It didn't take long for Siena to fire men's coach Mitch Buonaguro, or, as school officials would prefer to say "relieved (him) of his duties as head coach."
That came down, in an official statement, barely 13 hours after the final horn sounded at the end of the MAAC tournament's championship game in Springfield.
But, if a change is to be made, it's best to do it quickly. As should be the case in finding a replacement, since Buonaguro's successor needs to jump into recruiting, as well as creating bonds in order to retain current players.
"I'd like to thank Mitch for his dedication and commitment to Siena basketball the last eight years," said school athletic director John D'Argenio. "This change isn't being made for a lack of effort (by Buonaguro). Basketball is important in the strategic direction of Siena. We have high expectations and aspirations for this program."
D'Argenio indicated, in the release, that a national search for a new coach is already underway, but has no timetable for its completion. The AD also said there is no set criteria in terms of experience of candidates.
"Whether an individual has head coaching experience, or is an assistant ... we just want to get the right person," said D'Argenio.
A good source believes D'Argenio already made a recent trip to Florida to meet with current Jacksonville head coach Cliff Warren, who was also a candidate for the position when Buonaguro eventually was named three years ago.
Warren has resuscitated a Dolphins' program that was 1-26 in his first season there. In the subsequent seven seasons his teams have had winning records five times and have been to two NITs and one CIT national-postseason events.
Warren was previously an assistant for eight seasons under Paul Hewitt, three of those years at Siena and the other five when the two moved on to Georgia Tech.
Prior to coming to Siena the 45-year old Warren was an assistant for three seasons at Mount St. Mary's College under that program's legendary coach Jim Phalen.
The school, though, will likely have no shortage of candidates.
A source with some knowledge of the Florida International University program believes that its coach, Richard Pitino (son of Louisville coach Rick Pitino) could be interested.
Pitino's Sun Belt league school recently lost in the semifinal round of its conference's post-season tournament to finish with an 18-14 overall ledger in his first season as head coach. The program had an 8-21 record the previous season.
And, a number of sources have speculated that Loyola head coach Jimmy Patsos would have interest. The Greyhounds won the 2012 MAAC tournament to advance to the NCAA's, but lost in the quarterfinal round this season. Still, the Greyhounds finished 21-11 and the past two seasons marked the first time in the program's Division I history it has recorded back-to-back 20-plus victory seasons.
Loyola, though, is leaving the conference for the Patriot League and a number of those close to Patsos claim the coach isn't enamored with the move.
There are sure to be others in Siena's sights, as well, But the early names that have surfaced would lend credence to the belief that the school will target someone with experience as a head coach.
That's the route Siena went when it hired McCaffery (who had previously been the head coach at UNC-Greensboro), and with Buonaguro, who was the head coach for six seasons at Fairfield in the late 1980's/early 1990's.
Siena also appears to be a better position financially to bring in someone with experience as a head coach than it was a prior to bringing in McCaffery. Before that, Siena's previous Division I hires (Mike Deane, Bob Beyer, Paul Hewitt, Louis Orr and Rob Lanier) had all come assistant coaching positions without experience as a head coach.
In that era, though, Siena was paying its head coach salaries significantly less than it has in recent years. McCaffery was making well over $500,000 when he lest Siena.
Buonaguro recorded a 35-59 record as Siena's head coach and is believed to have one year remaining on a contract that paid him an estimated $275,000 annually.
He had been previous coach Fran McCaffery's top assistant the previous five seasons and was part of the best five-year era in school history.
But, success brought recruiting challenges as an iron-clad starting group made it difficult to recruit players willing to wait a year or two for their turn. Buonaguro's teams also suffered an unusually high series of injuries over his tenure. And, he steadfastly refused to take the "quick fix" of bringing in transfers, the route taken by several conference programs currently having success in the MAAC.
"I'm very grateful for the opportunity Siena gave me," Buonaguro said in a statement released by the school. "It's a very special place, and I've thoroughly enjoyed my eight years here. The student-athletes we have brought through the program are people the Siena community can be proud of. We had some great success here, and although the last three years did not produce the results any of us hoped for on the court, I leave knowing I gave my all every day. This is a program I care deeply about, and I wish Siena nothing but the best in the future."
When reached Tuesday afternoon, the 59-year old Buonaguro said that he'd like to remain in coaching in some capacity.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Monday, March 11, 2013
Iona Men Leave No Doubt About This Year's NCAA Bid
There's no mystery this season, no waiting and hoping for an at-large invitation to the NCCA tournament on Selection Sunday this time around.
The Gaels clinched that on their own this year with enough strong second-half play to earn a 60-57 victory over Manhattan in the MAAC men's tournament's championship game Monday night at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, punching their own ticket to the "Big Dance."
A year ago Iona got upset in the semifinal-round of this event, despite winning the conference's regular-season title, and had to wait around a week to find out if its 25-7 overall record was good enough for the NCAA's selection committee.
It was then, but it wouldn't have been this year. The Gaels finished the regular season in fourth place this season and their 19-13 overall record, right now, is the first time in the past three seasons they haven't surpassed the 20-victory total.
Their RPI standing of 103 entering the game also all but would have precluded it from the NCAA's without Monday's victory.
Now, though, Iona moves on and, according to Joe Lunardi's most-recent Bracketology report for ESPN, is a probable No. 15 seed in a 16-team bracket. Lunardi projects the Gaels to play Georgetown in a first-round game, possibly in Philadelphia.
"This is a lot more meaningful than last year," admitted Iona's senior standout Momo Jones. "I mean, making the tournament is making the tournament is making the tournament. But, last year we weren't really representing the league. That was Loyola that won the three games in this tournament and, because of that, represented the league ... we just got an at-large berth."
"All season long we talked about making the tournament this year the right way," added junior guard Sean Armand. "This year we wanted to make it because we earned that spot."
Manhattan, the No. 6 regular-season finisher (14-17 overall), struggled for much of the year and was 3-6 in conference play before a late-season turnaround that took it all the way to this season's championship game.
