Warren Williams’ reemergence has enabled Manhattan to remain competitive even as Jaspers stand 4-8 in MAAC. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)
MAAC Monday focuses on two teams in its opening segment today before a segue into stat leaders and power rankings, offering an update on Manhattan and its current standing in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, and after sweeping the Jaspers to become the first MAAC team to accumulate 10 conference wins, Monmouth will also be profiled to a degree this week.
Following a return to MAAC play that saw a renewed commitment to its defensive principles in a stretch that saw wins in three of four games, Manhattan looked poised to make its customary midseason surge toward the top of the league standings. However, despite the promising upside after a sweep of Niagara two weeks ago, Steve Masiello was cautious in analyzing the path to the top, making sure to state the work that had yet to be completed.
“My expectations have literally been to get better every day, try to grow every day,” he said before the Jaspers’ two games against Saint Peter’s at the end of January. “Whatever changes come our way, we try to embrace them and be the best version of ourselves. It’s all about staying ready. You can’t control the uncontrollable, but you can control what you do on a daily basis, and that’s what I asked these guys to step up to.”
“We’re trying to have fun with it, but it’s inevitable and the changes are coming. I think it’s a great lesson for all of us. We’re trying to be like water, be adaptable, be fluid, be flexible with it and really concentrate on us, and worry about what we’re doing.”
As the season has gone on, Warren Williams has returned to his all-rookie form and become a potent rim protector to complement the scoring prowess of Anthony Nelson in the backcourt. Masiello admitted that the junior having to share minutes with Pauly Paulicap compromised his growth in a sense, but the experience has resulted in a better Williams this season, with his scoring on an uptick while his rebounding and shot blocking numbers rank among the MAAC leaders.
“I think the only person who stunted Warren’s development was myself,” Masiello revealed. “If you look at Warren’s freshman year and the numbers he put up when Pauly was out with a foot injury, we had a decision that last year — which was Pauly and Warren splitting minutes at that five spot — Warren’s numbers went down a little bit. I think he’s gotten better in other areas — he’s rebounding the basketball at a better clip, he’s in good shape right now — so those are things I’m very happy about. I always want to challenge him to get better, but our expectations in the sense of what he’s doing is kind of something we’ve seen the last two years here.”
Manhattan was swept in the Saint Peter’s series, and this past weekend, fell twice to Monmouth by a grand total of seven points in a pair of hard-fought battles with King Rice’s Hawks. The contributions of Elijah Buchanan and Samba Diallo, particularly in the second game Saturday, a 71-69 overtime loss, were a pleasant revelation, but now at 4-8 in MAAC play with only a month remaining before the conference tournament, the recognition of needing to pay greater attention to detail is prevalent within the program once again, perhaps more now than at points in recent years.
“I see every game what these guys can do, but I’m not worried about that,” Masiello said, citing the underlying concerns that go beyond the final stat sheets. “We have the firepower to do what we do. We need someone at that other guard spot to step up, whether it’s Jason (Douglas-Stanley), Samir (Stewart), Ro(mar Reid), E(than Lasko), someone’s got to step up and shoot a good percentage from that spot. We’re not getting that right now, but we believe we have the talent to do it.”
“We’re not doing the little things, and that’s what you’ve got to do to be one of the top teams. We’re right at that door, but we’ve got to do the little things, whether that be a free throw block out, a loose ball — Deion Hammond comes up with a loose ball and makes a three with the shot clock at one — those little plays, we’ve got to really understand. We’ve got to understand the moment of the little things. Everything is in the details, and that’s the challenge right now for us. It’s much harder to get that when you’re not getting the results you want, but we have good character, so we’ll bounce back.”
As for Monmouth, the Hawks stand to be the No. 1 seed in the MAAC tournament right now at 10-4 — should one team not play the full 20-game schedule, a scenario that seems almost certain given the number of games needing to be made up and only 26 days in which to do it, the tournament field will be seeded by number of conference wins — and head coach King Rice is satisfied with the results thus far, but conceded that while he would prefer to keep playing while healthy, his team does need a break given that it has played nearly uninterrupted since opening the season on December 15, save for a brief pause last month that turned out to be a false positive COVID-19 test.
“I wish we were full steam ahead,” he conceded. “We’ve been playing pretty well, but while we’re not sick, we might as well play games. A lot of students are back on campus, so I just want to keep rolling, but some other schools weren’t able to do it. I’m hopeful that we don’t get hit later, but all these kids need a break. This is the heaviest it’s ever been, there’s stuff going on in people’s families (and) we can’t be a part of it, and it’s heavy.”
