Siena returns core, welcomes several key newcomers for regular season title defense

Jalen Pickett enters junior season leading Siena into MAAC favorite role as Saints seek to retain momentum of last year. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

Many schools were slighted by the abrupt end to last year’s college basketball season, but perhaps none more than Siena College.

The Saints had turned the corner at the most opportune of times following a February 2 loss at Saint Peter’s, winning each of their last ten contests to surge into the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament as the league’s regular season champion and top seed, distinctions that carried with them no worse than an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament. Then, sooner than the screech of a referee’s whistle, the remainder of the season was canceled as the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the world over six months ago.

“We try not to ever dwell on any of the negative stuff,” head coach Carmen Maciariello recalled. “It’s always about this group starting the foundation, a credit to Elijah Burns, Matt Hein, Sammy Friday, Ben Diamond and our manager, Danny Cohen. There was no hanging our heads, we just kind of rolled with the punches. It is what it is. We were playing the best basketball we had all year, and that was the sad part. But I’m just proud of the guys for believing in each other and being able to take those steps.”

“It wasn’t easy. I think we were 10-10 at one point and won ten straight, but they have a chance to leave their legacy by hanging that banner and winning a regular season title. We didn’t even worry about the conference tournament championship — that’s a nice honor, but we didn’t even count it as a win, per se. The regular season title was a full body of work and we’re proud of it, and now it’s basically back to the drawing board.”

While Burns and Donald Carey, two of Siena’s four double-digit scorers last season, have departed, the Saints still return five core players from last year’s resurgence. Reigning MAAC Player of the Year Jalen Pickett is now a junior and Manny Camper, a first team all-conference selection like his teammate, returned to the Capital Region for his senior campaign after testing the NBA Draft waters. In addition, sophomores Gary Harris, Jordan King and Kyle Young will see increased opportunities to make a mark after impressive debuts as freshmen in the rotation a year ago, similar to how Camper blossomed from a role player into a legitimate superstar.

“When we talk about him declaring, it’s disappointing that with everything that’s going on, he couldn’t get any workouts, but the feedback from coaches that we received is great,” Maciariello said of Camper. “It’s good for him to be noticed, because I felt like he was an unsung hero, kind of a best-kept secret if you want to coin it that way. He always came to work, even when he struggled, and his character, his leadership, and his ability to lead by example — not just the spoken word — is terrific. He’s still growing in that regard.”

Of the aforementioned second-year trio, Maciariello gushed over the potential of each player, but reiterated the importance of each realizing their roles are going to evolve.

“The biggest thing is those guys have to understand now it’s the next step,” he described with regard to the maturation of Harris, King and Young. “It’s not okay to let your emotions take over in regards to Kyle. He’s a guy that has a chance to be an impact player in this league if he continues to work as hard as he did. His body looks great, he’s lost some weight, and now it’s about him understanding and keeping his emotions in check. Gary needs to be more than a guy who can get out in transition and run, and I think he’s a guy that can pit it on the floor a couple bounces and gives us a vertical threat, and then Jordan King — if we get the ball in his hands more as a secondary ball handler — that’s that next step for him. We love his ability to make open shots and stretch the floor. I’m looking for all three of the guys to make a jump in production. That’s what’s it’s about.”

Rhode Island transfer Dana Tate and freshman Aidan Carpenter, who assisted the scout team last season in their early enrollment, lead a supporting cast that includes graduate transfer Nick Hopkins, as well as freshmen Colin Golson and Bennett Kwiecinski, with a waiver for graduate transfer Harrison Curry still pending. Altogether, Maciariello has enjoyed his balancing act of keeping players hungry and maintaining interchangeable parts heading into the second season of a promising era of Siena basketball, one that has already seen a sturdy foundation laid upon its facade.

“Hopefully nothing changes,” Maciariello opined. “We still want to be a scrappy team that can get out and score in transition, but also grind out baskets in the half court, and we also want to play with unbelievable connection and passion for one another. We want to enjoy representing Siena College to the best of our ability. It’s a special place.”