And, Manhattan's hard-nosed defense throughout managed to keep the Jaspers on top, 35-32, with 14 minutes remaining.
But Iona, the nation's second-highest scoring team (81.3 ppg.) was not to be throttled all night and went on a 15-2 run that gave it a 47-37 advantage with 8:48 remaining.
That surge got a boost from game officials, who whistled a technical foul on Manhattan coach Steve Masiello for wandering too far out on the court while exhorting his team to play defense. Masiello had drawn a warning for wandering a few seconds earlier.
The technical resulted in two free throws by Iona's Jones that extended what was then a six-point lead to eight. And, on the winners' subsequent possession, forward Taaj Ridley drew a foul and made both free throws for the 10-point lead.
"I don't have a version," said Masiello, when asked to give his version of the technical call that appeared to complete the game's momentum turn in Iona's favor. "I was just trying to coach to coach my team. I was yelling for Emmy (Andujar) to rotate inside ... I don't have a version."
The Jaspers bot to within six, 47-41, two possessions later before Iona's 6-foot-8 center David Laury went to work with inside buckets on three consecutive possessions and Manhattan never got closer than four again until its Mohamed Koita made two free throws with a tenth of a second remaining due to a technical foul call against Iona for rushing the court to celebrate before the game was over.
The winners got a career game from reserve guard Tre Bowman, who scored 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor. Otherwise, Manhattan did a good enough job on the winners' two big scorers, Jones and Armand, who entered the game as the highest scoring tandem nationally. On Monday, though, that pair was held to 24 total points on 6-of-18 shooting.
"It's about time," said Iona coach Tim Cluess, about Bowman. "He's had a few defensive breakdowns lately and he knew if wasn't playing defense he wasn't going to get as much time. And, tonight, he came out with so much intensity. We don't have an athlete quite like him and he did a terrific job at both ends of the court."
The Gaels clinched that on their own this year with enough strong second-half play to earn a 60-57 victory over Manhattan in the MAAC men's tournament's championship game Monday night at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, punching their own ticket to the "Big Dance."
A year ago Iona got upset in the semifinal-round of this event, despite winning the conference's regular-season title, and had to wait around a week to find out if its 25-7 overall record was good enough for the NCAA's selection committee.
It was then, but it wouldn't have been this year. The Gaels finished the regular season in fourth place this season and their 19-13 overall record, right now, is the first time in the past three seasons they haven't surpassed the 20-victory total.
Their RPI standing of 103 entering the game also all but would have precluded it from the NCAA's without Monday's victory.
Now, though, Iona moves on and, according to Joe Lunardi's most-recent Bracketology report for ESPN, is a probable No. 15 seed in a 16-team bracket. Lunardi projects the Gaels to play Georgetown in a first-round game, possibly in Philadelphia.
"This is a lot more meaningful than last year," admitted Iona's senior standout Momo Jones. "I mean, making the tournament is making the tournament is making the tournament. But, last year we weren't really representing the league. That was Loyola that won the three games in this tournament and, because of that, represented the league ... we just got an at-large berth."
"All season long we talked about making the tournament this year the right way," added junior guard Sean Armand. "This year we wanted to make it because we earned that spot."
Manhattan, the No. 6 regular-season finisher (14-17 overall), struggled for much of the year and was 3-6 in conference play before a late-season turnaround that took it all the way to this season's championship game.
And, Manhattan's hard-nosed defense throughout managed to keep the Jaspers on top, 35-32, with 14 minutes remaining.
But Iona, the nation's second-highest scoring team (81.3 ppg.) was not to be throttled all night and went on a 15-2 run that gave it a 47-37 advantage with 8:48 remaining.
That surge got a boost from game officials, who whistled a technical foul on Manhattan coach Steve Masiello for wandering too far out on the court while exhorting his team to play defense. Masiello had drawn a warning for wandering a few seconds earlier.
The technical resulted in two free throws by Iona's Jones that extended what was then a six-point lead to eight. And, on the winners' subsequent possession, forward Taaj Ridley drew a foul and made both free throws for the 10-point lead.
"I don't have a version," said Masiello, when asked to give his version of the technical call that appeared to complete the game's momentum turn in Iona's favor. "I was just trying to coach to coach my team. I was yelling for Emmy (Andujar) to rotate inside ... I don't have a version."
The Jaspers bot to within six, 47-41, two possessions later before Iona's 6-foot-8 center David Laury went to work with inside buckets on three consecutive possessions and Manhattan never got closer than four again until its Mohamed Koita made two free throws with a tenth of a second remaining due to a technical foul call against Iona for rushing the court to celebrate before the game was over.
The winners got a career game from reserve guard Tre Bowman, who scored 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor. Otherwise, Manhattan did a good enough job on the winners' two big scorers, Jones and Armand, who entered the game as the highest scoring tandem nationally. On Monday, though, that pair was held to 24 total points on 6-of-18 shooting.
"It's about time," said Iona coach Tim Cluess, about Bowman. "He's had a few defensive breakdowns lately and he knew if wasn't playing defense he wasn't going to get as much time. And, tonight, he came out with so much intensity. We don't have an athlete quite like him and he did a terrific job at both ends of the court."
Women's Tourney Notes: Secrets to Marist's Success
So, how does it all happen for the Marist women's team? How does it go on winning year after year?
Probably no one, other than the head coach Brian Giorgis himself, has a better idea about that than Alisa Kresge, who played at Marist for four seasons and has been a coaching assistant in the program for the last four years.
Kresge was around when it all began, joining Marist as a player in 2003. She gave the program a commitment during Giorgis' first season as the Marist coach when his team that year (2002-03) finished 13-16 overall, with a seventh-place 8-10 finish in the MAAC.
It was the only season Marist not only finished under .500 in Giorgis' 11 seasons, but also the only one that the Red Foxes did not win the regular-season league title.
Kresge was a key on-court component in that reversal, and, now, has been around on the sidelines for the last four seasons as part of the continuation of the decade-long excellence.
"A lot of it is that he stresses fundamentals so much, and it always starts with defense ... that's his bread and butter," said Kresge, about Giorgis.
