Iona’s early MAAC tourney exit is bitter, but not enough to dampen enthusiasm for future under Geriot

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Dan Geriot returned to the scene of one of his greatest moments in college basketball Thursday.

At Boardwalk Hall 15 years ago, the Iona head coach cut a piece of the net when he — a senior forward at the University of Richmond then — was instrumental in the Spiders winning the Atlantic 10 tournament in Atlantic City before an improbable run to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 a fortnight later.

Lightning did not strike twice for Geriot nor his Iona team, as the Gaels were eliminated from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament by Sacred Heart, but it did provide perspective for the first-year coach and his players on the journey of navigating uncharted territory with a new roster and the experience that came with it.

“You gotta grow from it,” Geriot reflected after a 91-80 loss that concludes his rookie coaching campaign with an 18-14 record, one that included 10 conference wins in his maiden voyage as Tobin Anderson’s successor in New Rochelle. “We really had some opportunities, and that’s the stuff you gotta go through, even as simple as opportunities this year where I dropped the ball. I feel pretty comfortable where I’m growing and where I’m going, but I feel for these guys, though. These seniors laid a pretty good foundation for what it means when our coaching staff believes in you.”

CJ Anthony is the first exhibit of Geriots player development and the power of trust. Having transferred to Iona from Cincinnati, where he sparingly played as a walk-on, the senior point guard arrived in New York as a relative unknown. He leaves for the professional ranks following a revelatory year that not only garnered all-MAAC recognition, but a reinvigorated confidence.

“For me, it’s different,” he said. “Obviously coming from a school (where) I didn’t play, I just wanted the opportunity to play and to be loved, be appreciated. So for me to have a chance to do that at Iona, I’m just grateful. I obviously wish I could represent you guys harder, better, and put together a better season. I feel like we stayed together throughout the whole season, we came back, we hustled every day, we stuck with our process, and hopefully we just left a good foundation for the next years to come.”

Luke Jungers, the one link between this year’s Iona team and last season after remaining in the program following Anderson’s shocking dismissal, echoed that sentiment.

“I took a gamble to stay here, and I think for me, it paid off,” Jungers proudly shared. “Trusting in Coach Geriot, Coach (Patrick) Wallace, and everyone on the coaching staff was a big deal for me, especially going through this year. A lot of ups and downs…if you look at my minutes, I didn’t even get off the bench the first couple games of the year. To just have a team that backs me up, a coaching staff that backs me up and gets me better every day, is really valuable.”

Geriot’s NBA background proved to be instrumental in developing a roster that, as presently constructed, stands to return the majority of its core despite losing critical pieces such as Anthony and forward Lamin Sabally, as well as fellow senior Toby Harris. However, it was the coach’s time away from the college ranks that he feels compromised the group’s potential, he revealed.

“Not being in college hoops for ten years was one of the biggest detriments for me personally,” Geriot conceded. “I could watch all the film in the world, I could stay up and watch every game, watch every team, watch every clip. Until you’re back in it, feel it, understand it, it’s hard to predict it.”

“I thought we handled that pretty well as we went through the year, but that’s my thing for the spring here: We’ve gotta get guys better internally, and then externally, we’ve gotta do the right thing with our roster build and where we’re headed. When things happen in the spring, we’ll be shaped a little differently, and I think that’ll be a reason that our standard gets back to where Iona needs to be.”

Jungers, who has one remaining year of eligibility, spoke positively of the younger contingent of Gaels stepping up to be key pieces of next year’s team. Included in that group but not mentioned directly was freshman forward Deondrea Lindsey, who redshirted this year but was highlighted by Geriot as an impact player before the season. And even if the overall result is not what fans have come to know and expect from Iona, the latest retooling at the flag-bearing MAAC member suggests a return to the status quo is closer in the mirror than it appears.

“There’s a lot of guys on our roster right now that can come back that are gonna be meaningful contributors to the team next year,” Jungers said. “(There were) a lot of growing pains, but at the end of the day, we got better and we played together, and that’s all we can really ask.”