Pioneer Pride's All-Favorite Sacred Heart Team

As I sat in insufferable traffic heading to work last week, I thought of a good post. (Well, at least I think I did.) How about I publish my all-favorite Sacred Heart men’s basketball team? I’ll select eight or nine of my favorite Pioneers during the program’s 14-year D-I era. Keep in mind this lineup shouldn’t be confused with SHU’s all-time team. Sure, some of these players would easily find their way on that prestigious list, but others would most likely fall short. 

Let’s begin with my starting five…

PG: Phil Gaetano, 2010 - present, sophomore

As Bill Paxton eloquently stated in his latest profile piece, the diminutive Gaetano is a throwback player – a selfless floor general who possesses excellent floor vision, an above average handle, and the late game poise needed to calmly and efficiently run an offense. I’m a sucker for those types of point guards, but they’ve been few and far between during Dave Bike’s D-I tenure. After Tavio Hobson, there hasn’t been a true assist man on this roster until Gaetano arrived for the 2011-12 season. Now in his second year, Gaetano runs the show and almost always gets three to five assists every game that no one else this side of Jason Brickman could possibly get. Sacred Heart is in really good hands for the next two and a half seasons with Gaetano controlling and dishing out the rock.

SG: Shane Gibson, 2008 - present, senior
It’s not his career scoring average of 14.4 ppg - or the 17.7 ppg averaged his past three seasons - that makes Gibson one of my favorites, but rather the efficiency at which he scores the ball. Despite receiving scores of defensive attention anytime Sacred Heart steps on the court, Gibson has always found a way to get his points and keep his Pioneers relatively competitive. His smooth jumper is fun to watch, but sometimes I really enjoy watching the opponent’s reaction after he makes one of his patented “he had no business shooting that” jumpers. The greatest Pioneer ever doesn’t need much space to get off his shot, yet this year the guard seems to be driving to the hole more as defenders crowd him on the perimeter. Gibson only has eight guaranteed games left in his collegiate career, so I encourage you all to witness the 6’2” sharpshooter before it's too late. He will definitely be missed.

G: Drew Shubik, 2003 - 2007
You heard me wax poetic before about Shubik, so it should come as no surprise to anyone that he made the cut on my all-favorite team. Watching the 6'4" guard/wing made Pioneer fans appreciate his game so much more. In his breakout junior season, Shubik finished nationally ranked in effective field goal percentage, steal rate, and assist rate, while also grabbing nearly four rebounds per game. Shubik's versatility from that magical '06-07 season was amazing, but perhaps it was his transformation into a point guard the next season that was his most impressive feat. As a NEC guard, Shubik could simply do it all, even if he didn't appear to be the most physically gifted athlete on the court.

PF: Joey Henley, 2003 - 2009
Henley was your classic easy to root for, high character athlete that Bike covets. The bouncy, yet undersized Henley was often the best athlete on the floor and hardly let his bigger defenders get in the way of a career that included two All-NEC selections. To this day, he’s my favorite Pioneer not only from his on-the-court production, but also because of his teammate and leadership qualities that every star player should aspire to have. It also didn’t hurt that the Washington state native averaged 13.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game as a junior and senior. It’s such a shame Sacred Heart missed out on an NCAA tournament berth in the mid 2000s by a sliver, because Henley certainly deserved better. These days when Sacred Heart recruits and signs a big man, the dream scenario for that prospect is to turn into the next Joey Henley.

C: Tim Welch, 1999 - 2002
Finally, it’s a blast from the past! Welch is the only member of my all-favorite team who played while I attended Sacred Heart. It’s really too bad there isn’t another guy from that era here, but that’s what happens when Sacred Heart averaged only five victories per season in my last two years at the school. Nevertheless, the 6’10” Welch posted very respectable numbers of 9.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game, even though he wasn’t the most physically imposing big man patrolling the paint. Other than Kibwe Trim, you can certainly make the argument that Welch was the most consistent presence in the paint for Sacred Heart in its 14 seasons as a D-I program.

And now onto my sensational bench…

G/F: Jerrid Frye, 2003 - 2007
It was a treat to hear Frye on the Sacred Heart halftime show a few weeks ago, as it brought back fond memories of the short-lived glory days of Pioneer basketball. Frye possessed a silky smooth mid-range game, which these days is simply a lost art. The lengthy Frye was very good at creating off the dribble, attacking the rim, and reeking havoc on the defensive end, which are the main reasons why I enjoyed watching him immensely. Without him, Henley, and Shubik, there’s no NEC finals appearance at Central Connecticut in 2007.

