Here's another in the series, looking back and ahead at conference teams ... with a caveat. Your Hoopscribe has not personally seen league newcomers Quinnipiac and Monmouth play. These reports are based on research and interviews with league coaches and school publicists.
Up now ...
MONMOUTH MEN
2012-13 RECORD: 5-13 in the Northeast Conference (10th in a 12-team league), 10-21 overall.
2012-13 RECAP: A good start in non-league play with a 5-3 beginning, followed by an 0-6 stretch, followed by a 5-7 mark and, then, 0-4 down the stretch. The team's top player, sophomore forward Andrew Nicholas, injured a foot in midseason, missed four games, came back for one and, then, missed the final nine. Without him the team struggled and failed to make the NEC's post-season tournament (only the top eight teams qualify). The team took on some high quality opponents in non-league play, losing games to Notre Dame, Syracuse, Maryland and Villanova by an average margin of 34.7 points per game.
WHAT WENT RIGHT: Nicholas (13.9 points, 3.6 rebounds) established himself as one of the better players in the NEC before foot woes cost him 13 of the team's final 14 games. Jesse Steele, a 5-8 guard, showed that height isn't a necessity and averaged 12.2 points and 3.6 assists. After the season he signed to play professionally in a league in the Dominican Republic. The Hawks, despite their sub-par record, did some things well on the court. Their 8.8 steals per game as a team was 22nd best nationally while their turnover margin of 3.2 fewer per game than opponents was 19th best.
WHAT WENT WRONG: Monmouth struggled with two key aspects; not enough offensive firepower, and not enough height/rebounding. Nicholas' absence for nearly half the season left only Steele as a double-figure scorer. No team member averaged more than 4.8 rebounds per game. By late in the year Monmouth often had a starting five whose tallest player was 6-foot-5. It meant that the team got outrebounded by a margin of 5.6 per contest, and only 14 teams nationally had a larger rebounding deficit. The year was just the latest in a tough stretch for the program that hasn't had a winning record since 2005-06. Every year since has seen at least 18 losses with loss totals of 21, 20 and 21 the past three seasons. And, after the season, two solid players with remaining eligibility opted not to return. Dion Nesmith, a guard, transferred to Hofstra for his final year of eligibility while forward Marcus Ware moved to league rival Niagara, where he'll also be immediately eligible.
WHAT'S AHEAD: The Hawks might be more competitive this coming season in the MAAC than they were the past seven years in the NEC, despite joining a better league than its previous affiliation. And, that assessment comes despite the loss of players who ranked second through sixth among team scorers this past season. But, Steele's graduation is the only major loss and there's not only a slew of new players (seven) coming aboard, but it looks like one of the better incoming groups in the league. Nicholas will be a junior and is an all-MAAC quality player, but he'll need help. Some of that should come from Deon Jones, a 6-6 sophomore swingman who becomes eligible after transferring in from Towson, whee he averaged 7.0/4.5 as a freshman there in the 2011-12 season. After that the incoming group is made up of freshmen, but they fill key needs. Monmouth needed height/inside play last year and, now, has four "bigs" coming in. They are 6-10, 280-pounder Zachary Tillman, 6-10, 260-pounder Chris Brady, 6-9, 225-pounder Marcelo Deschamps (a native of Brazil) and 6-8 forward Greg Noack. We've seen Noack play when he was with the high-powered Jersey Shore Warriors' AAU program (which also produced Nicholas), and he's a good one ... a hard-nosed, yet athletic and multi-talented forward. Plus, the cupboard of returning players, beyond Nicholas, isn't entirely bare. Khalil Brown, who played at 190 pounds over his 6-9 frame as a sophomore and battled knee issues, should get significantly more time this season. His face-up style at his size makes him a tough matchup. And, 6-5 sophomore forward Tyon O'Garro (2.5, 3.8) was in the playing group, primarily because of his tireless work and rebounding ability off the bench, last season. With Steele gone, the Hawks also need a point guard, and found a good one in 5-8 Justin Robinson of Kingston, who your Hoopscribe also saw play several times when he earned the Most Valuable GymRat award for his play in the 2012 GymRat AAU Tournament.
PREDICTION FOR 2013-14: Head coach King Rice's first two seasons with the Hawks haven't been real good (12-20 in 2011-12, and 10-21 last season), but his recent recruiting should help turn things around. The turnaround, though, probably won't come this coming season. There's more talent in place, yet there's only one returning starter. Jones, who was able to practice with the team a year ago, is a strong second piece to the starting lineup. The rest of the playing group will be last year's role players with a heavy dose of incoming freshmen. The good news is that there's not a single senior on the roster. That might not be good news for this season, in a league that relies on players developing and, then, creating team success when the roster is composed of veteran players. But, there should be plenty of signs that 2014-15 should be a good one for the Hawks. Still, the program is likely destined for a bottom-three finish this season and will be picked, by most prognosticators, to finish last in the 11-team league.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Team Report: Quinnipiac Men Need Only to Find PG
Here's another in the series looking back, and ahead, at conference teams ... with a caveat: your Hoopscribe has not personally seen MAAC newcomers Quinnipiac and Monmouth. Reports on those programs comes from research and several interviews with coaches and/or school publicists.
Up now ...
QUINNIPIAC MEN
2012-13 RECORD: 11-7 in the Northeast Conference (tied for 6th place in the 12-team league), 15-16 overall.
2012-13 RECAP: An up-and-down year, one of peaks and valleys for the Bobcats. The team went through a tough non-league schedule with a 4-7 mark, losing to, among others, UConn, George Mason, Lehigh, Vermont and Boston University. Then came a 2-5 start to NEC play before Quinnipiac kicked it into gear with an 8-1 stretch. Then came a two-point loss to Central Connecticut, another win and, finally, a regular-season ending setback at the hands of LIU-Brooklyn. LIU Brooklyn then finished off the Bobcats' season with a 91-83 decision in the first round of the NEC's post-season tournament.
