The personnel are virtually identical, but the difference between this season’s Springfield men’s squad and the one that was 5-14 in February, is significant.
Springfield turned things around beginning nine months ago, restoring the Pride so to speak, by winning seven of its last nine games, advancing to the 2004 title NEWMAC Tournament title game, losing to Babson in heartbreaking fashion on a tip-in at the buzzer. This season’s squad returned all five starters and almost all of its top subs from last season, so there was reason for optimism. Those beliefs were fulfilled with back-to-back giant-killer home wins over Trinity and Williams, earning the team its first Top 25 ranking in any poll since the 1997-98 season. The Pride are 8-1 and ranked No. 20 nationally.
The team’s maturity in handling adverse game situations has been a big key. Indicative of how things have changed was the situation against the Ephs, in which Springfield trailed, 17-8 seven-and-a-half minutes into the game and with top scorer Derek Yvon out of the game with two fouls. Rather than wilt, like it did in a 35-point loss to the national runners-up last season (a game that essentially marked the bottoming out point of Springfield’s struggles), the Pride rose to the challenge. Team captain Jason O’Tash, in a reserve role because of a sprained ankle that sidelined him early this season, came off the bench and scored 10 points in a little more than three-and-a-half minutes to get Springfield back on track.
O’Tash may only rank seventh on the team in scoring, but he’s filling an important leadership role in games, and on the practice floor.
“If you’re not practicing as hard as you play, you’re not going to get any better,” said O’Tash, a former Maine high school football player of the year, who passed on a chance to become a quarterback in Springfield’s triple-option offense to concentrate fully on hoops in college. “I think that’s the way you have to have it. We should get better in one aspect of the game, every day.”
It is that kind of approach that wins games for the Pride and pleases head coach Charlie Brock, a Springfield alum in his seventh season, who also coached at Trinity (Texas) and Gustavus Adolphus. Springfield plays a guard-oriented offense, that requires its players to compete for the basketball even though they may be undersized. Yvon, a 6- 3 junior swingman, has paced the team in scoring, netting better than 20 points per night, but five others, ranging in size from 5-8 point guard Anthony Pizzo to 6-foot-9 center Kyle Marian are chipping in at least eight per game. Marian followed up a nine point, nine-rebound night against Trinity with 19 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks against Williams.
“I think there are a couple of reasons (for the success),” Brock said. “Our kids have been running our stuff for two, three, four years, so they know what they’re doing. The last (few) games we’ve doubled the number of free throws shot by our opponents. That comes from running a patient offense and making teams really work defensively. We’ve also stayed fairly even with some very good rebounding teams. We have to work extremely hard to win the rebounding battle. We’ve also been able to use a lot of different players in a lot of places. We happen to have a great player in Derek, but he can be nullified. We now have a lot of other players who can make up for that.”
Yvon echoed the thoughts of his teammate in saying that the keys for the team were not necessarily found on stat sheets.
“The bench has been the most important part of the team,” Yvon said. “They’ve played tough defense. They do a great job (in games and practice). Every game it’s someone different stepping up for us. I think that’s why we’re going to be able to do a lot of good things.”
LAST WEEK ON CSI, NEW YORK … It has been a great week for the CUNYAC, with Baruch making front-page news by beating No. 2 NYU on Wednesday and Staten Island demolishing Rowan in the marquee game of Saturday’s NJAC-CUNY Challenge, 99-75. This is a league which rarely gets the upper hand when matched up with its nearby counterparts, but now a couple of schools get to bask in the glow, including the Dolphins, whose high expectations the last couple of seasons may finally get a chance to be fulfilled.
“I wasn’t expecting a game like that,” said head coach Marguerite Gualtieri with a laugh.
CSI plays a lineup that surrounds last season’s national rebounding leader, 5-8 forward Jacclyn Rock (14.9 points, 16.5 rebounds in 2004-05), with four guards. Among them are streaky shooters Acasha Gordon and Kim Thompson, who combined for 64 points, 10 assists and nine steals against the Profs.
CSI has, in years past, been ranked among the best teams in the Atlantic Region, but has not matched up well in the NCAA Tournament, or in the case of the last two seasons, even gotten that far. The Dolphins were upset in back-to-back seasons by Hunter in the CUNY championship game both of which followed an undefeated regular-season run, so this team knows all to well not to let one win, albeit a very nice one, overshadow their plans for this season, which continue with a trip to the Bahamas for winter break and a couple of basketball games this week.
“Two years ago, I thought we were talented enough to win in the NCAAs and we lost,” said Gulateri. “This year’s team doesn’t have as much experience, but we’re definitely as talented. It will be interesting to see how we handle ourselves through it.”
MAKING ILLI-NOISE : If you happen to catch the occasional Division I contest, the folks at Illinois may have impressed you with their nifty ball movement good shot selection, and uncanny knack for putting the ball through the net from any distance. Look over to another part of the state and the same thing is happening (without the No. 1 ranking and national respect) for the North Central team.
Consistent winning basketball is a rarity at North Central, which has had only one winning season since the 1990 squad went 21-6, but ex-Nebraska Wesleyan coach Todd Raridon has his squad off to a 6-0 start. Statistically speaking, there are similiarities between the Illini and the Cardinals. North Central is shooting nearly 58% from the field, netting assists on two-thirds of its baskets, and outrebounding opponents by seven per game. That has allowed them to jump out in front early and withstand late rallies.
“We pass up good shots to get the great shot,” Raridon said. “The biggest characteristic of this team is its unselfishness.”
The success came after a scrimmage with Beloit that Raridon looked back and chuckled at now, referring to it as “disastrous.”
