Stony Brook hopes more practice time helps

Stony Brook probably welcomed the relative break in the action they are coming up on the end of. Their loss at Rutgers in the MSG Holiday Festival is their only game in a 17-day stretch surrounding final exams and the holidays, giving them a time with a lot of practice and few games that will allow players to get better physically and the team to iron some things out. After their 66-51 loss at Boston College almost a week earlier, it was clear that this comes at a good time.

The lowlight of that day was in the final 12 minutes of the first half. After the Seawolves went up 11-6, they went the final 11:50 of the half without scoring as Boston College scored 22 unanswered points. While the second half was more of a normal frame, the Seawolves dug themselves too deep a hole to get out of.

… Continue Reading

Stony Brook May Turn a Corner With Close Win

WORCESTER, Mass. – It’s not out of the realm of possibilities that Tuesday becomes a turning point for Stony Brook. The Seawolves have had to overcome their share of adversity, which lately has included some tough losses late in games. But on Tuesday, they came out on the winning end of a close game as they pulled out a 54-53 win at Holy Cross, another team that has had plenty of adversity early on as the Crusaders are now 0-7.

Stony Brook started out auspiciously after a season-opening loss at Connecticut, winning their next three games. Two came on the road at Monmouth and Fairleigh Dickinson, the former a nationally televised game that started at 6 a.m. as part of ESPN’s College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon. But then they lost the aforementioned three straight, all by five points or less including an overtime loss to Lehigh, before pulling out Tuesday night’s win. … Continue Reading

America East Post Season Awards

The America East regular season wrapped up on Sunday; the seedings are set, the teams are ready, and Binghamton managed to once again cause another “international incident” (the Bearcats withdrew from the America East tournament). Certain circumstances have kept me from contributing as regularly as I had desired this season, but make no mistake; I’m still as involved in ever – still have my finger on the America East pulse so to speak – and the upcoming America East tournament will once again bring me past the 80-games-attended mark for the season.

Without further ado, here are my America East Awards; they are based on who I feel merits each award, and not predictions of how the coaches will actually vote.

Coach of the Year:
·    Candidates: Steve Pikiell, Stony Brook; Ted Woodward, Maine.

There was much talk earlier this year about Binghamton interim coach Mark Macon for COY – absolutely not! Once the going got tough for Binghamton, Macon sat on the bench like a statue, and appeared as if he could have cared less about coaching – and leading – a team. Woodward deserves considerable consideration (did I just type that as a sentence?). Woodward has made Maine – a school that has been a perennial play-in game team, and never once seriously competed for a conference title – a contender. Woodward has gotten the Black Bears to win on the defensive end – something they haven’t done before – and perhaps even more impressive has gotten the Black Bears to the top of the conference with only one “All-Conference” player. Pikiell was shafted out of the COY award last year, and has continued to shine on Long Island: Pikiell completed the Seawolves transformation from worst to first, and has the Seawolves playing as a team, hard, for 40 minutes. He has fielded and coached the closest thing the league has to a complete team, and has gotten the job done recruiting, game-planning, and in the community.

·    Winner: Steve Pikiell, Stony Brook.

In a very close call, Pikiell should get the nod – no slight or disrespect to Woodward, but the job that Pikiell has done at Stony Brook is second to none; down the stretch the Seawolves never buckled, and showed up every time their backs were against the wall.

Player of the Year:
·   Candidates: Marqus Blakely, Forward, Vermont; John Holland, Guard/Forward, Boston Univeristy.

There are only two possible candidates in Blakely and Holland. Binghamton’s Greer Wright looked at one point like he might deserve some consideration, but he floundered down the stretch, and quite simply looked like he didn’t give a… when the going got tough – which removed him from any consideration. Muhammad El-Amin for Stony Brook put points up in bunches for the Seawolves; helping to propel Stony Brook to a regular season title – including a game winning shot against Albany. But El-Amin simply does not get the job done on the defensive end, does not play with the basketball IQ or the sense of urgency needed from a POY, and is surrounded by more overall talent that anyone else in the league. And it’s hard to make a case for El-Amin when many people on the Stony Brook’s staff don’t view him as the team’s best player. Holland was the league’s best offensive player – there is simply no argument. In years past, Holland has struggled mightily with consistency – and often disappeared when the Terriers needed him most – but this season he was a monster, leading the league in scoring (19.9 ppg overall, 19.5 ppg in conference games) while pouring it on down the stretch (including 43 points in the Terriers “Bracket Buster” game). Holland even made am impact on the defensive end – he still makes mistakes, but he gambled much less down the stretch and has become a solid defender. Blakely is simply the league’s best all-around player: he makes an impact every single night in one way or another – offense, defense, rebounding: He not only led the Catamounts in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots, steals, and assists; he ranked among the America East leaders in those categories as well.

·    Winner: Marqus Blakely, Vermont.

It’s really not close – and that isn’t in any way disrespectful to Holland, who will most likely win a POY before graduating. Blakely simply impacts the game more than any other player in the league. Some fans still don’t give Blakely the respect he deserves – he’s never turned into the Taylor Coppenrath/Kenny Adeleke/T.J. Sorrentine/JJ Barea offensive juggernaut – and he can be stopped (or at least greatly slowed down) on the offensive end because, frankly, he can’t score from more than 4-feet away from the hoop. But he is a monster on the defensive end – he led the conference in steals and blocks (2.6 spg, 1.9 bpg) and disrupts the game both at the top of the 1-3-1 zone or defending in the paint. And on offense, Blakely is the catalyst for the league’s highest scoring team: far beyond his 17.4 points per game (16.5 ppg in conference games – good for 4th), Blakely draws constant double and triple-teams leaving his teammates WIDE OPEN. No one in the league gets to the line more, draws more fouls from opponents, or is more of a focus of opponent’s game-plans. Blakely will never be Coppenrath – but neither will anyone else in the league. Blakely is, quite simply, the best – overall, all-around – player in the league.

Defensive Player of the Year:
·   Candidates: Marqus Blakely, Forward, Vermont; Tommy Brenton, Forward, Stony Brook; Russell Graham, Guard, New Hampshire.