WHAT WENT RIGHT: That late-season run showed what the Bobcats were capable of at their best, and included a two-point victory over regular-season NEC champion Robert Morris after Quinnipiac trailed by five points with just over seven minutes remaining. The Bobcats also had a nice non-league victory over UAlbany, which put up 24 victories. The team didn't have a true signature star (senior-to-be forward Ike Azotam's 13.6 points per game led the team), but it did have one thing it did extremely well. Quinnipiac outrebounded opponents by an average of 10.4 per game, the second-best positive differential on the Division I level this past season. The 6-foot-7 Azotam, who had 10 double-doubles, averaged 7.9 rebounds per outing, while junior-to-be 6-9 forward Ousmane Drame averaged 7.3. They were one of the best front-court tandems in the NEC. Graduated point guard Dave Johnson was a good distributor, averaging 4.1 assists per contest.
WHAT WENT WRONG: As good as Azotam was last year, it was a drop-off from the previous season when he averaged 15.8 and 9.5 (30th-best rebounding total nationally) as a sophomore. Statistically, the defense wasn't as good (allowing 71.6 points per game, 290th of 343 Division I teams nationally) as it was the previous year. And, while the Bobcats ruled the backboards with their rebounding efficiency, they lacked in other categories. Only two teams nationally got fewer steals per game, and only 23 teams nationally made fewer 3-point shots. The 15-16 overall record came on the heels of a three-year stretch in which the team averaged 21 victories per year and had been to three consecutive national post-season tournaments (NIT, CBI, CIT). Quinnipiac was just good enough to be competitive on any given night, but not quite good enough to get over the top, with six of its seven conference losses by single digits, and two of those by two points. How close was it to a better season? It was only one victory shy of finishing in a tie for second place in the conference standings.
WHAT'S AHEAD: It should be a smooth transition from the NEC to the MAAC, and Quinnipiac should be competitive right away. It has a very good coach in place in Tom Moore, entering his seventh year with the program after 13 seasons as an assistant at UConn, and he just signed a contract extension through the 2017-18 season. The only real significant loss is graduated point guard Dave Johnson, although two key reserves (Jamee Jackson and Garvey Young) are also gone. But, five key players are back, led by Azotam and Drame up front. The team often went with three guards last season, with current junior Zaid Hearst (10.8 points) and senior Shaq Shannon (6.7) as the returning starters. The main issue will be replacing Johnson at the point. Candidates are Shannon and incoming transfer Umar Shannon, a 5-11 former standout at league rival St. Francis who averaged 11.2 points and 3.3 assists per game. Shannon graduated from St. Francis and comes to the Bobcats as an immediately eligible grad student. Three solid freshmen, 5-10 guard Kasim Chandler, 6-8, 240-pounder Aula Sumbry and 6-6 small forward Alain Chigha, also join the program and all could get into the playing group.
PREDICTION FOR 2013-13: Hard to envision the Bobcats supplanting the likely top three of Manhattan, Iona and Canisius. But, they'll definitely be in the mix within the next group. The likelihood is a finish between fourth and sixth place.
Up now ...
QUINNIPIAC MEN
2012-13 RECORD: 11-7 in the Northeast Conference (tied for 6th place in the 12-team league), 15-16 overall.
2012-13 RECAP: An up-and-down year, one of peaks and valleys for the Bobcats. The team went through a tough non-league schedule with a 4-7 mark, losing to, among others, UConn, George Mason, Lehigh, Vermont and Boston University. Then came a 2-5 start to NEC play before Quinnipiac kicked it into gear with an 8-1 stretch. Then came a two-point loss to Central Connecticut, another win and, finally, a regular-season ending setback at the hands of LIU-Brooklyn. LIU Brooklyn then finished off the Bobcats' season with a 91-83 decision in the first round of the NEC's post-season tournament.
WHAT WENT RIGHT: That late-season run showed what the Bobcats were capable of at their best, and included a two-point victory over regular-season NEC champion Robert Morris after Quinnipiac trailed by five points with just over seven minutes remaining. The Bobcats also had a nice non-league victory over UAlbany, which put up 24 victories. The team didn't have a true signature star (senior-to-be forward Ike Azotam's 13.6 points per game led the team), but it did have one thing it did extremely well. Quinnipiac outrebounded opponents by an average of 10.4 per game, the second-best positive differential on the Division I level this past season. The 6-foot-7 Azotam, who had 10 double-doubles, averaged 7.9 rebounds per outing, while junior-to-be 6-9 forward Ousmane Drame averaged 7.3. They were one of the best front-court tandems in the NEC. Graduated point guard Dave Johnson was a good distributor, averaging 4.1 assists per contest.
WHAT WENT WRONG: As good as Azotam was last year, it was a drop-off from the previous season when he averaged 15.8 and 9.5 (30th-best rebounding total nationally) as a sophomore. Statistically, the defense wasn't as good (allowing 71.6 points per game, 290th of 343 Division I teams nationally) as it was the previous year. And, while the Bobcats ruled the backboards with their rebounding efficiency, they lacked in other categories. Only two teams nationally got fewer steals per game, and only 23 teams nationally made fewer 3-point shots. The 15-16 overall record came on the heels of a three-year stretch in which the team averaged 21 victories per year and had been to three consecutive national post-season tournaments (NIT, CBI, CIT). Quinnipiac was just good enough to be competitive on any given night, but not quite good enough to get over the top, with six of its seven conference losses by single digits, and two of those by two points. How close was it to a better season? It was only one victory shy of finishing in a tie for second place in the conference standings.