Kresge found that out right away at Marist, but she had seen that philsophy first hand from her own high school days playing against the Lourdes High School of Poughkeepsie team that Giorgis coached before he moved on to Marist.
"He was the same way in high school, and he hasn't changed a big since he started coaching at Marist," added Kresge. "With him, it's more about defense than anything. And, it's about fundamentals. The players know if they don't do what he's asking them to do, they'll hear about it ... and they get better because of it."
TOURNAMENT POSSIBILITIES
Marist will learn its NCAA tournament opponent and seeding position on next Monday (March 18) when it watches ESPN's nationally televised selection show that begins at 7 p.m. to reveal the 64-team field.
Marist coach Brian Giorgis joked after his team's MAAC tournament championship-game victory in Springfield on Monday that his players are annually more concerned about their playing site than opponent.
"They all want a warm-weather site," said Giorgis.
There aren't many of those among this year's first-round sites, although Stanford, Calif., certainly qualifies.
ESPN'S bracket prediction, done by Charlie Creme, currently projects Marist to be a No. 12 seed and headed to College Park, Md. (the University of Maryland's court) for a first-round meeting with No. 5 South Carolina.
That position would be relatively favorable for the Red Foxes, certainly more so than even a slightly higher seed.
Traditionally, a fifth-seeded opponent (a team rated somewhere between 17 and 20 nationally) is a potential upset victim. And, a second-round foe would be a No. 4 seed.
If Marist goes up in seeding position for a first-round game, it diminishes its chances in the second round provided it does get past a first-round contest.
A No. 9 position, for instance, would mean Marist would have to play a No. 1 seed, should it advance in the second found.
CLOSE FRIENDS
There might not be two coaches in the MAAC who are closer friends than Marist's Giorgis and Iona's Tony Bozzella. The two talk regularly by phone, even during the offseason, and can often be spotted sitting together at this tournament to scout opponents when their own teams aren't playing.
Not that that makes it any easier for Bozzella to lose to Marist once again, which makes the Iona coach's record against Marist 0-29 in the 11 years the two men have directed their respective programs.
And, Iona, for seven of the past nine years, has been among the better MAAC programs and finished second this season.
Bozzella's 2006-07 team came the closest to handing Marist a championship-game defeat in the Red Foxes' current eight-year run of tournament titles, losing 64-57 in overtime.
Still, it might be just a smidgen less painful for Bozzella to lose a championship game knowing his good friend is on the winning end.
"He is just a great friend, not only to me but to my wife and children," said Bozzella, about Giorgis. "If I'm going to lose to anyone, I want to lose to him. Whether our results against him are good or bad, we'll always be close.
"He has the best mid-major program in the country. He's not only the best mid-major coach, but he's one of the best coaches in the country at any level. You can talk about Gino (Auriemma of UConn), Kim (Mulkey at Baylor) , or Muffet (McGraw at Notre Dame), and he's not far behind if not right there with them.
"Everyone knows we're close friends, but even if I didn't like him, I'd say that about him. Any school that wants their team to win a national title should hire him."
Not that Giorgis appears to be going any place. He has had several offers over the years to move on, including a phone call from a major program he didn't even return this past off season, but remains steadfast in his desire to remain at Marist and finish out his coaching career there.
MORE MEN'S SPECULATION
The Siena men's basketball position is not vacant (and, the hope here is that Mitch Buonaguro, who has one year left on his contract, is retained). But, that hasn't stopped the speculation about potential replacements.
Several sources, including one particularly well connected, insist that FIU coach Richard Pitino (yes, the son of Louisville's Rick Pitino) would be interested in hearing from Siena if the position opens up.
Rick Pitino is a regular summer visitor to Saratoga thoroughbred racing meet and owns a home in Saratoga Springs.
Less confirmed speculation also mentions current Loyola men's coach Jimmy Patsos who, according to sources, isn't overwhelmed by his program's upcoming move to the Patriot League.
Probably no one, other than the head coach Brian Giorgis himself, has a better idea about that than Alisa Kresge, who played at Marist for four seasons and has been a coaching assistant in the program for the last four years.
Kresge was around when it all began, joining Marist as a player in 2003. She gave the program a commitment during Giorgis' first season as the Marist coach when his team that year (2002-03) finished 13-16 overall, with a seventh-place 8-10 finish in the MAAC.
It was the only season Marist not only finished under .500 in Giorgis' 11 seasons, but also the only one that the Red Foxes did not win the regular-season league title.
Kresge was a key on-court component in that reversal, and, now, has been around on the sidelines for the last four seasons as part of the continuation of the decade-long excellence.
"A lot of it is that he stresses fundamentals so much, and it always starts with defense ... that's his bread and butter," said Kresge, about Giorgis.
Kresge found that out right away at Marist, but she had seen that philsophy first hand from her own high school days playing against the Lourdes High School of Poughkeepsie team that Giorgis coached before he moved on to Marist.
"He was the same way in high school, and he hasn't changed a big since he started coaching at Marist," added Kresge. "With him, it's more about defense than anything. And, it's about fundamentals. The players know if they don't do what he's asking them to do, they'll hear about it ... and they get better because of it."
TOURNAMENT POSSIBILITIES
Marist will learn its NCAA tournament opponent and seeding position on next Monday (March 18) when it watches ESPN's nationally televised selection show that begins at 7 p.m. to reveal the 64-team field.
Marist coach Brian Giorgis joked after his team's MAAC tournament championship-game victory in Springfield on Monday that his players are annually more concerned about their playing site than opponent.
"They all want a warm-weather site," said Giorgis.
There aren't many of those among this year's first-round sites, although Stanford, Calif., certainly qualifies.
ESPN'S bracket prediction, done by Charlie Creme, currently projects Marist to be a No. 12 seed and headed to College Park, Md. (the University of Maryland's court) for a first-round meeting with No. 5 South Carolina.
That position would be relatively favorable for the Red Foxes, certainly more so than even a slightly higher seed.
