One-Bid Wonders

The America East followed up a nice start to the 2012-2013 campaign with a dud. Hartford lost valiantly, a Maine team that is supposed to have finally distanced itself from the collapses of seasons past was embarrassed by a bad Dartmouth squad.

Most embarrassing of all, New Hampshire murdered a Division III squad. If the league is banning members from post-season play (which is well within the league’s rights and we have no bones with) and drop their RPI requirements for opponents (ditto), we’d also like to see it put the kibosh on non-DI games, like yesterday.

Dartmouth 67, Maine 54
Ouch. If this is supposed to be the Black Bears’ year (so was last year, and the year before that, and the year before that), this certainly was not the way to start it.

Maine was soundly thumped by a bottom of the barrel Ivy League team fielding the second most inexperienced roster in all of college basketball. The Black Bears shot just 36% from the floor, 15% from three, turned the ball over 17 times to just seven assists, and generally made a team that won a whopping total of five games last season look like world beaters.

The loss was hardly an encouraging sign for a Black Bears that has ended each of the past three seasons in Hindenburg-esque fashion.

OBW Preseason First Team All-Conference pick Alasdair Fraser took just four shots, finishing with two points and eight rebounds, turned the ball over five times and fouled out in 36 minutes of action. His limited touches were quite concerning. Last season Fraser emerged as the Black Bears best, most reliable (and at times unstoppable) offensive weapon, yet found himself lost in the offense down the stretch.

Sophomore Justin Edwards, who looked like a world beater during the first half of last season, scored 12 points, but on 4-of-12 shooting to go along with four turnovers. In his debut at point guard, Xavier Pollard – a natural all-energy combo guard – made a big impact on the defensive end with four steals, but sputtered running the offense, scoring 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting

Senior forward Mike Allison was the lone bright spot for the Black Bears, scoring 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting while pulling down 11 rebounds. (more…)

(West Hartford) – Last year, the University of Hartford lost its first game of the season. Then it lost the next, and the next, and the next, and the next. The Hawks opened their season losers of their first 13 games in a row, before finally cracking the win column.

On Saturday afternoon, the Hawks fell in their season opener – the opening game of the Connecticut 6 Classic – to Quinnipiac, 65-61. But if Saturday’s game was any indication, this should be a very different season for Hartford.

“Overall, I’m excited about the effort,” said Hartford head coach John Gallagher. “It was a great college game; it was a war.”

On Saturday, the Hawks went toe-to-toe and elbow-for-elbow, in an ugly, physical, and foul-plagued game against a Quinnipiac roster that thrives playing bully-ball in such an environment, and seemed tailor-made to exploit every one of the Hawks weaknesses from a year ago.

“It [was] a toughness contest,” said Quinnipiac head coach Tom Moore.

“We knew that they were going to come out strong, and we made it our mindset to meet them and come out strong as well,” said sophomore forward Mark Nwakamma.

Nwakamma led Hartford with 15 points, adding four rebounds, two assists and a steal, despite being limited to just 26 minutes of action because of fouls. Sophomore forward Nate Sikma added 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds, while sophomore point guard Yolonzo Moore added nine points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Reserve forwards Oren Faulk and Jamie Schneck added seven and six points, respectively.

Quinnipiac was led by junior forward Ike Azotam, who scored a game-high 17 points and ripped down nine rebounds to go with two blocks. Senior guard (and former Vermont Catamount) Garvey Young scored 15 points, including two crucial three’s down the stretch. Forwards Jamee Jackson and Ousmane Drame combined for 15 points and four blocks. (more…)

When looking ahead and projecting the upcoming season, we always look at the prospective stars of each team. It’s only natural – they are the go-to-guys, the players who take center stage when the lights are the brightest, the ones who can put the team on their backs and carry them when the chips are down.

Yet in the good-enough-on-guts America East, examples of a lone star player single-handedly carrying a team to a championship without big contributions from role players and supporting cast are almost non-existent.

Guys like Jose Juan Barea and Kenny Adeleke, tremendous individual talents who went it alone without cohesive team chemistry and a good supporting cast, never won a thing.

