Quinnipiac hoping to build on last year’s resurgence as Pecora gets back in saddle

Tom Pecora (seated, second from right) takes over for Baker Dunleavy at Quinnipiac this season. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

Eight years have passed since Tom Pecora last coached a college game, an Atlantic 10 Conference tournament matchup pitting his Fordham squad against eventual league champion VCU.

Fordham parted ways with Pecora that offseason, with the coach wading into the media waters for two seasons to do color commentary for regional games in the Northeast before returning to the college ranks in 2017 as Baker Dunleavy’s associate head coach at Quinnipiac. Dunleavy left his post in Hamden in April for the newly established general manager position at Villanova, with Pecora tabbed as his immediate successor by athletic director Greg Amodio.

Pecora is no stranger to the Division I game, with 14 years as a head coach split between Hofstra and Fordham. However, the world he now returns to is markedly different from where it stood the last time he was in charge of a program back in March of 2015. That said, the grizzled veteran feels right at home amid the fluid landscape, and is excited to tackle his new endeavor with a Bobcat team that won 20 games last season and finished third in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

“The game changes,” Pecora said of the contrast in college basketball now to what it was when he paced the sideline at Rose Hill Gym. “The game changes year to year, but that’s what makes the game exciting. This is the seventh university or high school I’ve worked at over a 40-year career, and every place has their challenges, their blemishes, their strengths. It’s hard when you look at my career. You compare the Hofstra experience to the Fordham experience, and it’s totally apples and oranges. I think the scenario here at Quinnipiac is much more similar to Hofstra than the Fordham I was working at. I think the Fordham that’s going on right now is exceptional. I think they’re doing a great job with all the changes that have been made, and I think the leadership there has really made a huge difference.”

“As far as being an assistant, it was an interesting process. I had opportunities to go to a lot of places when I left Fordham, but at the time, our youngest — our son, Sean — was in eighth grade and I didn’t want to be too far away. I didn’t want to pick up and move my family, so I sat back and waited for an opportunity like this one, to come up here and work with Baker. And this is a great place. I think we’ve only scratched the surface in regards to what we can do here and the success we can have. The commitment here is at a very, very high level. Next to our campus is a state park that’s called Sleeping Giant, and I think that’s a metaphor for this program.”

The giant Pecora hopes to awaken returns three starters, with fifth-year seniors Matt Balanc and Savion Lewis leading a backcourt that also includes junior college import Doug Young and senior Arion Lewis, no relation to Savion. A deep and versatile backcourt has always been the trademark of every Pecora team, going back to the days of Antoine Agudio, Carlos Rivera and Loren Stokes at Hofstra; or Branden Frazier, Bryan Smith and Mandell Thomas at Fordham, and the cadre of guards in the blue and gold this year is no exception.

Matt Balanc (2) returns for his fifth year and should be Quinnipiac’s leading scorer. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

“In Matt’s case, he’s played more of a three-four spot for us in the past,” Pecora said of Balanc and his credentials as a multi-position guard. “I think he’s going to be transitioning and playing a little more as a two this year, directly off the ball as a shooting guard. Savion’s just got to have a healthy season. He’s just learning how to work smart and take care of his body so he’ll be able to get through this season healthy, and we need him to do that. His veteran leadership with the ball in his hands, I’ve demanded that over the years. I’ve been very blessed to have good guards, so I expect a lot from both of those guys.”

“The day after I got named (head coach), I brought them in the next morning and made them captains, and started to talk to them about the responsibility that comes with that. I expect a great deal from them, and up to this point, they’ve done a wonderful job with it. The experience that Matt and Savion have had here at Quinnipiac, the success that they’ve had, that’s going to help us tremendously.”

Up front, Paul Otieno returns to anchor the paint after his first season in Division I saw him rank among the MAAC leaders in rebounding. Otieno will shepherd Alexis Reyes and JJ Riggins along in the interior, with Elijah Taylor also working his way back from a torn ACL and Richie Springs arriving on the heels of winning a national championship at UConn. The Bobcats also added Amarri Tice, a physical 6-foot-7 forward Pecora effusively praised, citing his size and physique as an advantage for a retooled front line that will be deceptively strong as the year goes on.