The two-time Defensive Player of the Year, Blakely is a one-man tornado: He disrupts the game at both the top and the bottom of the 1-3-1 zone. He can take over a game defensively on the perimeter, or on the low-post. He was the overall leader in both steals and blocks. There isn’t much more that needs to be said – perhaps the only knock on Blakely is that he gambles a lot, and occasionally hurts his team because of it, and isn’t the best man-to-man defender in the league. The fact that Brenton and Graham even merit consideration speaks volumes about their quality as defenders: Brenton is almost a lesser version of Blakely – he blocks shots, picks pockets, and defends both in the post and on the perimeter – and is actually a better man-to-man defender. He murdered the defensive glass (leading the league in defensive rebounding both overall and in conference games). Graham, a fire-hydrant bull-dog guard, is the best man-to-man perimeter defender in the league.

·    Winner: Marqus Blakely, Forward, Vermont.

Blakely is the league’s best overall defender; not much argument necessary.

Rookie of the Year:
·    Candidates: Dylan Talley, Guard, Binghamton; Mike Black, Guard, Albany; Ferg Myrick, Forward, New Hampshire.
* This was by far the weakest overall freshman class that I have seen in the 9 years I have followed the America East.

Talley, a 6’5” strong-guard type, lead all league rookies in scoring, both in conference games and overall (13.5 ppg in AE games, 11.8 overall), despite playing out of position at the point guard spot.  Talley also did a decent job on the glass. The knock on Talley is that he wasn’t much of a defender, and was not a team player (his offensive strategy at the point guard position was to put his head down and basically try to go 1 on 5 every time down the court). Black looks like Albany’s point guard of the future (although, we’ve said that about two different freshmen during the previous 2 years). After a slow start to the season, he blossomed; playing the most demanding position on the floor, averaging 10.4 points per game and 3.4 assists (7th in the league in conference games), while shooting .467 from behind the arc in league games (third best in the league). Myrick is, hands down, the league’s most talented rookie – as far as physical gifts it’s not even close – he averaged 10 points per game in conference game despite playing limited minutes.

·    Winner: Mike Black, Guard, Albany.

Talley’s numbers are certainly impressive – but it’s not that hard to put up numbers if you have some talent and are simply “trying to get yours” every night. Myrick’s talent trumps anyone’s, but he didn’t get the consistent playing time needed to put up numbers equivalent of his talent. Black had a very nice season, and did it all; ran a team, scored, shot from behind the arc, and even defended well on the ball.

1st Team All-Conference:
·    Candidates: Marqus Blakely, Forward, Vermont; John Holland, Guard/Forward, Boston University; Greer Wright, Forward, Binghamton; Muhammad El-Amin, Guard, Stony Brook; Joe Zeglinski, Guard, Hartford; Gerald McLemore, Guard, Maine; Tommy Brenton, Forward, Stony Brook.

Blakely and Holland need no explanation: Best player in the league, and best offensive player in the league, respectively. A 6’7” wing who can put the ball on the floor and take opponents of the dribble, Wright sputtered a bit down the stretch, but he finished the season fifth in overall scoring (15 ppg) and fourth in scoring in conference games (16.8ppg)., In conference games, Wright also finished fourth in assists (3.9 apg), fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio, and tenth in steals. El-Amin, McLemore, and Zeglinski are all pure-scorers. El-Amin – a 6’5” guard who is perhaps more adept at taking opponents off of the dribble than any other AE wing in recent history –  hit big shot after big shot for the 1st place Seawolves down the stretch, and was second in scoring in conference games (19.1 ppg), and third in overall scoring (16.8 ppg). McLemore ranked sixth in overall scoring, eight in conference scoring – and was the Black Bears offense. McLemore was a monster shooter from behind the three-point line, finished out the season on an unbelievable shooting streak from behind the arc, and his numbers become more impressive when considering that he was the focus of every opponent’s defensive scheme. Zeglinski bounced back from an ankle injury that derailed his previous season to rank fourth in overall scoring (16.7 ppg), and third in scoring in conference games (17.3). Zeglinski hit several big shots this season – including a buzzer beating game-winner at UNH – and made an impact on the glass as well. Brenton has been completely overlooked by most fans, because he has not become a scorer – yet. Brenton only averaged 7.7 points per game (7.9 in conference games), but he was the most important player for the Seawolves, and according to coach Pikiell, was the Seawolves best overall player. Brenton led the league in rebounding (both overall at 9.6 rpg, and in AE games at 9.8 rpg), and led Stony Brook in steals, assists, and field goal percentage. A 6’5” ball of super-athletic energy, Brenton was the heart and soul of Stony Brook, and the league’s toughest player. It was no coincidence that the Seawolves took off and ran the AE gauntlet precicesly when Pikiell turned Brenton into a “point-forward” and had him run the Seawolves offense as soon as Stony Brook crossed half court. Brenton is arguably the best defender in the league not named “Marqus Blakely” and was often put in man-to-man coverage with the opponent’s best offensive player – regardless of whether they were on the perimeter or in the paint.

·    Winners:
§    Marqus Blakely, Senior, Forward, Vermont: 17.4 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 3.7 apg, 2.6 spg, 1.9 bpg.

§    John Holland, Junior, Guard/Forward, Boston University: 19.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.6 spg.

§    Greer Wright, Junior, Forward, Binghamton: 15.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.2 spg.

§    Muhammad El-Amin, Senior, Guard, Stony Brook: 16.8 ppg, 19.1 ppg in conference games.

§    Tommy Brenton, Sophomore, Forward, Stony Brook: 7.7 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.8 spg.

Blakely and Holland need no explanation – they were the two best players in the league. Despite sputtering down the stretch, Wright was phenomenal in his first season. El-Amin, McLemore, and Zeglinski were all scorers who really didn’t defend at all, and El-Amin gets the edge in the “pure scoring department” as he averaged more points, hit more big shots, and played for the best team. Brenton is probably a shock and head scratcher to most fans, but he was a better overall player than any of the trio of scorers up for consideration – by the Marqus Blakely and Jay Greene factor of overall impact, Brenton made a bigger difference on the floor when considering the impact he had defending, rebounding, and distributing the ball.

