St. John’s driven by contagious commitment to winning, picked 4th in Big East

St. John’s head coach Mike Anderson (left), Julian Champagnie (center) and Stef Smith (right) discuss Red Storm’s upside and prospects at Big East media day Tuesday. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

NEW YORK — The last time St. John’s entered a season with this much upside and an equally bullish perception from insiders to match, the Red Storm backed up the pundits’ faith with a trip to the NCAA Tournament behind an all-conference superstar.

That may be the only common denominator between the Johnnies of 2018-19 and the group that opens play on November 9, when it will welcome Mississippi Valley State into what will undoubtedly be a sold-out Carnesecca Arena.

Picked fourth in the Big East Conference preseason poll — the same spot it occupied three years ago — released Tuesday morning during the league’s annual media day festivities, St. John’s is night and day from where it stood as a program in what turned out to be Chris Mullin's final season at the helm of his alma mater. The star-crossed future and development of a professional prospect in the making — Shamorie Ponds then, Julian Champagnie now — has been replaced with a quiet confidence, a swagger that has bred insatiable optimism on the corner of Union and Utopia.

“The guys that are in place in our program now are guys that we brought in,” head coach Mike Anderson proclaimed inside Madison Square Garden, where St. John’s will play four of its Big East home games during the regular season. “I think that’s more important, and I talked about it from day one. I want guys that are going to be able to do the right thing on and off the floor, guys who fit, character guys. And these guys are doing that.”

“I think when a team takes on the personality of the coach, you’re moving in the right direction. Last year, when I heard, ‘You know what? That looked like a New York team,’ I took a lot of pride in that. We’ve got three guys coming back from that team, but we’ve added some more pieces to this team, so I’m anxious to see how it ends up.”

Champagnie and Posh Alexander, first and second team preseason all-Big East honorees, respectively, and sophomore guard Dylan Addae-Wusu, are the incumbent trio in Queens, but Anderson and his staff recruited the transfer portal as actively as any Big East program in having to replace eight players from a team that likely would have made the postseason in a normal year. Guards Montez Mathis (Rutgers) and Stef Smith (Vermont) arrive to shore up the defense and shooting in the backcourt, with Aaron Wheeler (Purdue) and Joel Soriano (Fordham) adding a more promising and physically imposing brand of basketball on a front line that, at times, was forced to play undersized in relation to its opposition.

“We’ve got a lot of question marks, and I’m getting towards some of those answers,” a candid Anderson revealed. “We’ll get more into those answers as we get into practice and get into games. Our team will not be a one, two-man team, it won’t be just Julian and Posh. It’s gotta be Stef, it’s gotta be Aaron Wheeler, it’s gotta be Joel. We’ve got to be a team that’s got to play with a lot of depth to play the way we want to play.”

St. John’s, with Champagnie leading the charge after the junior tested the NBA Draft waters in the offseason only to return to school, will no doubt look to double down on Anderson’s 40 Minutes of Hell mentality, which predicates itself on creating defensive chaos and thriving in transition with rugged, bulldog-type players who have bought into a philosophy Anderson instilled from the jump following his April 2019 arrival, despite the perceived notion that a lack of New York ties would pronounce him dead on arrival.

“If you asked me now if I knew all this two years ago, no, I did not know all that,” he admitted. “But to be where we are, it makes a great statement about the guys who are here. You look at Julian, one of the first guys that I brought on board with me, and look where he is right now. It tells me there’s some trust going on, there’s a culture shift. And the shift is all about winning.”

“As you could see, we’re excited about this basketball team becoming the best version of itself. I think that’s the most important thing. Everybody wants to talk about where you’re going to be at the end of the season. We know where we want to be. I say it every year: If you’re not sitting here thinking about winning a national championship, then you’re in the wrong business.”

Big East media day photo gallery

Photos from the 2021 Big East Conference basketball media day at Madison Square Garden on October 18, 2021:

(All photos by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

Kevin Willard quote book: Big East media day

On Jared Rhoden being named first team all-Big East:

“I think he’s progressed really nice. He has a great work ethic, and when he got on campus — obviously he was more of a power forward when he came in — but he’s worked really hard on his ball skill, he’s worked really hard on shooting, so it’s been a nice progression for him.”

On potential Big East expansion:

“It’s over my pay grade. I think we’re in a really good spot as a league. If there’s someone that makes sense, if the presidents and ADs think it makes sense, obviously they know more than me.”

On the double round robin setup of the Big East schedule:

“I think it really makes it fair. I think the Big East regular season champion has earned it, and you can’t say, ‘well, he didn’t get to play him twice, he didn’t get to play them twice.’ It’s a fair and true test.”