For all of their heroics, Taylor Coppenrath and T.J. Sorrentine had the likes of super role players Grant Anderson, David Hehn and the immortal Germain Mopa-Njila doing the little things. Jamar Wilson had Levi Levine, Lucious Jordan, and Brent Wilson to do the dirty work. Chaz Carr and Billy Collins had Stijn Dhondt setting bone crushing screens and Ryan Butt battling it out in the paint. Marqus Blakely could pass out of the double team to a perfectly positioned Evan Fjeld for easy buckets, or rely on Joey Accaoui to bury the three.

The America East has always been a league where hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. With fewer true stars and less high-level talent returning to the league than any other time prior in conference history, now more than ever, the conference title may be decided by the supporting cast.

Here is a look at our X-Men: the “X-Factors” – unknown or unproven players flying under the radar who could play a big role in the success or failure of each of the nine America East squads. (more…)

Today was Media Day in the America East. Coaches and athletic personnel from every team converged on SEFCU Arena in Albany for the league luncheon, meet-and-greet, and lots and lots of press conferences to kick off the 2012-2013 season.

It was on Albany’s home court – the site of the 2013 America East Tournament – that the official Preseason Coaches’ Poll was unveiled, revealing the predicted standings of the nine America East schools as voted on by the league coaches, as well as the preseason All-Conference selections.

There is always some gamesmanship that goes into the picks (acknowledging upperclassmen, nods of respect coaches – both accomplished and on the hot seat – and even some general ribbing), so they should be taken with a grain of salt (just take a look at the number of years in a row that BU was tabbed first).

Without revealing OBW’s own preseason predictions, which will be published in the near future, here is Sam Perkins’ breakdown of the nine America East teams in ascending order of how the coaches’ selected them. (more…)

Last Monday I hopped in my beat-up Grand Prix, and hit the America East back roads for the first time this season, bombing down I-84 to catch up with Hartford head coach John Gallagher and take in a Hawks practice.
To use a tired cliche and say that the Hawks enjoyed a roller-coaster season last year would be a huge understatement: The incredibly young and inexperienced Hawks began the season 0-13. Instead of packing it in and giving up – as most teams would have done – Hartford came together their fiery and energetic head coach, going 7-9 in conference while finishing in sixth place. The Hawks peaked at the right time, knocking off Boston University in the quarterfinals of the America East Tournament before falling to eventual champion Vermont in the semis, capitulating only after a double-overtime thriller that will go down as one of the greatest America East Tournament games ever.

The Hawks can no longer catch AE foes by surprise, and are looking to make the leap from loveable upstart to conference contender. They have the talent, and more importantly the tenacity and work ethic: the America East is a good-enough-on-guts league, and in a year seemingly devoid of star talent and a head-and-shoulders-above-the-competition favorite, on most nights, the team that plays the hardest will likely walk away the winner.

Not to give away our preseason picks before they are unveiled, but we think the Hawks will take a step up this season.

I brought along a new camera, and in addition to jotting down my thoughts on the night, I snapped a lot of photographs – which will hopefully become a regular occurrence throughout the season. A link to the complete album can be found at the end of this post.

Thoughts, sights and sounds: (more…)

(Guayama, Puerto Rico) – The America East class of 2012 has its first professional baller, and it isn’t conference Player of the Year and 20 ppg scorer Darryl Partin, nor All-Conference First Team selections Matt Glass or Brian Dougher.

Late Monday night, diminutive Hartford point guard Andress Torres signed a contract with the Brujos de Guayama of the Puerto Rican Baloncesto Superior Nacional – or “BSN” – league.

Over his career, which spanned 109 games, Torres averaged 6.6 points and 3.1 assists per game. Torres set foot on campus as a lightening-quick guard with a penchant for attacking the lane off the dribble, but was an ill-fit for former head coach Dan Leibovitz’ system.

Torres limped through a laundry list of injuries during his career, and was shelved for his true-senior season due to torn ligaments in his knee. After graduating early with a degree in Accounting, he opted for surgery and chose to return for a fifth-year of eligibility, working on a Masters Degree in accounting.

