With sense of urgency heightened, Young is hopeful Fairfield can vault back into MAAC’s top half

Jay Young (center) addressed weaknesses with last year’s Fairfield team, and is optimistic that his Stags can gain ground in wide-open MAAC this season. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

A run to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship game in Jay Young’s second season convinced many that Fairfield’s head coach would take the lightning in a bottle he had caught in 2021 and use it to rebuild the Stags program moving forward.

The momentum did not materialize in 2021-22, nor was it rediscovered last season amid a 13-18 campaign where Fairfield’s identity was largely compromised by its largely anemic offense and challenges in taking and making smart shots. Now entering his fifth season at the helm since replacing Sydney Johnson in 2019, Young is adamant about patching up the cracks in a Stag offense that was dormant for chunks of the past two years.

“I thought that COVID year, we were hammered with practice,” he recounted. “We tried to go too quickly and we were good at nothing, so we just want to make sure we’re going at a speed that’s appropriate for the guys and what they learn, and the group that we have. I think we’ve got a good group of guys, but at this time of year — even with veteran teams — you’re trying to figure out the best way to progress.”

“We were one of the worst teams in the country in doing that,” Young added, addressing his team’s 3-point shooting woes. “I told everybody this: If you told me before the season started that that would be an issue for us, I would have thought you were crazy, but we were just so inconsistent shooting the ball. We just struggled to make threes.”

Fairfield’s intermittent offense will be mitigated in large part by point guard Caleb Fields, who returns for a second season with the Stags that will see him handling a larger share of the workload. With Supreme Cook, Jake Wojcik, Chris Maidoh and Allan Jeanne-Rose all having departed, Fields’ presence is huge for a team that can use continuity going into November. The Bowling Green transfer’s stamina and willingness to take on a major role last season has his coach optimistic about what he will do for an encore.

Caleb Fields’ return at point guard spot should shore up Fairfield’s inconsistencies on offensive end. Bowling Green transfer will be Stags’ floor general and leading scorer. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

“He was a high-volume guy for us, but he handled it well,” Young said of Fields. “He’s one of those guys who, if he plays 38 minutes, there’s really no dropoff in level of play with him. He’s just kind of indefatigable. We’re going to play him as many minutes as we can, but we’ve got a little more depth in that spot with Jasper Floyd and Matt Curtis coming in to help, but Caleb’s going to be out on the floor for us.”

Fields will have his share of complementary pieces in the backcourt, with Jalen Leach and Brycen Goodine both back at 100 percent after injuries limited their contributions last year. Leach spelled Fields as a backup point guard last season and could play more off the ball this year, while Goodine — a Providence transfer expected to be a major addition for the Stags — was shelved for all but four games with a knee injury that has since healed and given rise to the high-major talent that arrived in Connecticut with multiple plaudits.

“Brycen just got cleared for contact this past Monday,” Young revealed. “He did a lot of non-contact stuff with shooting and we’re still kind of going slow with him, but he looks great, he says he feels great, he says his knee is 100 percent. He’s got a lot of pop in his legs, and he was a guy obviously last year that was a big loss for us. We brought him in as a guy who, offensively, certainly could help us and help us go get a basket, and we never got to see that. So we’re hoping he comes back and has the year that we expect him to have.”

On the wing, Michael Rogan and Anthony Davis, Jr., both of whom redshirted a year ago, are ready to see the floor and step into a backcourt that will allow them to acquit themselves early and often. James Johns, Jr., the third piece of last year’s freshman core, is poised for a breakout season on the wing.

“Both of them are good players,” said Young of Rogan and Davis. “Knowing what I know now and how we shot the ball, we were so deep in the season (to burn a redshirt), but Mike’s a guy who could shoot the basketball and he’s got more offense to him than just being a catch-and-shoot guy. Ant’s athletic, kind of a catch-and-shoot guy himself. Both those guys, I thought the redshirt year was really valuable for them, but probably in Mike’s case, if we hadn’t gone past the point of no return with redshirting him, we might have played him because of our inability to make threes.”

