NEW YORK — Grant Billmeier has had his hands full attempting to rebuild NJIT, but that hasn’t stopped the Highlanders’ head coach from crafting aspirations as lofty as his 6-foot-10 frame.
The former Kevin Willard assistant found this recently concluded offseason particularly challenging in the wake of Tariq Francis transferring to Rutgers, but on a roster where only three of the regular rotation pieces are upperclassmen, Billmeier is relishing the potential his young group has.
“Obviously Tariq brought a lot of stuff to us, but I think we’ll be able to fill the scoreboard,” he said. “Sebastian (Robinson)’s gonna step up in a big way, Ari (Fulton)’s gonna step up, Jeremy Clayville, Rocco (Awad), who I got from Canada and is a really high-level shooter. Then I’ve got two really good frontcourt players in Melvyn (Ebonkoli) and Malachi Arrington, and there will be times I’ll play both of them together. I’m excited about the opportunity to play big, which is something we haven’t done in the past. We really haven’t had much of an inside presence my first two years like we will this year.”
NJIT played its first game Tuesday at Fordham, and did so without Sebastian Robinson — widely expected to be the heir apparent to Francis offensively — and Melvyn Ebonkoli, the sixth-year senior center whom Billmeier likened to Eugene Teague, who he helped develop at Seton Hall. Playing only either freshmen or sophomores Tuesday, the Highlanders left an impression beyond their youth, walking off the Rose Hill Gymnasium floor with a 72-61 victory, the program’s third straight over a Rams team hoping to christen new coach Mike Magpayo’s debut on a winning note.
“Credit to them,” Magpayo conceded. “They came in our gym, they were missing two of their starters and they just banged threes. They came in here with a lot more purpose. I thought they played harder than us. I just think a lot of our defensive breakdowns really led to three-pointers, and once they got going, every single breakdown turned into a basket for them.”
“I just felt like our switching communication was really, really poor. I really do believe that seven of their 12 threes are from missed communication. We’re a quiet team and we need to improve there, because Rose Hill is loud.”
On this night, Rose Hill was not as loud as it can get when at capacity, and it got quieter when David Bolden announced his presence to a crowd filled with a fair share of NJIT fans who made their way into the Bronx. A freshman guard from Milwaukee, Bolden channeled the aforementioned Francis on Tuesday, leading the Highlanders with 18 points and seven rebounds, also adding three assists and connecting on four of his seven 3-point attempts while shooting 7-for-13 overall.
“He kind of had his way, and we were giving him too much space in the first half,” Magpayo said. “I thought he was really, really comfortable. The bottom line is he’s a really good player. I could see it on film, and it’s hard because you’re watching his high school and AAU film. But he’s a really good player, crafty, great change of pace, goes both ways and very good in the pick-and-roll. He kind of kicked our butts there and got them going in the first half.”
NJIT’s non-conference schedule, with trips to Louisville, Cincinnati and High Point among others, is daunting, but opportunities to win games are prevalent as well. And if the Highlanders can take care of business in a similar vein to Tuesday night, the confidence may manifest itself sooner rather than later heading into America East play.
“I’m really excited, man,” Billmeier said. “I love the guys we’ve brought back, I’m really excited about some of the guys we’ve brought in and I’m really excited about the group in general.”
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