John Gallagher is enthusiastic about Manhattan’s chances this season as he continues climb with Jaspers in MAAC. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)
Manhattan University enjoyed one of its more successful men’s basketball seasons in recent memory this past year, yet it feels as though the upward trajectory in Riverdale remains largely unnoticed.
Such anonymity is no fault of the Jaspers, but the team in the northwest corner of The Bronx may soon prove that there is once again more to local basketball than St. John’s. And on the heels of the program’s first winning season and postseason since 2015, head coach John Gallagher remains confident in the course he and his staff has steered through waters many felt were too deep to navigate following the departures of Steve Masiello and RaShawn Stores five months apart from one another.
“Manhattan is a great mid-major job because of the alums,” the ebullient Gallagher reiterated as he looks to push the Jaspers further up the ladder following a 17-win campaign and College Basketball Invitational berth in 2024-25. “A lot of people care, a lot of people want to win. We’ve worked hard at raising money, and the alums have worked harder. This is the reality: The system’s going to be conducive to the alumni base that wants to see their program win. I’m not patting myself on the back here. The momentum is just amazing. I’m out every week with different alums and they’re just saying, ‘what do we need to do?’ And I just tip my hat to them. We have momentum because of our alumni base.”
Not only is the passionate support — a constant in Manhattan’s most memorable years under the likes of Masiello, Bobby Gonzalez and Fran Fraschilla — back, but so too is the Jaspers’ core from last season’s breakout. Four of Gallagher’s top seven players resisted the lure of the transfer portal in the offseason, headlined by reigning MAAC Rookie of the Year Will Sydnor, whose combination of length and physicality will be the anchor at both ends of the floor.
Will Sydnor attempts to follow up MAAC Rookie of the Year season with strong sophomore campaign. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)
“His offseason’s been impressive,” Gallagher said of Sydnor. “We focused on retainment and selling what the vision is, and how good you could be back-to-back years. Then the next step is going to even bigger than you could imagine. First, his defense has improved, and that’s what we really challenged him on. His length is unbelievable, and then his rebounding’s really improved. I don’t know how much you can improve your scoring when you’re scoring at that rate as a freshman, but it has improved. That’s what we kind of focused on.”
Sydnor will not be alone as an incumbent, as Manhattan was also able to secure role reprisals from guards Jaden Winston and Devin Dinkins, the latter of whom will now enter the starting lineup after his spark plug role off the bench landed the George Mason expatriate recognition as the MAAC’s Sixth Man of the Year.
Jaden Winston, a constant at point guard spot for Manhattan over past two seasons, returns for his third year as floor general. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)
“Let’s start with Jaden. For me, he’s just the most integral part of the unit because he’s been in my brain and I’ve been in his brain for two years,” Gallagher said, praising Winston. “It’s hard to do. You can’t just go buy it at the store, you have to go through it. Now when you have a guy that’s been next to you and just has been in the film room with you, just you and him studying the game, there’s such a trust factor. For him, the most improved thing is his shooting. He just took a huge jump this summer, and in practices, we rated it right around 46 percent from three. That shows his commitment to the shot, and I now want him shooting every time he catches it. The confidence I have in his shooting is something I may not have had, but as the head coach, you know a guy that deserves to shoot it, and he’s put the work in, he’s put the time in. When he’s shooting it the way he’s shot it this summer, we’ll be an extremely hard out every night.”
“For us to have two point guards to start, (Dinkins is) a guy that can go for 25 any night, can really stroke it. His consistency is unbelievable. He’s an all-conference player, and I think for us, his ability to shoot it the way he shot it last year and through the summer is something I’m really excited about.”
While Winston and Dinkins lead a fortified backcourt, sophomore Fraser Roxburgh is already in line for an increased role after missing time during the MAAC slate last year due to injury. Gallagher was effusive in his praise of the Australian wing, who could see additional time as a ball handler to supplement a burgeoning skill set.
“I think Will or him, on our roster, are guys that a real mismatch nightmare because of their size,” the coach said of Roxburgh. “We could play him at the point, that’s how good he is with the ball right now. I remember watching the 10 p.m. games and watching Boise State with the big Aussie (Nick Duncan) who was basically a 6-foot-8 point guard, and I thought to myself, ‘wouldn’t it be great to get one of those one day?’ Well, the day’s here. We have him, and he’s just skilled, he’s tough. His shape has really improved. That’s the main thing this summer. I was real concerned with his shape last year — I think that played a factor in his injury — but I think now, his body is prime for a really good year.”