On Seton Hall’s current health:

“We’re behind. To be honest with you, I’m a little worried, but we’ve got a couple of weeks to kind of get things going in the right direction. Everyone got COVID in September, so it’s not a 10-day (recovery), it’s 21 days that you miss. We had eight kids get it at different times, so we missed a big chunk of September, and then we lost our gym. We didn’t have a gym for two-and-a-half weeks.”

On practicing at Walsh Gymnasium:

“Walsh is great. That’s why we’re kind of getting back into it a little bit more. We’re just a little bit behind, we’re about two weeks behind.”

On scheduling an exhibition game:

“Well, we were going to do two scrimmages, but because of COVID and some scheduling conflicts with the gym, I decided to throw in an exhibition. It was going to be two scrimmages this year just because we’re a little bit older, but also I think being in front of fans is important. We had the Blue-White (scrimmage) the other day, it was a great environment, but there was nerves. We haven’t played in front of fans in almost two years if you think about it. The last time these guys played in front of fans — I mean, Butler had 5,000 and they were nervous — we didn’t play well. To get them back in front of fans, I think is the biggest thing.”

On differences in Rhoden this year:

“I really say this: I don’t think this team’s going to have a guy. I think we’re deep enough where there’s going to be two or three guys. I think the biggest difference between this year and years before is he doesn’t have pressure to where he has to be the guy. It’s just (that) we're too old, we’re too deep, and there’s not going to be one guy on this team.”

On Rhoden being a leader:

“He is. But Myles Cale, Ikey, they’re all fifth-year guys, so there’s not a huge need for someone to be this leader when you have multiple leaders. Myles Cale has been to three NCAA Tournaments and he’s started in all three of them, Ikey has been a huge part of what we’ve done, Bryce is a fifth-year guy, so the leadership role is more by committee because they’ve all been in big roles. But that’s always been Jared. He always plays with a lot of energy, so I think that’s one of the reasons why he’s progressed as a player, because he has an unbelievable work ethic and he has tremendous energy.”

On Rhoden’s progression:

“I say one thing to every recruit: If you love to work on your game and you love being in the gym and working out, I’m a great coach to play for. If you don’t like working on your game and you don’t like working, then I’m a terrible guy to play for. And Jared loves working on his game, and he does it with an unbelievable energy. And that’s why guys like that always succeed with me, because I love being in the gym with them. It’s what we built this program about.”

On incoming players being primary options vs. role players:

“It’s hard right now, to be honest with you. We’re not nearly where we need to be, and we have fifth-year guys that are coming in and starting, trying to figure out how we do things with guys who know how we do things — defensively, a breakdown here or there, which would never happen — it’s been a little more difficult and I think it’s been a little more boring to some of the returners, because I’ve had to really break down certain things. I think it would be a lot easier if you bring in a fifth-year guy to come off your bench. It makes it much easier when you know who your top two are, like Posh (Alexander) and Julian (Champagnie), you know who’s going to shoot the basketball. We have five guys — in practice the other day, I had five guys that, any one of them, I could get a shot for and feel comfortable with them getting a shot. I probably need to get them shots, so it’s probably going to be a little bit of a feeling-out process, and it still is. Guys are still getting comfortable with what they can do and they can’t do.”

On Rhoden helping the transition process:

“I’ll be honest with you: It’s comfortable to have Myles Cale. He’s always been my security blanket. A guy like Myles is someone (who) I know what I’m going to get every second he’s out there. He’s never missed a day of practice, he’s been as steady as anybody can be. He always is.”

On Alexis Yetna:

“I think he gives us an opportunity to play smaller at times. We struggled last year with teams that had small five players, I’d have to ask (Obiagu) to play guys that it’s really hard for him to play, because he’s probably the best rim protector in college basketball, but at times, what teams tried to do was go smaller against us. It would have made it difficult for us to guard smaller fives, so he gives us a chance to play a little bit more — with Tyrese and him, we can play small — he gives us a chance to play small ball, which we haven’t had an opportunity to do.”

On Kadary Richmond and Jamir Harris in the backcourt:

“I think we’ve added a couple of extra ball handlers, which really helped. I think last year, Shavar did an unbelievable job for us. It also gives us a chance to defend that position better, where we really had to be careful how we played defense last year because Shavar got in foul trouble. It gives us a chance to play more aggressive defensively.”

On expectations for Tyrese Samuel:

“I think he’s gotta take that step. He’s got to realize that opportunity’s there, and he’s got to step up and do it. He’s capable of doing it, he just has to do it. It’s easy for all of us to say. I’ve seen it flicker. I just need to see it more consistently, and I think he needs to see it more consistently. It’s night and day when he’s playing at a high level. He’s an extremely talented player, but the consistency of doing it when you’re on the floor, it’s his biggest challenge and it’s always been his biggest challenge. If he gets that down and that light switch goes off, I wouldn’t want to play against him. I wouldn't want to play against anybody at my age.”

