Masiello "promotes within," but still trusts process as Jaspers begin second straight title defense

Fans and media are concerned about how Manhattan will replace its two leading scorers from last season, but Steve Masiello credits culture where Jaspers promote from within as one of biggest reasons why he remains confident that his team will remain in MAAC's upper echelon. (Photo courtesy of the Asbury Park Press)

After a 2-7 start last season, Steve Masiello heard the same questions directed toward him at the beginning of the year, and they grew ever louder.

How will you replace Rhamel Brown down low? How about the scoring prowess and underrated rebounding ability of George Beamon? Or the clutch shots of Michael Alvarado, the fearless point guard who was as big a part of the Jaspers' NCAA Tournament run as anyone?

The coach's answers were brought to life in the talent he recruited to replace his triumvirate of seniors, players like Emmy Andujar, Ashton Pankey, and Shane Richards, who had already served as vital cogs in the rotation and now received the opportunity to shine on their own.

"The media was having panic attacks when we lost Rhamel, George, and Mike," Masiello recounted when Manhattan struggled to get out of the box in the first half of the season before hitting their best stride in the heart of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference schedule, a calling card of sorts for his Jasper teams in each of his first four years in charge. "We've always been kind of a 'replace by committee' team. I don't think we've ever had one guy that's been dominant for us. We've had great players in George and Emmy and different guys."

"One thing we do in this program is we promote within," he added. "We have a farm system within where guys get better, individual improvement, skill development, so all that matters is the opening up of the role and that's happened. Guys now have the opportunity to show what they can do, and all those guys are going to make strides. I think they're going to be different than guys we've had in the past. AP was different than Rhamel, Emmy was different than Mike or George. It's a different type of player, but it's still extremely effective."

The most prevalent example of the new wave of prospects exists on the front line, where Pankey and Andujar's graduations give way to sophomores Calvin Crawford and Zane Waterman, as well as juniors Carlton Allen and Jermaine Lawrence, the latter of whom Masiello remains very high on even after an inconsistent sophomore campaign.

"I think he's one of the best players in the conference," Masiello directed toward Lawrence, the transfer from Cincinnati whose 19-point effort at Marist last February offered a glimpse into just how dominant the 6-10 forward could be. "I just think like anything else, getting comfortable in his own skin, understanding what we want from him is very important, understanding what makes him successful and what doesn't. I think he's figured that out now."

Lawrence's development, and Manhattan's continued evolution has only reaffirmed the faith Masiello has instilled in the process of retooling his team, something he bought stock in during the 2012-13 season, when the Jaspers lost Beamon for all but four games to an ankle injury, yet still managed to get on a hot streak toward the end of the year to reach the MAAC championship game, falling just three points short against Iona before winning the league crown in each of the last two seasons.

"Like anything else, for me, I've always been a process person," the coach reiterated. "I've always been a person that I'm not worried about results, especially early. I'm about the process, and if I know our process is consistent, I know at the end we'll figure it out. So for me, the key intangibles are the feedback, and what do we do with that feedback? How do we apply it and how do we take it to the next level? What I really want to concentrate on is, how do we make something really good, phenomenal, or special?"

"So whether we come out 6-2 or 2-5, it's not really going to change my approach," Masiello expounded. "I understand that I have to have this team ready, clicking on all cylinders, playing the best basketball of any team in this conference come March 1. That's my job."