Jay Young changed perception in year one at Fairfield last year, and looks to turn more heads with Stags’ strong defense and two incoming transfers who will aid offensive growth. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)
When Paul Schlickmann tabbed Jay Young to fill Fairfield’s head coaching vacancy 20 months ago, he knew what he was getting in the longtime right-hand man of current Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell.
After all, Schlickmann had tried to hire Young two years prior when he was still the athletic director at Central Connecticut, only to be overruled by the university’s president, who signed off on Donyell Marshall. And when given the second chance to hire Young after moving on from Sydney Johnson, Schlickmann did not hesitate to introduce a teacher of the game and brilliant basketball mind to the Stags, knowing it would yield fruitful results.
Fairfield finished ninth in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference last season, but the signs of life were rampant and robust under Young. The Stags played with a purpose defensively, and with several qualified options left over from Johnson’s uptempo attack, the offense was not lacking either.
“I just felt so much better about our program, knowing where we needed to go, knowing what we needed to do,” Young assessed in regard to his maiden campaign at the helm in the Nutmeg State. “I loved every minute of it, but certainly, I think I internalized a lot more, especially after a loss.”
The growth within the program has been critical this season, even more than usual given that Fairfield was unable to get its entire team on the floor together until last month due to the protocols put in place to combat COVID-19. While that may have deterred the Stags from improving the on-court camaraderie and product, it didn’t stop Young from expanding his horizons and getting his messages across.
“Well, I can tell you one thing: I know what Zoom is now,” he quipped. “I’d never heard of it before March. I thought it was like an energy drink or something. Now I know what it is, I know how to get on it, open it up, how to share a document on it. It’s amazing what I can learn.”
“The crazy part of it is we were all excited to get back in the gym knowing so much more than we did the year before, but I’ve got a good group. I think we did a good job of staying connected during the pandemic as well as you can, and it was great to get them back in the gym when they finally did come back, that’s for sure.”
Seniors Jesus Cruz and Taj Benning will anchor the Stags, and Young has adamantly spoken of his desire to send them out on a winning note after going through a coaching change and then buying into a completely different system. However, it is the arrival of Caleb Green and Tshiefu Ngalakulondi, transfers from Holy Cross and St. Bonaventure, respectively, that has morale and optimism around the program at a high not seen in several years.
“Caleb brings to us a true point guard,” Young said. “He wakes up every morning and he thinks about how he can make his teammates better, so he’s another great leader. Our ability to play faster and having him on the floor will get us more open shots, which we certainly needed last year, and he makes his teammates better. That’s the best thing you can say about a point guard.”
“Tshiefu comes into the league already as one of the best athletes once he steps on the floor. He’s kind of a prototypical MAAC four, really athletic. I think he’s got the capability to be an elite rebounder in the league, not only because of his quickness to the ball, but also how he can pursue basketballs and also as a great defender at multiple positions. It was frustrating that I couldn’t check him in, because he certainly could have helped. I’m expecting both those guys to be a big part of what we’re trying to do here.”
In addition, Chris Maidoh and Allan Jeanne-Rose return with significant upside heading into their sophomore seasons, Maidoh in particular having bulked up by adding 20 pounds of muscle on the heels of a MAAC all-rookie season.
“I was more frustrated with the COVID thing for those two in particular,” said Young. “I wanted to get a full summer with those guys and get them in the weight room to work with them all summer, but Chris has made great progress already. It’s such a difference from when we got him last year and where he is now, and he’s got elite physical tools as far as his length and his athleticism. I think he can be special, I really do.”
“Allan probably took the longest of all the guys last year to figure out college basketball. He came from Martinique and only played basketball a couple of years, so his learning curve was a little slower than the guys. Quite honestly, I had to play him through more mistakes and give him more freedom, which I did midway through the season. He showed some good moments, and I love his athletic ability. He’s another guy I like defending on the wing, because he can guard a three, he can guard a four, he can guard a two.”
All in all, the Stags will likely be picked near the middle of the standings when the MAAC’s preseason poll is released, but the future is clearly bright.
“We made some strides with our defensive identity and the way we want to play on that end of the floor,” Young highlighted. “We’ve got to improve that and get better, and to say we were challenged offensively would be nice. We have to play faster.”
“Last year was all about the possession game and trying to limit possessions. We felt that was a way for us to stick around and steal some games, but obviously, if we’re going to make a move in the league, our offensive numbers have to drastically improve. All the issues that kind of hurt us last year, we’re going to have to drastically improve in those areas.”
Nice write up... looking fwd to the new and improved Stags this year. MAAC as a whole looks better (despite all the transfers leaving for major conferences) so the Stags will need to be that much better to climb a few rungs.
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