On Jahari Long and Tray Jackson:

“Well, Jahari’s been out three months with a knee injury, so Jahari’s kind of up in the air right now. But Tray has really taken some good strides. It was really tough when he got eligible in the middle of December, technically in the middle of Big East play. It’s tough to kind of fit him in, but now he’s had a full, a really good summer, he’s had a good preseason so far. I think Tray is going to be a big boost for us.”

On UConn returning to the Big East:

“Oh, I gotta be nice on this one. You want the real answer, or do you want the political answer? I think it’s great. I’m a huge fan of having them back. When I played, I played against Ray Allen, all those guys, so to have them back, I think, it’s added another great team to this league. And I think the way Danny coaches fits this league. They’re tough, they rebound, I think it fits really well.”

2021-22 MAAC preview: Will Iona win 6th straight tournament?

Rick Pitino’s maiden voyage at Iona resulted in MAAC championship, and first full season may only be the beginning as Gaels enter this year as consensus league favorite. (Photo by Iona College Athletics)

Now that Rick Pitino needed only four months to win a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship at Iona, one question is central to anyone following the MAAC this season:

Who, if anyone, can stop the Gaels from tightening their stranglehold on the MAAC tournament, an event that has seen the maroon and gold cut the nets five consecutive times?

Pitino smartly reloaded in the wake of graduating Isaiah Ross and Asante Gist, landing Elijah Joiner, Tyson Jolly and Quinn Slazinski in the transfer portal from Tulsa, SMU and Louisville, respectively. The trio joins returning starters Berrick Jean-Louis and reigning MAAC Rookie of the Year Nelly Junior Joseph to form one of the more intimidating top fives in recent conference history. Moreover, senior Dylan van Eyck is back as a sixth man of sorts, and if sophomore Ryan Myers — lauded by Pitino this offseason for his shooting improvement in the Hall of Fame coach’s vaunted player development sessions — can take an incremental leap, the high expectations already placed in and around New Rochelle may very well be exceeded.

Leading the challengers will be the three New Jersey schools, each of whom brings back a significant piece from its past. Saint Peter’s, arguably the most fearless team in the MAAC, was able to bring KC Ndefo back for his senior season after it was widely assumed he would not return when he entered the transfer portal. Ndefo, along with Daryl Banks III and the most underrated point guard in the conference in Matthew Lee, will be the keys for Shaheen Holloway to slay the giant. The Peacocks also return twins Fousseyni and Hassan Drame, along with Doug Edert, Marty Silvera and Oumar Diahame while welcoming a hungry, young core that will be able to make an immediate impact.

Monmouth lost Deion Hammond and Melik Martin from a roster that found a way to share of the regular season crown last year, but the Hawks retained George Papas after the Garden State native elected to come back to West Long Branch, as did Marcus McClary. King Rice added a trio of incoming freshmen and a pair of transfers in Shavar Reynolds (Seton Hall) and Walker Miller (North Carolina) to solidify his program’s habitual place among the top half of the MAAC. Rider is one of two schools to attract a former player back, as two-time first team all-MAAC forward Dimencio Vaughn has resurfaced in Lawrenceville to use his COVID year after a season at Ole Miss. Dwight Murray, Jr., who should have been a first team all-conference selection last year, will co-anchor the Broncs’ efforts, with help from a supporting cast headlined by transfers Mervin James and Sedrick Altman, as well as Allen Powell and point guard Corey McKeithan, who has recovered from a torn ACL to free up Murray to be more of a scoring threat.

Fairfield, last year’s MAAC tournament runner-up, has a pair of seniors in Taj Benning and Jesus Cruz to team with Jake Wojcik and Caleb Green as head coach Jay Young continues to change the culture in the Stags’ program. Elsewhere in the Nutmeg State, Quinnipiac also saw a familiar face come home again, as Kevin Marfo transferred back to Hamden from Texas A&M. Along with Jacob Rigoni, Tymu Chenery and Luis Kortright; plus a healthy Elias King, Baker Dunleavy has quite possibly his most potent arsenal in what is now his fifth season at the helm.

Siena, the regular season champion of the past two seasons, has a new look about them after Manny Camper turned pro, while Jalen Pickett and Jordan King transferred to Penn State and East Tennessee State, respectively. Head coach Carmen Maciariello recruited the transfer portal more actively than anyone this offseason, bringing Anthony Gaines, Jayce Johnson, Colby Rogers, Jordan Kellier, Michael Baer and Mike Tertsea to the Capital Region to mesh with returning forward Jackson Stormo and sophomore point guard Aidan Carpenter to keep the Saints forwardly placed. Marist brings back the bulk of its roster as Jordan Jones anchors the paint and Ricardo Wright leads the backcourt in his sophomore season, but head coach John Dunne has been high on incoming freshman Jao Ituka, who will contend for all-rookie honors alongside fellow newcomer Noah Harris.

