Dunleavy eager to unleash a more balanced Bobcat squad to complement veteran leadership and depth

Baker Dunleavy enters pivotal sixth year at Quinnipiac with veteran roster and desire to improve on both ends of floor. (Photo by The Quinnipiac Chronicle)

Baker Dunleavy’s five seasons at Quinnipiac have been a mixed bag of sorts since the former Villanova assistant was tapped to replace Tom Moore in 2017.

From the near-regular season championship his first year at the helm and the development of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Year Cameron Young, to campaigns in which the Bobcats struggled to find themselves before competing better toward the end of the season, Dunleavy has seen just about every possible situation under his watch. His latest undertaking, which involves taking Quinnipiac back to the top half of the MAAC after a resurgent finish in which it toppled No. 3 seed Siena in the conference tournament before falling short against eventual champion and Cinderella Saint Peter’s, has left him feeling confident and cautiously optimistic since returning from Atlantic City and navigating the summer with seven incumbent players, each of whom figuring to play an integral role in a pivotal 2022-23 voyage.

“We did end on a positive note,” Dunleavy recalled. “We battled in AC, won two games, so I think we were playing our best basketball at the end of the year and I felt good about that. It’s always nice when you could carry that type of momentum in the offseason. We had a really good start to the year, a really, really tough middle, and we finished strong. Overall, the positive we take is how we finished, and we tried to carry some of that momentum with us into the offseason as best we could.”

“In this day and age, when you have seven returning players, all of whom played significant minutes, that’s a big number. And as a coach, coming into the summer and the fall, it really gives you peace of mind knowing that your players can coach each other a little bit and have veteran leadership. We certainly have that. Savion Lewis, Matt Balanc and Tyrese Williams are all fifth-year players in our program, guys who have stuck by us and really weathered some storms. They’re motivated to win, and that comes across in every practice, every meeting that we have.”

In Lewis, Balanc and Williams, Dunleavy has a troika of battle-tested veterans with a second experienced trio behind them in Tymu Chenery, Dezi Jones and Luis Kortright, all of whom possess the invaluable commodity of having been through multiple years of MAAC wars to mitigate the massive departures of two more program stalwarts in Jacob Rigoni and Kevin Marfo, while also showcasing the ever-present backcourt depth that has been a fixture in Hamden since Dunleavy assumed the reins.

That depth manifested itself last year in the form of Jones’ baptism and development, which was thrust into overdrive in December after Lewis tore his Achilles tendon in a road win at Manhattan, an injury from which he has been fully cleared to return and would be readily available if called upon.

“We had a situation last year where we really benefitted from having two really good ball-handling point guards in Savion and Dezi,” Dunleavy said. “When Savion tore his Achilles, it put Dezi in a situation where we threw him completely into the fire and play a lot of minutes at the point guard position. He had some bumps in the road like anybody would, but finished the year playing as well — offensively — as any point guard in our league. He led the MAAC in effective field goal percentage, and I think he did a really nice job, especially as the year went on. He ended in a really good place, and we expect him to start in a really good place.”

In addition to the glut of guards, the Bobcats have an uncharacteristic — to the casual observer — amount of depth up front as well, welcoming four incoming transfers into the fold to replace Rigoni, Marfo, Brendan McGuire and Elias King. Graduate transfer Ike Nweke and 6-foot-8 Elijah Taylor, by way of Columbia and Notre Dame, respectively, afford Quinnipiac the opportunity to experiment with larger than usual lineups, with junior college import Paul Otieno and East Carolina expatriate Alexis Reyes stepping into the void left by Rigoni on the wing.

“I think (Nweke and Taylor) give us an ability to play big up front that we haven’t had in the past,” Dunleavy opined. “In our league at the four, I think Ike is a physical advantage, no doubt. Elijah and Ike, athletically and mobility-wise, are very versatile defensively and help us in areas we need to shore up. Paul Otieno is a guy coming from Kilgore Junior College by way of Kenya, and he’s been impressive this summer and fall in his acclimation into the program. He’s a guy that’s really going to compete for minutes as well. Alexis is the type of wing we’ve always targeted, a guy with size and a feel for the game that allows us to play a perimeter-oriented wing and play four perimeter players together, much in the way that Jacob helped us before. Alexis is a different player, but helps us in the same way in terms of size, floor spacing, and skill.”

“With losing two players in the frontcourt, we knew we wanted to focus on bringing in some veteran players to fill those spots, and we were able to do that. Our staff did a good job of targeting key guys and making it happen. We have really good guys, competitive guys, and our chemistry, generally, has been really good. This year is no different.”

Still, the games are played on the floor and not on paper or perusing the roster. With that said, Dunleavy is enthusiastic about the short-term future that lies ahead, but realistic about the glaring need to improve on both sides of the basketball and become the balanced team that the Bobcats have shown flashes of being, only now on a consistent basis to send his veteran squad out on a successful note.

“We have guys who have been enthusiastic and willing to sacrifice for the challenge of winning here, and I’m excited about that,” he admitted. “When it comes to the game, we’re going to play nine, ten guys, so the benefit is everybody’s going to touch the floor on a regular basis. The biggest thing we’re looking forward to from this group is to have a veteran group who’s been here go out in a really successful, positive, winning way.”

“That’s what this year has to be all about. These guys have really put a stamp on our program and our school, we really want them to go out the right way. We know the work that goes into that, but we’ve got to make that happen, and for us as a team, we’ve got to be a team that can be balanced and be towards the top of the league in both offense and defense. I think we have the ability to do it, but we have to go make that happen.”

