Rumors swirl ...
Your blogger is hearing there are four candidates for the Siena head coaching position.
In no particular order:
- Mitch Buonaguro, the current top assistant there who was a major component in the program's most-successful era ever.
- Cliff Warren, the current head coach at Jacksonville who was a Siena assistant for three years during Paul Hewitt's tenure at the school.
- Bill Coen, the current head coach at Northeastern.
- Milan Brown, the current head coach at Mount Saint Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Md.
Some observations ...
Buonaguro had both success and failure as a head coach at Fairfield in the mid-to-late 1980s. Before that, he was an assistant at Villanova and owns an NCAA championship ring. He has been the an integral part of Siena's success during McCaffery's five years at the school. He is well-liked by the community, and his contacts within college basketball are almost without match. He would ensure continuity within the program and would likely view becoming head coach as a destination and not a stepping stone.
Warren has had considerable success at Jacksonville. and was well-liked during his time at Siena. But, that was 10 years ago and his recruiting contacts in the northeast, where Siena has traditionally found most of its players, might be somewhat lacking.
Coen seems to embrace a grind-it-out style offensively, and Siena athletic director John D'Argenio has indicated a preference for a coach with an up-tempo philosophy. Northeastern played nine games in which it scored 60 or fewer points this past season, and Coen's roster with the Huskies is comprised mostly of international players. Coen is also rumored to be a candidate for the vacant Boston College job.
Milan Brown just finished his eighth season at Mount Saint Mary's after taking over for the legendary Jim Phelan. His team was 16-15 this past season, but finished 19-15 two years ago when it also earned a trip to the NCAA's, winning the play-in round game over Coppin State before losing its next contest against eventual national champion North Carolina.
Nobody asked me, but ... Siena adminitrators should recognize that the best candidate is already on their payroll, and give the job to Buonaguro.
ELSEWHERE:
- A variety of internet sources indicate that Fran Fraschilla, who formerly coached at Manhattan and is now an analyst for ESPN, is the most-likely candidate to replace Kevin Willard at Iona.
Former Iona coach Tim Welsh was also reportedly about to be interviewed at Iona, but instead was hired earlier today (Wednesday) after a successful interview at Hofstra.
- And, it has been reported in a New York City paper that Barry Rohrssen will keep his position at Manhattan rather than join the staff at St. John's under new head coach Steve Lavin.
But, there are "reports" now that current Loyola head coach Jimmy Patsos might be considered for an assistant's position on Lavin's St. John's staff.
- Lastly, it is also being reported that Fairfield coach Ed Cooley has already been interviewed for the Boston College vacancy.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Manhattan's Rohrssen Might Move On
Siena and Iona might not be the only MAAC men's basketball programs looking for a new coach in coming weeks.
The St. John's opening might well rob another conference team of its head coach.
The Boston Globe is reporting that Barry Rohrssen of Manhattan could wind up as a St. John's assistant if Steve Lavin, the former UCLA coach, takes over the Johnnies.
Here's the mention, from The Globe, which is following the St. John's process closely because Boston College coach Al Skinner is a candidate:
"So yesterday, sources familiar with the situation said St. John’s was preparing a deal with Lavin that would include him hiring among his assistants Dave Leitao, who has had head coaching stops at Northeastern, DePaul, and Virginia, and Manhattan head coach Barry Rohrssen, who has strong recruiting ties in the city."
The St. John's opening might well rob another conference team of its head coach.
The Boston Globe is reporting that Barry Rohrssen of Manhattan could wind up as a St. John's assistant if Steve Lavin, the former UCLA coach, takes over the Johnnies.
Here's the mention, from The Globe, which is following the St. John's process closely because Boston College coach Al Skinner is a candidate:
"So yesterday, sources familiar with the situation said St. John’s was preparing a deal with Lavin that would include him hiring among his assistants Dave Leitao, who has had head coaching stops at Northeastern, DePaul, and Virginia, and Manhattan head coach Barry Rohrssen, who has strong recruiting ties in the city."
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Iona's Willard Leaves For Seton Hall
Siena won't be the only MAAC men's program looking for a new head coach this off-season.
New York City-area newspapers are reporting that Iona coach Kevin Willard will be named the next head coach at Seton Hall.
Here's a link to a story from the New York Daily News:
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/2010/03/28/2010-03-28_seton_hall_to_hire_willard_as_hoops_coach.html
Your blogger can't profess to know Willard as well as Siena's Fran McCaffery.
