Stony Brook retools with new-look roster in new-look season

Geno Ford lost all five starters to transfer in offseason ravaged by COVID-19, and now rebuilds Stony Brook as all of college basketball begins anew. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

Seldom does an offseason come and go where a program losing all five of its starters to transfer is not the biggest news surrounding it.

That, however is life in college basketball amid COVID-19, which has taken some of the proverbial crosshairs off a Stony Brook program that must replace all-conference talent the likes of Elijah Olaniyi, Makale Foreman, Andrew Garcia and Jeff Otchere, as well as a deadly shooter in Miles Latimer. But for head coach Geno Ford and his staff, while the egress of cornerstone pieces will be difficult to replace, the excitement for the influx of new arrivals offsets the loss.

“It was disappointing to lose them, because we were losing all-conference players,” Ford said. “At that point, you really go into scramble mode, and we’re really excited about the new guys we have. I think we were very fortunate in recruiting that we were able to add guys who were good enough. We don’t think we misevaluated, which is incredibly difficult because all the evaluation is on film. We signed several guys in the spring who are going to play huge roles for us. We added four of the top six in our rotation as spring signings in May, which is unheard of.”

“We are in a little bit of a reboot because we have zero experience. But I like our talent, I think we have enough players to compete at the top of our league, and in a year where (there are) no summer workouts, no scrimmages, no exhibition games, half your non-league got canceled, it’s going to be a bumpy ride for us early because we’ve just got to kind of weather the storm. I’m confident that we’ll have a good basketball team. I know the talent is in that locker room. We’ve just got to find the synergy as a group playing together to make each other better, which has been the big challenge.”

Of the Seawolves’ newcomers, including 6-foot-6 wing Omar Habwe (Mount St. Mary’s) and junior college imports Mohamed Diallo, Juwan White and Juan Felix Rodriguez, none may be as integral as former Manhattan guard Tykei Greene, whom Ford and Stony Brook played against each of the past two seasons and provides a brand of basketball that meshes with what can be best described as a collective work in progress.

“He’s been a big addition for us, because he brings a physicality that we need,” said Ford of Greene, a two-year starter for Steve Masiello as a Jasper. “We’ve been one of the better defensive rebounding teams in our league, and he’s very physical. He likes contact and he’s tough, so his having been down this road and having had success last year at Manhattan has brought a little bit of that to our group, which has been key. He certainly brings it on a daily basis from a physical standpoint.”

And with each of the Seawolves’ starting five having departed for what they hope will be greener pastures, the future on Long Island is present in the form of fifth-year senior Mo Gueye, an explosive athlete who showed flashes of being a special talent off the bench last season that will now be counted on to produce at a level he appears destined for.

“First of all, Mo’s skill set is so much better,” said Ford. “That’ll jump out at people when they see him play. He’s shooting better at mid-range and he’s improved his 3-point shooting, but I think the bigger growth to him is the mental side of it.”

“This is a guy who didn’t play as a senior in high school, and then his first year of junior college, averaged zero points and zero rebounds. He’s not a guy who grew up always being the best player on the team he was on, which is typically the case when you go around a Division I locker room, so for him, the mental growth of understanding consistency and being an everyday guy are all new experiences for him. But he really accepted the challenges well. He’s a much more vocal leader than he’s ever been, he’s got unbelievable size and length for his position, and he’s turned into a very, very good mid-range shooter.”

As for the one concern Ford has for Gueye when Stony Brook visits Bryant Wednesday afternoon? Handling the bright lights.

“It’s going to be the first game in his life where he’s ever been a key on a scouting report,” Ford said. “Do you know how rare that is for a fifth-year senior? He’s never gone into a game where the other team says, ‘Hey, we gotta stop Mo Gueye.’ He’s had a lot of highlights, but he’s never been the front of a scouting report. He’s never seen any of that stuff, so he’s going to need a little time to adjust to the other teams coming at him, but I do feel that mentally, he’s done as much as you could do without being thrust in that situation.”

The back-to-back nature of the America East Conference schedule helps the Seawolves, Ford feels, by virtue of Stony Brook’s ability to play nine or ten-deep on any occasion, particularly in the second leg of such league series. However, it is the unexpected twists and turns that the coach is concerned about, but he remains optimistic that the best is yet to come in Suffolk County.

“I have no idea what we’re going to get, but I’m really hopeful we’ll get to see the level of intensity and effort we’re accustomed to seeing, and that’s what we’re going to demand,” Ford reiterated. “I honestly think it’ll be a team that’ll be fun for our fans to follow, because we don’t have the big, veteran team where you know what Player A does. Everything’s going to be a first-time experience.”

“I’m very, very confident because I love the chemistry and the character of the group. They’re just good guys, all of them have been fortunate in that they just have a good demeanor, and for that in and of itself, I think we’re going to be night and day come February. I really feel like this is a group that, by the time conference is going, we have a realistic shot at being a very good basketball team.”