conference selections. With their respective teams employing a balanced attack, however, it’s conceivable that neither player finishes the season as the team’s RPM leader. Look for Cannon’s numbers to jump into 20% territory as he becomes the focus of Glenn Braica’s offense. Consider him a sleeper for NEC Player of the Year if St. Francis can somehow ascend to the upper third of the conference standings.
The 2012-13 season was the year of the transfer in the NEC. Rashad Whack and Sam Prescott were vital in leading Mount St. Mary’s to the NEC title game. Matthew Hunter mastered Howie Dickenman’s up-tempo offensive scheme to garner a deserving all-conference third team selection. JUCO transfer Karvel Anderson, despite suffering from a gimpy wrist, terrorized NEC opponents with his long-range shooting. Continue reading “Top NEC Impact Transfers of the 2013-14 Season”→
On Wednesday, USA Today began its series of profiling every team they project will make the 2014 NCAA tournament. And wouldn’t you know it, team #68 is the NEC’s own Robert Morris Colonials!
Stony Brook head coach Steve Pikiell has almost made the NCAA tournament several times, but where did he rank on our list? (Photo credit: USA Today)
Two Sundays ago, as I was watching Lee Westwood essentially choke away an opportunity to shed the label of “best golfer never to win a major”, it dawned upon me to create this post. Locally on the East Coast, there are a few bright, young coaches that haven’t been able to break through and get to the NCAA tournament, so I decided to comprise a list of the best active coaches never to qualify for the Big Dance.
With most, if not all, of these coaches, they likely won’t find themselves on a list like this for too long. But for now, these coaches must continue to forge ahead without that elusive “NCAA appearance” etched on their resume. John and I present to you our top 10.
10) Mitch Henderson, Princeton
Career record: 37-23
Henderson’s body of work as the main man in Princeton isn’t robust with only 60 career games. But after back-to-back 10-4 seasons in the Ivy League, it’s becoming clear this guy can flat out coach. Season number three will be quite interesting without the services of Ian Hummer, but it wouldn’t surprise us if the long time Northwestern assistant someday follows the career path of his predecessors Sydney Johnson and John Thompson III. If only mid-major powerhouse Harvard didn’t stand in the way, things could be a little easier for the Tigers.
9) Tom Moore, Quinnipiac
Career record: 108-81 (1 NEC regular season championship, 1 NIT, CIT, and CBI appearance)
At the mid-major level, no one has gotten his team to play better in the month of February than Moore. Since becoming Quinnipiac’s head coach in 2007, the Bobcats have posted a splendid 36-12 record in February. The following month, on the other hand, has given Moore a healthy dose of disappointment. In their last four NEC tournaments, the Bobcats have fallen to the eventual champion – Robert Morris and LIU Brooklyn each twice – by a combined scoring margin of 15 points. It’ll only get more difficult for Moore and company next season as the newest members of the MAAC, but the relentless former Jim Calhoun assistant may be cutting down the nets someday soon.
8) Michael White, Louisiana Tech
Career record: 45-23 (1 WAC regular season championship, 1 NIT appearance)
After White guided Louisiana Tech to the most regular season victories (26) in school history, the Bulldogs were stunned in the first round of the WAC tournament, falling to the #9 seed Texas – San Antonio. The Bulldogs recovered nicely by upsetting Florida State in the first round of the NIT, yet White fell short of getting his program to the NCAAs for the first time since 1991. He’s since signed an extension, and the Bulldogs return eight of their top nine players from last season. In other words, Louisiana Tech and White should make some noise in the more competitive Conference USA.
7) Dan Hurley, Rhode Island
Career record: 46-44
Dan Hurley, a coach college basketball fans are programmed to either love or hate, was perhaps the most speculative pick of this group. Quite frankly, Hurley still has a lot to prove in the Atlantic 10 as his staff attempts to rebuild a Rams program that hasn’t qualified for the NCAA tournament since 1999. (You remember embattled head coach Jim Harrick, don’t you?) While at Wagner, Hurley elevated the program to a level no one was expecting – a 25-6 record in the 2011-12 season. That season wasn’t a fluke either – ask most NEC head coaches and they’ll privately tell you that Hurley was one of the most respected and feared coaches in the conference during his brief stay.