Niagara also has its most experienced roster coming back under Greg Paulus, with Marcus Hammond returning for his senior season to lead a supporting cast that includes Raheem Solomon, Justin Roberts, Greg Kuakumensah and South Alabama graduate transfer Sam Iorio. Crosstown rival Canisius has a promising core in place behind Malek Green, Jordan Henderson and Ahamadou Fofana. Finally, Manhattan has its deepest and most talented roster since winning the MAAC championship in 2015. Newcomers Josh Roberts and Jose Perez join Anthony Nelson, Warren Williams, Elijah Buchanan, Samir Stewart and Samba Diallo to give Steve Masiello a multitude of options as the Jaspers seek their first winning season since winning it all six years ago.

Projected Order of Finish

1) Iona — Bet against Rick Pitino at your own risk, even though the Gaels’ road to the top will not be the runaway most people expect.

2) Saint Peter’s — KC Ndefo’s return was the biggest boost to a scrappy Peacocks team that finds ways to win better than most. Shaheen Holloway should have a more cohesive group this season, and will no doubt have his team ready for all situations.

3) Monmouth — The Hawks have been one of few constants atop the MAAC the past several years, and that should not change this season. Shavar Reynolds and Samuel Chaput will give King Rice an interchangeable point guard pairing to free up George Papas and Marcus McClary. If Walker Miller can use his size efficiently, Monmouth could finish even higher.

4) Fairfield — The Stags may be the most deceptively strong team in the MAAC between its steady backcourt play and suffocating defense. Jay Young has not gotten anywhere near as much credit as he deserves for turning Fairfield into a quiet contender.

5) Siena — Carmen Maciariello has made over the roster in the offseason, but the Saints are faster and more athletic this year, and should have no problem exceeding expectations.

6) Marist — John Dunne’s group will have legitimate hype this season. The Red Foxes will need Jordan Jones and Ricardo Wright to take the next step in tandem with their supporting cast.

7) Rider — Dimencio Vaughn’s return cannot be understated, as he and Dwight Murray will help the Broncs make up a lot of ground this year. Corey McKeithan’s arrival at point guard will allow both Vaughn and Murray to intimidate defenses off the ball easily.

8) Manhattan — Steve Masiello brings into Riverdale the most talent in the program since its back-to-back MAAC championships in what will be a pivotal year for the Jaspers.

9) Quinnipiac — Kevin Marfo’s second stint in Hamden should allow Jacob Rigoni to be more comfortable as a shooter, while the Bobcats’ depth could be the strongest in the conference.

10) Niagara — The good news for the Purple Eagles is that Greg Paulus has his most experienced roster. The bad news is that the MAAC as a whole has improved just as much.

11) Canisius — Malek Green will need to be the X-factor for the Golden Griffins, but Reggie Witherspoon has always gotten his role players to improve. Expect more of the same this season.

All-MAAC Preseason Predictions

Preseason Player of the Year: KC Ndefo, Saint Peter’s

Preseason Rookie of the Year: Jao Ituka, Marist

First team

Marcus Hammond, Niagara

Nelly Junior Joseph, Iona

Dwight Murray, Jr., Rider

KC Ndefo, Saint Peter’s

Dimencio Vaughn, Rider

Second team

Daryl Banks III, Saint Peter’s

George Papas, Monmouth

Jacob Rigoni, Quinnipiac

Warren Williams, Manhattan

Jake Wojcik, Fairfield

Third team

Taj Benning, Fairfield

Malek Green, Canisius

Jordan Jones, Marist

Kevin Marfo, Quinnipiac

Anthony Nelson, Manhattan

Jackson Stormo, Siena

Unfinished business brought Rutgers seniors back for one more run

Geo Baker (0) and Ron Harper, Jr. (24) both flirted with NBA Draft process, but each returned to Rutgers with unfinished business and larger goals at hand. (Photo by NJ Advance Media)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — In the wake of Rutgers’ second-round NCAA Tournament loss to Houston, several events transpired that shaped the narrative for the year ahead.

First, Myles Johnson and Jacob Young transferred to the Pac-12, with Johnson enrolling in a graduate engineering program at UCLA while Young headed to Oregon. Shortly thereafter, Montez Mathis took his talents across the Hudson River, opting to spend his final two years with Mike Anderson and St. John’s. Between all the shuffle, the futures of Geo Baker and Ron Harper, Jr., the Scarlet Knights’ top two players, hung in the balance while each tested the NBA Draft waters.

Baker was first to announce his return after an anticipation period lasting most of the spring and summer. Then, after initially leaning toward turning pro, Harper soon followed. The pair, and fourth-year junior Caleb McConnell, had a common denominator in their decisions to remain on the banks:

Unfinished business.