WHAT'S AHEAD: It should be a smooth transition from the NEC to the MAAC, and Quinnipiac should be competitive right away. It has a very good coach in place in Tom Moore, entering his seventh year with the program after 13 seasons as an assistant at UConn, and he just signed a contract extension through the 2017-18 season. The only real significant loss is graduated point guard Dave Johnson, although two key reserves (Jamee Jackson and Garvey Young) are also gone. But, five key players are back, led by Azotam and Drame up front. The team often went with three guards last season, with current junior Zaid Hearst (10.8 points) and senior Shaq Shannon (6.7) as the returning starters. The main issue will be replacing Johnson at the point. Candidates are Shannon and incoming transfer Umar Shannon, a 5-11 former standout at league rival St. Francis who averaged 11.2 points and 3.3 assists per game. Shannon graduated from St. Francis and comes to the Bobcats as an immediately eligible grad student. Three solid freshmen, 5-10 guard Kasim Chandler, 6-8, 240-pounder Aula Sumbry and 6-6 small forward Alain Chigha, also join the program and all could get into the playing group.
PREDICTION FOR 2013-13: Hard to envision the Bobcats supplanting the likely top three of Manhattan, Iona and Canisius. But, they'll definitely be in the mix within the next group. The likelihood is a finish between fourth and sixth place.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Team Report: Quinnipiac Women Strong Right Away
Here's another in the series looking back, and ahead, at conference teams.
But, first, full disclosure. We've already completed the reports on the 10 teams that made up the MAAC last season. Left, now, are two newcomers, Quinnipiac and Monmouth.
Your Hoopscribe sees every team in the league a minimum of two or three times annually, often more. But, we can't claim to have seen, in person, the teams from the two newcomers.
Still, we'll do a similar report to the longer-tenured conference teams. But, be advised, that the information comes mostly from word of mouth and personal research.
Up now ...
QUINNIPIAC WOMEN
2012-13 RECORD: 18-0 in the Northeast Conference (league champion), 30-3 overall.
2012-13 RECAP: Best season in the program's history with its first NCAA appearance. There, it lost a first-round game to Maryland, which finished with a 26-8 record and advanced to the tournament's round of 16 before losing to eventual national champion UConn. The Bobcats' other losses were to Hartford (21-12, a WNIT participant) and Georgia Tech of the ACC. Quinnipiac started fairly fast, 8-2 overall, before things really picked up with a 22-game winning streak that included a perfect 18-0 slate against league foes and three NEC tournament victories.
WHAT WENT RIGHT: Just about everything, particularly in league play where Quinnipiac won its 18 NEC games by an average of 16.8 points per contest. Shades of Marist! Would love to have seen if Quinnipiac could have tested the Red Foxes a year ago. The Bobcats' non-league slate of this past season did include one MAAC opponent and resulted in a 72-57 victory over a good Rider team. Felicia Baron, a guard was the team's only senior of significance and was one of the better NEC players, averaging 13.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 3.6 steals per game, which was fourth-best nationally. She will be missed. Sophomore point guard Gillian Abshire has started all 65 games of her first two college seasons and her 2.41 assist-to-turnover ratio last season was 10th-best nationally. Brittany McQuain, a 5-foot-11 senior-to-be forward, averaged 8.3 rebounds per game and looks like a nice player.
WHAT WENT WRONG: Hard to place blame anywhere, not only because of the stellar season but because we didn't actually witness games. Statistically, the team operated at a deficit of more than three rebounds per contest, but overcame that with (like Marist) a take-care-of-the-ball philosophy. Its turnover margin of forcing opponents into 8.55 more turnovers per game than it committed was No. 1 nationally. Any team with that many extra possessions per game is bound to have a lot of success.
WHAT'S AHEAD: Hard to judge how Quinnipiac will do in its new league. The NEC is widely acknowledged as a half step below the MAAC. Still, its better teams are usually competitive with just about any MAAC program in a given year. The Bobcats do lose their best player in Barron, but pretty much have everything else coming back. Its coach, Tricia Fabbri, is certainly secure, having been awarded a contract extention through the 2017-18 season. And, justifiably so. She has been in place for 18 years and 273 wins, after taking over when the program was on the Division II level and coming off a 2-win season. Since the 2005-06 season, her teams have averaged 20.2 victories per game. She is recognized as a quality coach and will be able to match up well, from a coaching standpoint, in the new conference. One other point: While I haven't seen the Quinnipiac teams play, I have been on campus and got a look at the school's athletic facilities. They are first class for the mid-major level and the basketball venue might be the best overall in the MAAC, outside those times Siena and Fairfield play games in nearby arenas.
PREDICTION FOR 2013-14: Again, it's tough without first-hand viewings of the program. But, most believe the Bobcats will be a legitimate threat to get into the top five, at least, in their first MAAC season. The guess here is somewhere in the third, fourth or fifth-place range.
But, first, full disclosure. We've already completed the reports on the 10 teams that made up the MAAC last season. Left, now, are two newcomers, Quinnipiac and Monmouth.
Your Hoopscribe sees every team in the league a minimum of two or three times annually, often more. But, we can't claim to have seen, in person, the teams from the two newcomers.
Still, we'll do a similar report to the longer-tenured conference teams. But, be advised, that the information comes mostly from word of mouth and personal research.
Up now ...
QUINNIPIAC WOMEN
2012-13 RECORD: 18-0 in the Northeast Conference (league champion), 30-3 overall.