“I’m telling you, I’ve lost about eight pounds. This stuff is hard to do, back-to-back, you get worn out, you get home after the first one and you can’t sleep because you’re all teed up, and it’s just hard. The coach in me would like to keep going, but all our kids need a break, physically and mentally.”
In the face of Monmouth’s endurance run, Deion Hammond made history Saturday when the senior guard broke the program’s record for career 3-point field goals, surpassing former Hawk player and head coach Dave Calloway with his 261st trifecta in the Monmouth blue and white.
“Congrats to Deion, great player, better person,” Calloway stated after the game. “I know, because he was such a good teammate to my son, David, who was a walk-on his sophomore season. That’s when my son said, ‘Dad, this kid Deion is good. He’s going to break all your 3-point records.’”
“It’s amazing to me,” Hammond reflected, overcome by the significance of breaking a mark that stood for three decades. “I was just happy to hit a shot for once. I was probably feeling it when they called a timeout and we went back to the huddle.”
Two wins ahead of Siena, who announced Sunday that it would be going on pause due to a positive test, the Hawks are now in the driver’s seat thanks to their recent surge, a credit to the elevated play of its four-pronged senior class that has seen Melik Martin become perhaps Monmouth’s most valuable player.
“We’re definitely in a good place right now, especially going into a little break,” Martin said. “It feels good to be 10-5, honestly. I’m just happy to be able to get the job done. We’re playing together, and it’s beautiful when we do that. I think this season, I showed them a different level, that I wanted something.”
“I think he’s a guy that takes unbelievable pride — and I say this in the most complimentary way — he is a star in his role,” Masiello said of Martin and the transcendent start to his senior year. “He makes his role a lot of fun. I think when you look at a lot of teams in this league, the good ones have two or three guys who can really go, Monmouth has that, but what makes them special, I believe, is Melik. He’s a role player that just does his job, he’s in the trenches, he has a great attitude, he’s talking the whole game. He’s infectious, and I think he is the guy that changes that team and makes them really, really tough.”
Martin’s head coach concurred.
“Everybody’s calling me and talking to me about Melik and asking me, ‘What did I do?’ I didn’t do anything. Melik is a baller. I think this year, because we’re not able to do the all things we want to do in practice, I’ve probably left him alone a little bit just to let him play, and not trying to control everything he’s doing out on the floor. And by us getting out of these kids’ way, they’re showing us all their talents, and Melik is just balling. He has to be one of the better kids in the league, and if not, he’s playing like one of the best players in the league right now. These kids, I believe in them, they believe in me, and good things have been happening.”
Scoring Leaders
1) Isaiah Ross, Iona (22.3 PPG)
2) Deion Hammond, Monmouth (17.3)
3) Dwight Murray, Jr., Rider (15.4)
4) Kobi Nwandu, Niagara (14.4)
5) Marcus Hammond, Niagara (13.7)
6) Anthony Nelson, Manhattan (13.5)
7) Jordan King, Siena (13.3)
8) George Papas, Monmouth (13.2)
9) Manny Camper, Siena (13.2)
T-10) Majesty Brandon, Canisius (12.5)
T-10) Asante Gist, Iona (12.5)
Rebounding Leaders
1) Manny Camper, Siena (10.7 RPG)
2) Warren Williams, Manhattan (7.7)
3) Nelly Junior Joseph, Iona (7.5)