2nd Team All-Conference:
§    Joe Zeglinski, R-Junior, Guard, Hartford: 16.7 ppg, 5.1 rpg.

§    Gerald McLemore, Sophomore, Guard, Maine: 14.9 ppg, .402 3pt-fg

§    Alvin Abreu, Junior, Guard, New Hampshire: 14.6 ppg.

§    Jake O’Brien, Sophomore, Forward, Boston University: 13.0 ppg, 6.6 rpg.

§    Maurice Joseph, Senior, Forward, Vermont: 14.3 ppg.

Zeglinski and McLemore were the last two kept off of the first team; both were big-time scorers and carried their respective clubs on offense. Zeglinski, a pint-sized fire-hydrant of a guard managed to dominate some games on the offensive glass, and was the heart and soul of the Hawks. McLemore still isn’t a “stopper,” but he made huge strides on the defensive end and was the Black Bears offense. Abreu was streaky, but was instrumental in the Wildcats 20 point win over 2nd place Vermont and 22 point win over 1st place Stony Brook. When on, Abreu is as good a scoring guard as there is, and also made a big impact on the defensive end. O’Brien was the 2nd best player on the Terriers, and took an absolute beating during the season as the Terriers only option in the low-post. He stretched the floor from behind the arc, gave the Terriers a scorer near the hoop, defended, and blocked some shots. Joseph is a one-dimensional player, but good-god can he shoot it when he gets into a groove, and down the stretch he was huge for the Catamounts.

3rd Team All-Conference:
§    Evan Fjeld, Sophomore, Forward, Vermont: 10.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.3 bpg.

§    Corey Lowe, Senior, Guard, Boston University: 14.1 ppg, 4.3apg.

§    Carlos Strong, Senior, Guard, Boston University: 10.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.6 spg.

§    Chris De La Rosa, R-Sophomore, Guard, UMBC: 11.8 ppg, 5.1 apg, 1.1 spg.

§    Brian Dougher, Sophomore, Guard, Stony Brook: 13.6 ppg, .423 3pt-fg.

Fjeld’s conference numbers were far greater than his overall numbers, as he became a real weapon during the conference slate. He also developed as a rebounder, and even shot blocker. What keeps Fjeld from the second team is that a great many of his buckets were completely uncontested, as he certainly benefitted from the double and triple-teams opponents employed on Blakely. Lowe’s numbers are considered a disappointment by many fans, but it wasn’t for lack of effort: Lowe completely bought into first-year head coach Pat Chambers’ scheme, and wore his heart on his sleeve during the season. For perhaps the first time in his career, Lowe truly sacrificed himself on both ends of the floor, played every game like it was his last, and put his team far above himself. Unfortunately, injuries took a heavy toll on Lowe down the stretch and prevented him from a 1st or 2nd team selection. Strong played the best basketball of his career down the stretch, and was instrumental in the Terriers late season surge. It is truly remarkable that De La Rosa lead the league in assists and assist to turnover ratio considering the team he was surrounded by. With any kind of supporting cast he might have been a 1st-teamer. Dougher was the best scorer and shooter on the league’s best team for a stretch, but cooled down the stretch. He was, however, still a terrific scorer.

All-Rookie Team:
·    Candidates: Dylan Talley, Guard, Binghamton; Mike Black, Guard, Albany, Ferg Myrick, Forward, New Hampshire; Murphy Burnatowski, Forward, Maine; Marcus Rouse, Guard, Stony Brook; Charles White, Guard, Hartford; Shawn Grant, Forward, UMBC; Adrian Satchell, Forward, UMBC; Logan Aronhalt, Guard, Albany.

·    Winners:
§   Dylan Talley, Guard, Binghamton
§    Mike Black, Guard, Albany
§   Ferg Myrick, Forward, New Hampshire
§    Murphy Burnatowski, Forward, Maine
§    Charles White, Guard, Hartford

Talley, Black, and Myrick are no-brainers. The other two spots were very much up in the air, but I give the edge to Burnatowski and White. Burnatowski was the best defender on a Black Bears squad that relied on defense. An incredibly tough, physical forward with athleticism and a mean-streak – the kind of good, Jason Grochowalski-Tommy Brenton mean-streak – Burnatowski made a huge impact on the defensive end, and showed some offensive flashes down the stretch while playing a crucial role in the Black Bears third-place finish. Charles White is a phenomenal perimeter defender – the best rookie defender in the league – and has done a remarkable job on some of the league’s best scorers (the job he did at home on Muhammad El-Amin was one of the more impressive performances by a freshman this season).

All-Defensive Team:
·    Candidates: Marqus Blakely, Forward, Vermont; Tommy Brenton, Forward, Stony Brook; Russell Graham, Guard, New Hampshire; Chretien Lukusa, Guard, Binghamton; Mahamoud Jabbi, Forward, Binghamton; Dane DiLiegro, Center, New Hampshire; Murphy Burnatowski, Forward, Maine; Garvey Young, Guard, Vermont; Dallis Joyner, Center, Stony Brook. Charles White, Guard, Hartford.

Blakely – who will, and should, win his third straight defensive player of the year – is a no brainer. Brenton is a defensive tornado who can lock down on both low-post and perimeter players and shut them down, and controls the defensive glass (he led the league in defensive rebounding – overall, and in conference games – by a considerable margin). Graham is the best perimeter defender in the league, with Lukusa and White battling for second. Jabbi – an incredibly bouncy forward – led the league in blocked shots in conference games. DiLiegro draws more charges than anyone in the conference, gets phenomenal low-post positioning, and is a monster on the defensive glass. Burnatowski is a physical forward who defends both the low-post and the perimeter, and was the best defender on a Black Bears squad that won games on the defensive end. Young is another very strong and physical perimeter defender.  Joyner came on late as a terrific low-post defender (the job he did on Blakely in the Seawolves regular-season championship clinching win over Vermont may well have been the best single defensive performance the league has seen this year).