2012-13 RECAP: Best season in the program's history with its first NCAA appearance. There, it lost a first-round game to Maryland, which finished with a 26-8 record and advanced to the tournament's round of 16 before losing to eventual national champion UConn. The Bobcats' other losses were to Hartford (21-12, a WNIT participant) and Georgia Tech of the ACC. Quinnipiac started fairly fast, 8-2 overall, before things really picked up with a 22-game winning streak that included a perfect 18-0 slate against league foes and three NEC tournament victories.
WHAT WENT RIGHT: Just about everything, particularly in league play where Quinnipiac won its 18 NEC games by an average of 16.8 points per contest. Shades of Marist! Would love to have seen if Quinnipiac could have tested the Red Foxes a year ago. The Bobcats' non-league slate of this past season did include one MAAC opponent and resulted in a 72-57 victory over a good Rider team. Felicia Baron, a guard was the team's only senior of significance and was one of the better NEC players, averaging 13.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 3.6 steals per game, which was fourth-best nationally. She will be missed. Sophomore point guard Gillian Abshire has started all 65 games of her first two college seasons and her 2.41 assist-to-turnover ratio last season was 10th-best nationally. Brittany McQuain, a 5-foot-11 senior-to-be forward, averaged 8.3 rebounds per game and looks like a nice player.
WHAT WENT WRONG: Hard to place blame anywhere, not only because of the stellar season but because we didn't actually witness games. Statistically, the team operated at a deficit of more than three rebounds per contest, but overcame that with (like Marist) a take-care-of-the-ball philosophy. Its turnover margin of forcing opponents into 8.55 more turnovers per game than it committed was No. 1 nationally. Any team with that many extra possessions per game is bound to have a lot of success.
WHAT'S AHEAD: Hard to judge how Quinnipiac will do in its new league. The NEC is widely acknowledged as a half step below the MAAC. Still, its better teams are usually competitive with just about any MAAC program in a given year. The Bobcats do lose their best player in Barron, but pretty much have everything else coming back. Its coach, Tricia Fabbri, is certainly secure, having been awarded a contract extention through the 2017-18 season. And, justifiably so. She has been in place for 18 years and 273 wins, after taking over when the program was on the Division II level and coming off a 2-win season. Since the 2005-06 season, her teams have averaged 20.2 victories per game. She is recognized as a quality coach and will be able to match up well, from a coaching standpoint, in the new conference. One other point: While I haven't seen the Quinnipiac teams play, I have been on campus and got a look at the school's athletic facilities. They are first class for the mid-major level and the basketball venue might be the best overall in the MAAC, outside those times Siena and Fairfield play games in nearby arenas.
PREDICTION FOR 2013-14: Again, it's tough without first-hand viewings of the program. But, most believe the Bobcats will be a legitimate threat to get into the top five, at least, in their first MAAC season. The guess here is somewhere in the third, fourth or fifth-place range.
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Women's Report: Coyle Begins Rebuilding Peacocks
Here's another in the series looking back, and ahead, at conference teams.
Up now ...
SAINT PETER'S WOMEN
2012-13 RECORD: 2-16 in MAAC play (10th place), 2-28 overall. Lost to Canisius, 79-55 in play-in round of the MAAC's post-season tournament.
2012-13 RECAP: The Peacocks started the non-portion of the season with 11 consecutive losses, six of those by 22 points or more and three by 34 or more. Things didn't get much better after that as seven straight conference losses extended the team's record to 0-18 by late January. But, Saint Peter's players continued to play hard, breaking through for wins at Manhattan and at Canisius in their next four games before losing their final eight. And, then, after the season ended the program made a coaching change as Pat Coyle replaced Stephanie De Wolfe.
WHAT WENT RIGHT: Somehow, through some difficult times (the current seniors on the team have seen the program put up a combined 13-79 record over the past three seasons), there was a never-give-up attitude by players. It was enough to keep the Peacocks close for portions of just about every game, but not enough to keep it up for a full 40 minutes. Still, there were some highlights. After 18 straight losses came a 2-2 stretch with both wins coming on the road. Senior Krystal Edwards put up 22 points in a win at Manhattan on Jan. 27. Then, 11 days later, current senior Aziza May poured in a career-high 29 points as the Peacocks won at Canisius. There was nearly one more win, a late-season one at Siena when freshman guard Bridget Whitfield went a perfect 8-for-8 from three points range in what became a 70-67 loss at Siena. Whitfield's performance was just the sixth time in NCAA women's history that a player has made as many three-pointers in a game without a miss. Overall, Edwards had a nice season (13.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and a league-best 3.0 steals per game), Jessika Holmes was also among the steal leaders in the conference (2.7 per contest), and May (11.6 points, 3.8 assists) bounced back for a nice junior season after dropping off some as a soph.
WHAT WENT WRONG: Much did, as the 2-28 record can attest. But, many of the woes were predicated not on desire, but physical limitations. The team lacked both overall height and physical strength, and opponents usually took advantage of Saint Peter's interior defense. The Peacocks allowed 69 points per game, the worst in the league by nearly a six-point average. The Peacocks also struggled handling the ball and their assist-to-turnover ratio (0.49) was the 17th worst nationally. It probably also didn't help that De Wolfe was on pregnancy leave for a good portion of the season. De Wolfe, a former standout player at Saint Peter's, had been the team's coach for the past nine years. She was able to instill her hard-nosed style of play into the program, but couldn't seem to attract the type of talent that was around during her own playing days. There was a coaching change after the season, with veteran Pat Coyle taking over in early June.