But, I do know that Willard is highly regarded as a young coach with a bright future by most in college basketball. Louisville coach Rick Pitino has regularly designated Willard as the best assistant he ever had.
Willard has done a masterful job at Iona, taking a program that won just two games in the 2006-07 season and restocking it with a roster full of solid players that win 21 games this past season.
It marks the third straight time that Seton Hall reached into the MAAC ranks for a head coach. Neither of the last two, former Siena coach Louis Orr; and, former Manhattan coach Bobby Gonzalez, worked out very well for the program.
But the very strong guess by this blogger is that Willard will do a considerably better job than his two MAAC predecessors in the position.
Next coach? I'm not exactly in the proverbial loop on this, but ...
Tim Welsh, who had a very successful run at the school before moving on to Providence (which fired him after the 2008-09 season) is doing TV work right now and would likely be interested in a return to the coaching ranks.
New York City-area newspapers are reporting that Iona coach Kevin Willard will be named the next head coach at Seton Hall.
Here's a link to a story from the New York Daily News:
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/2010/03/28/2010-03-28_seton_hall_to_hire_willard_as_hoops_coach.html
Your blogger can't profess to know Willard as well as Siena's Fran McCaffery.
But, I do know that Willard is highly regarded as a young coach with a bright future by most in college basketball. Louisville coach Rick Pitino has regularly designated Willard as the best assistant he ever had.
Willard has done a masterful job at Iona, taking a program that won just two games in the 2006-07 season and restocking it with a roster full of solid players that win 21 games this past season.
It marks the third straight time that Seton Hall reached into the MAAC ranks for a head coach. Neither of the last two, former Siena coach Louis Orr; and, former Manhattan coach Bobby Gonzalez, worked out very well for the program.
But the very strong guess by this blogger is that Willard will do a considerably better job than his two MAAC predecessors in the position.
Next coach? I'm not exactly in the proverbial loop on this, but ...
Tim Welsh, who had a very successful run at the school before moving on to Providence (which fired him after the 2008-09 season) is doing TV work right now and would likely be interested in a return to the coaching ranks.
Siena's McCaffery Moves On To Iowa
Last week your blogger wrote that Fran McCaffery wasn't going to take the Seton Hall job, and that Paul Hewitt wasn't going to leave Georgia Tech for St. John's.
Right on both counts ... it happens sometimes.
There had also been serious rumblings from the Siena campus that McCaffery was more interested in moving to the midwest than to Seton Hall, or even St. John's, where he got an initial interview this past week.
And, today (Sunday), those rumors proved correct as Iowa announced it had hired the Siena coach as its new head man.
Here's the link to the story on Iowa's school website:
http://www.hawkeyesports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/032810aaa.html
Hopefully, the school will learn how to spell the name of its new head coch. It's "McCaffery," not "McCaffrey," as is currently the headline, and in the copy, on the Iowa site.
The former Iowa coach, Todd Lickliter, had been compensated at $1.2 million annually.
McCaffery is likely to receive at least that, if not a little more. He can hardly be blamed for taking an opportunity to probably triple the $500,000 annual salary he was getting at Siena.
Nor, can he be blamed for moving into a more-competitive level of college basketball, from the mid-major MAAC to the Big Ten, one of the so-called high-major coferences.
Fran also has some mid-west roots, having served as an assistant at Notre Dame for several years.
It certainly was the perfect time for McCaffery to move. His team had gone to the NCAA tournament for three consecutive years with, basically, the same core of players.
His core group is graduating this year, and the expectation is Siena is likely to be a middle-of-the-pack team next year, if not beyond that. Had McCaffery stayed and gone through a rebuilding/reloading process at Siena, he'd likely get to his mid-50's before recreating the type of success with the Saints that draws the attention of bigger schools.
What's next? His top assistant, Mitch Buonaguro, has already expressed an interest in becoming Siena's next head coach.
Buonaguro is not only recognized as one of the top assistant coaches in the MAAC, if not well beyond those bounds, but has head coaching experience from several years at Fairfield in the 1980s.
Buonaguro is well-liked in the Siena community and would likely make an easy transition to become the school's next head coach.
Right on both counts ... it happens sometimes.
There had also been serious rumblings from the Siena campus that McCaffery was more interested in moving to the midwest than to Seton Hall, or even St. John's, where he got an initial interview this past week.
And, today (Sunday), those rumors proved correct as Iowa announced it had hired the Siena coach as its new head man.
