MAAC Monday: Monmouth’s supporting cast, stat leaders, power rankings

Marcus McClary (13) helps defend Manhattan's Jose Perez. McClary’s defense has kept Monmouth in top half of MAAC standings. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

MAAC Monday focuses on the Jersey Shore in this week’s team spotlight, as Monmouth is profiled further this week before stat leaders and power rankings are refreshed. With two games later today, the team stat supplement that was posted last week will return next week, and will be a recurring feature moving forward.

Much has been made of Monmouth’s two senior transfers, Walker Miller and Shavar Reynolds, and the immediate contributions the two graduate students have made in West Long Branch, but the Hawks’ identity and modus operandi has been defined by the core that has stayed with the program through a rebuild from the highest points of King Rice’s tenure on the sideline, through the helter-skelter nature of playing college basketball in a pandemic, to now gearing up for one last shot at a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship before joining the Colonial Athletic Association in July.

The emergence of George Papas as a secondary scorer behind Deion Hammond last season gave the Jersey City native the confidence to come into his own as a leader. Papas has done that to the tune of leading Monmouth in scoring, where he ranks fifth in the MAAC, as well as off the floor. But with great power comes great responsibility, and Rice made sure to remind him of that in between the Hawks’ 25-point loss to Marist Tuesday and win at Manhattan Friday, the latter seeing Papas bounce back with 23 points, eight rebounds, and six steals.

“When you’re one of the best players in our league, breaking records at our school, there’s a responsibility of how you lead the group,” Rice recalled. “And he didn’t do that in the Marist game, so I got on him and it was heavy, a day and a half of it. But then I also put my arm around him and I told him he knows how me and him get down. He can do anything out there, man, and I’m gonna support it. And he never has to doubt if I got him. I have that much faith in him, but I also need him to teach these young guys what it’s all about.”

“Coach Rice knows he can get on me, and he knows at the end of the day, I know it’s just basketball,” Papas said, asserting the bond between he and his coach. “All I really care about is winning, because we’ve got too many losses right now. There’s no better feeling than winning.”

Monmouth’s surge can also be attributed, to some degree, to the defensive prowess of Marcus McClary. Now playing at his natural wing position, McClary — a fifth-year senior like Papas — continues to guard each opposing team’s best players, and has held most in check this season. In a conference where KC Ndefo and Dimencio Vaughn command most of the attention on defense, McClary should be mentioned in the same breath with his Garden State brethren, and that was before he limited Manhattan’s Jose Perez — the MAAC’s leading scorer — to 4-of-15 shooting Friday.

“I think what happened is, Marc played center for us, so people would say, ‘you didn’t understand all the things he was getting done,’ Rice said of McClary’s skill set. “People don’t understand when you’ve got Marcus out there, you can switch all your ball screens, and there’s just so many things you can do with him. Now we’re seeing him on perimeter guys. You didn’t see that for four years. He’s always had to guard the four or the five, now he’s guarding guys that he probably should have been guarding, and I’ll take that matchup every time, no matter who he’s got. In our league, I’ll take Marcus to guard the guys that are the best guys in the league, and we’ll see how it goes.”

The Hawks’ bench has not been employed as much this season due to the immense experience of the starting lineup, but Myles Foster and Myles Ruth were significant contributors Friday night against Manhattan. In fact, the two sophomores scored 11 consecutive points between them in the first half, leading Rice to praise the maturation each has showed, even in the wake of being displaced in the rotation by the arrivals of Miller and Reynolds.

“They’re grown up,” Rice said of Foster and Ruth. “Those two kids are both big-time players. I think this year, I needed them to grow up because if Walker doesn’t come, (Foster) might start at the five. Shavar doesn’t come, (Ruth) started last year. Him and Chaput would have had to battle, but now you go from maybe being the first to the third, and most kids don’t handle that well. (Foster) might be our best low-post scorer, he might even score it better than Walker. He just has to learn and keep changing his body, but we love what he brings. And little Myles can guard almost anyone, he can get steals while you’re bringing it up. We’re just looking for that next step in maturity for him, because on offense, we’ve gotta get him to see the things that sometimes, he isn’t seeing when we need him to see them. We’re going to get him right.”

Scoring Leaders

1) Jose Perez, Manhattan (19.2 PPG)

2) Marcus Hammond, Niagara (17.8)

3) George Papas, Monmouth (15.4)

4) Jao Ituka, Marist (15.1)

5) Walker Miller, Monmouth (15.0)

6) Tyson Jolly, Iona (14.8)

7) Matt Balanc, Quinnipiac (14.7)

8) Colby Rogers, Siena (14.6)

9) Ricardo Wright, Marist (14.2)

10) Shavar Reynolds, Monmouth (13.9)

Rebounding Leaders

1) Kevin Marfo, Quinnipiac (10.6 RPG)

2) Supreme Cook, Fairfield (8.2)

3) Nelly Junior Joseph, Iona (8.0)

4) Dimencio Vaughn, Rider (7.9)

5) Fousseyni Drame, Saint Peter’s (7.2)

6) Anthony Gaines, Siena (7.1)

7) Nikkei Rutty, Monmouth (7.1)

8) Jackson Stormo, Siena (7.0)

9) Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson, Rider (6.5)

10) Dwight Murray, Jr., Rider (6.3)