WHAT'S AHEAD: There has to be better days on the horizon, but Coyle's late hiring (nearly three months after this past season ended) left her considerably behind in terms of recruiting for the coming season. Still, she was able to bring in a good guard (Marcia Senatus of Trenton (N.J.) Catholic H.S., and two post players that Coyle believes will help.. If nothing else, the program is in good hands, to say the least. Coyle not only has had success within the league (she took Loyola to two NCAA tournaments in the 1990's), but had also coached in the WNBA, including five seasons as head coach with the New York Liberty. She had been an assistant at Pittsburgh for the past three years. And, she was also able to bring in Phyllis Mangina, who had been the head coach at Seton Hall for 25 years before she left that program after the 2009-10 season. The Coyle-Mangina coaching tandem brings instant credibility. There is also a good nucleus of returning players, led by May, Whitfield and fifth-year senior Kaydine Bent, a strong post player who averaged a team-best 7.1 rebounds per game last season. It's probably enough to make the team more competitive this coming season. And, it's hard not to envision the program getting better quickly with Coyle in charge.
PREDICTION FOR 2013-14: Certainly more competitive than this past season, but the team did lose its best player (Edwards) and another starter (Holmes). There will probably be a few more wins than a year ago, but there's likely to be another battle to avoid the bottom couple of spots in the standings in the upcoming season before things turn around.
Up now ...
SAINT PETER'S WOMEN
2012-13 RECORD: 2-16 in MAAC play (10th place), 2-28 overall. Lost to Canisius, 79-55 in play-in round of the MAAC's post-season tournament.
2012-13 RECAP: The Peacocks started the non-portion of the season with 11 consecutive losses, six of those by 22 points or more and three by 34 or more. Things didn't get much better after that as seven straight conference losses extended the team's record to 0-18 by late January. But, Saint Peter's players continued to play hard, breaking through for wins at Manhattan and at Canisius in their next four games before losing their final eight. And, then, after the season ended the program made a coaching change as Pat Coyle replaced Stephanie De Wolfe.
WHAT WENT RIGHT: Somehow, through some difficult times (the current seniors on the team have seen the program put up a combined 13-79 record over the past three seasons), there was a never-give-up attitude by players. It was enough to keep the Peacocks close for portions of just about every game, but not enough to keep it up for a full 40 minutes. Still, there were some highlights. After 18 straight losses came a 2-2 stretch with both wins coming on the road. Senior Krystal Edwards put up 22 points in a win at Manhattan on Jan. 27. Then, 11 days later, current senior Aziza May poured in a career-high 29 points as the Peacocks won at Canisius. There was nearly one more win, a late-season one at Siena when freshman guard Bridget Whitfield went a perfect 8-for-8 from three points range in what became a 70-67 loss at Siena. Whitfield's performance was just the sixth time in NCAA women's history that a player has made as many three-pointers in a game without a miss. Overall, Edwards had a nice season (13.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and a league-best 3.0 steals per game), Jessika Holmes was also among the steal leaders in the conference (2.7 per contest), and May (11.6 points, 3.8 assists) bounced back for a nice junior season after dropping off some as a soph.
WHAT WENT WRONG: Much did, as the 2-28 record can attest. But, many of the woes were predicated not on desire, but physical limitations. The team lacked both overall height and physical strength, and opponents usually took advantage of Saint Peter's interior defense. The Peacocks allowed 69 points per game, the worst in the league by nearly a six-point average. The Peacocks also struggled handling the ball and their assist-to-turnover ratio (0.49) was the 17th worst nationally. It probably also didn't help that De Wolfe was on pregnancy leave for a good portion of the season. De Wolfe, a former standout player at Saint Peter's, had been the team's coach for the past nine years. She was able to instill her hard-nosed style of play into the program, but couldn't seem to attract the type of talent that was around during her own playing days. There was a coaching change after the season, with veteran Pat Coyle taking over in early June.
WHAT'S AHEAD: There has to be better days on the horizon, but Coyle's late hiring (nearly three months after this past season ended) left her considerably behind in terms of recruiting for the coming season. Still, she was able to bring in a good guard (Marcia Senatus of Trenton (N.J.) Catholic H.S., and two post players that Coyle believes will help.. If nothing else, the program is in good hands, to say the least. Coyle not only has had success within the league (she took Loyola to two NCAA tournaments in the 1990's), but had also coached in the WNBA, including five seasons as head coach with the New York Liberty. She had been an assistant at Pittsburgh for the past three years. And, she was also able to bring in Phyllis Mangina, who had been the head coach at Seton Hall for 25 years before she left that program after the 2009-10 season. The Coyle-Mangina coaching tandem brings instant credibility. There is also a good nucleus of returning players, led by May, Whitfield and fifth-year senior Kaydine Bent, a strong post player who averaged a team-best 7.1 rebounds per game last season. It's probably enough to make the team more competitive this coming season. And, it's hard not to envision the program getting better quickly with Coyle in charge.
PREDICTION FOR 2013-14: Certainly more competitive than this past season, but the team did lose its best player (Edwards) and another starter (Holmes). There will probably be a few more wins than a year ago, but there's likely to be another battle to avoid the bottom couple of spots in the standings in the upcoming season before things turn around.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Coyle Seeks To Restore Luster To St. Peter's Program
It has been 15 years since Pat Coyle last coached in the MAAC, but she continued to follow the conference from afar and her opinion about it remains pretty much unchanged since then.
"It's a real good league, it's well run and it has a lot of terrific coaches," said Coyle, in a recent phone interview.
And, now, add one more terrific coach with Coyle's hiring to take over the Saint Peter's women's program this spring.
League followers have already seen what Coyle can do, based on her six-year stint at former conference member Loyola (1992-98). When she took over there the Greyhounds had won a grand total of 27 games over the previous five years. But Coyle's first season there resulted in 14 victories and an 8-6 MAAC record, the program's first-ever winning season in conference play.