6) Doug Wojcik, College of Charleston
Career record: 164-103 (2 NIT appearances, 2 CBI appearances)
An offseason ago, Wojcik was run out of Tulsa for failing to propel the Golden Hurricane to the big dance, before settling at College of Charleston. (He surely won’t run into Memphis there, who Wojcik was a putrid 1-14 against.) He may be the only coach on this list who was fired, but he also owns one of the best winning percentages of this group. Five 20 win seasons and four postseason tournament appearances is nothing to scoff at, and Wojcik had Tulsa consistently ranked in the KenPom Top 100 during his tenure. One of these years, a NCAA tournament appearance is bound to happen and it may be more likely in the CAA.
5) Bob Hoffman, Mercer
Career record: 167-150 (1 Atlantic Sun regular season championship, 1 NIT and CIT appearance)
Before Hoffman appeared, Mercer basketball experienced a meager three seasons of winning basketball, in their previous 23 years. The former Texas-Pan American head coach has catapulted Mercer to an 89-53 mark since taking over, easily the best stretch of basketball in program history. Last season, his team was a great second half away from their first NCAA tournament since 1985, but Florida Gulf Coast (you may remember them as Dunk City) beat Mercer in the finals of the Atlantic Sun tournament. With only Travis Smith graduating, Hoffman could find his name in the spotlight come March, much like Andy Enfield did this past season.
4) Ed Cooley, Providence
Career record: 126-101 (2 NIT appearances, 1 CIT appearance)
You won’t find many head coaches leading a power conference squad on this list, mainly because getting to March Madness shouldn’t be all that difficult for those programs. With Cooley entering his third season at Providence, however, he’s been given the benefit of the doubt based on the degree of difficulty in elevating the Friars to the upper echelon of the Big East. Cooley is one heck of a recruiter, but he’ll need better fortune (see Ledo, Ricky) to succeed in what projects to be a brutal basketball conference. Three postseason appearances in four seasons isn’t bad, but at the Big East level, Friar fans will become antsy in a hurry if Cooley doesn’t enhance his coaching resume with a NCAA appearance very soon.
3) Andy Toole, Robert Morris
Career record: 68-36 (1 NEC regular season championship, 1 NIT and CIT appearance)
While Robert Morris received national fame with their upset victory over Kentucky in the first round of last season’s NIT, the Colonials still fell short of their ultimate goal of reaching the NCAA tournament. Toole has gotten his Colonials to the precipice in all three of his seasons, remarkably from age 29-32. Still, the young coach has endured three grueling losses in the NEC tournament, with the latest surprisingly coming at the hands of Mount St. Mary’s. Despite the early spring hardships, Toole was given a good look by Siena for their vacant position before signing Jimmy Patsos, and it certainly won’t be the last time he’s near the top of any program’s head coaching wish list.
2) Cuonzo Martin, Tennessee
Career record: 100-69 (1 MVC regular season championship, 3 NIT appearances, 1 CIT appearance)
The only other power conference coach you’ll find here is Martin, who inherited a Tennessee program that was left in the wake of Bruce Pearl’s BBQ inspired mess. Since taking over after guiding Missouri State to 26 victories in the difficult Missouri Valley Conference, Martin has stabilized the program, winning 20 games and nine of his final 12 en route to a second consecutive NIT appearance. Of course, annual NIT trips aren’t acceptable for Volunteer Nation, but with Tennessee’s top four scorers returning, we don’t expect Martin to be on this list for much longer.
1) Steve Pikiell, Stony Brook
Career record: 120-126 (3 America East regular season championships, 3 NIT appearances)
Pikiell’s career record is misleading, after all he inherited a program badly struggling to make the transition to Division I basketball. Despite winning only 20 games in his first three seasons at the helm, Pikiell has turned the Seawolves into an America East powerhouse, going 100-59 since. In that time, Stony Brook has won three regular season championships, yet hasn’t broken though in their postseason tournament to punch their ticket. Last year seemed brutally harsh – the Seawolves fell victim to the small-conference entertainment complex, losing in the America East semifinals to #4 seeded Albany in their own building. One of these seasons, Pikiell’s transformation of the Stony Brook program will be complete, and it’s our guess Seawolf fans will see their team dancing in the NCAAs next March.
Also Considered:
Rob Senderoff, Kent State
Billy Donlon, Wright State
Steve Masiello, Manhattan
Derek Kellogg, UMass
Did we overlook a coach or do you disagree with the rankings? Feel free to let us know your feedback in the comments section!
You can follow Ryan on Twitter @pioneer_pride. You can e-mail Ryan at shupioneerpride@gmail.com.
