“Indeed, sir. The last charge of Wyatt Earp and his immortals.” – Doc Holliday, Tombstone
When UMBC takes the floor tomorrow for their eleven AM tip-off against top-seeded Binghamton University, more than simply an NCAA birth is at stake for the Retrievers. The careers of seniors Darryl Proctor, and Jay Greene, the two best players in school history, hang in the balance. No two players have meant more to UMBC, or any school in the America East over a two-year span, than the Retrievers senior captains.
The Retrievers are heavy underdogs in the eyes of many, but Proctor and Greene won’t be scared, and if anyone can carry a team to an improbable victory it will be the pair of seniors: They’ve been overcoming the odds their whole lives.
“You talk about the heart and soul of the champion you’re looking at two guys right here. When things were getting a little shaky in that game they just refused to lose, refused to let us down, and they just kept battling,” reflected UMBC head coach Randy Monroe after the Retrievers 64-58 conference semi-final win over the University of Albany.
Greene and Proctor first put the Retrievers on their backs last season. It’s been one hell of a ride ever since.
Prior to last season, the Retrievers had never been to an NCAA tournament, never finished higher than fifth in the America East or reached the conference’s championship game. Everything came together last year, as the Retriever’s, behind Greene and Proctor (both 1st team America East All-Conference selections, both firsts for the school) as well as a trio of talented seniors ran the tables from beginning to end, winning the regular season and conference tournament titles, and going dancing for the first time.
After the graduation of three All-Conference players, the Retrievers we’re in a tough spot this season, and for much of the year seemed to be playing two on five. UMBC finished 7-9 in conference play, and tied for 6th place in the conference.
With the Retrievers widely written off by conference pundits, Proctor and Greene carried the Retrievers to two straight wins, and an improbable appearance in the title game against top-seeded Binghamton.
In quarterfinal action, with Greene going 0-8 from the floor and scoring only two points, Proctor put the Retrievers squarely on his massive shoulders, scoring a career high 33 points and ripping down 11 rebounds. Proctor hit a highly contested 10-foot fade-away with 2.5 seconds left to push the game into overtime, and then bulled the Retrievers past Boston University in the extra session for a 79-75 win.
“He can put a team on his back when needed and he did that tonight for this team,” Greene reflected after the game.
In the semi-finals, against tournament host Albany, it was Greene’s turn, as he took on the Great Danes and their large and vocal crowd. Greene dropped 29 points, hitting three’s from different area codes, none bigger than a step back 22 footer that broke Albany’s back, and drove the lane hitting floaters at will over bigger, stronger defenders.
“It was Jay’s turn tonight,” laughed Proctor after the game.
“These two have taken me on one wild ride, and we’re not ready to get off yet,” said Monroe.
Two years ago no one would have expected this from the pint-sized Greene, who has played his whole career at UMBC, or “bull-in-a-china shop” Proctor, who has spent his final two years at UMBC after transferring from Coppin State.
Despite its small size, the America East Conference has seen its fare share of great college players: Proctor and Greene weren’t the first, and they won’t be the last, but they may be the most unique: few players of their limited stature have ever played as large on the court. And few players, anywhere, have ever played with as big hearts, as much passion, or the sheer will to win as the UMBC’s seniors.
If you were to rank the players in the America East strictly on their physical gifts and talent, it’s likely that neither Proctor nor Greene would crack the top ten: As 6’3” power forward, Proctor is dwarfed in the low post every night he takes the floor. Greene is lucky if he’s 5’6” and 160 pounds, and is one of the smallest players at any level of college basketball, let alone Division I.
Both players are drastically undersized, and neither is what one would describe as an “explosive athlete.” But when they step on the court, they play like their seven feet tall, thanks to the desire, heart, and sheer refusal to loose, that each lays in the line every time they take the floor.
“Darryl Proctor is a kid who plays so hard that he gets me exited just to watch him,” said Monroe. “Jay Greene has a motor that is just always running. He’s the smallest player in the league but his heart’s the size of a basketball.”
Physically, Greene doesn’t look like he belongs on a middle-school team, let alone one at the Division I level. But once he gets the ball in his hands and gets into the paint, no guard in the league inspires more sheer terror in his opponents. Greene fearlessly attacks the lane, blowing by bigger, stronger, and more “athletic” guards with ease. And when defenses collapse, he hits open teammates with the sickest dimes the conference has ever seen, or hits running floaters with ease. And behind the arc, Greene is a threat to pull up, and swish, three-pointers anywhere, and anytime, once he crosses half-court.
Quite frankly, Jay Greene will go down as one of the greatest point guards in conference history: Not since NBA-er Speedy Claxton has the league had a point guard who could impact the game like Greene has with his passing.
“Jay Greene is the best pure point guard, the best pass first point guard in the league” remarked Albany head coach Will Brown. “He’s the best pure point guard I’ve ever seen in this league.”
Greene’s 679 assists rank fourth all-time in the America East conference (1st at UMBC), and with three on Saturday he will pass Shawn Teague into third place. Last season Greene was the only player in Division I to rank in the top ten nationally in assists per game (7.2, 4th) and assist-to-turnover ratio (3.47, 2nd). This season Greene once again lead the conference in assists with 6.1 a night.
“Jay Greene is an inspiration for every kid who’s ever been told he’s too small, too slow, too anything to play basketball,” added Brown.
“Jay Greene is my favorite player in the league that’s not one of my guys,” said Vermont head coach Mike Lonergan. “I wish I had a Jay Greene. Every coach in this league wishes they had Jay Greene.”
