Quinnipiac gearing up for second season with Pecora, and first with overwhelming expectations

Tom Pecora addresses his team’s prospects at Quinnipiac media day. Bobcats were picked as favorite to win MAAC. (Photo by Quinnipiac Athletics)

By Ethan Hurwitz (@HurwitzSports)

HAMDEN, Conn. — It was an offseason of golf and Italian boat rides for Tom Pecora.

The Quinnipiac men’s basketball head coach — and reigning MAAC Coach of the Year — took a few weeks and finally made the trip to Florence with his wife after having to cancel the first two times.

“We think buildings are old here, and then you’re inside structures over there that are five, six, seven hundred, 1,000 years old,” Pecora said during Wednesday's media day. “It was cool, and it was good to go somewhere without a team.”

Once the summer rolled around, it was time to get back to work — and back to his team.

“We’re excited for the season to start, I think the guys have been so locked in,” Pecora said. “We have shirts that say, ‘FINISH,’ and we gave them out the first day of practice. They've had a great work ethic about them.”

One quick look around the Bobcats’ starting lineup appears to be the same as last season’s regular season champions. Other than Matt Balanc — the MAAC Player of the Year who went overseas post-graduation — the rest of the starting lineup all remains intact. 

Graduate student guard Savion Lewis, graduate student forward Paul Otieno, senior forward Alexis Reyes and junior forward Amarri Monroe all return for another season in Hamden. It’s rare in today’s era of college athletics to retain so many key players, and Pecora’s staff was able to keep the core of the rotation that will now serve as the squad’s four captains. 

“We know what our culture is, we stay true to each other and I think every day, we come in knowing that we have to get better,” Reyes said. “We just, every day, come in and get better.”

But how much better can these Bobcats truly get? Quinnipiac went 15-5 in MAAC play a year ago and fell one defensive rebound shy of playing in the conference championship game. What more does this team really need to do?

“Defense wins,” senior guard Doug Young said about the mentality of this team. “That’s what wins championships.”

“At the end of the day, we didn’t win anything,” Monroe, the MAAC Preseason Player of the Year, said. “We’re just gonna embrace it. We’re not gonna take no days off, everybody’s going to be prepared and perform every day.”

Defensively, Monroe — who underwent a name change this offseason from Amarri Tice — and Young are two of the grittiest guys on the floor when it comes to causing chaos for opponents. It’s also the immense depth that this squad brought in to replace Balanc. 

In the starting five, junior guard Ryan Mabrey is likely slotting in as the team’s shooting guard. The transfer from Miami University gives the team a crafty shooter along the perimeter and was so highly coveted by this coaching staff, they didn’t even want it known that he was on campus for a visit. 

“He’s an exceptional passer,” Pecora said. “He’s got a great feel for the game. That was the one spot, you know, with Matt Balanc moving on at that two guard spot, we wanted to make sure we could bring in a veteran.”

“A lot of people have definitely stood out to me,” Mabrey added on who caught his eye this summer. “They’re all great athletes. (Freshman guard Jaden Zimmerman) has definitely stood out. He’s really athletic, has got a nose for the ball, just plays hard.”

That has been one of the biggest endorsements that the coaching staff gave its freshman class yesterday. Zimmerman, guard Samson Reilly, and forwards Grant Randall, Braylan Ritvo and Spence Wewe have all opened eyes. They may not acquire significant playing time, but a solid rotation of the young players will help alleviate some of the pressures the starting five may face. 

“They can play multiple positions, which is something I love,” Pecora said. “They’re going to continue to just grow and grow, and hopefully not too fast, because I’d like them to stay a couple years.”

Rounding out the roster includes more depth pieces, including graduate student forward Richie Springs, who grabbed some key minutes down the stretch a year prior. 

“You compete for minutes,” Pecora said. “Is Paul a better player if he’s only gotta play 28 minutes? Can we get 12 minutes to share? And Richie obviously can play the four and the five. There’s a lot of different options out there.”

Up first on the docket for the Bobcats is a November 4 date with crosstown rival Yale, who came off a resounding upset against Auburn in the first round of last year’s NCAA Tournament. While Pecora mentioned his team is fully healthy, minus a few of the common bumps and bruises, it is expected to be a solid start for the campaign.

Some players are looking forward to Yale, others have their calendars circles for St. John’s (November 9) and Saint Peter’s (January 3 and February 28). At the end of the day, the one game this team is really preaching about is the one that would catapult it into its first March Madness appearance. 

“The main goal is to win a MAAC championship,” Lewis said. “The personal goals will come, the accolades will come. I believe that if I focus on giving my all to this team and being able to win, then everything good is going to come from that. It’s us, that’s all we can focus on.”

And once their goal is achieved, Pecora will get back onto the golf course more in the offseason. 

“I’m getting old, man, and I don’t work at it enough to have a great short game,” Pecora said. “I have to find more time to do that. If we have another winning season, next year I will.”