Can incoming freshman Jeremiah Worthem produce at an All-NEC rookie team level for Robert Morris? (Photo credit – maxpreps.com)
After enduring a wild postseason which included a devastating loss in the NEC semifinals, only to be followed by the greatest win in program history, Robert Morris is in an unusual position. Andy Toole and his staff must reload. Three fifths of the starting lineup has moved on, along with more than 45% of their possession minutes from last season. Continue reading “Recruiting Recap: Robert Morris, Toole Forced to Reload Roster With Six Newcomers”→
In keeping with the spirit of those “way too early ratings” for the upcoming 2013-14 season, I decided to unveil my all-conference teams for the NEC. Mainly because I had nothing better to do. Plus it’s fun to speculate with over five months left before the season begins! Here we go, and of course feel free to disagree with me in the comments section.
All-NEC Preseason First Team
PG: Jason Brickman, LIU Brooklyn
SG: Kyle Vinales, Central Connecticut
F: Alex Francis, Bryant
PF: Julian Boyd, LIU Brooklyn
PF: Jalen Cannon, St. Francis Brooklyn
Well so much for Kyle Vinales leaving. With the graduations of Jamal Olasewere, Shane Gibson, and Velton Jones, I strongly felt these five players will represent the preseason All-NEC team. In my opinion, all five are virtual locks to make the preseason first team, barring injury of course. Let’s see, we have an assist leader in the NCAA (Jason Brickman), a former NEC Player of the Year (Julian Boyd), a former NEC Rookie of the Year and leading scorer in the conference (Vinales), and two forwards in Alex Francis and Jalen Cannon that are so difficult to guard for NEC competition. This is a loaded first team.
All-NEC Second Team PG: Kenneth Ortiz, Wagner
SG: Dyami Starks, Bryant SG: Latif Rivers, Wagner
F: Lucky Jones, Robert Morris
F: Matthew Hunter, Central Connecticut
Now it gets a little tricky. I’m still confident in my second group, even though there’s plenty of high upside talent lurking underneath. Kenneth Ortiz is coming off another NEC Defensive Player of the Year title, yet people should also be impressed with his climbing assist rate. Dyami Starks led the NEC in three pointers made and was fourth in scoring last season, so I’m expecting a monster junior season, as long as someone can get Starks the ball with Frankie Dobbs now gone. Latif Rivers had a down season mainly due to a bad wheel. Obviously his knee will need to check in at 100% for a return to the all-conference team, but he sure has the potential given the athletic ability around him. Two do-everything stat fillers, Lucky Jones and Matthew Hunter, have first team potential. Still, given the star power above them, the safe bet is seeing each player settle into the second team.
All-NEC Third Team
PG: Shivaughn Wiggins, Mount St. Mary’s
G: Rashad Whack, Mount St. Mary’s
F: Jay Harris, Wagner
F: Louis Montes, Sacred Heart
PF: Earl Brown, St. Francis (PA)
We are officially in the speculation point of the exercise. If you replace someone here with someone from my “also considered list” below, I would have no qualms. I love the overall game of Shivaughn Wiggins, therefore I’m expecting he’ll catapult into All-NEC contention. With an excellent junior season under his belt, Rashad Whack should continue to produce in Jamion Christian’s shooter friendly system. Jay Harris is the most unfamiliar face in this group of 15, yet I’m expecting the Valpo transfer to have an immediate impact in Staten Island. He may very well be the best skilled athlete in Bashir Mason’s rotation, and that’s saying a lot. I gave some love to Louis Montes, whose numbers were quite impressive down the stretch last season. With a solid core of sharpshooting veterans in the backcourt to stretch defenses, look for Montes to optimize the interior game with his big, wide body. Earl Brown may be the most speculative athlete of this group, but with exceptional rebound rates, we’re looking for continued growth. He could lead the league in double-doubles next season.
Also Considered: Phil Gaetano, Sacred Heart, Karvel Anderson, Robert Morris, E.J. Reed, LIU Brooklyn, Sam Prescott, Mount St. Mary’s, Julian Norfleet, Mount St. Mary’s, Malcolm McMillan, Central Connecticut
With the “free agent” period of college basketball in full swing, I felt it was a good time to identify who has prematurely left the NEC and what kind of impact it has on their former team. Here are the top nine transfers that decided to leave the conference. For Jeff Goodman’s complete list of 2013 basketball transfers, go here. Continue reading “Breaking Down the NEC Transfer List”→
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