Coyle's team then put up 18- and 20-victory seasons the next two years, winning the MAAC's post-season tournament and advancing to the NCAA's in both those seasons (1993-94, '94-95). She finished up with seasonal records of 15-13, 9-19 and 20-9 and was off to a 4-1 start to the 1998-99 season when she left Loyola to take a position as assistant coach with the WNBA's New York Liberty.
She eventually became that franchise's head coach for five seasons before she was replaced and, then, became an assistant coach at Pittsburgh where she had been for the past three seasons before Saint Peter's brought her back to the MAAC.
It seems to have come full circle for Coyle, who took on a significant rebuilding process at Loyola and, now, faces another one with the Peacocks.
Saint Peter's has had one overall winning season over the last 11 years, has a league-worst 13-79 mark over the past three seasons and finished last in the MAAC standings (2-16 and 2-28 overall) this past season.
"I'm not real concerned about what happened here in the past," said Coyle. "I haven't even looked at film from last year. I want to form my own opinion about what's here. Everyone's starting with a clean slate."
It's a slate that Coyle, a relatively late hire this past June, has been trying to fill in quick order.
"It has been non-stop since I got hired," she said. "It has been everything from trying to get to know the players, to getting out recruiting, to making connections with high school and AAU coaches ... just about everything."
It has also involved hiring a staff, a process that included a significant coup when Coyle brought in Phyllis Mangina, who had been the head coach at Seton Hall for 25 years (through 2009-10).
"I can't believe no one snatched her up to be a head coach since then," said Coyle.
Mangina had been serving as a TV color commentator for MAAC and Northeast Conference televised games since her departure from Seton Hall.
The past three months have also included getting to know some players.
"We had five here for summer school, which allowed me to work with them, get to know them and kind of gauge where they are," added Coyle.
Around for the summer were returning front-court starters Kaydine Bent and Antonia Smith, and rising sophomore frontcourt reserve Neechelle Ingram. Also on campus for the summer was incoming guard 5-foot-3 Marcia Senatus of Trenton Catholic H.S.
Coyle also knows she has other good returnees, particularly with guard Aziza May and Bridget Whitfield, one of the league's top perimeter shooters who was a perfect 8-for-8 in from three-point range in a game against Siena this past season.
"I'm real excited about being here," said Coyle. "I feel like it's a job we can do, and I look forward to the challenge. Sometimes all a program needs (to rebuild) is a new voice."
Considering her glittering resume, Coyle's is a voice that should command considerable respect.
"I'm sure, in this era of the internet, our players were looking me up on Google and knew all my background pretty quickly," said Coyle. "That (having a WNBA pedigree) doesn't hurt. But, you get your credibility by what you do on the floor with your players. We've got to get them better and doing that will get their respect.
"We've got to get the point across that you have to get it done every day. Recruting is a means of getting good players here. If you have good players, then you're probably going to be a good coach."
And, that's where Coyle's background could pay off in dividends. When a coach with WNBA experience as a head coach comes into a young lady's living room to pitch a college, the recruit is a lot more likely to listen.
If enough good players like what they hear from Coyle enough to attend Saint Peter's, then things will turn around in the near future.
And, it's not like it can't happen. Getting good players turns things around quickly, and evidence of that is as strong at Saint Peter's as it is at any MAAC program.
The Saint Peter's women's team had been to seven NCAA tournaments over the MAAC's first 21 seasons, more than any other conference team to that point (through 2001-02), and more than any New Jersey-based school other than Rutgers.
The Peacocks had also won at least 20 games in a season 15 times from the league's start in 1981 through the 2001-02 season, again more than any other MAAC team.
Its hallmark, mostly under Mike Granelli who retired after the 2003-04 season, not only was a program of talented players but ones that usually outworked opponents.
That attitude appeared to remain in place despite the team's recent woes, although the program's talent level hadn't matched its on-court desire during its stretch of losing seasons since Granelli's departure.
"What's really attractive about this job is that Saint Peter's has a real strong history," added Coyle. "This program has had some great success in the past. Granelli did a real good job here. I know, because I had to coach against him when I was at Loyola, and it was just a nightmare whenever you had to look forward to playing against Saint Peter's.
"That's what we want to bring back. This program was real good not that long ago. It was the Marist of this league before (Brian) Giorgis went to Marist and they started dominating the league."
That's what Coyle, already a proven program builder within the league, wants to restore at Saint Peter's. She wants her program to be the new Marist.
But if Coyle can bring her program back to its former level, then just becoming the old Saint Peter's will be plenty good enough.
"It's a real good league, it's well run and it has a lot of terrific coaches," said Coyle, in a recent phone interview.
And, now, add one more terrific coach with Coyle's hiring to take over the Saint Peter's women's program this spring.
League followers have already seen what Coyle can do, based on her six-year stint at former conference member Loyola (1992-98). When she took over there the Greyhounds had won a grand total of 27 games over the previous five years. But Coyle's first season there resulted in 14 victories and an 8-6 MAAC record, the program's first-ever winning season in conference play.
Coyle's team then put up 18- and 20-victory seasons the next two years, winning the MAAC's post-season tournament and advancing to the NCAA's in both those seasons (1993-94, '94-95). She finished up with seasonal records of 15-13, 9-19 and 20-9 and was off to a 4-1 start to the 1998-99 season when she left Loyola to take a position as assistant coach with the WNBA's New York Liberty.
She eventually became that franchise's head coach for five seasons before she was replaced and, then, became an assistant coach at Pittsburgh where she had been for the past three seasons before Saint Peter's brought her back to the MAAC.
It seems to have come full circle for Coyle, who took on a significant rebuilding process at Loyola and, now, faces another one with the Peacocks.
Saint Peter's has had one overall winning season over the last 11 years, has a league-worst 13-79 mark over the past three seasons and finished last in the MAAC standings (2-16 and 2-28 overall) this past season.