4) Fousseyni Drame, Saint Peter’s (7.3)
5) Malek Green, Canisius (7.0)
6) Dylan van Eyck, Iona (6.9)
7) Dwight Murray, Jr., Rider (6.5)
8) Elijah Buchanan, Manhattan (6.4)
9) Jacob Rigoni, Quinnipiac (6.4)
10) Jacco Fritz, Canisius (6.2)
Assist Leaders
1) Dwight Murray, Jr., Rider (4.6 APG)
2) Asante Gist, Iona (4.2)
3) Manny Camper, Siena (3.7)
4) Matthew Lee, Saint Peter’s (3.7)
5) Savion Lewis, Quinnipiac (3.4)
6) Samuel Chaput, Monmouth (3.3)
7) Raheim Sullivan, Marist (3.3)
8) Jacco Fritz, Canisius (3.2)
9) Anthony Nelson, Manhattan (3.1)
10) Dylan van Eyck, Iona (2.9)
Field Goal Percentage Leaders
1) Seth Pinkney, Quinnipiac (.854)
2) Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson, Rider (.649)
3) Jackson Stormo, Siena (.643)
4) Jordan Jones, Marist (.602)
5) Nelly Junior Joseph, Iona (.565)
6) Warren Williams, Manhattan (.543)
7) Isaiah Ross, Iona (.508)
8) Melik Martin, Monmouth (.500)
9) George Papas, Monmouth (.492)
10) KC Ndefo, Saint Peter’s (.486)
Free Throw Percentage Leaders
1) Dwight Murray, Jr., Rider (.891)
2) Ahamadou Fofana, Canisius (.889)
3) Jacob Rigoni, Quinnipiac (.878)
4) Anthony Nelson, Manhattan (.873)
5) Taj Benning, Fairfield (.837)
6) Asante Gist, Iona (.818)
7) Jordan King, Siena (.800)
8) George Papas, Monmouth (.784)
9) Ricardo Wright, Marist (.780)
10) Marcus Hammond, Niagara (.772)
3-Point Field Goal Percentage Leaders
1) Jordan Henderson, Canisius (.455)
2) George Papas, Monmouth (.448)
3) Donovann Toatley, Monmouth (.435)
4) Isaiah Ross, Iona (.424)
5) Asante Gist, Iona (.421)
6) Dwight Murray, Jr., Rider (.415)
7) Allen Powell, Rider (.413)
8) Melik Martin, Monmouth (.405)
9) Daryl Banks III, Saint Peter’s (.397)
10) Jordan King, Siena (.383)
Steal Leaders
1) Berrick JeanLouis, Iona (2.3 SPG)
2) Myles Ruth, Monmouth (1.7)
3) Elijah Buchanan, Manhattan (1.7)
4) Majesty Brandon, Canisius (1.5)
5) KC Ndefo, Saint Peter’s (1.4)
Blocked Shot Leaders
1) KC Ndefo, Saint Peter’s (4.1 BPG)
2) Seth Pinkney, Quinnipiac (2.7)
3) Jordan Jones, Marist (2.3)
4) Nelly Junior Joseph, Iona (1.5)
5) Warren Williams, Manhattan (1.5)
Power Rankings
1) Siena (8-2, 8-2 MAAC)
Last Week: 1
Last Game: Sunday 1/31 at Marist (W 63-50)
Next Game: Friday 2/19 at Niagara, TBA
2) Monmouth (10-5, 10-4 MAAC)
Last Week: 2
Last Game: Saturday 2/6 at Manhattan (W 71-69)
Next Game: Friday 2/19 at Iona, TBA
3) Saint Peter’s (9-6, 6-4 MAAC)
Last Week: 3
Last Game: Saturday 1/30 vs. Manhattan (W 68-54)
Next Game: Friday 2/12 vs. Fairfield, TBA
4) Marist (9-7, 7-7 MAAC)
Last Week: 4
Last Game: Sunday 1/31 vs. Siena (L 63-50)
Next Game: Friday 2/19 at Saint Peter’s, TBA
5) Iona (5-3, 3-1 MAAC)
Last Week: 5
Last Game: Wednesday 12/23 vs. Coppin State (W 85-65)
Next Game: Friday 2/12 vs. Manhattan, 5 p.m.
6) Niagara (7-9, 6-8 MAAC)
Last Week: 8
Last Game: Saturday 1/30 vs. Monmouth (W 83-74)
Next Game: Friday 2/19 vs. Siena, TBA
7) Quinnipiac (5-6, 3-4 MAAC)
Last Week: 10
Last Game: Sunday 2/7 at Fairfield (W 78-63)
Next Game: Monday 2/8 at Fairfield, 2 p.m.
8) Canisius (3-3, 3-3 MAAC)
Last Week: 6
Last Game: Saturday 1/2 vs. Saint Peter’s (W 63-60)
Next Game: Friday 2/12 at Quinnipiac, 1 p.m.
9) Manhattan (5-8, 4-8 MAAC)
Last Week: 7
Last Game: Saturday 1/30 vs. Monmouth (L 71-69)
Next Game: Friday 2/12 at Iona, 5 p.m.
10) Rider (4-11, 4-8 MAAC)
Last Week: 9
Last Game: Saturday 1/23 vs. Marist (L 76-67)
Next Game: Saturday 2/20 at Quinnipiac, 4 p.m.
11) Fairfield (3-13, 3-8 MAAC)
Last Week: 11
Last Game: Sunday 2/7 vs. Quinnipiac (L 78-63)
Next Game: Monday 2/8 vs. Quinnipiac, 2 p.m.
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