Traditionally, a fifth-seeded opponent (a team rated somewhere between 17 and 20 nationally) is a potential upset victim. And, a second-round foe would be a No. 4 seed.
If Marist goes up in seeding position for a first-round game, it diminishes its chances in the second round provided it does get past a first-round contest.
A No. 9 position, for instance, would mean Marist would have to play a No. 1 seed, should it advance in the second found.
CLOSE FRIENDS
There might not be two coaches in the MAAC who are closer friends than Marist's Giorgis and Iona's Tony Bozzella. The two talk regularly by phone, even during the offseason, and can often be spotted sitting together at this tournament to scout opponents when their own teams aren't playing.
Not that that makes it any easier for Bozzella to lose to Marist once again, which makes the Iona coach's record against Marist 0-29 in the 11 years the two men have directed their respective programs.
And, Iona, for seven of the past nine years, has been among the better MAAC programs and finished second this season.
Bozzella's 2006-07 team came the closest to handing Marist a championship-game defeat in the Red Foxes' current eight-year run of tournament titles, losing 64-57 in overtime.
Still, it might be just a smidgen less painful for Bozzella to lose a championship game knowing his good friend is on the winning end.
"He is just a great friend, not only to me but to my wife and children," said Bozzella, about Giorgis. "If I'm going to lose to anyone, I want to lose to him. Whether our results against him are good or bad, we'll always be close.
"He has the best mid-major program in the country. He's not only the best mid-major coach, but he's one of the best coaches in the country at any level. You can talk about Gino (Auriemma of UConn), Kim (Mulkey at Baylor) , or Muffet (McGraw at Notre Dame), and he's not far behind if not right there with them.
"Everyone knows we're close friends, but even if I didn't like him, I'd say that about him. Any school that wants their team to win a national title should hire him."
Not that Giorgis appears to be going any place. He has had several offers over the years to move on, including a phone call from a major program he didn't even return this past off season, but remains steadfast in his desire to remain at Marist and finish out his coaching career there.
MORE MEN'S SPECULATION
The Siena men's basketball position is not vacant (and, the hope here is that Mitch Buonaguro, who has one year left on his contract, is retained). But, that hasn't stopped the speculation about potential replacements.
Several sources, including one particularly well connected, insist that FIU coach Richard Pitino (yes, the son of Louisville's Rick Pitino) would be interested in hearing from Siena if the position opens up.
Rick Pitino is a regular summer visitor to Saratoga thoroughbred racing meet and owns a home in Saratoga Springs.
Less confirmed speculation also mentions current Loyola men's coach Jimmy Patsos who, according to sources, isn't overwhelmed by his program's upcoming move to the Patriot League.
Marist Women March On For Another Tourney Title
New year, same result.
Same record playing on the ol' jukebox.
Pigs have not yet learned to fly. Hell has not frozen over.
By now there is no surprise when the Marist women's basketball team wins yet another MAAC tournament championship, this year with a year with a 72-48 victory over Iona in Monday's title game, to earn the conference's automatic post-season berth in the NCAA tournament.
Marist is now 26-6 overall and turned in its third unbeaten regular season (18-0) in the last six years. It was the eighth straight tournament championship for the Red Foxes and ninth in the last 10 years.
The surprise would be if someone other than Marist had won.
But, death did not take a holiday. Taxes still need to be paid.
Marist always wins the MAAC tournament, at least under the direction of head coach Brian Giorgis.
Same old story, but it never gets old to Giorgis who, shortly after the game, when he was handed a microphone to say a few words, he choked up for close to a minute when it came time to give thanks to his players, particularly his seniors.
Marist did it in typical fashion, more with its defense than its offense.
The Red Foxes held Iona to just 32.1 percent shooting, its standout defender junior guard Leanne Ockenden held her assignment, the league's leading scorer in Damika Martinez (who had 36 and 25 points in the two previous tournament games) to 2-of-9 shooting for four points, and Iona only scored 48 points as a team.
"You could tell in the first five minutes that she (Martinez) was going to be in for a long day," said Giorgis, about work Ockenden was doing on Martinez. "I believe that Ockenden is better on defense than any player in our league is on offense."
Still, it didn't become a long day for Iona until early in the second half.
Down just five points after the second basket of the game by Martinez (on a fast-break layup, before Ockenden could get to her), the Gaels only scored three more points in the next seven minutes, a stretch in which it went 0-for-8 from the floor, got its only points during that time on free throws and didn't get a single offensive rebound after a miss.
Marist continued to water-torture the Gaels offensively, drip-by-drip, pass-by-pass until it found an open shots. After those key seven minutes the Red Foxes had a 54-34 lead with 11:15 left and the only mystery after that was about how quickly Giorgis would shed a tear during his post-game comments.
"We're a very young team, and you could sense the difference in experience levels," said Iona coach Tony Bozzella. "They've been through this before. But, when we fell behind by 11 or 13 points, I could see the angst in my kids. That's when Marist's experience really started to show. They've been through this, they've learned to do things in certain situations."
Mostly, Marist knows how to play together and unselfishly (six players scored between eight and 15 points), and how to play defense. Senior forward Elizabeth Beynnon led the winners with 15 points, followed by junior guard Casey Dulin and freshman guard Sydney Coffey (12 each), junior forward Emma O'Connor (11), senior reserve forward Kristina Danella (9) and Ockenden (8).
"It starts with our seniors and others who come back ... our newcomers learn from the older players about what's expected," said Giorgis. "They learn that they have to play on the defensive end if they want to play a lot. That just gets passed down. It's something you don't teach."
Defense? Iona had averaged 76.1 points per game over its previous nine games, including the first two rounds of this event. But, Marist not only held them to 48 on Monday, but to 40 the last time the teams met as well.
Iona, now 20-12 overall, has never Marist in Bozzella's 11 years as the Gaels coach.
Iona's season, though, isn't over. As the second-place finisher in regular-season play, it gets an automatic berth to the Women's NIT which begins next week. Iona will learn its opponent and first-round playing site (potentially a home game) late Sunday night.