“I think it was a combination of things,” Baker admitted with regard to his offseason decision. “I definitely learned a lot during the process, I went up against some really good players, but (with) the COVID year (and) not ending on a good note, losing that game against Houston, I think those were two things that are important. And I want to take one more crack at it with my brothers. I feel like we have a really good time, and I’m excited to do it.”

“To be honest, I didn’t see myself coming back to Rutgers for my final year,” Harper, the native New Jerseyan, revealed. “I was still always around here working out and playing pickup with the guys, and this team just attracted me like nothing else. I wanted to play for this team, I wanted to play with these guys, and ultimately, I came back because I wanted to be a part of this group one more time. Me and Geo would talk a lot of times about the process and what we wanted to do, and we thought that if we came back and we ran it back one more year, it’d be a truly special year. We both agreed that we’ve got a special group of guys, and we can’t wait to work with them. This season’s gonna be a fun one, and I can’t wait to put my heart on the line every day for these guys.”

Harper was noticeably vocal about how the team bonded in the offseason, citing its impact on the Scarlet Knights being more connected on the floor, which is also a byproduct of head coach Steve Pikiell’s infectious energy that McConnell feels was a major influence in the trio choosing to play in Piscataway.

“I wanted to be a culture changer,” McConnell proudly declared. “I wanted to come here and change the program around, and this is a place that I knew I could win at. If your leader is saying those things and preaching those things, I feel like that’s a big thing, especially when choosing a school.”

“We fell in love with Pike when we came here, and we made a difference. We changed the culture, and now we’re trying to keep it going and raise the bar higher. As a whole, if we set the bar higher, can’t nobody stop us.”

The return of an experienced core, as well as a raucous crowd at the RAC, has players and fans naturally dreaming big on the heels of waters that had not been navigated since 1991. Normally, expectations would be tempered for a group of this ilk, but with Pikiell being the first to embrace the lofty goals, his players have once again followed suit in the latest affirmation of trust in their leader.

“I’ve been here at Rutgers through it all,” said Harper. “We finished 12th when I got here my freshman year, so it’s just come full circle. I believed in Coach Pikiell’s vision just because of that. He told me he was going to bring this group back to the NCAA Tournament. He did, and we have so much more to accomplish.”

“Being able to share that with the guys that were here last year is an honor, but everybody in this room will tell you that we wanted to go further. And we will go further this year. We have high expectations for ourselves and each other, and we’re going to have a great year.”

Baker, perhaps the owner of the grandest scale on the team, has an even bigger stage on his agenda.

“I think that’s something that’ll be great for everybody to get that experience, (for) fans and players to really feel the love and the environment,” he said. “But we’re not even thinking NCAA Tournament, we’re thinking national championship. That’s what we really want to do.”

Rutgers’ NCAA Tournament encore begins with high expectations, cautious optimism

Steve Pikiell replaces three of his top six players this season as Rutgers hopes to return to NCAA Tournament, but is quietly excited about Scarlet Knights’ potential. (Photo by the New York Post)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Now that the 30-year drought has been put to rest, the next step in the journey begins in earnest.

Now only seven months removed from the NCAA Tournament after its three-decades-long albatross was lifted last March, Rutgers now sets its sights on furthering the build back to respectability, and even in the face of losing three of the program’s top six players in Myles Johnson, Montez Mathis and Jacob Young, still believes it can reach the same heights that redefined the perception of Scarlet Knights basketball once and for all.

“The preparation this offseason was tremendous,” Caleb McConnell remarked Friday as Rutgers held its preseason media day on campus. “The younger guys worked their asses off. It was amazing to see everybody in the gym. The previous years, there was usually a couple of guys here and there, but this year, I could say it was damn near everybody in the gym just coming in here trying to get better, and I feel like that really shows this year.”

“We had a great summer, by far our best,” head coach Steve Pikiell concurred. “I’m excited about my roster. They’re coachable, they play hard. We’ve got a lot of challenges, but I think we’re ready for them. Their chemistry’s been awesome. We’ve been grinding them, (and) they come back the next day and watch the most film of any group and they’re in the gym more than any group I’ve had. They’re into it, they put the time into it, and it’s a nice blend. We have veteran guys, and then we have young guys hungry to play. We’ve got gamers, Cliff (Omoruyi) works harder than any big guy we’ve had ever, and I’m able to do a lot of different things with this group. I’m excited about that.”

Omoruyi, now the go-to option for Rutgers in the post after Johnson transferred to UCLA in the offseason, has taken on the lion’s share of the work down low, and along with San Jose State graduate transfer Ralph Agee, has given Pikiell what he termed his best production at the center spot since his arrival on the banks in 2016. The duo, with Mawot Mag and an improved Dean Reiber behind them, are replacing a vital cog in the machine, but have lived up to the task as judged by one of the Scarlet Knights’ elder statesmen.