“I think for James, it was just a consistency thing for him. He came in with this kind of big reputation. I thought there was going to be some learning curve, (and) there certainly was. But he’s had a really good offseason, I think he’s worked as hard as anybody, he’s put on some much-needed weight, some much-needed muscle. We’re expecting him to take that leap that good players take between their freshman and sophomore years.”

Young will balance the disparity in age with six incoming players, three of whom are freshmen, the other three coming by way of the transfer portal. New Mexico import Birima Seck and Saint Joseph’s expatriate Louis Bleechmore will be integral in a retooled frontcourt, while junior college guard Jasper Floyd comes in to not only lighten the load for Fields at the point, but also supplement him off the ball.

“Birima comes off two years at the University of New Mexico,” Young said of Seck. “He’s got a different type of skill set. He’s got good size, but very skinny, only about 190 pounds, but from end line to end line, he’s an elite runner and can handle the ball with his size, and can make plays for everyone else.”

“I kind of miss Taj (Benning) so much that I want to find a guy like him, so (Floyd) reminds me of Taj Benning a little bit. He’s a big, physical guard that can play multiple guard positions, a good defender that’s got a college-ready body. And then Louie Bleechmore’s a guy that didn’t get much of an opportunity at St. Joe’s, but we had seen him play in junior college a little bit. (He’s a) very athletic, physical frontcourt guy who can play the three or four spot, and can make a shot too. I’ve been pleased with all three of those guys, and they've been good additions. You always worry about bringing in young guys, new guys, but they bring us a level of maturity having been through some wars themselves.”

As for the first-year influx, Matt Curtis will see time in the backcourt while 6-foot-10 Peyton Smith will be more of a contributor down low. Marouf Moumine is a 6-foot-6 wing from Cameroon who has yet to arrive on campus, but will also have a chance to contribute immediately.

“Matt Curtis is a skilled combo guard, can play either guard spot,” Young said. “He’s a good shooter, got a good IQ, he’s a little better off the dribble than I thought. He can get into a shot off the dribble, which is good. We just got Peyton Smith here, the kid we just signed from Hudson Falls, New York, who was going to go to prep school.”

“I don’t know where we fit into young or old. There’s so much change in college basketball right now. We’ve got some older guys on the team, Caleb, Brycen, Birima is a junior, so we do have some guys who will be out there for us who will be a little older. I’d like to get off to a good start for sure.”

Last season, Fairfield’s biggest strength — no pun intended — was its multifaceted and deep-pocketed front line, which featured Cook, Maidoh and Zach Crisler. This year, aside from the 6-foot-11 Seck and the aforementioned Smith, no player on the Stags’ roster is taller than 6-foot-7, which makes size more of a concern than in recent seasons, but Young conceded that the guard-dominant MAAC makes it easier to not place as much of a premium on height.

“It’s funny, he admitted. “We went from having tremendous depth in our frontcourt last year to it being fanned with us losing a few guys up there. But as good as I thought out frontcourt was, if you don’t have good guards in this league, it’s tough to win. I want to rebound and be physical up front, so I’m hoping it’s less of an issue than it is today, but it’s certainly a concern with the lack of depth at that five spot.”

All told, the sense of urgency in the Nutmeg State may be at its highest point in Young’s tenure. Fairfield has yet to finish higher than seventh in the MAAC since he arrived four years ago, and the program has only recorded one first-round bye in the past decade. Young acknowledged the pressure, but is confident that he and his staff have taken strides to close the gap and amend that which may have been broken a year ago.

“We just need to be way more consistent,” he declared. “The difference between us being 18-13 last year instead of 13-18 was our inability to win close games and shoot the ball better. We just lost so many of those, two obviously to Rider that jump out, the two to Manhattan. And we’ve just got to make some shots. Our free throw rate was good, but that was more a combination of us not making shots and finding another way to score, so we drew fouls. We just did not make enough field goals last year, and that’s been a problem.”