“There’s a lot of experience out there,” Pecora gushed with regard to his forwards. “I really think it’s about blending them together. We’re going to have a strong frontcourt. I’m very pleased with the job Richie Springs has done. He’s come in here and his skill level is higher than I originally anticipated, so he’s going to have the ability to play the four and stretch the floor. He’s shooting the ball very well, he’s got the ability to get into dribble handoffs and put the ball on the deck to get to the rim, and that’s key.”

“I think we’re going to be bigger and more physical on the baseline than we’ve ever been, and still have the ability to shoot the basketball. And with those veterans that played minutes, even if they played spot minutes, it doesn’t matter. They’ve been on the floor, they’ve been through the battles, and that can help you tremendously when guys go down during the season.”

The depth that was absent last season amid injuries has manifested with a potent bench, as Riggins, Taylor and Quinn Guth are the experienced reserves that join a handful of newcomers. Each of the additions to the Quinnipiac roster brings a unique skill set that should enhance the overall growth of a hungry team eager to pick up where it left off.

“We’re two-deep at each spot, which has made competition this summer incredible,” Pecora said of his second unit. “Doug Young is a JUCO transferring in from Midland in Texas, he’ll compete with Savion for minutes at the point. I think Ri Vavers, a long 6-foot-7 3-point shooter, can really create space on the floor. And at that length and size, when he keeps the ball in front of him, he can be a great defender. And then, our young guys…Khaden Bennett is a Texas native, for a young guy, he’s physically capable of competing in this league, which is not always the case. Daemar Kelly comes to us from the Pittsburgh area, a long, high-level athlete who was an all-state high jumper, he’s really come on and become a very good defender this summer. You can see that growth in the young guys.”

“The gap is so great now. We have fifth and sixth-year seniors, so it’s an interesting dynamic, but the older guys have done a great job of taking the young guys under their wing, showing them the way we go about our business each day. And that’s important. The old expression still lies true. You can’t coach your locker room. You need veterans in there that hold guys accountable and make sure guys understand what it’s going to take to win. I think that’s more important now than ever. You have three all-conference teams and no one’s left. If they didn’t graduate, they transferred, and I think the turnover has just been incredible in the course of a year.”

Quinnipiac will be tested in the non-conference season, with a glut of home games balancing trips to UMass and Florida that headline the ledger before MAAC play begins. Pecora is satisfied with the dichotomy in the schedule, noting that its composition is beneficial for the all-important growth phase for a roster that is equal parts young and old.

“That’s when a team grows,” he said of the non-conference schedule. “You want to come out of the gate strong, you want to enforce good habits early, but you also understand there’s going to be some growing pains. Our ability to once again get some home games was important. Our fan base came on strong last season, and as we keep moving forward, that’s something we need to continue to grow.”

“When you look at Matt Balanc, Savion Lewis and Paul Otieno, they’re three guys that spent a lot of time on the floor last season. You have great experience with Matt and with Savion, and then Paul played major minutes for us at the five spot last year. Alexis Reyes came on as the year went on and played a lion’s share of minutes as well. JJ Riggins is back and he played quite a bit, but you talk about the turnover, and I think that’s something that, in every program, you’re going to be dealing with. That’ll have a greater effect in the non-conference as you’re trying to find your way and there’s new bodies.”

Staying in house to replace Dunleavy was vital to Quinnipiac’s short-term future from a continuity perspective, as Pecora highlighted the known commodities his program could carry while recruiting. That said, while the faces within the locker room are familiar, the style of play might not be a carbon copy what Dunleavy employed. In fact, Pecora is hoping to install more defensive schemes that will get his team to play more aggressive and at a quicker tempo than seasons past.

“You’ll see some minor changes, more on the defensive end,” he revealed. “I think we’re going to try to play a little bit faster. I think our baseline and the physicality of it is going to allow us to really work the boards at both ends harder and might give us more opportunities to get offensive rebounds. If we can string stops together and get out and go, that’s what we’re hoping to do. I think we’ll be playing more multiple defenses than we have in the past, and I find that to be fun. I think that’s exciting and I think the players enjoy that. We’re not going to be a vanilla group. We’re going to do a lot of different things and have some fun doing it.”