The winners' defensive work might never have been as important as this season, when the program's only true legitimate post players, including 6-foot-3 Vanderbilt transfer Tori Jarosz, were both lost to injuries after the team's first two games. It left Giorgis having to adjust the team's style of play, converting to a smaller, quicker lineup, on the fly.
"There were a lot of questions when we lost those two post players," said Giorgis. "A lot of people around the league started to say that this was the year (that someone would finally beat Marist) ... and it wasn't. This was more about the players who care about nothing more than who wins and loses. I guess, in a lot of ways, I'm starting to believe that our program really works."
Which is what the rest of the league learned long ago.
Same record playing on the ol' jukebox.
Pigs have not yet learned to fly. Hell has not frozen over.
By now there is no surprise when the Marist women's basketball team wins yet another MAAC tournament championship, this year with a year with a 72-48 victory over Iona in Monday's title game, to earn the conference's automatic post-season berth in the NCAA tournament.
Marist is now 26-6 overall and turned in its third unbeaten regular season (18-0) in the last six years. It was the eighth straight tournament championship for the Red Foxes and ninth in the last 10 years.
The surprise would be if someone other than Marist had won.
But, death did not take a holiday. Taxes still need to be paid.
Marist always wins the MAAC tournament, at least under the direction of head coach Brian Giorgis.
Same old story, but it never gets old to Giorgis who, shortly after the game, when he was handed a microphone to say a few words, he choked up for close to a minute when it came time to give thanks to his players, particularly his seniors.
Marist did it in typical fashion, more with its defense than its offense.
The Red Foxes held Iona to just 32.1 percent shooting, its standout defender junior guard Leanne Ockenden held her assignment, the league's leading scorer in Damika Martinez (who had 36 and 25 points in the two previous tournament games) to 2-of-9 shooting for four points, and Iona only scored 48 points as a team.
"You could tell in the first five minutes that she (Martinez) was going to be in for a long day," said Giorgis, about work Ockenden was doing on Martinez. "I believe that Ockenden is better on defense than any player in our league is on offense."
Still, it didn't become a long day for Iona until early in the second half.
Down just five points after the second basket of the game by Martinez (on a fast-break layup, before Ockenden could get to her), the Gaels only scored three more points in the next seven minutes, a stretch in which it went 0-for-8 from the floor, got its only points during that time on free throws and didn't get a single offensive rebound after a miss.
Marist continued to water-torture the Gaels offensively, drip-by-drip, pass-by-pass until it found an open shots. After those key seven minutes the Red Foxes had a 54-34 lead with 11:15 left and the only mystery after that was about how quickly Giorgis would shed a tear during his post-game comments.
"We're a very young team, and you could sense the difference in experience levels," said Iona coach Tony Bozzella. "They've been through this before. But, when we fell behind by 11 or 13 points, I could see the angst in my kids. That's when Marist's experience really started to show. They've been through this, they've learned to do things in certain situations."
Mostly, Marist knows how to play together and unselfishly (six players scored between eight and 15 points), and how to play defense. Senior forward Elizabeth Beynnon led the winners with 15 points, followed by junior guard Casey Dulin and freshman guard Sydney Coffey (12 each), junior forward Emma O'Connor (11), senior reserve forward Kristina Danella (9) and Ockenden (8).
"It starts with our seniors and others who come back ... our newcomers learn from the older players about what's expected," said Giorgis. "They learn that they have to play on the defensive end if they want to play a lot. That just gets passed down. It's something you don't teach."
Defense? Iona had averaged 76.1 points per game over its previous nine games, including the first two rounds of this event. But, Marist not only held them to 48 on Monday, but to 40 the last time the teams met as well.
Iona, now 20-12 overall, has never Marist in Bozzella's 11 years as the Gaels coach.
Iona's season, though, isn't over. As the second-place finisher in regular-season play, it gets an automatic berth to the Women's NIT which begins next week. Iona will learn its opponent and first-round playing site (potentially a home game) late Sunday night.
The winners' defensive work might never have been as important as this season, when the program's only true legitimate post players, including 6-foot-3 Vanderbilt transfer Tori Jarosz, were both lost to injuries after the team's first two games. It left Giorgis having to adjust the team's style of play, converting to a smaller, quicker lineup, on the fly.
"There were a lot of questions when we lost those two post players," said Giorgis. "A lot of people around the league started to say that this was the year (that someone would finally beat Marist) ... and it wasn't. This was more about the players who care about nothing more than who wins and loses. I guess, in a lot of ways, I'm starting to believe that our program really works."
Which is what the rest of the league learned long ago.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Manhattan Makes MAAC Title Game A Battle for NYC
New York City basketball and a little bit of everything that makes it good, will be on full display at the MAAC men's tournament's championship game Monday at 9 p.m.
It will be Iona's high-powered offense, currently ranked second nationally in points per game (81.4), vs. Manhattan's suffocating defense that has allowed an average of 54.0 ppg. over its last 12 games, during which the Jaspers have been 9-3.
Manhattan earned its way into Monday's championship game with a 60-42 victory over Fairfield, setting up the meeting of New York City-area schools physically separated by a mere 9.3 miles.
No two schools are closer, geographically, among the 10 MAAC members. Possibly, no two conference schools have more historical and successful programs Yet, the schools are diametrically opposed when it comes to producing victories on the court this season.
Manhattan was forced to emphasize defense almost by default, after opening the season as a high-flying, up-tempo offensive-minded team featuring senior swingman George Beamon, the leading scorer in the MAAC a year ago.
And, then, the Jaspers lost Beamon to ankle woes after he played jost four games and had to adjust.
But, they didn't adjust right away.
"Because we had guys like Shane (freshman Shane Richards) and Donovan (sophomore Donovan Kates), guys who played the same position as George, we tried to keep the offense the same," said Manhattan coach Steve Masiello.
But it didn't work. Manhattan was 3-6 at the midway point of the MAAC season.