North Central may not be able to match the likes of Illinois Wesleyan and Wheaton yet, but they could be in the hunt for next best squad in the CCIW. Junior swingman Mike Wilson has increased his shooting percentage from 41.6 to 49.2 and leads the team in scoring at 15.5 points. The Cardinals also have a strong post presence with three sophomores — Adam Krumtinger, Dan Walton, and Anthony Simmons, the latter of whom scored 16 points in his season debut last week after clearing up an eligibility issue. The trio have combined to shoot 65% from the field, enabling the team to play to Raridon’s philosophy of looking inside first. Point guards Ray Vicario and Adam Teising are also shooting the ball very well, and combining for 6½ assists per game.
“The kids probably thought it was going to be a long year after that (scrimmage),” Raridon said. “But they believed in each other. I think the jury is still out on how good we can be, but they’ve all been a pretty good surprise
GOOD ‘BYE’: One of the players most frequently discussed on the Posting Up message board is Lebanon Valley guard J.D. Byers. The latest recipient of the scoring torch passed from the likes of past Dutchmen greats Mike Rhoades and Andy Panko, Byers is a little flashy and garners a lot of attention for his style of play, which some call cocky. Byers, an Academic All-American as a business and accounting major, refers to it as “controlled flair.”
Those at Lebanon Valley are happy with it, as the Dutchmen are 7-1 heading into a three-week winter layoff, after an overtime win at Franklin & Marshall last Saturday. The 5-10 Byers, who is also one of the top golfers in the Middle Atlantic Conference, has put the ball in the hole to the tune of 25.5 points per game and is shooting 41% from 3-point range. Lebanon Valley has carried over the momentum from three close wins that earned them the ECAC South Region Championship, despite being the No. 6 seed. Byers was named that tournament’s MVP and the MAC Commonwealth MVP. Teams have tried a number of ways to keep Byers in check, playing junk defenses like the triangle and two, but that hasn’t stopped the team’s success. The only blemish so far is an overtime loss to Virginia Wesleyan, in which the Dutchmen couldn’t hold a late lead, but other than that the team has played very well, holding opponents to just 35 percent shooting from the field.
“The most satisfying thing is how hard we’ve played,” Byers said, citing those on the team who contribute in other ways like forward Dan Hogan (6.3 rebounds, 2 steals-per-game). “We’ve played harder than teams and won by outhustling them. I don’t think we were doing that last season. We’re not going to be magnificent, but we’re going to battle you. We think we can win the league. Every (team) thinks that, but we think we should win. Now we have to go prove it. We have to step up and make it happen.”
ATTENTION GRABBERS
While returning much of the same squad that won one game last season, the Wilmington men’s basketball team is off to a terrific start, winning five of its first nine games under new head coach Marc Kuntz, a former assistant with the school and ex-student manager at Division I Xavier. The Quakers have only had one winning season in the last 15, but may make a run at double digits in wins for the first time since 1999-2000. Eric Stirling, a 6-4 transfer from the University of Science and Arts (Oklahoma) by way of Brooklyn, N.Y., has been an early difference maker and is among the team’s leading scorers.
Wesleyan may not compete for the top spot on the men’s side in the NESCAC, simply because the field is too crowded, but the Cardinals will be a tough opponent for anyone. Wesleyan headed into the winter break with six straight wins, and though none came against opponents that would bowl you over, all six were impressive in that they were by five points or less.
Hood swingman Santo Provenzano has lit up the scoreboard to the tune of 29.4 points per game for the 5-3 Blazers, including 96 points against Hood’s three toughest opponents — John Carroll, Carnegie Mellon and Bethany. The former women's school is in its second season of men's basketball. Provenzano has specialized in getting to the free throw line, averaging 15 attempts per game (making 62%) and is one of the nation’s top players amongst the slew of independent squads fighting for Pool B consideration.
We’ve been spoiled by the recent success of the Randolph-Macon men’s squad and the Ithaca women’s team that we’re left wondering why both are struggling. RMC has lost four games (three non-conference) by three points or less and is still adjusting to the graduation of three starters and key reserve Jim Silcox. Justin Wansley’s production has gone up (20.5 ppg, 11.3 rebounds), but his shooting percentage from both the field and foul line has dropped drastically from last season (54.7 to 45.5 and 75.7 to 58.2). Ithaca, which matched its loss total from last season with four, hasn’t found a second scorer to complement senior guard Stephanie Cleary. In the past two seasons, the Bombers had well-established targets like Kerri Brown and Jennie Swatling have filled that role, but to present, Cleary has taken 2½ times more shots than anyone else on the team, and that hasn’t been a winning formula against the likes of Trinity (Texas), Cortland, and St. Lawrence.
Leading candidates for national player of the year honors include Amanda Nechuta (UW-Stevems Point) and Tiffany Speer (Whitworth), but a couple of players could slip into the mix, including Messiah 6-1 junior Eli Cook, who already has two 30-plus-point games, and is averaging 18.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.4 blocks and 2.3 steals. Messiah is 7-0 and faces an interesting matchup with Randolph-Macon in the Virgin Islands over winter break.
The Christmas tournament to watch takes place in Las Vegas and features two teams ranked in the Top 25 in No. 7 DePauw and No. 23 Union, as well as 7-0 Ripon and a UW-Stout team that is trying to get righted after losing four of five games, including a heartbreaker at UW-Stevens Point. While DePauw is favored, none of the four games is predictable. Though the NCAA committee won’t take into account the outcomes of the non-regional matchups, playing tough competition should only help these teams stay fresh during a period in which long layovers can produce much rust.