“I saw Cliff working every single day in the offseason, so I know he’s prepared for this,” Geo Baker said, giving the Roselle Catholic product a glowing testimonial heading into his sophomore campaign. “He’s ready to take that role, and then Ralph’s an older guy who really understands the game. He’s really patient on the post, so I’m excited. We’ve been really focusing on rebounding and defense, so I know they’re going to be ready to defend, ready to contribute and ready to win.”

On the heels of a pandemic-restricted season wherein there was minimal contact even within the walls of the locker room, Rutgers has worked on fortifying the bonds and camaraderie between players and coaches, and the ability to once again enjoy normal lives on and off campus has bred a cooperative environment on the court as well.

“We really just bonded a lot more as a team this year,” Ron Harper, Jr. gushed. “Whether it was playing (NBA) 2K or just hanging out in the dorms going to the dining hall, or hanging out (and) going out together, a bunch of things like that makes everything on the court that much easier. I feel like I’ve got a lot of brothers on this team. All those guys, I’d pour my heart out for them, and that just doesn’t happen overnight. This team is the tightest team I’ve been a part of.”

“I feel like a lot of our young guys are ready to produce,” Harper continued. “Jaden Jones is going to be a great, versatile scorer, he can break you down off the dribble and hit an open jump shot, and Jalen Miller’s a tenacious defender who doesn’t let up. He’ll pick you up 94 feet, and he kind of reminds me of JY on defense. He’s come a long way this offseason. He has no ceiling.”

On top of the quick study each of the underclassmen have proven to be, Paul Mulcahy has become an even more gifted passer and consummate teammate, and each player has already helped solve the rebounding woes that plagued last year’s squad, which came three points away from a Sweet 16 appearance.

“We will, 100 percent, be better,” Pikiell said, stressing Rutgers’ improvement on the boards. “We already are. We’re a better block-out team right now as we speak, we’re bigger, our length is bigger and we’ve added extra size. Ralph’s been our best offensive rebounder since our first practice. We’ve just put a huge emphasis on it.”

Adding to the optimism is the return of fans to the RAC seats, a fervor that has already produced multiple sellouts before the ball has been tipped, with the expectation that every home game will attract a capacity crowd of 8,000 by the time the season officially commences on November 10. For McConnell, such an affirmation and endorsement carries extra meaning as he remembers how it was in the infancy of his career, when tickets could be procured minutes before tipoff.

“It’s really exciting, and that’s kudos to us,” he said. “It really started when I was a freshman. There wasn’t nobody coming to our games, there was barely even any media my freshman year. That just goes to us, the people who start at the bottom and keep on working, fighting through perseverance. Eventually, you’ll win. That’s something that Pike always preached. He said, ‘if Rutgers were a stock, go ahead and buy it now because eventually, it’s going to blow up.”

“We always expected to win and they did, too,” Pikiell reiterated. “Now they’re coming to our games and they’ll help us win. I’m excited that they’re going to be there and help us win games. I look forward to going back to the day before (a game) and people talking about games. That wasn’t the case during COVID and you had none of that homecourt advantage.”

Naturally, expectations are at an all-time high after experiencing the adrenaline rush of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since George H.W. Bush was president of the United States, when the Scarlet Knights were still in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Pikiell admitted the first act to follow would not be smooth, but did say he was grateful for the experience and fortitude his team possesses.

“I think this team is going to have some obstacles, but they’ve got some good fiber about them and I really like that,” he stated. “I know I can count on that fiber right now. I’ve embraced the expectation since I’ve been here, I’ve always had those expectations, and I hope our players have them.”

“We’re still hunters,” Paul Mulcahy declared, citing the eighth-place prediction in the Big Ten Conference preseason poll and disappointing end to last season’s postseason run. “We haven’t really accomplished what we set out to do. We’re going to approach the first game of the year like the tenth game of the year, and I think if we can be consistent in that, we’re going to be solid.”

Paulus continuing to build identity with scrappy Niagara program in year three

Niagara’s growth has made Greg Paulus optimistic, but Purple Eagles’ head coach is still working to perfect his team’s identity. (Photo by The Buffalo News)

At just 35 years old, Greg Paulus may be one of the younger head coaches in the nation, but what the former Duke point guard lacks in time on earth, he more than makes up for with his understanding and knowledge of what it takes to build a college basketball program and his desire to perfect it much like the master craftsman for whom he once played, unwavering from his grand vision of what he believes it can ultimately be.

The former Mike Krzyzewski point guard now enters his third season as head coach at Niagara, where he has led the Purple Eagles to a pair of top-half Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference finishes, overcoming obstacles and hindrances most schools were not subject to, from a coaching change weeks before the season started to not knowing its postseason fate due to a late-season COVID pause, to inject new life into a program overlooked, but in many ways, overachieving.