·    Winners:
§    Marqus Blakely, Senior, Forward, Vermont
§    Tommy Brenton, Sophomore, Forward, Stony Brook
§    Russell Graham, Sophomore, Guard, New Hampshire
§    Mahamoud Jabbi, R-Junior, Forward, Binghamton
§    Charles White, Freshman, Guard, Hartford.

Blakely, Brenton, and Graham were locks. Jabbi’s shot blocking coupled with his rebounding, and White’s perimeter defense give them the slight edge over the rest of the competition.

All-Floor Burn/Blue Collar (The League’s five toughest guys):
§    Tommy Brenton, Sophomore, Forward, Stony Brook
§    Dane DiLiegro, Junior, Center, New Hampshire
§    Radar Ongeutou, Senior, Forward, New Hampshire
§    Joe Zeglinski, R-Junior, Guard, Hartford
§    Tyrone Conley, Junior, Guard, New Hampshire

All-Rim-Wreckers and Backboard-Shakers (Top in-game dunkers)
§    Marqus Blakely, Senior, Forward, Vermont
§    Tyrone Conley, Junior, Guard, New Hampshire
§    Tommy Brenton, Sophomore, Forward, Stony Brook
§    Dane DiLiegro, Junior, Center, New Hampshire
§    Dallis Joyner, Sophomore, Center, Stony Brook

Blakely may be the best all-around in-game dunker the conference has seen. Conley has the highest vertical leap in the conference and is an insane high-flying acrobat – much closer to 6’1” than his listed 6’3” – he has been finishing off alley-oops and dunking on people in a way the conference hasn’t seen (from a small-guard) since Matt Turner. Brenton is another top-end athlete, but unlike Blakely and Conley, his dunks aren’t about acrobatics: he just tries to dunk on people as hard as he physically can. Brenton has become the America East’s version of Charles Barkley when it comes to finishing off fast breaks like a runaway freight train. DiLiegro and Joyner are all about raw-power: they both try to rip the rim off every time.  Notables not making the list: John Holland, Chauncey Gilliam, and Carlos Strong – who are all terrific dunkers but just didn’t quite bring it enough this year.

All-Bust (The Biggest Disappointments)
§    Will Harris, Forward, Albany: Harris’s entire career as a Great Dane can be summed up in a line from Jay-Z: “You know the type, loud as a motorbike, but wouldn’t bust a grape in a fruit fight.” No one in the league talks more trash, makes more noise, or pounds their chest more prior to tip-off than Harris. And no one is quieter in big-game situations and big moments in their career. Harris is easily one of the three most physically talented players in the league, yet he couldn’t even rank in the top 20 in either scoring or rebounding during the conference slate. Harris simply doesn’t care, or doesn’t get it, or both. At the end of the day, he will have began his career starting at Virginia, and finished it sitting on the bench at Albany.

§   Tim Ambrose, Guard, Albany: Like Harris, Ambrose has incredible physical gifts, but has never come close to getting much out of the gifts he was blessed with on the court. He still doesn’t defend ANYONE, and doesn’t seem to have much energy or passion for the game.

§    Joel Barkers, Forward, Hartford: Barkers came out of the gate on fire in his first season at Hartford, and looked like the physical presence they desperately needed on the low-blocks. Alas, it wouldn’t last, as Barkers has looked uninspired and disinterested during most of the season.

§    Robbie Jackson, Center, UMBC: A transfer from Marshall, Jackson was billed as a 7-footer who would change the game in the America East. Jackson took the floor out of shape, overweight, and without much passion or fire. At 7 feet (more like 6’10”) he plays the game like he’s 6’1”.

§    Athletic Director Joel Thirer/Head Coach Kevin Broadus/Tiki Mayben/D.J. Rivera/Malik Alvin et all: What more needs to be said about this collective group of clowns that has imploded the Binghamton basketball program? They single handedly turned Vestal, NY, into the setting of a Road Warrior movie. Cocaine and Marijuana Dealing, condom stealing, credit card fraud, paying players, pressuring admissions to let in unqualified students, pressuring teachers to change grades, and in general allowing student athletes at a low-major school to live completely above the law; that sort of thing isn’t acceptable at UConn, let alone Binghamton. To quote Adam Sandler’s Billy Madison, “I award them no points, and may god have mercy on their souls.”

Catching Up on America East – January 26, 2010

(Author’s note: I would like to take a second to apologize to my readers, as well as the loyal fans of the America East conference, for my prolonged absence. I had several things that I was juggling on my plate that prevented me from writing more during the past few months, however I have still been able to keep my finger on the pulse of the America East conference – by my current count I have still managed to attend far too many America East games thus far. I hope that my readership will return to Hoopville, as I dive back into the action of covering the America East for the stretch run).

There’s no way to sugar coat it: The America East just isn’t good this year. After spending last season ranked in the mid-teens, the America East looks destined to end the season ranked in the mid-twenties. And to be blunt, in the nine years that I have followed the conference, this is the weakest it has ever been.

The silver lining, however, is that the “down year” could produce a tremendous conference tournament. Last season parity reigned supreme in the America East, and while there was no real “power” like Vermont and Boston University during the first part of the decade, Albany of a few years ago, or even UMBC from two years ago, what resulted was the most competitive conference tournament in recent memory, as every single game seemed to go down to the buzzer. With even more parity this season, the 2010 “AE” Tournament could prove to the most hard-fought, dramatic, and compelling in conference history. The common phrase thrown around every season is “on any night, any team can beat any other,” but nowhere has this phrase ever been more true than the upcoming tournament, as on a neutral court in Hartford, literally any of the nine America East squads has a real chance of beating any of the other eight.

For the conference as a whole, there is light at the end of the tunnel, as the league will be better next season (it couldn’t get any worse, right?)  The vast majority of the America East’s talent lies within it’s junior (John Holland, Joe Zeglinski, Dane DiLiegro, Greer Wright, Sean McNally, Tyrone Conley, Alvin Abreu, Tim Ambrose), and sophomore (Tommy Brenton, Gerald McLemore, Jake O’Brien, Brian Dougher, Dallis Joyner) classes.