"I'm not real concerned about what happened here in the past," said Coyle. "I haven't even looked at film from last year. I want to form my own opinion about what's here. Everyone's starting with a clean slate."
It's a slate that Coyle, a relatively late hire this past June, has been trying to fill in quick order.
"It has been non-stop since I got hired," she said. "It has been everything from trying to get to know the players, to getting out recruiting, to making connections with high school and AAU coaches ... just about everything."
It has also involved hiring a staff, a process that included a significant coup when Coyle brought in Phyllis Mangina, who had been the head coach at Seton Hall for 25 years (through 2009-10).
"I can't believe no one snatched her up to be a head coach since then," said Coyle.
Mangina had been serving as a TV color commentator for MAAC and Northeast Conference televised games since her departure from Seton Hall.
The past three months have also included getting to know some players.
"We had five here for summer school, which allowed me to work with them, get to know them and kind of gauge where they are," added Coyle.
Around for the summer were returning front-court starters Kaydine Bent and Antonia Smith, and rising sophomore frontcourt reserve Neechelle Ingram. Also on campus for the summer was incoming guard 5-foot-3 Marcia Senatus of Trenton Catholic H.S.
Coyle also knows she has other good returnees, particularly with guard Aziza May and Bridget Whitfield, one of the league's top perimeter shooters who was a perfect 8-for-8 in from three-point range in a game against Siena this past season.
"I'm real excited about being here," said Coyle. "I feel like it's a job we can do, and I look forward to the challenge. Sometimes all a program needs (to rebuild) is a new voice."
Considering her glittering resume, Coyle's is a voice that should command considerable respect.
"I'm sure, in this era of the internet, our players were looking me up on Google and knew all my background pretty quickly," said Coyle. "That (having a WNBA pedigree) doesn't hurt. But, you get your credibility by what you do on the floor with your players. We've got to get them better and doing that will get their respect.
"We've got to get the point across that you have to get it done every day. Recruting is a means of getting good players here. If you have good players, then you're probably going to be a good coach."
And, that's where Coyle's background could pay off in dividends. When a coach with WNBA experience as a head coach comes into a young lady's living room to pitch a college, the recruit is a lot more likely to listen.
If enough good players like what they hear from Coyle enough to attend Saint Peter's, then things will turn around in the near future.
And, it's not like it can't happen. Getting good players turns things around quickly, and evidence of that is as strong at Saint Peter's as it is at any MAAC program.
The Saint Peter's women's team had been to seven NCAA tournaments over the MAAC's first 21 seasons, more than any other conference team to that point (through 2001-02), and more than any New Jersey-based school other than Rutgers.
The Peacocks had also won at least 20 games in a season 15 times from the league's start in 1981 through the 2001-02 season, again more than any other MAAC team.
Its hallmark, mostly under Mike Granelli who retired after the 2003-04 season, not only was a program of talented players but ones that usually outworked opponents.
That attitude appeared to remain in place despite the team's recent woes, although the program's talent level hadn't matched its on-court desire during its stretch of losing seasons since Granelli's departure.
"What's really attractive about this job is that Saint Peter's has a real strong history," added Coyle. "This program has had some great success in the past. Granelli did a real good job here. I know, because I had to coach against him when I was at Loyola, and it was just a nightmare whenever you had to look forward to playing against Saint Peter's.
"That's what we want to bring back. This program was real good not that long ago. It was the Marist of this league before (Brian) Giorgis went to Marist and they started dominating the league."
That's what Coyle, already a proven program builder within the league, wants to restore at Saint Peter's. She wants her program to be the new Marist.
But if Coyle can bring her program back to its former level, then just becoming the old Saint Peter's will be plenty good enough.
Another Bleacher Report Snafu with PofY Selection
The ink was barely dry (well, we once wrote for the ink industry) on a recent post that took the web presence "Bleacher Report" to task for general lack of expertise and credibility related to its "Coaches of Impact" offering than the site once again confirms our thoughts about its credibility issues.
Bleacher Report, earlier this week, released its picks for the upcoming season's Player of the Year in every NCAA basketball conference. On the surface, it's a nice topic, one all of us who do preseason previews/predictions take on annually. It always causes considerable debate, and there's nothing wrong with that.
The website's choice for the MAAC's Player of the Year for the upcoming season?
It's Niagara's Juan'ya Green.
Says Bleacher Report: "As often, the MAAC is loaded with high-impact guards, from Canisius' Billy Baron to Iona's Sean Armond. The one in the best position to dominate in 2013-14, though, will be Juan'ya Green."
It would be the logical choice, except for one somewhat significant detail: Green isn't in the league any more. He left the Niagara program in late April, following former Purple Eagles' head coach Joe Mihalich to Hofstra.
That was nearly four months ago, which certainly seems long enough ago for the news to have filtered down to just about any real follower of MAAC basketball. But not, it appears, to those responsible for college basketball content at Bleacher Report.
We all make mistakes, and your Hoopscribe has made his share over the years. But, tabbing a player to be a conference's best when that specific player has been out of the conference ... gone in very public announcements by the school, by Western New York region media outlets and via college hoops message boards ... for close to four months?
Well, that's a whopper of a miscue.
It speaks to the issue of where to find your best information for your favorite basketball league. When that league is a mid-major, like the MAAC, the quality, accurate information available isn't quite as plentiful as it is for the high-major leagues.
But websites like Bleacher Report and a few others try to offer information about all of college basketball, a daunting task. Its content providers, though, rarely have any connection to the mid-major level leagues they seek to provide content about. Its writers who provide much of the material about the MAAC rarely, if ever, appear to actually attend games from the conference, let alone maintain contacts and sources within the league.