“Fraser’s skill set is unique, inside-out like Will. He’s a great rebounder and he’s a ferocious competitor. By the numbers, when he was on the floor, our point differential was huge. When he was healthy and he was on the floor, we weren’t losing a lot of games. Him and Will are going to be on the floor a lot. I like those matchups, we just have to make sure we’re making great decisions.”
Stymied by the injury bug when it appeared that Manhattan’s depth would manifest itself at times last year, the Jaspers are healthier coming into the year than at any point last season. Defensive specialist Brett Rumpel, recovering from a second ACL injury in as many years, will be phased back into the rotation gradually, but Gallagher was quick to highlight the low-pressure situation he will find himself in as a result of a larger supporting cast that includes Erik Oliver-Bush, a Division II transfer from Saint Anselm, and junior college import Anthony Isaac, a Brooklyn forward from the same program Manhattan plucked Swish Gilyard from a year ago.
“He’s a bigger version of him, and he’s a high-major rebounder,” Gallagher said of the 6-foot-6 Isaac and his similarities to Gilyard, who played above his stature and was one of the Jaspers’ leading rebounders last year. “He played at the same JUCO, and as (Isaac’s JUCO coach) Scott Schumacher would say, ‘you’re not going to find a better rebounder out there than Anthony.’ We were very fortunate to get him, he fills that hole, and we’re getting a higher-level rebounding guy. I could just say what he is: He’s the best rebounder I’ve coached. I haven’t seen anything like him. When he’s on the floor, I like our chances to get the ball every time. He’ll be playing major minutes.”
“Marko Ljubicic, right now, I have him circled in the starting five spot. If you look at Wes Robinson’s jump, I look at Marko making that type of jump. He could be a double-figure scorer, great rebounder, good size, great defender. Erik, here’s what he is: He’s a 6-foot-5, 6-foot-6, best defender on the floor type for us. His offense is way better than I thought, and he’s one of the more intriguing players I’ve recruited because of his upside. You could argue that he had the best summer of the group, he’s one of those guys that you’re gonna have to keep on the floor because he does too much. It’s a good problem to have. Terrance Jones is a transfer from Norfolk State, an absolute consummate teammate and unbelievable defender. We’ve upgraded our defense. In the slots I thought we needed help, Terrance and Erik bring a defensive side of the ball that we didn’t have. Terrance is gonna play a lot, too.”
The Jaspers also welcome in a trio of freshmen that will have their chances to contribute immediately. Hudson Catholic product Omari Moore will provide a shooting spark off the bench, Baltimore native Quron Elliott will likely spell Winston and Dinkins as a backup point guard, and Asier Miguel comes overseas from Spain with professional experience after spending time with Real Madrid.
“Omari Moore, if it was my first year here, he’d play 30 minutes a game,” Gallagher said. “The issue is it’s my third year and minutes are hard to come by. Quron will bring great depth at the point guard, long-term, he’s going to be a hell of a Jasper. I just loved him in the summer, loved how he performed. He had multiple Division I offers, but we just felt a need to take him right now. And then the last one, Asier, comes from a great club in Real Madrid. He played on the (Spanish) national team each of the last three years, and he’s a really interesting prospect. I think he has a huge upside with us.”
The current mid-major basketball climate has placed a greater onus on roster management and turning a program around in short order, due to the revolving door nature of the portal and greater NIL opportunities at higher levels. The days of a regimented, step-by-step rebuild are now an anachronism in the game, but Gallagher has managed to flip the Jaspers’ fortunes his way, and has laid a firm foundation while doing so.
“Our first year, we got to really study the league, what we need, the versatility,” he recounted. “Then, acquiring guys like Will, Fraser and Devin — three high-quality, MAAC-type players — it gave us a chance every night to win.”
“Then you flip it, year two going into year three. How do you take the next jump from 17 (wins) to 20-21? How do you do that? First, you gotta retain guys, and in the old days, that would never be talked about. For us, Manhattan and I think our conference in general, success is going to be based on whether you can keep three or four guys a year. Is it going to be eight or nine? No, it’s not…it’s never going to be that way. But if can you keep four, five guys that know your system, know your culture, it just is a huge difference. We were able to keep those guys, and I think for us, that’s the first thing. Let’s look at what we kept, and I think that’s a big first step.”
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