Returning players, rekindled hope gives Fairfield reason for optimism as new arena opens

With most depth of his tenure and major experience returning to Fairfield, Jay Young is confident his Stags will rebound into MAAC’s upper echelon. (Photo by NJ Advance Media)

Two years ago, Fairfield rode a late-season surge fueled by stifling defense and a core of upperclassmen to an unlikely appearance in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship game, where the Stags would end up falling short to an Iona team coming off a fourth COVID pause shortly before the tournament began.

It was that timely run, plus the return of fifth-year seniors Taj Benning, Jesus Cruz and Caleb Green, that positioned many to be bullish on Fairfield’s prospects entering last year, but the Stags fell victim to extenuating circumstances and untimely bounces that proved to be a coup de grace for any postseason aspirations.

“It was just kind of a weird year for us,” head coach Jay Young reflected. “We got off to a really good start, and then lost an overtime game at UMass, came back before Christmas and lost a tough game to a very good Wagner team, and then we hit the skids. We came out of Christmas and just got blasted with COVID issues — I think we lost seven in a row at that point — and then just kind of bounced back, salvaged it.”

“I think we have some good things to grow on. I thought we took a step forward in terms of wins, but honestly, I thought we should have had a better year. I think everybody feels the same way, and we’re looking to capitalize on how we can be better this year.”

With an ever-present confidence, Young welcomes back a cadre of players instrumental in guiding the Stags to the precipice of their next breakout, which the fourth-year head coach believes could be a consistent presence as one of the MAAC’s elite. Supreme Cook, whose name has already been mentioned among prospective all-conference talent, leads a frontcourt that also includes fellow forwards Zach Crisler, Chris Maidoh and Allan Jeanne-Rose, the latter of whom could see significant opportunities to contribute at the four spot for a Fairfield unit possessing a versatile and multifaceted attack that will only serve the Stags well in terms of competition.

“This is the most depth we’ve had,” Young proclaimed. “We’re a little thin at the point guard spot, which worries me a little bit, but overall, I think our scholarship guys — one through 13 — are all good players. This summer was the most competitive we’ve had with guys fighting for positions and all that, so I thought that was a really good sign. I think this is the most talent we’ve had and the most depth we’ve had.”

“I thought Supreme was playing like a first team all-conference guy all summer long. He was kind of dominant in practice, and I think we can get him up to 14-15 points if he can make some free throws for us. He’s got the ability to be a first team type of guy, and (Jake Wojcik) has really come back playing with a lot of confidence. Zach’s kind of the Swiss Army knife, you can play him at the four, you can play him at the five, helps us offensively, our leading charge guy by far. He really helps us out with a lot of things that don’t appear in the box score. We like the frontcourt a lot, and Chris took a huge leap last year. We played him a little bit at the four trying to go big at some times, but didn’t love that quite honestly with the way we play. We really feel the combination of him and Supreme at the five spot is as good as anybody in the league.”

In the backcourt, Fairfield’s surplus is only increased, as sophomore TJ Long, fresh off a MAAC All-Rookie season, returns alongside transfers Caleb Fields (Bowling Green) and Brycen Goodine (Providence), as well as a healthy Jalen Leach, whom Young hopes can stay 100 percent long enough to spell Fields as the backup point guard.

“They’ve been through some wars,” Young said of his guards, emphasizing the higher-level resumes of Fields and Goodine. “Those guys just come in a little more ready, a little more familiar with what it takes to be a college basketball player, and they both have to play. Caleb didn’t play at all last year due to an injury, and Brycen has had really limited minutes since his freshman year at Syracuse. It’s just getting them back on the court playing extended minutes and getting their swagger back. They add to our talent, and they also help our leadership as well.”

“(Long’s) an important part of what we want to do moving forward. We want him to kind of start where he left off. I always say TJ’s more scorer than shooter, and he’s improved going off the bounce, his handle, and his body certainly looks the best since he’s been here.”

A trio of freshmen — Michael Rogan, Anthony Davis, and James Johns, Jr., whose father is one of Young’s assistants — will also see opportunities to make an impact and position themselves among the Stags’ rotation in a season that sees Fairfield take to the road for the first four weeks of its season before welcoming Saint Peter’s into Connecticut on December 3 to christen its new on-campus arena, something Young believes will ultimately revitalize the fan base and community by creating a homecourt advantage that has been seemingly nonexistent the past several years due to both the pandemic and the lack of a steady venue at which to play home games.

“We’re going to have to play the whole month of November on the road because our building won’t be ready until December, but that’s what we did last year,” Young said. “And honestly, we were better on the road last year than we were at home. I think it’s a game changer and the thing we’ve been missing here.”

“My first year here, we played a combination of games in Bridgeport and the old Alumni Hall. My second year, we played all our games in Alumni Hall in front of cardboard cutouts, and then last year all games in Bridgeport, so we’ve been nomads. There’s been no homecourt advantage for us whatsoever, really, so that'll change come December 3. I know the whole campus is excited for that, as is our team.”

The backdrop will be new for half the year, the players donning the red and white somewhat more familiar. But for Young, the objective is the same, as is the vision for a program long considered to be a sleeping giant in the MAAC if properly fed.

“My goal every year is we’ve got to be an upper-level, top four team in the MAAC,” he reiterated. I think this is the year. We’ve got a good group of talent and returning guys here, and there’s still some unknown parts for us, but we need to be a top four team in the MAAC and make a good run in that tournament. That’s what we need to do, win some games and go into that tournament in a good place.”