Grasso and Bryant maintaining hunger heading into year two

Jared Grasso tripled Bryant's win total last season, and now prepares to take next step leading Bulldog program with mounds of upside. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

When you're part of a program whose crowning achievement was five NCAA Tournament appearances during your eight years there, expectations are naturally higher for you wherever you go.

Such is the case for Jared Grasso, who set out on his own last season after helping Tim Cluess cultivate a mid-major dynasty at Iona. Although Grasso, now entering his second season in charge at Bryant University, did not cut down a net last season in Rhode Island, his impact was profound and noticeable, more than tripling the Bulldogs' win total from the 3-28 campaign he was hired on the heels of. And this season, the sense of urgency is greater on the 39-year-old upstart, who firmly believes that his team can not only contend, but win, and win big.

"We weren't the most talented group, but our kids played their tails off," Grasso recounted of a Bryant team that nearly upset Iowa on the road late in the non-conference season last year, a testament to the relentless competitive spirit the Bulldogs bring to the floor on a nightly basis. "They gave me everything they had. They bought in, they cared about winning, they cared about each other, so I really enjoyed coaching them. I think we were able to start changing the culture a little bit, and I think that was the first step in the turnaround of this program."

"I'm excited about the returning guys we have, because they kind of understand me and how I'm wired, the way I run our program. Obviously, I'm excited about the recruiting class we have coming in, it's a nice mix of returning guys who played a lot of minutes and understand me now, and some incoming guys who hopefully upgrade our talent level."

Despite losing an all-Northeast Conference point guard when Ikenna Ndugba was forced to redshirt due to shoulder surgery, Grasso forged ahead and put together a product that, on any given night, was capable of being the best team in the NEC. Ndugba returns, as does senior guard Adam Grant, and the progress the Bulldogs made in a short time while simultaneously behind the eight-ball is something the coach still marvels at.

"It wasn't about wins and losses to me," Grasso admitted. "The first thing was about changing the culture to what fits me. The biggest thing for me was setting some standards in terms of work ethic and culturally, what we're going to be about, and I think we set those things in place. Our team looked a little different than we thought, but the kids competed really hard and I think our guys overachieved with their effort, because they played hard for each other. It's not a win-loss thing for me, it's about our product getting better and playing for each other every night."

"Ike's had a great summer," he added of Ndugba. "It's nice having him for the spring and then the summer, and I think he adds some intangible things at the point guard position that we didn't have last year. He led the league in assists and steals, and he's naturally a leader. There's just a lot of things he adds to our group that we didn't have, and those things, I think, will really help us."

While Ndugba and Grant anchor the backcourt, the Bulldogs' front line has taken a similarly sturdy shape. Bash Townes is back for his senior season, as is Colombian Juan Cardenas, whom Grasso plucked from the junior college ranks last year and developed into one of the better big men in the NEC.

"Bash turned into a leader," Grasso said of Townes. "He dropped 30 pounds, completely transformed his game where he really extended his range shooting the ball. He's down to about 245 pounds right now, and I'm just proud of the growth he's made as a person, as a player, and as a leader. He's a kid I trust and can rely on, and there's a loyalty between me, him and Adam. We went through a lot last year, and I challenged them. They didn't back down from it, through some losses and some adversity, and Bash was at the forefront of this group -- I want to lead this group and I want to win, He's a kid with a chip on his shoulder who wants to go out a winner."

"Juan Cardenas, his last ten games, he was as good as anybody in the league. I thought in the conference tournament game against Saint Francis, he was the best player on the floor. Keith Braxton was the Player of the Year, but Juan was as good as anybody in that game, and that's continued through the offseason. We went through a rough patch early on -- I had really high expectations for him, because I knew what he could become -- but I told my staff, 'We're not going to know what he is until January,' and I ended up being right because once we got into league play, he started playing better and better. He can do so many things, and I think his best basketball is ahead of him. He has a chance to make money playing this game."

Grasso's incoming class includes tough Syracuse guard Charles Pride, who turned down St. Bonaventure to play for the Bulldogs, as well as high-scoring Bronx guard Mike Green out of Mount St. Michael and Benson Lin, a Taiwanese import who decommitted from Manhattan to sign with Bryant, something Grasso also experienced at Iona when Rickey McGill did the same thing before winning four Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championships in New Rochelle. All told, the core and its supporting cast adds up to a program that, despite its sixth-place standing in the NEC preseason poll, is certainly able to break down the door and deliver a championship to the Ocean State for the first time at the Division I level.

"I love our character," Grasso proclaimed. "I love the kids we have, I enjoy being around them. I think eventually, we're going to be good. How long it's going to take, I don't know, but we're going to work our tails off to be great by November 5. I'm going to play a little differently than we did last year, but we love our character, our work ethic and competitiveness, and I think I like our talent level so far. I do know that we have really good character and really good kids who are committed to the things I want, so now there's sixteen guys in our locker room who know what they signed up for. I think we have guys who want to be held to that standard, so that's the most important thing to me."