Sleep on Marist at your own risk as Dunne, Red Foxes carry tremendous upside into season

After scoring program’s highest MAAC finish in 14 years, John Dunne and Marist hope to build upon a solid foundation. (Photo by Hudson Valley Magazine)

In and around the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, everyone knows not to discount John Dunne, yet at the same time, it seems as though the grinding veteran coach is almost always flying under the radar each time the ball is tipped to start a season.

Such was the case last year, when a Marist team projected to finish near the bottom of the MAAC standings with a young roster that became even younger when Michael Cubbage was lost four games into a truncated season with a fractured foot ended up finishing fourth in the league only to post the program’s first winning season since 2007-08, an occurrence not lost on its leader.

“I was very satisfied as far as the regular season was concerned,” Dunne reflected. “We won three out of our last four, we were undersized, but we were playing well and with confidence. We really improved through the course of the year, but overall, I was pleased. We had such a new and young team, and you never know how that’s going to come together, so I was definitely pleased with that.”

With that said, though, Dunne stressed the need to build upon a burgeoning foundation by not only retaining the first-round bye it secured in this past March’s MAAC tournament, but also winning a game and advancing into the semifinals for the first time since 2006-07, when Matt Brady manned the McCann Arena sidelines and led the Red Foxes to a regular season crown.

“The goal every year is to get a bye,” Dunne reiterated. “Clearly, we want a winning season, but the goal has to be giving yourself an opportunity to make a run in the tournament.”

Marist will look to do that this season with a more experienced team that brings Jordan Jones back for an extra year to anchor its frontcourt while the likes of Ricardo Wright, Raheim Sullivan and Javon Cooley return to lead the guards and wings. In addition, Matt Herasme, Braden Bell and Victor Enoh are back to provide depth to a Red Foxes roster that also welcomes Samkelo Cele, a transfer from Southern University who instantly augments the toughness and gritty athleticism that has long been a hallmark of every Dunne-coached team.

“I just think Jordan’s a guy that’s probably the best back-to-the-basket scorer in the league,” Dunne said of Jones. “He’s really, over the period of his career, learned to play with poise down there. He’s really improved his game. He’s a very, very good shot blocker, and you might not notice because of Ndefo and how tremendous he was blocking shots, but Jordan Jones is a pretty good shot blocker in his own right. If he can play longer minutes, I think he’d be an all-league player. He helps our defense, he helps our offensive efficiency.”

“I think, at times, we lacked some toughness last year. I thought we needed to get a little bit stronger, a little bit tougher, and he brings that,” he added with regard to Cele, a 6-foot-5 South Africa native who can play on the wing and also as a stretch four if necessary in a smaller lineup. “He shot the ball at a 38 percent clip last year at Southern, so he definitely brings shot making, but his athleticism and toughness, and high character, makes him a good fit for the pieces we already have.”

In the backcourt, Sullivan and Wright will be the primary aggressors in a stable that introduces a pair of freshmen in Rutgers Prep standout Noah Harris, a combo guard whose strengths on and off the ball are equal, and Jao Ituka, who will help fill the void left by Hakim Byrd's transfer.

“I think he’s a guy that last year’s experience is going to help,” Dunne said of Sullivan, whose junior college experience aided his development as last season went on. “In the second half, I thought he was the best player on the court. If he can get more consistency, he’ll certainly have a chance to be an elite type of player. We have some options this year. You’ll see Noah on and off the ball. He shoots it at such a tremendous rate, but he’s not just a shooter, he’s a pretty good decision maker and we’ll get him into ball screens as well as off the bounce. I definitely have high expectations into the year, and certainly, he’s going to compete.”

“Ricardo Wright’s a guy that having to log so many minutes last year as a freshman is only going to help him. If he lowers his turnovers and continues to shoot the ball the way he’s been shooting it, he’s going to have a tremendous year. The one guy I do want to mention is Jao Ituka. I think you’re going to like him, he’s tough, he’s strong, 6’2, 210, sneaky athletic. He’s going to be a guy who’s going to compete for minutes for sure.”

All in all, one would be ill-advised to discount Marist again going into this season, but with most of the MAAC also improving along with the Red Foxes, a potential sleeper role is not out of the question. And after last season’s accelerated growth, Dunne truly believes his optimism for this year’s unit — a level of enthusiasm not seen in several years around Poughkeepsie — is truly warranted.

“The fact that those guys had pretty good success, I thought they learned through the course of the season how important it is to value the basketball, to bring that energy and focus,” he said. “Until you go through it, the new guys usually don’t understand that. They have a year under their belt now, and we certainly think our talent has risen.”