Having seen all nine teams play live at least three times, here are some quick thoughts on the year:

• While parity reigns supreme, the foursome of Stony Brook, Vermont, Boston University, and Maine have separated themselves from the rest of the league (yes, that’s right, Maine!)  Amazingly, Binghamton (yes, the same Binghamton that lost its top 3 talents, head coach, Athletic Director and 3 other players, and struggled against division II schools early on) has already knocked off two of the top four teams in the standings, and looks to be straddling the middle ground between the top-four and bottom-four in the league.
• As always, winning on the road is going to play a large roll in determining the final standings, which is why I like Stony Brook as my top-team right now. Granted the Seawolves have had close calls at home against lesser conference foes (six-point wins over New Hampshire and Albany), and have lost to both Binghamton and Maine (perhaps the least “talented” of the top 5 teams in the conference). But Stony Brook has played the toughest conference schedule to start the league slate, playing all of the top teams in the league (Vermont, BU, Maine, Binghamton) on the road. The Seawolves went into Boston and punched BU in the mouth, thoroughly beating the Terriers in a game that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score (84-75), and trekked up to Vermont and out-toughed the Catamounts for a five-point win in a gritty, physical game. The Seawolves have depth (they use a ten-man rotation), play super-physical (toughest team in the league), and crash the boards and defend the heck out of the ball as a team, no matter who is on the floor. They also have the league’s most diverse offense, with Brian Dougher (and to a lesser degree Marcus Rouse) providing big-time shooting from downtown, Muhammad El-Amin, Chris Martin, and Tommy Brenton attacking the basket on drives, and Brenton and Dallis Joyner giving the Seawolves a threat in the low post. With that said, Stony Brook is still very short on experience, and has a tendency to rely on three-point shooting too much while ignoring their low-post scorers, and while I see the Seawolves as the favorites as of now, it is by the slimmest of margins.
• The two surprises of the conference have been Maine and Binghamton, and both deserve a tremendous amount of credit.
• Coming off of a season in which they won eight games, played completely uninspired ball, and “phoned it in” during their play-in game loss in the conference tournament, no one (myself included) expected much out of Maine, a team that seemingly hasn’t found a way to string two wins together since head coach Ted Woodward took over five years ago. The Black Bears shocked Boston College on the road for the America East’s “biggest” non-conference win (the Black Bears should expect that BC head coach Al Skinner will be removing them from his schedule from here on out), and currently sit atop the league standings at 5-1.  That includes a home win over Stony Brook and a win on the road at Binghamton.  Sophomore Gerald McLemore continues to impress, ranking 7^th in the conference in scoring (14.8 ppg), and junior center Sean McNally continues to play the role of school yard bully in the paint (11 ppg, 7.6 rpg). But the difference for the Black Bears has been their play on the defensive end, and the emergence of several very solid role players. Maine has controlled the tempo of the game – playing physical, clogging passing lanes, contesting shots, and generally slowing it down to a snail’s pace – and is holding America East opponents to a league-best 58.5 points per game.  For all his scoring, McLemore, who is a prolific three-point shooter who also gets tough buckets on drives to the basket, has made an equally big impact on the defensive end.Newcomers Murphy Burnatowski and Mike Allison, as well as the return of junior Malachi Peay and emergence of Troy Barnies, has given Maine a legitimate cast of complementary players to McNally and McLemore. Burnatowski, a freshman from Canada, is the Black Bears’ best athlete, and while still rough and without a position offensively, the 6’7″, 230-pound (more like 6’5″, 245) has a mean streak and toughness on the court that Maine has been missing for years, and makes things tough on the defensive end. Fellow Canadian Allison has given the Black Bears a nice touch and an offensive boost off of the bench, and at 6’9″ he should only get better when he puts some weight on his skinny frame. Peay returned after missing the first half to concentrate on academics, and is a defensive tornado who seems to always have his hands in the passing lane, and also gives the Black Bears a new dimension on the offensive end as he has a knack for getting to the hoop. Barnies may never develop into the player that Black Bears fans had hoped, but since being moved to the bench halfway through the non-conference season, he seems to finally be understanding that he’s 6’7″ and a decent athlete playing in a conference of 6’5″ post players, and is finally beginning to defend and rebound.
• As surprising as Maine has been, the biggest jaw-dropper of the season has been the play of the Binghamton Bearcats, who witnessed the implosion of last season’s conference championship squad, yet have found a way to not only be competitive, but frankly, be a very solid team. To be fair, the Bearcats do benefit from playing in front of the conference’s largest fan base, and the Events Center in Binghamton is the one true home court advantage in the America East.  The Bearcats are also a much more pedestrian team on the road than they are at home. But still, this is a team suiting up seven scholarship players.  This is a team which didn’t return one of its top four scorers from last season, and one which has ridden through more controversy and bad press than any team in the history of the America East. What is going on at Binghamton is a credit to the collective hearts of their remaining players. Binghamton has also benefitted greatly from the play of Greer Wright, a JuCo transfer who has played himself onto the 1^st team All-Conference. A springly 6’7″, Wright can score from all over and is proving to be a huge match-up problem in the America East. In Binghamton’s home victory over Vermont, Wright outplayed two-time Player of the Year Marcus Blakely, and poured in 30 points on 10-15 shooting. The Bearcats have also benefitted from the play of freshman Dylan Talley, who looks like the conference Rookie of the Year, and is also a tough match-up as a very strong 6’5″ guard. Binghamton doesn’t have enough bullets to win any shoot-outs, but they defend the hell out of the ball, play with tremendous heart for 40 minutes, and at home in front of their vocal fan base are going to be a very tough out for anyone.
• For all the talk of parity, the America East champion is going to be one of three teams: Boston University, Vermont, or Stony Brook. Binghamton just doesn’t have it to win on the road, and as excited as I am to see Maine competing, I still don’t have a ton of faith in Woodward, and they just don’t have the athletes or experience. Vermont is a “one trick pony” with Marqus Blakely carrying their team on both ends, but the America East might just be bad enough for that one trick to win. Boston University has absolutely no depth, but when John Holland, Corey Lowe, and Jake O’Brien are all playing to their potential  and they finally have been clicking at the same time as of late – they are going to be very tough to beat. Stony Brook is the most balanced team, as they are tough and athletic, they defend, and have a mean streak.