Torres averaged career bests of 11.8 points, 4.2 assists, 1.9 steals and 3.1 rebounds per game during his final campaign in uniform. More importantly than sheer numbers, he was the heart and soul of an all-heart Hartford team.
A senior in the unenviable position of playing out his career on a rebuilding program, according to head coach John Gallagher, Torres “didn’t blink” when the Hawks began the season 0-13, and was the catalyst for Hartford’s turnaround which saw them go 7-9 in conference play and finish in a tie for sixth. (more…)

(West Hartford, Conn.) — Forward Ryan Baker and wing Dustin Clarke will not be returning to the University of Hartford next season, according to Hawks head coach John Gallagher.

“They are both phenomenal young men and we wish them all the best. They are great kids and there is zero animosity,” said Gallagher.

Baker, a 6’5” junior, was recruited by former head coach Dan Leibovitz. In 69 career games over three seasons in a Hawks uniform, Baker averaged 1.9 points in 7.6 minutes per game.

Despite solid athleticism, Baker was buried on the Hawks depth-chart for the entire season and was on the outside looking in on the Hawks rotation moving forward. According to Gallagher, the native of Cypress, Texas, is graduating early and will be enrolling in a graduate school close to home.

Clarke, a 6’3” freshman, saw action in only 10 games, averaging just 3.4 minutes, and did not score a single point, but was arguably the most athletic player in the program. Despite his lack of playing time, the coaching staff – at least for a time – viewed Clarke as the Harford freshman with the highest ceiling; high praise considering the Hawks seven-man freshman class included All-Rookie selections Mark Nwakamma and Nate Sikma, as well as starting guard Yolonzo Moore,

At 175 pounds (and that listing might be a bit generous), Clarke needed to develop significant strength and was no where near ready to compete at the division I level and seemed like the ideal candidate for a red-shirt — which was the original plan of the coaching staff (he did not play in the first 10 games of the season). However, according to several sources, Clarke did not agree with that plan. (more…)

(West Hartford, CT) –On March 3rd, 2002, after 39 minutes and 59.2 seconds of game time, the University of Hartford and Boston University stood tied, 60-60, in the America East tournament.

In the eight-tenths of game time that followed, amazing happened. Terriers reserve (and ultimate-role player) Stijn Dhondt corralled a full-court inbounds heave behind the three point arc on the right wing, turned, and banked in the game winner, propelling the Terriers to the Championship game and on to the NCAA tournament, while dashing Hartford hopes and torpedoing the Hawks program for years to come.

Although his name and heroics have been largely forgotten by the next generation of America East hoops, Dhondt’s shot continues to reverberate around the league, and had hung over the head of Hartford’s program for a decade.

Ten years later to the day, against the same opponent, it was the Hawks who hit back-breaking three’s in the games closing moments, knocking off the Terriers while taking a step towards finally ridding themselves of the monkey that has hung on their backs since the “Matthews Miracle.”

“I think this could be a springboard win,” said Gallagher, who was well aware of the buzzer beater a decade earlier. “I’m so proud,” he added.

The Hawks held Boston University without a field goal for the final 6:14 of playing time, and responded from a tough first-half shooting performance, hitting 52.4 percent (11-21) of their second half shots en route to a 53-49 upset win.

Freshmen forwards Nate Sikma and Mark Nwakamma put the Hawks on their shoulders, leading Hartford to a comeback win in the games final minutes. Sikma scored a team high 16 points, burying four huge 3’s; Nwakamma battled his way to 13 points while ripping down a game-high 16 rebounds. (more…)

Head coach John Becker did a wonderful job in his first year at the University of Vermont. Not only did he break the program’s record for wins by a first-year head coach, but at 20-11 he become just the fifth coach in America East history to reach the 20-win mark in his first season of coaching. The only blemish on his season was a loss to previously-winless Binghamton which would have all but secured the top-seed in the America East tournament. But one loss, while unfortunate, does not diminish the amazing job that Becker did in his first season at Vermont, where he blended freshmen and seniors, four-year players and former transfers, and kept the Catamounts playing flawlessly within the tried-and-true “Vermont system.” Becker was particularly adept at using his bench, and at keeping a positive and energetic locker room at all times.

