Monmouth leaning on consistency and senior core to get closer to elusive MAAC crown

King Rice has Monmouth positioned to once again be MAAC threat, building on Hawks’ success with returning experience and incoming transfers. (Photo by Vincent Simone/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

Iona may have a stranglehold on the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s recent postseason glory, and Siena has been one of the more dominant regular season programs over the past two years, but arguably the most consistent success outside of New York has called the Jersey Shore home.

Monmouth — darlings of the MAAC and nation in the latter part of the 2010s — has remained a force in the conference, rising above adversity and, in last year’s case, numerous pandemic-induced pauses to find its way back to the top half of a conference it has helped shape the perception of since arriving in 2013. And after finishing second to Siena last year, the most rewarding piece of the puzzle for head coach King Rice — always one to see the big picture in every situation — was not the finished product on the court, but rather the resolve his players displayed off it.

“I think the thing that I’m most proud of is how our guys fought through it to do well in school,” he remarked. “We got thrown for a loop — everybody did across the country — and I think I’m probably most proud that our team did well last semester. I think they were worn out, I think they were tired, getting shut down really wore on our minds, and for them to handle it on the court the way we did — just keeping their cool and doing what they were supposed to do is what I’m most proud of.”

“What I can take from that is we’ve got a resilient bunch of kids. It took all hands on deck for us to get through it, and I felt like our group — parents included — really worked together. It just shows that when our kids get their backs against the wall, they’ll do great things.”

Monmouth may not have its back against the wall yet, but the stakes have been raised in the MAAC in light of Iona’s latest NCAA Tournament appearance and Rick Pitino’s fairytale conquest. Rice has responded in kind, taking on a pair of graduate transfers in Shavar Reynolds and Walker Miller from Seton Hall and North Carolina, respectively, while adding a quartet of incoming freshmen that will fight for their share of minutes while also fending off their upperclassman teammates for a spot on the floor.

“I thought our league has been solid the whole time, but any time you bring in a Hall of Famer, it’s going to raise things and I’m all for that,” said Rice. “I think all of us are trying to find a new way of dealing with all of this stuff. This is new for all of us, and I learned from Coach (Kevin) Stallings that you have to change with the times, you have to be in front of things, but you also have to do things that fit you. We were fortunate to get two graduates to come here, and that’s going to help us tremendously, but we were also fortunate to land some young guys who we feel are going to help us have success in this league.”

“We’ve known Sam Fagan since he was a young kid, so I was super happy when he decided to come. Tadhg Crowley is huge, he’s a big, strong 6-foot-11 kid that nobody can move on our team right now. Jayden Doyle might be our most athletic guy we’ve ever brought in here, and he’s starting to figure it out, and then Tahron Allen’s a New York kid who can really score the ball. I’ve got to keep their heads clear and keep them in a good place. We’ve always had freshman breakthroughs, and I don’t think this year will be any different.”

As far as the Hawks’ returning contingent, George Papas has returned for his senior season after briefly testing the waters of the transfer portal, and has Monmouth’s traditional cadre of depth alongside him. Myles Ruth, instrumental last season at the point guard spot after Samuel Chaput was injured, will build on his rookie campaign in West Long Branch, with the front line of Jarvis Vaughan, Nikkei Rutty, Klemen Vuga and Myles Foster stepping up one year older and one year wiser.

“I think Myles has grown,” Rice said of Ruth, a St. Bonaventure commit swayed to the Hawks’ program after a phone call from Bob Hurley sold Rice on the guard’s potential. “I think his maturity off the floor has helped him understand the role he played for our team. After the season, he had to do some reflecting because he played a major role on the court, but he was a young guy and it was a lot of responsibility for him. I think Myles really matured in the offseason. He made big strides off the floor, in the classroom, so I think he’s ready.”

“Sam Chaput last year was about to have a big-time year and then was injured. Jack Holmstrom is a kid that does everything you could want a kid to do, and now the game is slowing down for him. We’re happy with his growth, and Klem also. Klem had appendicitis the day before practice started and lost his confidence, but he’s shown he’s made great strides this summer also. And then Myles Foster has totally changed his body, he's just grown up a year and he’s just been tremendous so far. What you’ll see is our guys had a tremendous summer in the weight room. Their bodies look a lot better. Jarvis is back healthy the whole way, he’s hitting on high cylinders now, ready to go, and Nikkei’s 100 percent.”

The influx of talent and returns of the incumbent pieces have also afforded Rice a luxury with which he was not presented until this season, the ability to play Marcus McClary at his natural wing position, where he feels the senior will be most effective and in line to play his best basketball.

“Marcus has been tremendous for us all four years,” Rice said of McClary. “He’s been one of our best defenders, and the cool thing right now is Marcus is at his true position, on the wing, and he’s playing tremendous basketball right now. He knows what he wants off the floor, he knows who he is on the floor, he’s embracing his role on the wing and just doing big-time things so far.”

“I don’t know if I can call it a breakout year, but I’m glad he’s back and I’m glad I can play him at his rightful position on the wing. He’ll be a problem for people to deal with because he’ll be playing against guys more his size, and now he’ll be able to have an advantage every night.”

Like most other teams welcoming back experienced players, Monmouth is hopeful that its own veterans will raise the bar and fix some of the issues that hindered the Hawks last year, while simultaneously upholding the uptempo style and defensive pressure that have been trademarks in Rice’s tenure.

“I think we’ll be better rebounding, we’ll be more versatile on defense,” Rice acknowledged. “I’m going to go back to some of the things that make people worry about our defense more. We’re still going to go super fast, but I think we’ll take care of the ball better because of the guys we have being older. We’re just a group that goes out and plays our hardest every night. It’s been fun for me so far because I have all these older kids. When you have veterans, you can talk to them differently, put things in front of them differently. There’s going to be a lot of ownership from our players, and I think we’ll be a fun group to see play.”