Columbia’s undefeated start a credit to Lions’ veteran core overseeing revival

Columbia celebrates 8-0 start after defeating New Hampshire Monday. (Photo by Josh Wang/Columbia Athletics)

NEW YORK — The best college basketball team in the state currently does not belong to the program whose once-ubiquitous advertisements promoted itself as such in a now-bygone era. Nor is it the one-time regional power attempting to recapture its past glory under the watchful eye of a Hall of Fame coach.

It is, however, a longtime academic power whose football team tasted championship glory for the first time since the John F. Kennedy administration, a success story that is being replicated on the hardwood.

At 8-0, Columbia is in the midst of its best start since 1969, a stretch headlined by the Lions’ upset victory at Villanova on November 6. And with the majority of last year’s roster back in Morningside Heights—only two players graduated this past May—the already strong team chemistry has now given way to more tangible results.

“I thought last year, we made some dramatic strides but ended the year on a poor note,” head coach Jim Engles recalled. “I thought we did some good stuff in the spring that carried over, and obviously, to win a couple of games on the road to start the season really gave us some mental momentum. I think, now with some home games, you’re starting to see a little bit of it come out.”

“We’re getting it now to the point where we’re starting to win and we’re getting momentum in a positive fashion. I think the guys have really been responding very well, and when you win, practices just have a different feel to them and you’re able to work on more stuff. I think that’s what we’re doing.”

Now in his ninth year at Columbia, Jim Engles is reversing fortunes for Lions in similar vein to how he built NJIT program into a winner. (Photo by Josh Wang/Columbia Athletics)

Engles is no stranger to building a winner, having taken over an NJIT program mired in a losing streak that eventually reached 51 games before it was broken in his first season at the helm, then building the Highlanders into a unit that won 20 games in back-to-back seasons and reached the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournaments in each of those years while upsetting a nationally-ranked Michigan team in 2014. While the success in the Garden State may be an inaccurate comparison, the commitment to turning it around has manifested in both places.

“It’s just a different environment,” Engles said of the parallels between NJIT and Columbia. “We weren’t in a league at NJIT, so there’s a lot of things that we’ve had to go through with development here over the past couple of years. The guys, just a credit to them, they’ve really stuck together. It happens over time when you have guys who stay together—when you watch NCAA Tournament games, the mid-major teams who have seniors wind up beating these teams because they stick around and they develop a chemistry—and I think you’re starting to see that chemistry come out with us. It’s taken a long time, but I’m just proud of the way the guys have stuck with it. They’re really starting to click now, and we have to continue to sort of push forward with it.”

“I think it helped tremendously,” senior guard Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa added. “I think everyone on our team just has great chemistry in the sense that we know where guys are gonna be, what they want to do. I think it’s really benefited us for sure.”

Rubio De La Rosa has become an intriguing phenomenon, still unknown in some circles due to the lack of attention the Lions receive both on a local and national level. But the native of the Dominican Republic is averaging nearly 23 points per game—just outside the top 10 in the nation—while shooting a blistering 56 percent from the floor and 52 from 3-point range. A selfless, tireless worker, Rubio De La Rosa was hesitant to compliment his offensive explosion, but a change in tactics in the offseason has been responsible for the development.

“Coach Engles was the one who told me that I need to be more aggressive,” he said. “So far, it’s working. That’s what I’ve been trying to do during the season. I had to earn it.”

“He was in a different situation when he was here,” Engles said of Rubio De La Rosa’s work ethic upon his arrival. “He was a kid who was still not proficient in English, it’s legitimately his second language. To get thrown into an environment like Columbia—which is good mid-major basketball and then you’re talking about one of the best academic schools in the world—that just gives you an idea. He’s had to do a lot on his own just to be able to sort of survive in the way that he’s able to be consistent. It’s really his super talent. He doesn’t get too high, he doesn’t get too low, and his leadership has become prominent now that he’s become more comfortable with speaking. A lot of that development has shown up, too. That’s why I think you’re seeing a completely different player as a senior.”

Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa has overcome language barriers to emerge as explosive scorer, averaging nearly 23 points per game for Lions. (Photo by Josh Wang/Columbia Athletics)

“When he stepped on campus, he was our best player. We lost everybody from COVID, so he was literally our best player and had to do everything. Now, you’re starting to see the other guys give back a little bit, and I think because of that, you’re starting to see a lot of the talents that Geronimo has. The game is becoming a lot easier for him, he’s not working as hard, but he’s working more efficiently. I think it has a lot to do with his mindset. He comes in, he’s never frustrated. Honestly, he’s never had a bad practice, he always gives his best and always gives us a solid effort. Now you see the guys that are starting to mature around him, and I think that’s a big reason why he’s started to play the way he’s playing.”

Rubio De La Rosa is one of three seniors in Columbia’s rotation—swingman Noah Robledo and forward Jake Tavroff are the others—that has seen the ascent of junior guards Kenny Noland and Avery Brown in the backcourt, while fellow juniors Blair Thompson and Zine Eddine Bedri man the paint. Freshman Mason Ritter has also produced more recently, including an eight-point, eight-rebound outing Monday against New Hampshire, prompting Engles to laud the strength of his collective squad.

“It’s not one guy,” he said. “Everybody’s contributing to everybody else. To me, that’s a sign of a really healthy, selfless team that understands. That’s the thing that makes me most proud. With Zino, with Mason and with Jake, it’s like a Frankenstein five. When you put all their stats together, you have like, an all-league five man, and they’ve really played tremendously. When one guy gets in foul trouble, the next guy comes in and it allows us to do some different things. Everyone has a little bit of a different strength, and it’s really maximized. We’re getting some really quality minutes out of that position right now.”

“That’s what’s special about our team,” Noland echoed. “We have a lot of guys who can score. So G, as talented as he is, he might have one night where he’s not (scoring), so I think it’s extremely important for everybody else to try to share the load a little bit.”

Noland is also an integral piece to the puzzle, a pure point guard who is finding a rhythm as a second scorer behind Rubio De La Rosa. The North Carolina native is averaging over 14 points per game in Columbia’s eight contests thus far, but has supplemented those numbers with over four rebounds and 3.5 assists per night as well for a floor general who has been a natural fit to drive the proverbial car for the Lions on offense.

“Kenny’s really somebody who sacrificed a lot for the program,” Engles said. “He’s somebody who probably could have started as a freshman and been more of a focal point for our team. Over his first two years, he really sacrificed in order to keep everybody together, and accepted a role that really helped out the rest of the program. When Zavian (McLean) left, I think it was just natural for Kenny to move into the spot. We really knew he was capable of doing this, so he’s just making it a lot easier for everybody.”

With two home games against Division III opponents sandwiching a road trip to Albany and a post-Christmas soiree against Fairfield, it is safe to assume Columbia will have 10 wins before the new year, perhaps possibly start 12-0 before visiting Rutgers on December 30 in what will undoubtedly be the biggest game of the Lions’ season to date. And regardless of what Ivy League play has in store, the morale on Broadway and 120th Street may be at its highest since Kyle Smith’s 2015-16 outfit won the CIT shortly before Engles returned to continue the winning tradition.

“They’re a confident group,” Engles said of this Lion team. “They’ve been through a lot, and this group has been together for a long time. The confidence is something that’s always been there, and there’s been a belief. Even when we’ve had some down, there’s still that belief that they’ve had. They believe in the program and they believe in what Columbia is. It’s really just a good team environment, and they really enjoy the situation, they enjoy what the challenges are. I’m just really happy that we’ve been able to see some progress and some wins on the other end.”