"Rhamel (center Rhamel Brown) and Emmy (forward Emmy Andujar) came to me and asked me to make some changes," said Masiello. We started stressing them, along with Mike Alvarado, more in our offense. And, now, we don't care if we score 80 or if we score 30 ... we just know that we're going to defend you. We've got a chance to win every game if we do that."
The midseason adjustment also brought a change in results. The Jaspers went 6-3 down the stretch in MAAC play and are 9-3 overall over their last 12 games, including the first two rounds of the tournament. They've now beaten Fairfield three times in the last 12 games, holding the Stags to 40, 31 and 42 points.
The trip to the finals is Manhattan's first opportunity to play for the automatic NCAA tournament berth that goes to the winner of the MAAC tournament since the 2004 season when it won that title-game appearance.
That was the program's third tournament championship victory in its 32-year affiliation with the MAAC, and fourth NCAA tournament appearance overall. Manhattan was one of two conference teams to ever gain an at-large NCAA invitation, that coming in 1995.
Coincidentally, the other conference team to get an at-large NCAA berth is Iona, which got its' last season.
Iona has won the MAAC tournament six times in its previous 31 MAAC seasons, the most of any conference program.
Manhattan advanced by rallying from a 16-5 early deficit and outscored Fairfield 55-26 the rest of the way.
Andujar, coming off the bench, led the 14-17 Jaspers with 16 points while Alvarado had 12.
Maurice Barrow led Fairfield with 15, but Manhattan held the Stags' leading scorer, senior guard Derek Needham, to just four points on 2-of-10 shooting.
And, now, the battle of New York, albeit at a location considerably to the northeast.
"I look at it as two extremely great basketball schools from a tradition standpoint," said Masiello. "They're ahead of us ... Iona is the face of New York City basketball for now. They're some place where we want to be.
"We're both playing with an opportunity to go to `The Dance.' We've both got a lot of New York City kids who know each other well, who have competing for something like this since they were in grade school and high school. These kids and this opportunity is what New York City basketball is all about."
The only guarantee, though, is that just one of the MAAC's two New York City schools in Monday's championship game will get an NCAA tournament berth.
It will be Iona's high-powered offense, currently ranked second nationally in points per game (81.4), vs. Manhattan's suffocating defense that has allowed an average of 54.0 ppg. over its last 12 games, during which the Jaspers have been 9-3.
Manhattan earned its way into Monday's championship game with a 60-42 victory over Fairfield, setting up the meeting of New York City-area schools physically separated by a mere 9.3 miles.
No two schools are closer, geographically, among the 10 MAAC members. Possibly, no two conference schools have more historical and successful programs Yet, the schools are diametrically opposed when it comes to producing victories on the court this season.
Manhattan was forced to emphasize defense almost by default, after opening the season as a high-flying, up-tempo offensive-minded team featuring senior swingman George Beamon, the leading scorer in the MAAC a year ago.
And, then, the Jaspers lost Beamon to ankle woes after he played jost four games and had to adjust.
But, they didn't adjust right away.
"Because we had guys like Shane (freshman Shane Richards) and Donovan (sophomore Donovan Kates), guys who played the same position as George, we tried to keep the offense the same," said Manhattan coach Steve Masiello.
But it didn't work. Manhattan was 3-6 at the midway point of the MAAC season.
"Rhamel (center Rhamel Brown) and Emmy (forward Emmy Andujar) came to me and asked me to make some changes," said Masiello. We started stressing them, along with Mike Alvarado, more in our offense. And, now, we don't care if we score 80 or if we score 30 ... we just know that we're going to defend you. We've got a chance to win every game if we do that."
The midseason adjustment also brought a change in results. The Jaspers went 6-3 down the stretch in MAAC play and are 9-3 overall over their last 12 games, including the first two rounds of the tournament. They've now beaten Fairfield three times in the last 12 games, holding the Stags to 40, 31 and 42 points.
The trip to the finals is Manhattan's first opportunity to play for the automatic NCAA tournament berth that goes to the winner of the MAAC tournament since the 2004 season when it won that title-game appearance.
That was the program's third tournament championship victory in its 32-year affiliation with the MAAC, and fourth NCAA tournament appearance overall. Manhattan was one of two conference teams to ever gain an at-large NCAA invitation, that coming in 1995.
Coincidentally, the other conference team to get an at-large NCAA berth is Iona, which got its' last season.
Iona has won the MAAC tournament six times in its previous 31 MAAC seasons, the most of any conference program.
Manhattan advanced by rallying from a 16-5 early deficit and outscored Fairfield 55-26 the rest of the way.
Andujar, coming off the bench, led the 14-17 Jaspers with 16 points while Alvarado had 12.
Maurice Barrow led Fairfield with 15, but Manhattan held the Stags' leading scorer, senior guard Derek Needham, to just four points on 2-of-10 shooting.
And, now, the battle of New York, albeit at a location considerably to the northeast.
"I look at it as two extremely great basketball schools from a tradition standpoint," said Masiello. "They're ahead of us ... Iona is the face of New York City basketball for now. They're some place where we want to be.
"We're both playing with an opportunity to go to `The Dance.' We've both got a lot of New York City kids who know each other well, who have competing for something like this since they were in grade school and high school. These kids and this opportunity is what New York City basketball is all about."
The only guarantee, though, is that just one of the MAAC's two New York City schools in Monday's championship game will get an NCAA tournament berth.
Martinez-Ockenden Match Key to Women's Title Game
So, which wins ... the irresistible object, or the immovable force?
The top scorer among all women's players in the MAAC, or the conference's top defensive player?
Iona's 5-foot-7 sophomore guard Damika Martinez, the two-time league scoring champion, the only freshman to ever lead the MAAC in scoring and this season's Player of the Year in the conference?
Or, the long-limbed 5-foot-10 junior guard Leanne Ockenden, widely acknowledged as the conference's best on-ball defender and this year's Defensive Player of the Year?
Fire, or ice?
Speeding train, or brick wall?
Of course the MAAC women's championship game Sunday at noon between Iona and Marist will come down to a lot more than that particular individual match-up.
But, it is an intriguing one. And, in many ways the players epitomize the philosophies of their respective teams.