Here's the link to the story on Iowa's school website:
http://www.hawkeyesports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/032810aaa.html
Hopefully, the school will learn how to spell the name of its new head coch. It's "McCaffery," not "McCaffrey," as is currently the headline, and in the copy, on the Iowa site.
The former Iowa coach, Todd Lickliter, had been compensated at $1.2 million annually.
McCaffery is likely to receive at least that, if not a little more. He can hardly be blamed for taking an opportunity to probably triple the $500,000 annual salary he was getting at Siena.
Nor, can he be blamed for moving into a more-competitive level of college basketball, from the mid-major MAAC to the Big Ten, one of the so-called high-major coferences.
Fran also has some mid-west roots, having served as an assistant at Notre Dame for several years.
It certainly was the perfect time for McCaffery to move. His team had gone to the NCAA tournament for three consecutive years with, basically, the same core of players.
His core group is graduating this year, and the expectation is Siena is likely to be a middle-of-the-pack team next year, if not beyond that. Had McCaffery stayed and gone through a rebuilding/reloading process at Siena, he'd likely get to his mid-50's before recreating the type of success with the Saints that draws the attention of bigger schools.
What's next? His top assistant, Mitch Buonaguro, has already expressed an interest in becoming Siena's next head coach.
Buonaguro is not only recognized as one of the top assistant coaches in the MAAC, if not well beyond those bounds, but has head coaching experience from several years at Fairfield in the 1980s.
Buonaguro is well-liked in the Siena community and would likely make an easy transition to become the school's next head coach.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Cory Magee's Blog Has Strong Final Entry
One of the best aspects of covering mid-major level college basketball, at least within the MAAC, is that most of the players remain unspoiled by the adulation and trappings related to the high-major level.
For a few years, early in my journalistic career, your blogger covered Army basketball. It was so long ago that Mike Krzyzewski was the coach at West Point. Dealing with the program there was a breeze. Every question drew a "Yes, sir" response and politeness.
And, then, I've spent the past 25 years around MAAC basketball thinking that my regular contact with coaches and players wasn't that far removed from those days around Army hoops.
The point of all of this is that one of my all-time favorites, someone who hasn't even been on the court for the past two years, will be moving on to post-collegiate life soon.
That would be Cory Magee who served as a Siena "student assistant" coach the past two years after suffering a variety of concussion-like symptoms from an elbow to the head during preseason drills prior to the 2008-09 season.
Magee, a hard-working 6-foot-7 post player, initially committed to Canisius and, then, opted out of that commitment after a coaching change to come to Siena.
Your blogger is honored to have been the first reporter to have written an extensive piece about Magee during his freshman season, writing about his thoughts about playing against Canisius for the first time in his college playing career.
The memory is of sitting in an airport talking for about 20 minutes with an articulate young man with a great sense of humor, and Magee's demeanor has gone unchanged over the years despite the premature end of his playing career.
But, maybe, another career will be the result. Magee, a true college basketball fan and historian, has a dream now of becoming an analyst some day.
If that ever happens, the foundation will have been his last season as a non-player when he wrote a weekly blog offering for the Albany Times Union. His pieces have been well-written, thought-provoking and offered a rare insight to the inner workings of a college basketball team.
There are a number of players throughout the league doing blogs for their respective college's web sites this year, but Magee's has been far and away the best this viewer has seen.
His most recent, and last, blog item about reflecting on his and his teammates' time at Siena, after their college basketball careers ended with the recent first-round NCAA tournament loss to Purdue, is outstanding and I hope you'll take a look.
Here's the link:
http://blog.timesunion.com/collegesports/tuesdays-with-cory-the-final-chapter/7791/
For a few years, early in my journalistic career, your blogger covered Army basketball. It was so long ago that Mike Krzyzewski was the coach at West Point. Dealing with the program there was a breeze. Every question drew a "Yes, sir" response and politeness.
And, then, I've spent the past 25 years around MAAC basketball thinking that my regular contact with coaches and players wasn't that far removed from those days around Army hoops.
The point of all of this is that one of my all-time favorites, someone who hasn't even been on the court for the past two years, will be moving on to post-collegiate life soon.
That would be Cory Magee who served as a Siena "student assistant" coach the past two years after suffering a variety of concussion-like symptoms from an elbow to the head during preseason drills prior to the 2008-09 season.
Magee, a hard-working 6-foot-7 post player, initially committed to Canisius and, then, opted out of that commitment after a coaching change to come to Siena.