Where, then, to read about our favorite league? The newspapers, most of which provide free internet access, near each of the MAAC's member schools almost universally provide accurate, informative information. And, every member school has an active portion of its own website dedicated entirely to athletics. There are a number of other basketball-dedicated websites that do carry mostly reliable insight about our conference, although if I start listing some I'll surely miss a couple.
We hope, too, that you check in early and often to this site, which is dedicated to nothing more than providing insight, opinion, news, features, coverage and just about anything else related to MAAC men's and women's basketball.
And, there's always The Sporting News' College Basketball Preview issue that should be hitting newsstands in the very near future ... we received our "advance" copy in the mail earlier this week, a sign that nationwide release is not far away.
Your Hoopscribe, as has been the case for at least a dozen years, produced the MAAC's preview.
You can be sure I did not predict Juan'ya Green would be the upcoming season's Player of the Year.
That designation went to Billy Baron of Canisius. And, I'm 100 percent sure that he is actually still in the league.
Bleacher Report, earlier this week, released its picks for the upcoming season's Player of the Year in every NCAA basketball conference. On the surface, it's a nice topic, one all of us who do preseason previews/predictions take on annually. It always causes considerable debate, and there's nothing wrong with that.
The website's choice for the MAAC's Player of the Year for the upcoming season?
It's Niagara's Juan'ya Green.
Says Bleacher Report: "As often, the MAAC is loaded with high-impact guards, from Canisius' Billy Baron to Iona's Sean Armond. The one in the best position to dominate in 2013-14, though, will be Juan'ya Green."
It would be the logical choice, except for one somewhat significant detail: Green isn't in the league any more. He left the Niagara program in late April, following former Purple Eagles' head coach Joe Mihalich to Hofstra.
That was nearly four months ago, which certainly seems long enough ago for the news to have filtered down to just about any real follower of MAAC basketball. But not, it appears, to those responsible for college basketball content at Bleacher Report.
We all make mistakes, and your Hoopscribe has made his share over the years. But, tabbing a player to be a conference's best when that specific player has been out of the conference ... gone in very public announcements by the school, by Western New York region media outlets and via college hoops message boards ... for close to four months?
Well, that's a whopper of a miscue.
It speaks to the issue of where to find your best information for your favorite basketball league. When that league is a mid-major, like the MAAC, the quality, accurate information available isn't quite as plentiful as it is for the high-major leagues.
But websites like Bleacher Report and a few others try to offer information about all of college basketball, a daunting task. Its content providers, though, rarely have any connection to the mid-major level leagues they seek to provide content about. Its writers who provide much of the material about the MAAC rarely, if ever, appear to actually attend games from the conference, let alone maintain contacts and sources within the league.
Where, then, to read about our favorite league? The newspapers, most of which provide free internet access, near each of the MAAC's member schools almost universally provide accurate, informative information. And, every member school has an active portion of its own website dedicated entirely to athletics. There are a number of other basketball-dedicated websites that do carry mostly reliable insight about our conference, although if I start listing some I'll surely miss a couple.
We hope, too, that you check in early and often to this site, which is dedicated to nothing more than providing insight, opinion, news, features, coverage and just about anything else related to MAAC men's and women's basketball.
And, there's always The Sporting News' College Basketball Preview issue that should be hitting newsstands in the very near future ... we received our "advance" copy in the mail earlier this week, a sign that nationwide release is not far away.
Your Hoopscribe, as has been the case for at least a dozen years, produced the MAAC's preview.
You can be sure I did not predict Juan'ya Green would be the upcoming season's Player of the Year.
That designation went to Billy Baron of Canisius. And, I'm 100 percent sure that he is actually still in the league.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Coming Attraction: All-Time MAAC Hoops Highlights
Call this a preview of a coming attraction.
Top 10 lists seem to be in vogue. So, with that in mind, your Hoopscribe will compile his personal list of all-time MAAC basketball highlights to include both men's and women's events.
Because there have been so many memorable occurrences over the league's history, we'll probably come up with a "Terrific 20" list. We'll release the list one by one in reverse numerical order with some personal recollections and other insight about each highlight.
The list will include a little of everything ... big shots, personal achievements, big game results, tournament appearances, even eras of success. There certainly is much to chose from. And, if anyone has a suggestion ... I'll listen. Just drop a note in this blog's comment section.
Much of the list, though, will come from my own personal observations. Your blogger has actively covered the MAAC, in some form or other, since its beginning, first as reporter in Middletown, N.Y., covering Army basketball in the 1980s, when that program was still a MAAC member and, then, from New York's Capital Region beginning in 1985 as a newspaper reporter and, then, for the last five years with "Keepin' Track of the MAAC."
It should be an interesting and memory-provoking list. We hope to start getting the list on the blog by early September.
Top 10 lists seem to be in vogue. So, with that in mind, your Hoopscribe will compile his personal list of all-time MAAC basketball highlights to include both men's and women's events.
Because there have been so many memorable occurrences over the league's history, we'll probably come up with a "Terrific 20" list. We'll release the list one by one in reverse numerical order with some personal recollections and other insight about each highlight.
The list will include a little of everything ... big shots, personal achievements, big game results, tournament appearances, even eras of success. There certainly is much to chose from. And, if anyone has a suggestion ... I'll listen. Just drop a note in this blog's comment section.
Much of the list, though, will come from my own personal observations. Your blogger has actively covered the MAAC, in some form or other, since its beginning, first as reporter in Middletown, N.Y., covering Army basketball in the 1980s, when that program was still a MAAC member and, then, from New York's Capital Region beginning in 1985 as a newspaper reporter and, then, for the last five years with "Keepin' Track of the MAAC."
It should be an interesting and memory-provoking list. We hope to start getting the list on the blog by early September.
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