Category: Saint Peter’s

St. Peter’s John Dunne on Young Offensive Core

It is certainly noticeable that St. Peter’s this season has a large group of talented offensive players.

For a team that struggled to crack into the 70-point total on most nights, head coach John Dunne now has assembled a team of weapons including Fordham transfer Marvin Dominique who has proven in a short time that he can do almost anything. Combine him with a freshman point guard Trevis Wyche, freshman big man Quadir Welton and a group of junior college transfers and the Peacocks are completely revamped from their 2013 team.

“It’s just going to take some time,” Dunne said of his group. “Clearly we have some pieces and it’s just a matter of getting the experience together, learning how to win close games, trusting each other, all the things good teams do to win tight games, but I like our talent. I like our chemistry and our work ethic.”

Dominique_STP
Marvin Dominique leads the Peacocks with 18.3 points per game and head coach John Dunne said he is still exploring his high talent level. (photo courtesy: St. Peter’s)

A key piece of that puzzle has been Dominique so far, the transfer who has led the team with 18.3 points per game has played as advertised so far through six games. However, Dunne said the rust still needs to come off for the redshirt junior who hasn’t seen full game action for almost over two years since playing sparingly at Fordham under Tom Pecora.

“It’s a catch-22 because he is very talented and he’s a good shot maker,” Dunne said. “It’s very easy for him to get his shot off because he’s so long and he’s got such a high release. I think it’s just he has to find that balance between making sure he’s getting his shots, making sure he’s being aggressive, especially when he’s feeling good, and playing well and then learning how to [distribute] at the same time.”

“He’s unselfish it’s just sometimes you just need that experience and learning how to, when to make that aggressive move versus moving the ball to an open teammate. I think that will come with time.”

Meanwhile, Dunne entrusted true freshman Wyche with the starting point guard spot and he has not disappointed so far, posting the team’s best assist rate and filling the role offensively.

“I think with him the ball moves, he creates good shots for his teammates for sure,” Dunne said. “I think it’s helped him that we’ve we’ve split the time between him and (Fairfield transfer) Jemel Fields a little bit. Jamel is just a tough kid who gives us great energy off the bench so the whole load hasn’t had to fall on Trevis, which is a good thing when you’re a freshman so he can just kind of play loose out there.”

The other freshman that has impressed so far is Quadir Welton who posted a double-double in his first career college game against LIU-Brookyln. He has been a solid rebounding presence for the Peacocks to go alongside Dominique’s game.

“He’s gotten in a little bit of foul trouble at times, but he’s extremely reliable,” Dunne said. “There’s no mystery why he’s playing effectively as a freshman because he does the right thing every day in practice.He just gives everything he’s got all the time, so he’s just going to get better and he’s going to have a really nice career.”

Dunne said that he knew that Welton would go after rebounds but that the freshman from the Philadelphia area has “a much higher basketball IQ” as he has worked with him every day and said he finishes in the paint better than expected so far.

Add a healthy Tyler Gaskins, who Dunne said recovered from a partially torn ligament in his knee, who scored 13 points in just his third game this season and the Peacocks have a litany of offensive options.

“He’s not even near playing shape and he’s only about two weeks in to playing and he was pretty efficient against BU,” Dunne said. “He’s getting healthy and our rotation is just starting to get fit now. I feel like we’re coming together a little bit, we’ve got a long ways to go as far as gaining experience and focusing for 40 minutes, but certainly I like where we’re at at this point.”

This weekend, as his team embarks on the Buffalo swing to Canisius and Niagara, Dunne said he would like to see his team avoid the letdown that they have shown in parts of games as well as start to find their rhythm on offense.

“We shoot the ball so well in practice, that it’s just a matter of time until we find our rhythm in some of these games,” Dunne said. “I think each game we’ve played we’ve played 32 out of 40 really solid minutes and we just have to learn how to do 40. If we make one mistake we can’t come back and compound it with a second and a third and the good teams do that, the good experienced teams do that and the inexperienced teams that fall short don’t do that.”

Ryan Restivo covers the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and America East conference for Big Apple Buckets. You can follow Ryan on Twitter @ryanarestivo or contact Ryan at rrestivo[at]nycbuckets.com.