“We’ve certainly made a lot of progress, on the floor and off the floor, as we’re trying to create the identity of our program,” Paulus said in the midst of his first true offseason since since assuming the reins on Monteagle Ridge. “Every year, each team is a little bit different, whether it’s guys returning in different roles or new guys coming in trying to learn that. This is the first offseason that we’ve had, so for us, we’re trying to still create that identity with this team. What you did the previous year doesn’t mean that that’s going to happen the following year.”

What Niagara did do, and has done since Paulus was named head coach in late October 2019, is habitually make believers out of cynics, including rebounding from its aforementioned February pause to being cleared to compete in the MAAC tournament and nearly upsetting eventual MAAC champion Iona in the semifinals, and complementing the success on the floor with a program record-setting grade point average in the classroom to give the architect of the latest iteration of hoops on the shores of Lake Erie even more reason to smile when recollecting on how far his journey has come.

“I was really proud of our team and how responded to that specific situation,” said Paulus of the Purple Eagles’ late-season showing. “We didn’t know if we were going to be able to play in the MAAC tournament, I think we only had one or two full team practices before we were able to do that, but if you look back at that whole entire season — not only on the basketball court but in the classroom as well, last year we had a program record-setting GPA in the fall with a 3.45 — to do that with the pauses, the COVID, the unpredictability of everything, I think it shows great resiliency from our guys and what we’re trying to do. When I take a step back and reflect on the season, I think the growth that the team showed throughout the course of it was something I was really proud of.”

Niagara’s latest challenge will be that of replacing all-MAAC forward Kobi Nwandu, who took his talents to the professional level last spring. In his stead, Marcus Hammond will become even more of a focal point as the former Cardozo standout enters his senior year in search of a third straight all-conference honor and a crowning moment to cap a stellar career.

“Kobi had a tremendous season,” Paulus said of Nwandu, whose transition to Division I from Le Moyne College proved seamless. “He did a great job of continuing to grow in player development, he took advantage of it, and that time and investment certainly showed throughout the season. He did a lot, we ran a lot through him and Marcus, but there are certainly going to be some other guys who are going to need to step up, and collectively as a group, going to need each other to create opportunities for us each time down the floor.”

“With Marcus, you were able to see where he got better and better as the season went on, but also the way that teams started to adjust what they did. There’s a lot of attention on him, whether it’s trying to take the ball out of his hands or pick him up full court and try to trap him with the ball screen. That’s different for a player to go through that when the attention on the scouting reports is focused on trying to disrupt you, and so for him to go through that experience and see how his approach has grown, he’s certainly somebody that’s going to have the ball in his hands for us, and we have great trust and confidence in his being able to make the right play for the team.”

Aside from Hammond, the Purple Eagles return their most experienced core in Paulus’ tenure. Raheem Solomon, Justin Roberts, Shandon Brown and Steve Levnaic all reprise their backcourt duties, while Jordan Cintron, Nicholas Kratholm and Greg Kuakumensah are joined up front by 6-foot-7 South Alabama graduate transfer Sam Iorio, giving Niagara a total of eight seniors and/or graduate students in a conference that has matured as a whole.

“There’s depth,” Paulus affirmed. “Everybody’s competing to earn that opportunity. It’s been fun, they’ve made each other better, and for us, that’s what we want. We’re going to have that all across the board. The level of competition has increased, and I think that as a result of those things, the competitive spirit in our program has grown. I’ve really enjoyed watching them compete each day.”

“When you’re able to have experience coming back, being able to have relationships with them, coach them and see their growth, you’re able to see them understand more and more as time moves forward the standards for our program, and being able to have those guys understand where we’re trying to go, I think it’s helpful for our younger guys to be able to look and see our older guys teaching them what our program is about.”

Niagara opens its season with two daunting non-conference tests against Xavier and Ohio State, where Paulus served as an assistant coach under Thad Matta for six seasons. But while Paulus would obviously like to win as many games as possible, his greatest objective is to simply expand his already budding foundation to create a more complete team heading into MAAC play.

“When you have a new team each year, hopefully you can develop an identity,” he reiterated. “We want to be a team that cares and is connected on both ends of the floor. We want to be a team that develops consistency, that takes care of the basketball. We want to build our identity, and that doesn’t happen from one year to the next. You’ve got to work at it. It takes time, and that’s something that we’re trying to create right now.”

“We have a saying in our program: Be better today than we were yesterday, be better tomorrow than we were today. And so for us, hopefully when you see us in practice to opening day, to January to February, there’s progression along the way. That’s what we’ll focus in on, so as we continue to grow our program, we continue to keep taking steps forward.”