Iona is the league's top offensive team and seeks to outscore opponents. Marist is the MAAC's top defensive team and strives to win games, in no small part, by ensuring opponents score fewer points.
The teams have already played two regular-season games with Marist winning by scores of 69-55 and 63-40.
Martinez scored 17 points, just a tick below her 18.2 ppg. average, in both games, and shooting 6-for-13 from the floor in each contest.
Yet most of those points came after both games were long decided. Martinez had 11 in the final 14 minutes in Iona's 69-55 loss, after Marist had a 17-point lead and the Gaels never got it under 15 again.
In the second meeting, Marist's 63-40 victory, Martinez scored eight in the final 14 minutes after the Red Foxes had a 20-point lead and Iona never got closer than 15 down the stretch.
Martinez had four turnovers in the first meeting and five in the second. Ockenden had five steals in the first game between the teams and three in the second.
"I have a lot of confidence in myself on defense," said Ockenden. "I'm out there to stop the other team's top scorer. Matching up with Martinez is a big challenge. I know she's gotten her average in our two earlier games, but she struggled a little that first game and she got a little frustrated in the second game. She got most of her points late both times."
Ockenden's CBA of Syracuse high school also stressed defense, so her experience playing for Marist coach Brian Giorgis, who doles out playing time more on how effective his players are at defending than scoring, isn't a foreign concept.
"The good thing is that I don't have to do it alone," added Ockenden. "It's a team concept. I get help from my teammates. Coach always emphasizes the importance of the defensive end."
Martinez admits that Marist held her in relative check in the first two meetings, particularly the most-recent one in which the Gaels managed just 40 points.
That was Iona's first loss and, since then, it has averaged 76.1 points per game in its last nine games.
"We changed our offense a little for a few games at that point, and it didn't work that well," said Martinez. "We're back, now, to doing what we do best."
Iona coach Tony Bozzella admits his team's best chance to knock off seven-time defending tournament winner Marist is by scoring.
"We have to get to at least 60 points to win ... I've never seen anyone beat them with 45 points," said the Iona coach. "Our game is scoring the ball. We have to get to 60, or 65. I don't know if we can do that, but we're going to try.
"We've got to get out in transition because if you let Marist set up in their half court defensive you're going to lose. At the end of the day we have to score the ball as often as we can."
And, that often means putting the ball in the hands of Martinez.
"I'm very confident in what I can do,' said Martinez. "As a team ... if we can get out and run no one can stop us."
"It's definitely going to be their offensive against our defense," said Giorgis. "And, we've won both times this year. We know they'll be loaded for bear this time and we'll have our hands full. But we won't back down."
Nor will Ockenden or Martinez, the classic individual confrontation of offense and defense, a rare match of the league's best at what they do: Maritnez looking to score in bunches, and Ockenden trying to stop her.
The top scorer among all women's players in the MAAC, or the conference's top defensive player?
Iona's 5-foot-7 sophomore guard Damika Martinez, the two-time league scoring champion, the only freshman to ever lead the MAAC in scoring and this season's Player of the Year in the conference?
Or, the long-limbed 5-foot-10 junior guard Leanne Ockenden, widely acknowledged as the conference's best on-ball defender and this year's Defensive Player of the Year?
Fire, or ice?
Speeding train, or brick wall?
Of course the MAAC women's championship game Sunday at noon between Iona and Marist will come down to a lot more than that particular individual match-up.
But, it is an intriguing one. And, in many ways the players epitomize the philosophies of their respective teams.
Iona is the league's top offensive team and seeks to outscore opponents. Marist is the MAAC's top defensive team and strives to win games, in no small part, by ensuring opponents score fewer points.
The teams have already played two regular-season games with Marist winning by scores of 69-55 and 63-40.
Martinez scored 17 points, just a tick below her 18.2 ppg. average, in both games, and shooting 6-for-13 from the floor in each contest.
Yet most of those points came after both games were long decided. Martinez had 11 in the final 14 minutes in Iona's 69-55 loss, after Marist had a 17-point lead and the Gaels never got it under 15 again.
In the second meeting, Marist's 63-40 victory, Martinez scored eight in the final 14 minutes after the Red Foxes had a 20-point lead and Iona never got closer than 15 down the stretch.
Martinez had four turnovers in the first meeting and five in the second. Ockenden had five steals in the first game between the teams and three in the second.
"I have a lot of confidence in myself on defense," said Ockenden. "I'm out there to stop the other team's top scorer. Matching up with Martinez is a big challenge. I know she's gotten her average in our two earlier games, but she struggled a little that first game and she got a little frustrated in the second game. She got most of her points late both times."
Ockenden's CBA of Syracuse high school also stressed defense, so her experience playing for Marist coach Brian Giorgis, who doles out playing time more on how effective his players are at defending than scoring, isn't a foreign concept.
"The good thing is that I don't have to do it alone," added Ockenden. "It's a team concept. I get help from my teammates. Coach always emphasizes the importance of the defensive end."
Martinez admits that Marist held her in relative check in the first two meetings, particularly the most-recent one in which the Gaels managed just 40 points.
That was Iona's first loss and, since then, it has averaged 76.1 points per game in its last nine games.
"We changed our offense a little for a few games at that point, and it didn't work that well," said Martinez. "We're back, now, to doing what we do best."
Iona coach Tony Bozzella admits his team's best chance to knock off seven-time defending tournament winner Marist is by scoring.
"We have to get to at least 60 points to win ... I've never seen anyone beat them with 45 points," said the Iona coach. "Our game is scoring the ball. We have to get to 60, or 65. I don't know if we can do that, but we're going to try.
"We've got to get out in transition because if you let Marist set up in their half court defensive you're going to lose. At the end of the day we have to score the ball as often as we can."
And, that often means putting the ball in the hands of Martinez.
"I'm very confident in what I can do,' said Martinez. "As a team ... if we can get out and run no one can stop us."
"It's definitely going to be their offensive against our defense," said Giorgis. "And, we've won both times this year. We know they'll be loaded for bear this time and we'll have our hands full. But we won't back down."