Proctor has scored 1,126 points in his two years at UMBC. When you combine his numbers from both his Division I stops, Proctor has put up 1,927 points and 982 rebounds, astounding numbers for a power forward shorter than many opposing guards. Proctor was the only America East player to score in double figures in every single game this year, and has scored in double-digits in 62 of his 64 career games at UMBC.
“Darryl Proctor is a beast,” said Brown.
His game may be ugly, but it is a thing of beauty to watch Proctor take the ball right into the chests of opposing big-men, and chop down the tall-tree’s of the America East. It doesn’t matter how many defenders swarm him, Proctor swats them away like mosquitoes.
“When he gets positioning in the low post, good luck to you, because your not moving him off the blocks,” said New Hampshire head coach Bill Herrion. “Good god is he strong,” he added.
“He’s a man among boys,” said former Boston University head coach Dennis Wolff.
Proctor goes through, over, and by defenders at will, scoring on a barrage of leaners, floaters, power moves, and an unstoppable fade-away jumper born out of necessity.
“I had to develop it on the play ground when I was younger” Proctor laughed, “I was tired of getting my shot blocked.”
When you take a step back, it’s hard to argue that anyone in the America East had a better season than Proctor.
“To me, Darryl Proctor was the best player in the league,” said Dan Leibovitz, head coach for America East rival Hartford.
Proctor (after the conference tournament) ranks first overall in scoring (20.2 ppg), third in rebounding (8.7 rpg), first in scoring in conference games (20.9 ppg), and third in rebounding in conference games (8.3 rpg). Proctor’s performance is even more impressive when you consider the lack of depth and other scoring options on UMBC’s Roster: Opponents wrote up their entire defensive schemes around stopping him, and he was double and triple teamed every time down the floor. And for much of the season, Proctor was alone in the low post, as center Justin Fry and Forward Rich Flemming each missed significant playing time because of injuries.
While there continues to be debate on who the best player in the conference is, there is no arguing who the toughest player in the America East is, as no one plays harder, longer, or takes more of a beating every night than Proctor.
“I’ll tell you, after every game Darryl is beat up. He’s icing his knees, his ribs, his head. He’s got cuts, bruises, black eyes, the kid only knows one way to play and that’s all out, one-hundred and fifty percent, and physical,” said Monroe.
Built like a bulldog, and seemingly as broad as he is tall, Proctor certainly isn’t built for marathons, which makes the sheer amount of time he has stayed on the court all the more impressive. Proctor has not missed one of the Retrievers 64 games since transferring from Coppin State. This season Proctor has averaged an insane 39.7 minutes per game, and over forty in America East contests. To put it in better perspective, despite his bulk, and despite the physical beating he takes every night, Proctor has only been on the bench for 28 total minutes this season.
And he doesn’t get to catch a breather on the defensive end either, as Proctor is matched up in man-to-man coverage with the opponents best scorer, no matter whether he’s a bruising center or a blazing guard.
It’s taken a toll on him. After a double overtime loss at Boston University earlier this year, a game in which he scored 27 points while playing all fifty minutes, Proctor collapsed in the locker room and had to be rushed to a nearby hospital to be rehydrated.
Three days later he played 39 minutes versus Albany.
“You’ll have to kill him to get him off the court, if he’s breathing, if he’s got a pulse, he’ll be on the court,” said Monroe
Whether Proctor and Greene are able to put the Retriever’s on their backs one last time against Binghamton or not, their careers will be coming to an end sooner rather than later, and far sooner than either would like.
“Playing here has been the best time of my life,” reflected Greene.
“I’m not ready for it to be over, nowhere near ready,” added Proctor.
Both would like to play basketball overseas, but to get their they will be fighting an uphill battle, as they will once again face the same doubts and questions about their size and athleticism that they have had to overcome every step of their careers.
But if anyone can do it, it’s going to be Monroe’s two seniors.
“I think that there is a place out there where (Greene and Proctor) can find a spot on a roster, these kids can flat out play. They have been proving everyone wrong since the day they stepped on the court, and they flat out win, and they can help someone win out there.” said Monroe.
But when their careers do come to an end, Greene and Proctor will be ready for life after basketball. Both are good students, and both will be graduating in the spring (Proctor with a degree in Political Science, and Greene sociology).
“(Greene and Proctor)are two of the finest…” trailed off Monroe, gathering his emotions before continuing, “the two finest young men, not just basketball players but people, men, that I have ever coached. And I know that they are going to be very, very successful in whatever they choose to do after college.”
I for one would like to take this opportunity to thank Proctor and Greene: No two players have left more of themselves on the court during their careers. No one in the conference has played harder, cared more, or been a better representative for what it is that makes small-conference basketball, and the America East in specific, just so special than UMBC’s duo.
So thank you Jay, for never listening to your doubters, and for proving that no player should ever listen when they are told they’re too small or too slow. And thank you Darryl, for playing with a passion and determination unmatched, for getting it done “ugly,” and for never backing down no matter how much of a beating you take every night. Thank you both for being warriors in the truest sense, and for proving that it isn’t the size of a player that matters most, but the size of his heart.
And win or loose I hope that all fans in Vestal on Saturday, those rooting for and those rooting against the Retrievers, take a moment to show Proctor and Greene a small token of respect, because it will be a very, very long time before the America East ever sees another player like either one of them again.
“Hopefully I’ll be able to coach two more guys like these guys but it’s going to be very hard,” reflected Monroe.