Your blogger is honored to have been the first reporter to have written an extensive piece about Magee during his freshman season, writing about his thoughts about playing against Canisius for the first time in his college playing career.
The memory is of sitting in an airport talking for about 20 minutes with an articulate young man with a great sense of humor, and Magee's demeanor has gone unchanged over the years despite the premature end of his playing career.
But, maybe, another career will be the result. Magee, a true college basketball fan and historian, has a dream now of becoming an analyst some day.
If that ever happens, the foundation will have been his last season as a non-player when he wrote a weekly blog offering for the Albany Times Union. His pieces have been well-written, thought-provoking and offered a rare insight to the inner workings of a college basketball team.
There are a number of players throughout the league doing blogs for their respective college's web sites this year, but Magee's has been far and away the best this viewer has seen.
His most recent, and last, blog item about reflecting on his and his teammates' time at Siena, after their college basketball careers ended with the recent first-round NCAA tournament loss to Purdue, is outstanding and I hope you'll take a look.
Here's the link:
http://blog.timesunion.com/collegesports/tuesdays-with-cory-the-final-chapter/7791/
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Hewitt, McCaffery Rumors Are Unfounded
Coaches come and coaches go so quickly following the end of the regular season that those who like watching call the movement the "Coaching Carousel."
There will definitely be coaches both from the conference and with conference ties either moving, or considering possible moves.
The two "hottest" prospects for moves both have Siena ties.
Those would be current head coach Fran McCaffery, and current Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt, who was at Siena for three seasons (1997-98 through 1999-2000).
The Bergen Record of New Jersey is reporting that McCaffery is the "leading candidate" for the vacancy at Seton Hall created, coincidentally, by the firing there of Bobby Gonzalez, who also has MAAC ties from his days as Manhattan's head coach.
But, not so fast.
McCaffery reportedly is currently receiving $500,000 annually to coach at Siena. Published reports indicate Seton Hall isn't likely to go higher than $700,000 annually. Considering the significant cost-of-living differences between bucolic upstate New York and trendy northern New Jersey ... that's not much of a difference.
Plus, McCaffery has three school-aged children, as well as a 3-year old. Those with families know how difficult it is to uproot that situation, and would wonder if it's worth doing so for a relatively minimal salary increase.
McCaffery has built a good thing at Siena, and isn't likely to be in the proverbial "hot seat" even if he had a couple of down seasons.
Then, there's the thought that Gonzalez didn't exactly leave the Seton Hall program in the best of shape. Would McCaffery be willing to step into that situation?
Tuesday's New York Post, which is widely acknowledged for its inclination to stretch the truth a little when it comes to news reporting, seems surprisingly accurate when it refers to McCaffery's interest in Seton Hall thusly:
"It is believed McCaffery ... is looking for a more lucrative contract elsewhere," the Post reports.
The "elsewhere" is not Seton Hall.
Still, the rumors concerning a potential McCaffery move are so prevalent that Siena athletic director John D'Argenio issued the following comment:
“Fran has had a tremendous amount of success at Siena both in the MAAC and at the national level. I would expect that other schools would be interested in him and his talents as a coach. I don’t think it is appropriate to comment on specific jobs or on another school’s search process," said D'Argenio, in a statement released by the school on Tuesday.
And, then, there are the strong rumors that Hewitt is headed for St. John's, ones again mostly being propagated by the New York Post, and other NYC media outlets that appear to be jumping on that particular reportorial bandwagon without much background.
The Post "reported" that St. John's would soon be requesting permission from Georgia Tech officials to talk to Hewitt, and that the former Siena coach has been identified as the Johnnies' "leading candidate."
Of course those suppositions are advanced without knowledge of Hewitt's current situation at Georgia Tech.
For those who perceive that Hewitt is on the "hot seat" at Georgia Tech, which is why he'd be interested in moving on, consider his contract.
In 2004, Hewitt signed a six-year contract with Georgia Tech that included a "roll-over" plan at the end of each season, meaning Hewitt always has six years remaining on the deal at the end of each season, provided the school does not notifiy him otherwise, which it has never done.
His contract, this season (according to tax documents available on the internet), called for compensation of $1.375 million. Next season his salary will go up to $1.425 million. Should Georgia Tech opt to dismiss Hewitt right now, it would owe him five years of salary at the $1.425 figure, or $7.125 million.
And, then, here's what it would cost Hewitt (or, another school) to leave on his own accord.
The contract has a "buy out" clause, to be paid to Georgia Tech by Hewitt (or another school) of $3.4 million.