Assist Leaders

1) Jose Perez, Manhattan (4.6 APG)

2) Dwight Murray, Jr., Rider (4.4)

3) Kevin Marfo, Quinnipiac (4.0)

4) Noah Thomasson, Niagara (3.6)

5) Dylan van Eyck, Iona (3.2)

6) Elijah Joiner, Iona (3.1)

7) Ahamadou Fofana, Canisius (3.1)

8) Matthew Lee, Saint Peter’s (3.1)

9) George Papas, Monmouth (3.0)

10) Caleb Green, Fairfield (3.0)

Field Goal Percentage Leaders

1) Josh Roberts, Manhattan (.711)

2) Jordan Jones, Marist (.651)

3) Warren Williams, Manhattan (.570)

4) Jao Ituka, Marist (.557)

5) Jordan Cintron, Niagara (.545)

6) Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson, Rider (.543)

7) Jackson Stormo, Siena (.543)

8) Nelly Junior Joseph, Iona (.537)

9) Supreme Cook, Fairfield (.533)

10) Malek Green, Canisius (.491)

Free Throw Percentage Leaders

1) Daryl Banks III, Saint Peter’s (.912)

2) Doug Edert, Saint Peter’s (.872)

3) Shavar Reynolds, Monmouth (.865)

4) Quinn Slazinski, Iona (.843)

5) George Papas, Monmouth (.838)

6) Marcus Hammond, Niagara (.814)

T-7) Matt Balanc, Quinnipiac (.813)

T-7) Taj Benning, Fairfield (.813)

9) Jose Perez, Manhattan (.800)

T-10) Samba Diallo, Manhattan (.778)

T-10) Elijah Joiner, Iona (.778)

3-Point Field Goal Percentage Leaders

1) Doug Edert, Saint Peter’s (.446)

2) Colby Rogers, Siena (.417)

3) Tyrese Williams, Quinnipiac (.397)

4) Caleb Green, Fairfield (.396)

T-5) Daryl Banks III, Saint Peter’s (.393)

T-5) Marcus Hammond, Niagara (.393)

7) Nick Hopkins, Siena (.392)

8) Ricardo Wright, Marist (.391)

9) Tyson Jolly, Iona (.388)

T-10) Walter Clayton, Jr., Iona (.387)

T-10) Anthony Nelson, Manhattan (.387)

Steal Leaders

1) Dimencio Vaughn, Rider (1.8 SPG)

2) Anthony Nelson, Manhattan (1.8)

3) Nick Hopkins, Siena (1.7)

4) Jordan Cintron, Niagara (1.6)

5) George Papas, Monmouth (1.4)

Blocked Shot Leaders

1) KC Ndefo, Saint Peter’s (2.6 BPG)

2) Nelly Junior Joseph, Iona (1.9)

3) Jackson Stormo, Siena (1.3)

4) Josh Roberts, Manhattan (1.1)

5) Jordan Jones, Marist (1.1)

Power Rankings

1) Iona (20-5, 12-2 MAAC)

Last Week: 1

Last Game: Sunday 2/13 vs. Monmouth (W 70-62)

Next Game: Tuesday 2/15 at Saint Peter’s, 7 p.m.

2) Siena (12-9, 9-4 MAAC)

Last Week: 4

Last Game: Sunday 2/13 at Rider (W 76-75)

Next Game: Friday 2/18 vs. Marist, 7 p.m.

3) Saint Peter’s (11-9, 9-4 MAAC)

Last Week: 2

Last Game: Friday 2/11 vs. Rider (L 58-49)

Next Game: Tuesday 2/15 vs. Iona, 7 p.m.

4) Monmouth (16-9, 8-6 MAAC)

Last Week: 3

Last Game: Sunday 2/13 at Iona (L 70-62)

Next Game: Friday 2/18 vs. Rider, 7 p.m.

5) Quinnipiac (12-11, 7-8 MAAC)

Last Week: 6

Last Game: Sunday 2/13 vs. Manhattan (L 83-66)

Next Game: Sunday 2/20 at Marist, 2 p.m.

6) Rider (10-14, 6-8 MAAC)

Last Week: 9

Last Game: Sunday 2/13 vs. Siena (L 76-75)

Next Game: Friday 2/18 at Monmouth, 7 p.m.

7) Fairfield (11-13, 5-8 MAAC)

Last Week: 8

Last Game: Saturday 2/12 vs. Niagara (W 73-53)

Next Game: Monday 2/14 vs. Canisius, 7 p.m.

8) Niagara (11-12, 6-8 MAAC)

Last Week: 5

Last Game: Saturday 2/12 at Fairfield (L 73-53)

Next Game: Monday 2/14 at Marist, 7 p.m.

9) Manhattan (12-11, 5-9 MAAC)

Last Week: 7

Last Game: Sunday 2/13 at Quinnipiac (W 83-66)

Next Game: Wednesday 2/16 at Fairfield, 1 p.m.

10) Marist (10-13, 5-9 MAAC)

Last Week: 11

Last Game: Saturday 2/12 vs. Canisius (W 71-70)

Next Game: Monday 2/14 vs. Niagara, 7 p.m.

11) Canisius (8-17, 4-10 MAAC)

Last Week: 10

Last Game: Saturday 2/12 at Marist (L 71-70)

Next Game: Monday 2/14 at Fairfield, 7 p.m.