NEC Recap – November 23

It’s been rough beginning for the Northeast Conference, as its ten teams have managed to win only 11 of 40 games versus Division I competition. With lots of senior production moving on and Quinnipiac jettisoning for the MAAC, this was to be expected. But no one could have envisioned four NEC clubs – Sacred Heart, Central Connecticut, Mount St. Mary’s and Fairleigh Dickinson – would still be winless at this juncture of the season. Well, at least for the former three. Continue reading “NEC Recap – November 23” →

Big Apple Buckets Weekly Awards – Nov. 11

This season we’re introducing a new feature, Weekly Awards! Each Monday at noon we’ll be announcing our selections for the area’s Team, Player and Rookie of the Week. As has been discussed a bit in the Power Poll – “area” is a pretty loosely defined term. Still, we’ll try to highlight the best stories in and around New York City as much as possible. Continue reading “Big Apple Buckets Weekly Awards – Nov. 11” →

MAAC Breakout Players 2013-14

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” →

Dunne Optimistic Peacocks Will Improve Behind Newcomers

St. Peter’s head coach John Dunne is optimistic that the Peacocks will put a better team on the floor han last season’s that saw their non-conference success dwindle into a conference play slump.

Dunne’s team adds eight new players, two of which sat out and practiced with the team as transfers, to go with siginificant additions from junior college ranks as well as a solid freshman class. Among the newcomers, Dunne said he has continually been impressed with six-foot-seven forward Marvin Dominique, who practiced with the team last year after transferring from Fordham.

“I think he’s he needs to be, if not our primary scorer, one of our top two scorers,” Dunne said of Dominique. “He’s just got a good ability to put the ball in the basket. He’s got a nice little feel, a nice touch around the rim and he can knock down perimeter face up shots.”

St. Peter’s will look to give freshman Trevis Wyche, a freshman point guard from St. Peter’s Prep in New Jersey, every chance to win the starting point guard job in the preseason. Dunne said Wyche’s strength level for a freshman is very good and he could be physically ready to step on the floor right away.

“If he shows he could be consistent with his effort and his decision making then I could easily see myself handing him the ball as a freshman because he is a true point guard,” Dunne said. “He does have playmaking ability, good court awareness and vision.”

The Peacocks ranked eighth in three-point shooting and last in both two-point field goal percentage and free throw percentage last season in conference play. Dunne expects the offense to receive additions around junior Desi Washington who led the team with 14.6 points per game.

St. Peter’s adds Jemel Fields who averaged 3.5 points per game during the 2011-12 season with Fairfield before transferring to the fellow MAAC school. Fields will likely battle Wyche for the starting point guard spot while Washington inherits the shooting guard spot. Junior college transfer Vic Adams, who averaged 18.2 points per game at Dodge City CC, will likely come off the bench to provide a scoring punch. Dunne said Adams is thin physically as a six-foot-three 165 pound guard, but that he has a chance to get on the floor and score.

Lawson State junior college transfer Tyler Gaskins has impressed so far in summer workouts and could get a thorough look at the small forward spot. His competition is most likely from senior Chris Burke, the lone scholarship senior on the team this season, who played the majority of last season as an undersized power forward. The frontcourt will be aided by junior college transfer Kris Rolle who Dunne said has a knack for grabbing rebounds at six-foot-five. Freshman Quadir Welton also likely have an opportunity to play a six-foot-seven center out of Philadelphia.

“He’s a big body, good hands, good rebounder,” Dunne said of Welton. “He’s certainly a guy that can put himself in position to get on the court as a freshman.”

Dunne said that he believes he has a team that has the most scorers than he’s ever had as he enters his eighth season at St. Peter’s. The last time Dunne brought in a large influx of talent like this season, his team went 16-14 and followed that up with a 20-14 2010-11 season capped with his first NCAA tournament appearance as head coach. The weapons should pay dividends for Wyche if he gets to start the season as the distributor to options like Dominique and Washington.

“We’re going to have a lot better perimeter shooting, so for a guy like [Wyche] whose strength is getting into the paint, having shooting around him will only enhance his game,” Dunne said. “He can enhance other guys games and make it easier for them. I think Trevis has a great chance of starting as a freshman.”

Ryan Restivo covers the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference for Big Apple Buckets. You can follow Ryan on Twitter @ryanarestivo or contact Ryan at rrestivo[at]nycbuckets.com.