But what do I know? After all, here’s how I ranked the team in the pre-season:

1. BU
2. Stony Brook
3. Vermont
4. New Hampshire
5. Albany
6. Hartford
7. UMBC
8. Maine
9. Binghamton

And with half of the season in the books, here’s how the league standings look as of now:

1. Maine 5-1: (13-6 overall)
2. Stony Brook 6-2: (14-7)
3. Boston University: 6-2 (11-9)
4. Vermont: 5-2 (14-7)
5. Binghamton: 3-3 (8-13)
6. Hartford: 3-4 (5-15)
7. New Hampshire: 2-4 (7-10)
8. Albany: 1-6 (6-16)
9. UMBC: 0-7 (1-19)

I’ve got two right, that’s gotta’ count for something… right?

Make sure to check back in to Hoopville for upcoming bi-weekly conference notebooks, game stories, and player features, as well as a multi-part trip down memory lane.

It’s good to be back.

America East Notebook – Separation at the Top

Here’s how I would break down the conference as of right now:

1. Vermont
2. Boston University
3. Albany/UMBC
4. UMBC/Albany
5. Stony Brook
6. Binghamton
7. Maine/UNH
8. UNH/Maine
9. Hartford

There is significant separation between the top two teams (Vermont, BU) and the rest of the America East, and there is also some separation between teams 3-6 and the bottom of the conference. However, as a whole, the only team in the conference that should really be classified as playing flat-out bad has been Hartford, as the rest of the conference has played up to, or exceeded, preseason expectations.

Vermont’s inside-outside combination of Mike Trimboli and Marqus Blakely has been the best duo in the conference, as both are playing like All-Conference first teamers, but it’s been the Catamounts’ supporting cast that has made them hands down the team to beat in the America East. The Catamounts lead the conference in scoring, field goal percentage, field goal percentage defense and 3-point field goal percentage.

Stony Brook Notes

• Speaking of pre-game acrobatics, no team in the America East is as fun to watch go through their lay-up lines as Stony Brook. I would recommend fans show up before Seawolves games as early as possible, as they put on one heck of a pre-game dunk-a-thon. Last year Demetrius Young and Jermol Paul were the Seawolves’ resident high-flyers, but this year they have some stiff competition in freshmen Danny Carter, Tommy Brenton, Dallis Joyner, junior college transfer Muhammad El-Amin, and even walk-on Michal Zylinski.
• El-Amin is in his own world in some of the tomahawk, windmill, and reverse jams he throws down, as his hang time is up there with anyone in the conference.
• And for sheer back-board shaking power, the conference hasn’t seen someone like Desmond Adedeji in a long time.
• While Dougher came to Stony Brook with a lot of hype, and Brenton exploded out of the gates, Carter may be the Stony Brook freshman with the highest ceiling. At 6’9″ he has been hyped as a pure shooter, and he certainly looks it, but what has been overlooked is his athleticism. Brian Benson of UNH may be the most athletic player 6’9″ or taller that the conference has seen in some time, but Carter isn’t far behind. The only thing holding Carter back right now is his weight, as he will need to bulk-up to become an impact player, but with a good strength training program, the sky is the limit.
• Putting on weight isn’t a problem for Adedeji, who is a monster at 6’10″ and reportedly upwards of 325 pounds. Adedeji has the skills to do serious damage in the America East, with an incredibly soft shooting touch to go with his brute strength, and can even hit the college 3. While Adedeji will need to get down to around 300 to be a true impact player, he is hardly fat, with a build that looks strikingly similar to actor Michael Clarke Duncan of The Green Mile fame – if Duncan were a half a foot taller. Big players in the America East have been hamstrung by referees in the past, but Adedeji may not fall into that trap, as he is already an incredibly smart player who knows how to use his size. He also knows how to lower the boom, as evident when he leveled UConn’s Stanley Robinson with a pick, which left Robinson on the ground dazed, and later forced him from the game.

These Seawolves Have Teeth, More Importantly, Heart

STONY BROOK, N.Y. – Stony Brook has long been dismissed as the dregs of the America East conference: a perennial bottom-feeder with no hope in sight. But after a 71-50 come from behind win against Lehigh, the Seawolves showed that this year’s squad is everything that last year’s was not, as they played as a team, and more importantly, with heart.

When I talked to Steve Pikiell one lazy August day last summer, Stony Brook’s head coach radiated with boundless energy and enthusiasm, raved about his incoming freshman class, and glowed when talking about the competition at every position and depth across the board. Pikiell talked himself into a frenzy when describing just how hard his “kids” were going at it every practice, and how they were coming together as a team.

It was impossible not to get caught up in Pikiell’s excitement.

It was also impossible not to think that all the losing on Long Island might have finally gotten to Pikiell, maybe he’d finally cracked: How could the coach of such a bad team for the past three years, a coach whose head has been repeatedly called for over the past two seasons, be so upbeat, so optimistic?

In his three previous years at the helm of the Seawolves, Stony Brook spent three straight years in the basement, three straight appearances in the America East Tournament play-in game, and had amassed winning percentage worse than the batting average of a utility infielder.

The Seawolves had been a walking disaster: they lacked any team identity, along with any semblance of an offensive game plan. On the floor, Stony Brook looked like five individuals with plenty of athleticism, but no basketball training, and no interest in sharing the rock. Last season Stony Brook ranked last in the America East conference in scoring, assists, field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentages, and three-pointers made.

Fans were quick to call for Pikiell’s head. He was signed to the most lucrative contract in the league, yet he had produced the worst winning percentage among all active coaches.

