Despite 0-3 start, Saint Peter’s showing signs of moving in right direction

Bashir Mason hasn’t let winless start dampen his outlook on Saint Peter’s, as Peacocks have competed and look the part of a MAAC contender once again. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

For Bashir Mason, going home again also turned into deja vu when the Jersey City native took the reins at Saint Peter’s in 2022.

After ascending to the head coaching chair at Wagner in 2012, when he replaced Dan Hurley after the latter parlayed a 25-win season into the vacancy at Rhode Island, Mason followed another mid-major success story at Saint Peter’s after he was tabbed to pick up where Shaheen Holloway left off before he was hired at Seton Hall on the heels of the Peacocks’ historic run to a regional final.

Mason needed only two years to return Saint Peter’s to the NCAA Tournament—his first as a head coach after several heartbreaking near-misses at Wagner—and did so with a team picked tenth in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference preseason poll. This year, the Peacocks were not as lightly regarded—picked fifth—but have continued to make those who doubt them at their own risk look foolish for doing so, even with an 0-3 beginning to a season in which Saint Peter’s has looked like one of the better MAAC teams through early returns.

“You know our culture,” Mason said after Saint Peter’s battled Rutgers to the wire on Monday before falling just short, leading with less than four minutes remaining in regulation. “We’re gonna defend and be tough. We’ve been in every game, and as we grow up throughout this season, we’ll start winning them.”

“What I know about us, and I think most people in the country know about us, we’re tough. We play really hard, we’re scrappy, and I think we’re taking steps in the right direction early on in this season.”

Mason has received valuable contributions from Marcus Randolph, a senior whose 22 points against Rutgers kept the Peacocks alive down the stretch in Piscataway, as well as fellow holdovers Brent Bland, Mouhamed Sow and Armoni Zeigler. The point guard position, thought of to be a question mark at the beginning of the year, has been filled admirably, first by Bryce Eaton and most recently TJ Morris. Despite his lack of experience as a floor general, Morris stepped in after Eaton left the Rutgers game with an undisclosed injury, and showed a maturity beyond his years in a baptism by fire of sorts.

“He’s played zero minutes at the point,” Mason said of Morris. “For him to be put in that position right there and play the most minutes he’s played in three games in this level of a game and not be afraid? He got up 16 shots, and I’m okay with that. I want him to make more, but if we can keep him in that headspace and growing, getting better, that kid TJ Morris is gonna be special for us.”

Morris’ player development, along with everyone else on the roster, is a testament to Mason’s own toughness as a player and coach, which trickles down to his roster in practice and games. The no-frills schedule the Peacocks have played is another embodiment of that trait, as the allure of a six-figure check in a guarantee game does not carry the same value as testing their mettle against the heavyweights of the Northeast.

“These are the games we get excited for,” said Mason, who scheduled Rutgers one week after nearly defeating Seton Hall in Saint Peter’s season opener. “I have no interest in ever playing Kentucky, Arizona, Gonzaga. I want to play Rutgers, I want to play Seton Hall, I want to play St. John’s. I want to play the schools in the metropolitan area because there’s an energy about it that I enjoy.”

That energy has carried over into the start of the year, and has been maintained as the Peacocks navigate non-conference play. Like most coaches in one-bid leagues, Mason is not as concerned with his team’s record at this juncture, but instead more interested in how his unit grows over the course of the first two months before turning up the already high intensity come MAAC play. By that time, he hopes, those who continue to sleep on Saint Peter’s will be proven wrong yet again as he seeks to become the first coach to repeat as a MAAC champion since Tim Cluess won four straight tournament championships at Iona from 2016 to 2019.

“I’m going into the season as if it’s a marathon season for us,” Mason admitted. “I’ve got eight new players, they’re road warriors to start. We’ve got two home games in our non-conference and I’ve gotta keep these young guys confident. I’ve gotta continue to develop them, but I do believe, wholeheartedly, I have a championship-level roster. If I keep us moving in the right direction, then we’ll be really good coming down the stretch.”