Nor will Ockenden or Martinez, the classic individual confrontation of offense and defense, a rare match of the league's best at what they do: Maritnez looking to score in bunches, and Ockenden trying to stop her.
Iona Moves To Finals, Niagara Looks Forward To NIT
Iona's reputation is as an offensive-minded team more than willing to trade baskets and pick up victories by its sheer volume of points.
But, in its MAAC men's tournament semifinal-round 79-73 victory over top-seeded Niagara, it was as much a defensive mind-set that helped the Gaels get to Monday's 9 p.m. championship contest.
"We wanted to concentrate on their two better players (sophomore guards Juan'ya Green and Antoine Mason) and let the rest of their guys beat us if they could," said Iona coach Tim Cluess. "Fortunately they weren't able to do that."
Mason did score 21 points against the 19-13 Gaels, but only shot 6-of-18 from the floor. Green managed only 11 points on 5-of-17 shooting, including 0-for-7 from three-point range.
There was more than that, though, that helped Iona get past Niagara.
The winners held a huge edge on the boards, 45-32, spearheaded by 6-foot-8 center David Laury's 17 rebounds and 20 points, mostly from close range.
The Purple Eagles also played without starting freshman point guard Tahjere McCall, who is second on the team in assists and is a strong perimeter defender but missed Sunday's contest after suffering an apparent knee injury in the quarterfinal round game a day earlier.
"There are excuses and there are facts, and the fact is that our starting point guard couldn't play," said Niagara coach Joe Mihalich. "He gives us 20-to-23 minutes of terrific defense every game and allows Juan'ya Green to play a lot of time off the ball. We missed him a lot."
It meant Green had to play the full 40 minutes at the point, and Niagara's perimeter shooting might have suffered because of it. The Purple Eagles took 33 of their 69 shots in the game from beyond the bonus stripe and made just seven of them (21.2 percent).
Will Mihalich wonder about his team's inclination to rely on long-range shooting Sunday?
"I'm sure that I'll be staring at the ceiling thinking about 1,000 different things, and that will be one of them," said the Niagara coach. "But, the other thing is that we could have made more of them. A lot of times the right guys were taking the right shots. If we had just made a few more of them ...
While Iona still has a game to play in this event, Niagara's season will continue, too.
The National Invitation Tournament awards an automatic berth to the MAAC's regular-season champion (Niagara this year) if it doesn't capture its conference's post-season event and that automatic bid to the NCAA's.
"The NIT ... it's fantastic," said Mihalich. "We've got the 40th youngest team in the country, and it's just incredible to know we're going to the NIT. We're heartbroken now but we'll wake up in a day or two and be thrilled to death (by the prospect of playing in the NIT). That's an incredible accomplishment for this team.
"Iona was the better team today, but my emotions are with my team. I could not be more proud of a group of guys. We're still very young and probably didn't have any business winning 13 regular-season league games... but we did. Our dream this weekend was to cut down the nets here. But, to be in the NIT is something to be proud of.
"It's hard to be disappointed because of that, but I am. our hearts are broken now. But, at the same time, we know a lot of guys have their hearts broken like this and, then, put the uniforms away. We still have the opportunity to play in a special tournament."
But, in its MAAC men's tournament semifinal-round 79-73 victory over top-seeded Niagara, it was as much a defensive mind-set that helped the Gaels get to Monday's 9 p.m. championship contest.
"We wanted to concentrate on their two better players (sophomore guards Juan'ya Green and Antoine Mason) and let the rest of their guys beat us if they could," said Iona coach Tim Cluess. "Fortunately they weren't able to do that."
Mason did score 21 points against the 19-13 Gaels, but only shot 6-of-18 from the floor. Green managed only 11 points on 5-of-17 shooting, including 0-for-7 from three-point range.
There was more than that, though, that helped Iona get past Niagara.
The winners held a huge edge on the boards, 45-32, spearheaded by 6-foot-8 center David Laury's 17 rebounds and 20 points, mostly from close range.
The Purple Eagles also played without starting freshman point guard Tahjere McCall, who is second on the team in assists and is a strong perimeter defender but missed Sunday's contest after suffering an apparent knee injury in the quarterfinal round game a day earlier.
"There are excuses and there are facts, and the fact is that our starting point guard couldn't play," said Niagara coach Joe Mihalich. "He gives us 20-to-23 minutes of terrific defense every game and allows Juan'ya Green to play a lot of time off the ball. We missed him a lot."
It meant Green had to play the full 40 minutes at the point, and Niagara's perimeter shooting might have suffered because of it. The Purple Eagles took 33 of their 69 shots in the game from beyond the bonus stripe and made just seven of them (21.2 percent).
Will Mihalich wonder about his team's inclination to rely on long-range shooting Sunday?
"I'm sure that I'll be staring at the ceiling thinking about 1,000 different things, and that will be one of them," said the Niagara coach. "But, the other thing is that we could have made more of them. A lot of times the right guys were taking the right shots. If we had just made a few more of them ...
While Iona still has a game to play in this event, Niagara's season will continue, too.
The National Invitation Tournament awards an automatic berth to the MAAC's regular-season champion (Niagara this year) if it doesn't capture its conference's post-season event and that automatic bid to the NCAA's.
"The NIT ... it's fantastic," said Mihalich. "We've got the 40th youngest team in the country, and it's just incredible to know we're going to the NIT. We're heartbroken now but we'll wake up in a day or two and be thrilled to death (by the prospect of playing in the NIT). That's an incredible accomplishment for this team.
"Iona was the better team today, but my emotions are with my team. I could not be more proud of a group of guys. We're still very young and probably didn't have any business winning 13 regular-season league games... but we did. Our dream this weekend was to cut down the nets here. But, to be in the NIT is something to be proud of.
"It's hard to be disappointed because of that, but I am. our hearts are broken now. But, at the same time, we know a lot of guys have their hearts broken like this and, then, put the uniforms away. We still have the opportunity to play in a special tournament."
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