Hewitt, according to published reports in the Atlanta area, is quoted as saying that it's "highly unlikely" that he'll leave Georgia Tech.
While your blogger hasn't had any contact with either McCaffery or Hewitt about the most-prominent rumors (neither is accepting inquiries from the media right now), I know both well enough to offer two educated opinions ...
1) McCaffery might be a strong candidate for a higher-level position, and might well leave Siena in coming weeks ... but, it won't be for Seton Hall.
2) Hewitt isn't going anywhere.
There will definitely be coaches both from the conference and with conference ties either moving, or considering possible moves.
The two "hottest" prospects for moves both have Siena ties.
Those would be current head coach Fran McCaffery, and current Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt, who was at Siena for three seasons (1997-98 through 1999-2000).
The Bergen Record of New Jersey is reporting that McCaffery is the "leading candidate" for the vacancy at Seton Hall created, coincidentally, by the firing there of Bobby Gonzalez, who also has MAAC ties from his days as Manhattan's head coach.
But, not so fast.
McCaffery reportedly is currently receiving $500,000 annually to coach at Siena. Published reports indicate Seton Hall isn't likely to go higher than $700,000 annually. Considering the significant cost-of-living differences between bucolic upstate New York and trendy northern New Jersey ... that's not much of a difference.
Plus, McCaffery has three school-aged children, as well as a 3-year old. Those with families know how difficult it is to uproot that situation, and would wonder if it's worth doing so for a relatively minimal salary increase.
McCaffery has built a good thing at Siena, and isn't likely to be in the proverbial "hot seat" even if he had a couple of down seasons.
Then, there's the thought that Gonzalez didn't exactly leave the Seton Hall program in the best of shape. Would McCaffery be willing to step into that situation?
Tuesday's New York Post, which is widely acknowledged for its inclination to stretch the truth a little when it comes to news reporting, seems surprisingly accurate when it refers to McCaffery's interest in Seton Hall thusly:
"It is believed McCaffery ... is looking for a more lucrative contract elsewhere," the Post reports.
The "elsewhere" is not Seton Hall.
Still, the rumors concerning a potential McCaffery move are so prevalent that Siena athletic director John D'Argenio issued the following comment:
“Fran has had a tremendous amount of success at Siena both in the MAAC and at the national level. I would expect that other schools would be interested in him and his talents as a coach. I don’t think it is appropriate to comment on specific jobs or on another school’s search process," said D'Argenio, in a statement released by the school on Tuesday.
And, then, there are the strong rumors that Hewitt is headed for St. John's, ones again mostly being propagated by the New York Post, and other NYC media outlets that appear to be jumping on that particular reportorial bandwagon without much background.
The Post "reported" that St. John's would soon be requesting permission from Georgia Tech officials to talk to Hewitt, and that the former Siena coach has been identified as the Johnnies' "leading candidate."
Of course those suppositions are advanced without knowledge of Hewitt's current situation at Georgia Tech.
For those who perceive that Hewitt is on the "hot seat" at Georgia Tech, which is why he'd be interested in moving on, consider his contract.
In 2004, Hewitt signed a six-year contract with Georgia Tech that included a "roll-over" plan at the end of each season, meaning Hewitt always has six years remaining on the deal at the end of each season, provided the school does not notifiy him otherwise, which it has never done.
His contract, this season (according to tax documents available on the internet), called for compensation of $1.375 million. Next season his salary will go up to $1.425 million. Should Georgia Tech opt to dismiss Hewitt right now, it would owe him five years of salary at the $1.425 figure, or $7.125 million.
And, then, here's what it would cost Hewitt (or, another school) to leave on his own accord.
The contract has a "buy out" clause, to be paid to Georgia Tech by Hewitt (or another school) of $3.4 million.
Hewitt, according to published reports in the Atlanta area, is quoted as saying that it's "highly unlikely" that he'll leave Georgia Tech.
While your blogger hasn't had any contact with either McCaffery or Hewitt about the most-prominent rumors (neither is accepting inquiries from the media right now), I know both well enough to offer two educated opinions ...
1) McCaffery might be a strong candidate for a higher-level position, and might well leave Siena in coming weeks ... but, it won't be for Seton Hall.
2) Hewitt isn't going anywhere.
Post-Season Results for Fairfield, Iona
Here's how MAAC teams did in non-NCAA post-season tournaments, with some observations:
- The Iona women drew a most-difficult first-round opponent in the women's NIT, and suffered an 88-53 loss to Maryland this past Friday.