“I think we’re close. Obviously on the offensive end, we’ve got to be more consistent. I thought we made a pretty good jump the year before and then we took a step back. Everybody has expectations for the program, none bigger than mine, so yeah, that’s an accurate statement.”

MAAC rookies no more, Mount St. Mary’s looks to use last year’s learning experience to move into top half of league

Dan Engelstad looks on during Mount St. Mary’s trip to Manhattan to conclude first regular season in MAAC. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

Last season’s maiden voyage for Mount St. Mary’s in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference offered a full spectrum of results for a program just 21 months removed from a conference championship when it arrived in Jersey City for its new league’s christening.

The Mountaineers, Northeast Conference emigres, left Run Baby Run Arena on the first night of December with a 15-point win over reigning MAAC champion Saint Peter’s. Backed by 28 points from Jalen Benjamin, The Mount served notice to its new foes that it was not to be taken lightly. 

A close loss to Rider and split of the program’s first-ever Buffalo trip further validated the Mountaineers’ potential, but a four-game losing streak in January relegated them to the bottom half of the MAAC standings. All told, a string of nine losses in 11 games, coupled with an injury to senior forward Malik Jefferson, precluded The Mount from a first-round bye in the conference tournament. But a closing stretch of four wins in its last five regular season games, plus a postseason win in Atlantic City, salvaged a campaign that was largely trial by fire and baptism through experience.

“We said it a lot last year, but you can’t replicate what it actually is,” head coach Dan Engelstad said of how he prepared his squad to navigate the MAAC waters for the first time. “And so now when we talk about it, it’s known that if we don’t match physicality in the MAAC, you’re going to lose because it’s a two-possession league and you’re going to fall on the short end if you’re not coming up with the tough plays that you have to make to win in this league.”

“Now it’s not just, ‘hey, this is what we’ve seen on film.’ We’ve experienced this, and we got on the right side of it at the end a few more times than we did early on because our guys got healthy and they also figured out what it took to meet that. I like that our returners have really been setting a tone in the offseason. That’s been fun to see this summer. We want to make a jump.”

Dakota Leffew (1) assumes leadership role for Mount St. Mary’s after Jalen Benjamin transferred in offseason. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

Engelstad will need his returning upperclassmen, a group headlined by seniors Dakota Leffew and George Tinsley, to spearhead a leap forward as The Mount must replace three stalwarts in Benjamin, Jefferson and Deandre Thomas. The trio, each of whom brought veteran leadership to a blend of youth and battle-hardened mainstays, may be difficult to replace on paper, but early returns from summer workouts have Engelstad cautiously optimistic about the immediate future in Emmitsburg.

“We want to be more competitive throughout the entirety of league play,” he declared. “I’m having as much fun as I’ve ever had coaching. It’s hard to predict in the MAAC because I don’t know a lot of the guys that teams have brought in. I don’t know how they’re going to adjust to the new staffs, so it’s a brand-new league. But the expectation is we’re competing to win.”

“We want to compete to win a MAAC title, and we’ll never shy away from that, but I don’t know what the rest of the league has. I really enjoy coaching my group, and I hope that translates come the season. We’re trying our best to figure out how to win in the margins, but we want to be an upper echelon MAAC team. I like what we return and I like what we’ve brought in. We’ve got to see if it’s good enough.”

In Jefferson’s stead, Jedy Cordilia acquitted himself well stepping into the starting role when the former was injured last season, and returns for his junior year with the expectation of further transitioning into the starting power forward spot. Engelstad is also hopeful that Dola Adebayo and Franta Barton will make significant strides in their heightened roles to solidify The Mount’s front line.