What many didn’t realize was the during Pikiell’s first season as coach, Stony Brook was under NCAA sanctions dating back to the previous coaching staff, and only had six eligible scholarship players on its roster. In fact, the Seawolves did not field a team with a full 13 scholarship players until this season.

Fans are fickle. Once you fall into their doghouse, it’s hard to find your way back into good graces. Fans yawned when Stony Brook opened the season with a win over University of Maryland-Eastern Shore, and later at back-to-back wins over Columbia and New Jersey Institute of Technology. Those games, you’re supposed to win. Three straight losses to Lafayette, Wagner, and American, and it’s the same old Stony Brook, right?

Wrong.

Sure, the Seawolves’ first three wins of the season were against teams at the bottom of the Division I totem pole, but they are games that Stony Brook could, and would, have lost in previous years. In fact, last season Stony Brook lost to UMES and was destroyed by Columbia, losing by 20. Stony Brook showed more collective heart through their first five games than they had in the past three years, fighting down to the wire in valiant comebacks against Wagner and a very good American team, something that was unheard of last season when the Seawolves would roll over and die once they fell behind.

Stony Brook also proved they could win the close game, beating Columbia at the wire 62-60. They were 0-4 last year in games decided by 3 or fewer points.

The Seawolves also have gotten a huge boost from an exciting quartet of freshmen in 6’5″ high-energy, high-flying, do-everything forward Tommy Brenton, point guard Brian Dougher, 6’8″ 260 pound bruiser Dallis Joyner, and 6’9″ sharpshooting Brit-import Danny Carter.

Each of the four freshmen has had at least one game as Stony Brook’s high scorer, with Brenton taking center stage in the early going by ripping down 16 rebounds in his first collegiate game. He ranks 4th in the conference in boards per game.

Fans still dismissed Stony Brook as another bottom feeder and train wreck in waiting. But they can’t ignore the signs anymore. The Seawolves are finally heading in the right direction.

Last Thursday night, when Stony Brook tipped off against Lehigh, it was the kind of opponent that would have ended in the Seawolves getting run out of the gym a year ago: Lehigh was an experienced, veteran-heavy team coming in off of a win over Rutgers of the Big East.

In the early going, it looked like it would be a long night for Stony Brook. Lehigh pushed the lead to eleven, and Stony Brook sputtered badly out of the gate. Yet Pikiell’s young squad never buckled, never backed down, and played with heart and desire never before seen in their neck of Long Island. They came together as a team behind the terrific play of veterans Chris Martin, Marqus Cox, and transfer Desmond Adedeji.

The Seawolves clamped down in the second half on the defensive end, and after going into the intermission down 27-22, blew the Mountain Hawks out of the water, outscoring them 49-23 in the second half. The Seawolves won by working the ball into the post, locking down on defense, running like a finely tuned machine on offense, and most importantly playing with a tremendous collective heart. And they came back from a halftime deficit, something that proved next to impossible last season.

“We won this game with a great defensive effort in the second half, I couldn’t be prouder of the effort and intensity our team played with tonight after falling behind early,” Pikiell reflected after the game.

Throughout the season, Martin has shown glimpses of the potential he oozed when he was signed as part of Pikiell’s 2006 freshman class. But Martin never qualified academically, and sat out getting his grades in order. Unable to practice with the team his first year in school, much of last year was a wash for Martin, who had to re-adjust to the college game.

But this year looks different, as the 6’1″, 230-pound tank of a guard has done everything while coming off the bench for the Seawolves. Martin has stepped up in the place of Eddie Castellanos, who was lost for the season during the first game of the year, to handle the back-up point guard duties. He has served as instant offense, and the best sixth man in the America East.

“Chris has all the potential to be a very special player when all is said and done. He has done a terrific job of handling the point, he can really get to the hoop, and he has just gotten into terrific shape, he went from being over 20 percent body fat to down under 10,” said Pikiell.

Martin showed flashes in the early going, including the game winning tip in against Colgate, and a terrific second half against American in which he almost single-handedly led a comeback. Against Lehigh, Martin was nails, going for a season-high 19 points, and 13 in the second half. Martin scored from inside and out, showing of a refined shooting touch, and proved to be the X-factor that Stony Brook was lacking last season: someone who can create his own shot, and get to the basket and the free-throw line (he went 11 for 11 from the charity stripe). Martin attacked the rim with abandon, finishing with acrobatic lay-ups or hard earned trips to the line.

No player better embodied the new-look Seawolves than Adedeji, a transfer from Dayton who conducted a clinic in his first meaningful minutes of the season. He gave the Seawolves an instant low post presence, something that was non-existent for the past three seasons. The 6’10″, 315-pound center shook the floorboards when he entered the game for the first time, and shook the gym when he almost brought the backboard, and roof, down with a monster two-handed slam with 12:46 left in the second half.

“‘Big Des’ brings a new dimension to our team, and when he gets into game shape, he could be a game-changer,” said Pikiell.

Adedeji only played 17 minutes, but he lived up to Pikiell’s description. He truly changed the lane, scoring 11 points on 5-9 shooting to go with nine rebounds and three blocks, and drew constant double and triple teams, freeing up the rest of Stony Brook’s offense.

He also brought the crowd back into the game.

Before Adedeji’s support-shaking dunk, Stony Brook trailed 38-30, but it energized the crowd of more than a thousand, and began a 41-12 Seawolves run to close out the game.

The unsung hero was Cox, a four-year walk-on whom has gone from practice player to defensive stopper. Cox emerged early in the season as a new player, a lock-down one-on-one defender that the Seawolves have never seen before. Cox has been put in man-to-man coverage against opponents’ best offensive guards and thrived, shutting down American’s Garrison Carr. Carr at the time was averaging over 20 points per game, but had just 10 points on 3-9 shooting. Against Lehigh he continued to shine, holding star guard Marquis Hall to 13 points, frustrating him into 4-12 shooting, and 3-8 behind the arc.

“There just isn’t a better story than Marques. He’s our leader, and he has worked as hard as humanly possible from day one in the program, and he has become a huge weapon for us on the defensive end” said Pikiell.