Sophomore forward Kristina Ford had 20 points for the Gaels, who finished second in the MAAC's regular-season standings and wind up 18-14 overall. it was Iona's third trip to a national post-season tournament in the past four seasons under coach Tony Borzella.
Although the Gaels lose first-team all-star guard Thazina Cook, and solid inside player Anna McLean, there is enough talent returning for Iona to be strong again next season.
If any team appears capable next season of finally ending Marist's lengthy run of success in recent years, it is likely to be Iona.
- Fairfield had both men's and women's teams play in the post season, and both squads won first-round games.
The men played in the CollegeInisder.com Postseason Tournament. There, the Stags earned a 101-96 overtime victory in a first-round game against George Mason's in the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va. Senior center Anthony Johnson had 25 points and 11 rebounds, while freshman guard Derek Needham had 21 points and 7 assists. The game was played on March 16.
The Stags' season ended on Monday with a 73-55 loss to Creighton in the event's second round at Creighton's Omaha Civic Auditorium home court in Omaha, Neb. Johnson had 19 points and seven rebounds, while Needham had 15 points and five assists.
Fairfield finishes with a 23-11 record accounting for the highest single-season victory total in school history.
Johnson, the 6-8, 250-pound tower of inside power, will be tough to replace. But Needham, already an elite-level player at this level, could very well be the MAAC's top player next season. This blogger's early opinion is that Fairfield is next season's conference team to beat.
- The Fairfield women got that program's first-ever post-season victory when it earned a 69-55 Women's Basketball Invitational victory over Towson last Thursday in a game played at Fairfield's Alumni Gymnasiu. Senior center Stephanie Geehan finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots. Sophomore guard Desiree Pina added 14 points and four assists.
The Stags then lost the next round, dropping a 59-36 decision, at Appalachian State, the event's top-seeded team.
Geehan had 10 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots. She finishes her career with 287 career blocks, the highest career total in MAAC history.
Fairfield finished with a 20-14 overall record, the second time in the past three seasons iit has won 20 games since coach Joe Frager took over the program. Overall, it was Fairfield's eighth 20-win season in the program's history.
The Stags then lost in
- The Iona women drew a most-difficult first-round opponent in the women's NIT, and suffered an 88-53 loss to Maryland this past Friday.
Sophomore forward Kristina Ford had 20 points for the Gaels, who finished second in the MAAC's regular-season standings and wind up 18-14 overall. it was Iona's third trip to a national post-season tournament in the past four seasons under coach Tony Borzella.
Although the Gaels lose first-team all-star guard Thazina Cook, and solid inside player Anna McLean, there is enough talent returning for Iona to be strong again next season.
If any team appears capable next season of finally ending Marist's lengthy run of success in recent years, it is likely to be Iona.
- Fairfield had both men's and women's teams play in the post season, and both squads won first-round games.
The men played in the CollegeInisder.com Postseason Tournament. There, the Stags earned a 101-96 overtime victory in a first-round game against George Mason's in the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va. Senior center Anthony Johnson had 25 points and 11 rebounds, while freshman guard Derek Needham had 21 points and 7 assists. The game was played on March 16.
The Stags' season ended on Monday with a 73-55 loss to Creighton in the event's second round at Creighton's Omaha Civic Auditorium home court in Omaha, Neb. Johnson had 19 points and seven rebounds, while Needham had 15 points and five assists.
Fairfield finishes with a 23-11 record accounting for the highest single-season victory total in school history.
Johnson, the 6-8, 250-pound tower of inside power, will be tough to replace. But Needham, already an elite-level player at this level, could very well be the MAAC's top player next season. This blogger's early opinion is that Fairfield is next season's conference team to beat.
- The Fairfield women got that program's first-ever post-season victory when it earned a 69-55 Women's Basketball Invitational victory over Towson last Thursday in a game played at Fairfield's Alumni Gymnasiu. Senior center Stephanie Geehan finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots. Sophomore guard Desiree Pina added 14 points and four assists.
The Stags then lost the next round, dropping a 59-36 decision, at Appalachian State, the event's top-seeded team.
Geehan had 10 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots. She finishes her career with 287 career blocks, the highest career total in MAAC history.
Fairfield finished with a 20-14 overall record, the second time in the past three seasons iit has won 20 games since coach Joe Frager took over the program. Overall, it was Fairfield's eighth 20-win season in the program's history.
The Stags then lost in
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