“(Barton) is what Malik was for us in terms of knowing his assignments, being in the right spots,” Engelstad said. “The speed got to him a little bit early on in the league last year, but he caught up to it by the end. We need him to be a physical rebounder because that’s what this league is. He’s had some big moments in his career, and we’re thankful that we’ve had a guy who’s played four years in our program and knows how things should operate, and then Dola is just oozing with talent. He’s getting better and better, he’s stretching the floor. Part of his maturation has been understanding defensive assignments and how to execute. He’s really made some huge leaps there this offseason. For somebody his size to get up as quick as he does, that could be a really good threat on the offensive end to space the floor. We’re excited that he can make a big jump.”

“Having those veterans helps a lot because they see those guys, they see how they’re working, so we’re going to depend on the leadership of those guys. We need Dola to make a big jump (after) losing Malik, a big rebounder and a really solid force for us. But we’ve still got Jedy, we’ve still got George, Dola got some run late, so now we have an established frontcourt that we hope can develop some consistency to be one of the better frontcourts in the MAAC. We like our guys, but we do know that we lost a lot in Jalen’s ability to score, Malik's ability to follow every defensive assignment and rebound, and Deandre’s defense and ability to stretch the floor.”

Thomas’ two-way play on the wing will likely be replaced by Josh Reaves, who returns at full strength for his senior season after leg surgery cost him all but three games last year after serving as a starter for the Mountaineers when they won the NEC championship in 2021.

“Josh had a real serious leg injury where he ended up having a rod put in his leg,” Engelstad said of Reaves’ injury. “He tried to gut it out for us, but the leg didn’t respond early on. He put in a lot of work getting his body right, he’s in great condition, and Josh can really shoot the basketball. He was a starter on an NCAA Tournament team, so he’s played minutes at this level and can be a really solid force. He’s probably the best catch-and-shoot guy we have on our roster, but we just need him to be really solid on the defensive end. He’s got a voice that carries, he’s a competitor and he just wants to win. And that’s helped our practices.”

Five newcomers grace The Mount’s roster this season, a crop of incoming talent Engelstad admits needs to learn the speed and nuances of the college game, but is eager to see how it develops.

“We brought in a lot of really talented young guys,” he reiterated. “They’re just going to be green, guys who just haven’t played Division I basketball. Talent-wise, they’re as talented as anybody I’ve ever recruited, so can they come up to speed?”

“Ron Jessamy was a really talented guy out of Huntington Prep, and he played at Oak Hill. He’s coming off a minor knee injury so we haven’t seen much of him yet, but he’s starting to progress. Deshayne Montgomery is as talented as I’ve brought in. He’s long, he’s rangy, he shoots the ball, he’s a tough kid. We wanted him last year and when he went to Hargrave (Military Academy), we thought we had no chance of getting him, and then he was available late. He’s got a chance to be a really special one, and then Dallas Hobbs is a guy kind of in that Jalen Benjamin role. He can really fill it up, very athletic, not afraid of the moment, he played for Jermaine O’Neal out in Texas. He’s a guy who’s going to impact immediately, and then Malcolm Dread is a big, physical wing forward. We brought a guy like him in to help match the physicality of the league.”

Now with a full year of conference play under his and his program’s belts, Engelstad has a better understanding of what to expect with a Mount unit whose non-conference plate is headlined by the likes of Maryland, Georgetown and Georgia before embarking on a second go-round through the MAAC. When asked what he wanted to do differently this season, he wanted to apply the firsthand tactical knowledge better, but at the same time afford his group a greater sense of independence on the floor.

“We’re trying to play more and give our guys a little bit more freedom offensively,” he said. “I thought we got there a little bit at the end of the year where the ball was moving better, guys were taking and making more shots. We’re really trying to teach them how to play so it’s not as — it’s structured, but it’s guys making reads and decisions, and being a little more free-flowing on offense, generating some better shots.”

“And from a defensive standpoint, we’re really trying to hone in on all the details of some of the strengths of the league, and how to handle guys on the glass as well as some of the actions we saw being run. That’s the one thing we know now. We know how guys attack certain things, and we’ve got to be more prepared to make those adjustments a little bit quicker.”