Griffs return most of veteran core in preparation for MAAC season with tremendous upside

Now back to normal offseason procedures, Reggie Witherspoon and Canisius look to use abbreviated season last year as building block to MAAC breakout. (Photo by The Buffalo News)

Last year’s pandemic-afflicted season reared its ugly head across the entire college basketball landscape, but hardly any school was as affected as Canisius.

The Golden Griffins were already at a disadvantage from their Buffalo base having to travel across New York and into New Jersey or Connecticut in a normal year, but the curveballs of having to play eight straight contests away from the Koessler Athletic Center to end the season — and being paused from January 2, when the Griffs wrapped up a sweep of Saint Peter’s, to mid-February — as well as having to improvise in practice given the inability to hold workouts on campus — were only a sampling of what occurred on the shores of Lake Erie.

“I’m really proud,” head coach Reggie Witherspoon reflected when citing the trials and tribulations Canisius had to navigate just to get to the opening tip. “I was thinking about that with the guys and what transpired last year for them to persevere and get through that. We had some guys that were in quarantine for over 140 days, we had a 40-plus-day stretch between games, and of the 12 conference games that we played, eight of them were on the road. We played our last home game January 2, so those are just tremendously abnormal conditions with which to work and our guys persevered and had a five-game win streak through all that.”

“At this time last year, we were trying to do workouts outside in the parking lot with baskets that were meant to be in somebody’s backyard. We just dragged them out and tried to do what we could with what we had, but overall, I’ve never had a season that had all of those hurdles — nobody has — so for us, it was really challenging. I’m tremendously proud of the effort our guys put in just to get to playing games and all the travel. They deserve a lot of credit. Hopefully our guys grow from it, from the standpoint that they begin to realize that if you can get through some of those challenges, you can get stronger from them.”

The most encouraging sign for the Griffs is the return of nearly the entire roster from last season, save for Majesty Brandon and Jalanni White. With a supporting cast headlined by Jordan Henderson, Jacco Fritz and Armon Harried to join reigning Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Sixth Man of the Year Malek Green, Witherspoon feels the veteran leadership and return to something closer to a normal offseason when compared to last year’s ordeal can only benefit his retooled roster.

“We hope it’s really important and fruitful for us,” he said of the experience gained by the incumbent Griffs. “All of those things, we weren’t able to do last year, so hopefully we’ve grown from having the opportunity to do that and have the guys who went through it, and hopefully the new guys will be able to jump in and help us as well. The good news for us is a lot of those guys were in and out of different roles last year. Most of them were in situations where they had quality minutes, they were in games that were close, and I think you learn from that and how important those details are. It’s our hope that those experiences will allow them to anticipate action a little bit better, and my feeling is that they understand it and they’ll embrace this opportunity that’s in front of them.”

“Malek’s another one that had some challenges,” he added of Green, whose in-season knee surgery was mitigated by Canisius going on pause in the heat of the MAAC schedule. “I don’t know of another player that had knee surgery during the season and didn’t miss any games. That’s how long our layover was, but it was challenging for him, and even then, his surgery was delayed. It wasn’t like he had it January 3 or 4. He did have a lot of challenges, and the hope is that he stays healthy and gets better from it.”

In the backcourt, senior Ahamadou Fofana returns to reprise the point guard duties, while also mentoring a young group of reserves the likes of Akrum Ahemed, Asa Beyah and Siem Uijtendaal, with Scott Hitchon returning for a graduate season. In his first Division I campaign last year, Fofana blossomed as the year went on, becoming one of the MAAC leaders in assists per game on top of being a two-way player thrust into uncharted territory.

“He wants it badly,” said Witherspoon of Fofana’s determination and drive to improve. “He had a lot on him last year just being new, but also not having the time to amp it up prior to the beginning of the season, so he kind of had to do some things and just learn them on the fly. Hopefully he’ll be able to relax and enjoy the intense nature of the competition, and I know that he’s looking forward to the challenge.”

Incoming freshmen Xzavier Long and Tahj Steveskie join the fray this year, with junior college import Delveion Jackson giving Canisius a trio of new pieces that can, if able to adapt during the season, make an immediate impact on a roster that stands on the precipice of a potential breakout.

“As far as the newcomers, Tahj has an injury so we’re kind of in the wilderness with that, but Xzavier and Delveion have been on the floor and getting a lot of reps because we’ve had the usual preseason types of nicks and bruises to some of the other people,” Witherspoon said. “They have a lot to offer in the way of their love for the game and how hard they compete. If we can get them up to speed and keep them healthy, then we’re really looking forward to them having an impact on our program.”

“We have a lot of growing to do. We have guys back, but we just played 13 total games last year, so they’re back from half of a season. I’m excited about the guys that we have, so I’m really looking forward to it. I’m excited for the new guys coming in that they’re excited, and the guys that were here last year feel a little more in tune to the opportunity that’s in front of them.”