The Seawolves aren’t ready to contend for a conference title, but they are headed in the right direction. With talent, depth, and a newfound team identity, Stony Brook is going to be able to put a scare into a lot of America East teams.

Seawolves Showing Some Scrap

STONY BROOK, N.Y. – The Stony Brook Seawolves have been the definition of futility during the past three seasons, and after a 1-3 start, many fans are ready to once again write off Stony Brook, as they are once again murmuring that head coach Steve Pikiell should be on the first bus out of town. But the Seawolves have actually been one of the pleasant surprises of the young season.

Sure, the Seawolves’ only win was over the University of Marlyand-Eastern Shore, a team at the bottom of the Division I ranks, and losses to Lafayette and Wagner are certainly uninspiring on paper, but those are three games that Stony Brook may well have not shown up for last year.

No one is predicting that Stony Brook will compete for a league title this season, but the Seawolves look very improved over last year’s squad. Last year the Seawolves played as five individuals; this year they actually look like a unit on the floor. Last year it seemed that Stony Brook played five athletes with no real position on the floor; this year the Seawolves have gone with a real lineup. Brian Dougher, Jonathan Moore, Chris Martin, and Marques Cox rotate through the guard position, Tommy Brenton and Muhammad El-Amin see time on the wing, and Brenton, Dallis Joyner, Danny Carter, Andrew Goba and Demetrius Young playing in the low post.

The Seawolves have been in every single game they have played, and could have won all three games that they have lost so far. Pikiell has developed a set 9-man rotation, and the Seawolves have begun to work the ball into the low post (a huge step in the right direction from last year).

On the court, the Seawolves look like a completely different team than last year’s squad. Last year Stony Brook ran an offense that resembled five chickens running around with their heads chopped off. Stony Brook lead the conference in three pointers attempted while finishing dead-last in three-point shooting, as the Seawolves played like five individuals auditioning for the And-1 Mix-Tape tour. This season, Stony Brook looks like a team on the floor, have taken more shots from around the hoop than behind the arc, while actually moving the ball around on offense.

Perhaps most indicative of the Seawolves’ new direction has been the lack of playing time for Young, a 6’6″ leaper, as well as super athlete Jermol Paul and pint-sized chucker Michael Tyree, as Pikiell is going for production and performance above raw athleticism this year.

Especially encouraging for Stony Brook was Tuesday night’s performance against American. Stony Brook fell 56-53, but they played as equals with the best team in the Patriot league all night, which is not bad for an America East cellar-dweller. The Seawolves not only played as a team, but they fought all the way to the end in a game that they would have simply rolled over in last year.

“I’m extremely proud of the energy and effort our players showed tonight,” said Pikiell. “We played some excellent basketball against a terrific American team and unfortunately they just made a few more plays than we did down the stretch.”

Stony Brook still isn’t distributing the ball particularly well, but that may well be due to having two first-year players handle the point guard responsibility. That’s a role that freshman Dougher and junior college transfer Moore may grow into as the season progresses.

Brenton, a true freshman, has not only been Stony Brook’s best player, but the best freshman in the conference through the first two weeks. Pikiell raved about Brenton’s desire and work ethic in the low post, calling him the best rebounder on the team before the start of the season, and he has more than lived up to the billing, pulling down a league-leading 11.3 rebounds per game through for games. A natural wing at 6’5″, Brenton has played far bigger than his size, controlling the glass through tenacity and guile rather than size. He’s also shown a nice touch around the hoop.

“Tommy is a coach’s dream, he’s relentless around the hoop, our toughest player, and incredibly smart, and he just gets the job done,” said Pikiell. “He’s going to be a very special player for us before all is said and done.”

Martin has also been one of the best bench players in the conference, averaging 8.8 points in only 13 minutes a game. And he has been coming on stronger as the young season progresses: after only playing four minutes in the season opener, Martin scored 11 points in 14 minutes of action versus Lafayette, 14 points in 16 minutes versus Wagner, and 10 points in 18 minutes versus American. At 6’1″, 230 pounds and less than 10 percent body fat, Martin is a unique player in the conference. Already with the ability to handle the ball and run the point, and a developing outside shot, he can also post up America East guards at will, and has all the makings of an All-Conference player by the time he becomes an upperclassman. Martin is proving to be a weapon off of the bench, and more importantly gives the Seawolves’ offense a new dimension, as he can put the ball on the floor and really get to the hoop.

And the Seawolves have the look of a team that will be playing it’s best basketball at the end of the season, as Joyner, a 6’8″, 250-pound bruiser, and Carter, a 6’9″ sharpshooter, have shown flashes as true freshmen, and will only get better as the year goes on. Ditto for Dougher, who has started all four of the Seawolves’ games at point guard as a true freshman. The learning curve is especially tough at the point guard position for first-year players, but Dougher has a bulldog mentality and some legitimate skill to go with it, and has the tools to be a fine floor general.

The biggest lift for Stony Brook, however, will be the return of Desmond “Big Des” Adedeji, a 6’10″, 315-pound nightmare in the middle and the Seawolves’ best player. Fans are quick to overlook the fact that Stony Brook has been in a position to win every game they have played this season despite playing without their centerpiece, as Pikiell’s offense had been designed to revolve around Adedeji, The impact that Adedeji could have – the ideal word here is “could” – can not be overstated, as there may not be a player in the conference that can stop him if he gets the ball on the low blocks. Adedeji has tremendous hands, a soft touch, is an exciting finisher around the hoop, and can run the floor like a deer, and could average 15 and 10 right away.

Adedeji has served four games of a six game suspension, and the lay-off combined with off-season surgery and the year he spent away from the court last season as a transfer (from Dayton) should temper immediate expectations for Adedeji, but the talent and potential are there, and the Seawolves are only going to get better with his return.

Stony Brook is still a long way from becoming the “Evil Empire” that some boastfully predicted a few years back. But there may finally be light at the end of the tunnel for the Seawolves, and they could certainly play the roll of spoiler at the end of the season.