Stony Brook head coach Steve Pikiell also had a terrific season, winning his second outright regular season title while setting a new program benchmark for in-conference record at 14-2 in America East play. The Seawolves weathered an early storm during the season, and showed new wrinkles in their offensive scheme while continuing program trademarks of dominating the defensive end of the floor and both ends of the glass.

That neither Becker nor Pikiell won the OBW Coach of the Year is not a slight to either – they both did a remarkable job (Becker even more so, as with four seniors and a fifth-year junior, the Seawolves were expected to compete for a title) – we simply feel there was one coach who did an even more remarkable job.

John Gallagher, Hartford: The Hawks lost all 13 games they played before the start of the conference slate. Hartford finished 8-21 on the season. The Hawks still shoot too many 3’s, and they don’t rebound the basketball. These are all facts (well, how many 3′s is too many is a matter of opinion, but the Hawks shoot a lot of long-distance jumpers by any measure), and we don’t dispute any of them.

But the job that second-year head coach John Gallagher did at the University of Hartford this season was nothing short of remarkable; leading a team that began the year 0-13 to a fifth-place (tied) finish in the conference standings, coaching with boundless energy while refusing to take a single minute off or ever get down on his players or program.

After losing five seniors to graduation following his first year at the helm for the Hawks (a year in which he was hired too late in the game to recruit his own incoming class), Gallagher opted to build a program from the ground up, bringing in seven true freshmen. What Gallagher returned was a broken down fifth-year point guard in Andres Torres, and spare parts in Clayton Brothers and Genesis Maciel.

The cupboard was completely bare.

The young and completely inexperienced Hawks didn’t simply take their lumps during the early going – they were thrown down a flight of stairs. But Gallagher’s positive energy and exuberance never waned. He set out with the simple goal to get better every single day, and it happened, in baby steps at first and then in strides.

The Hawks turned into one of the league’s better defensive teams by the middle of conference play, and looked every bit like they belonged despite playing with the youngest team in the league.

More remarkable than the Hawks’ place in the rankings was that, despite a 13-game losing streak which could have – and likely would have – snowballed on most programs, Gallagher never lost his team. Gallagher never gave up on the Hawks, and in return neither the seniors stuck in the midst of a rebuilding season, nor the freshmen who had never before faced such on-court adversity, quit on their coach.

(Boston, MA) – Locked into third place in the standings and the third-seed in the conference tournament, Boston University had nothing to play for on their regular-season finale Saturday afternoon. Nothing, that is, except the seniors.

It was more than enough motivation for the Terrier.

On an emotional Senior Day, the Terriers’ seniors took center stage, leading BU to a 64 to 55 win over the hard-fighting Hartford Hawks.

“It was great to see the seniors go out – you always want to go out and win your last game at home, and they deserved it and I’m proud of them,” said Terriers head coach Joe Jones.

Darryl Partin scored 21 points on 7-16 shooting, while fellow seniors Matt Griffin and Jeff Pelage added eight and seven points apiece, respectively. Forward Travis Robinson chipped in eight points, and Dom Morris seven. Bu out-rebounded Hartford 37 to 18 and nine different Terriers scored in the win.

With a chance to secure fifth place in the conference standings, the young Hawks fought with everything they had, showing tremendous heart, determination, and incredibly scrappy-defense.

“We’re an energetic group, we play extremely hard, they [the team] love each other,” said Hartford head coach John Gallagher of the Hawks effort. “I went in that locker-room and we had seniors who’ve had a tough year, and we had three or four guys crying; that’s exciting to me – that’s exciting: We’ve got a winning locker room.”

Unfortunately, Hartford didn’t fight smart.

Despite continued success attacking the basket, Hartford forced 26 3’s, missing 19. The Hawks dug themselves into a deep hole under an avalanche of off-target bombs in the first half, and, after clawing back into the game attacking the hoop, handed the game back to the Terriers with another ill-advised heave in the games biggest moment.

Prior to tip-of, graduating Boston University seniors Partin, Pelage, Griffin, Pat Hazel and walk-on Chris Kurz were honored. Pelage, arguably the program’s biggest fan favorite, receiving – far and away – the most rousing ovation. (more…)