G: Chris Evans, 2010 - present, junior redshirt
There’s a reason why I gave Evans the nickname of “The Future” during his freshman season. The do-it-all player from nearby Stamford filled up the stat sheet and wasn’t one of those one-trick pony guards who just camps out at the three-point line waiting for someone else to create his shot. After his standout All-NEC Rookie team freshman campaign though, Evans played his second season with a bad wheel, which unfortunately hasn’t improved since undergoing offseason meniscus surgery. I maintain Evans’ omission from the Pioneers' current roster is their biggest loss and I doubt I’m alone in that sentiment. Hopefully with fingers crossed, the playmaker can get healthy once again. At this point, I may spray deer antler extract into his mouth next time I see him at a game.

G: Chauncey Hardy, 2006 - 2010
There was just something about the barely 6’0” guard that was so endearing to watch. He didn’t seem to have a weakness or a wonderful strength – Hardy was the type of player who could do everything at an above average level. He could pull up and shoot the three (career 41.0% 3PT), create off the dribble, fasciliate when needed on offense (career 3.0 apg), and play steady defense. After being selected to the All-NEC Rookie Team in his freshman campaign, Hardy oddly never matured into an all-conference selection, but nonetheless averaged at least 10.1 points, 2.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.3 steals in his final three seasons. It was one of those quietly productive NEC careers. May Chauncey rest in peace.

G: Corey Hassan, 2008 - 2011
The New Hampshire kid with the moniker "Hassan the assassin" cements my bench as the lethal three point specialist. Truth be told, Hassan did so much more than that for Bike, earning him an eventual NEC scoring title and an All-NEC Second Team selection. His quirky shooting stroke may not have produced the prettiest mechanics, but Pioneer fans always felt good when Hassan’s rainbow arc shot was heading toward the basket.

Sure, it’s a small team overall, but Dave Bike loves guards so I felt this was only fitting. Do you have a favorite Pioneer I left out?

Until next time...

Ryan Peters covers Sacred Heart men's basketball for Pioneer Pride and Big Apple Buckets. You can follow Ryan on Twitter @pioneer_pride

Four Thoughts on Why Sacred Heart is in First Place

I'm a guy of science that typically values statistics over emotion or gut feelings. I feel the need to mention this because of what I'm about to say. I don't believe in jinxes and karma on the basketball court. So here goes nothing...

I feel this year's Sacred Heart Pioneers could be a team of destiny. I feel utterly ridiculous saying that, but there's just something special about this team that defies logic sometimes. How else do you explain missing three of your seven best players to injury yet still finding a way to have a share of the first place lead in the NEC? Advanced statistics be damned, this team may have what it takes to go to the NCAA tournament come March.

It's been a while since I've updated this site (sorry I'm a busy man), but I wanted to list the four biggest reasons why the Pioneers are in the improbable position they currently find themselves in. Here we go...

1) Shane Gibson, stupid!
It was a rough non-conference season for Gibson, as last year's NEC Player of the Year runner-up (I'm simply making this up, but I do believe he was second to Julian Boyd last year) struggled in multiple games this season. Once conference play began however, Gibson has been absolutely brilliant. The senior leads the NEC in scoring (25.4 ppg), free throw percentage (91.1% in 56 attempts), and is second in three-pointers made per game (3.25/game). In SHU's impressive home stand, Gibson averaged an efficient 29.5 ppg in two tremendous victories over previously unbeaten Bryant and feisty Monmouth. Against Monmouth, Gibson at one point scored 19 straight points for SHU! The two game effort was good enough to earn Gibson NEC Player of the Week honors. The senior is rolling again.

2) Phil Gaetano is Turning Into One of the Best Pure Point Guards in the NEC, Check That, in the Country!
I've been touting the wonders of sophomore Phil Gaetano over at Big Apple Buckets, who in reality was supposed to share the point guard duties with junior Evan Kelley this season. But then Kelley's kneecap blew out, therefore Gaetano is averaging a team high 35 minutes per game. The 5'10" floor general has certainly taken advantage, as he now has 75 assists against 21 turnovers in eight NEC games. That's an amazing assist to turnover ratio of 3.57, easily tops in the conference. In addition, his 7.8 assists/game is good enough for fifth in the entire nation. I could continue to praise Gaetano, but allow me to quote Monmouth head coach King Rice after Saturday night's game. Here's what the former point guard had to say about Gaetano:

"The key to their [team] is Shane, obviously, but Gaetano gets 8 assists in the half. That's the biggest thing when you have someone as steady as Gaetano and he's getting guys baskets that no one else is getting guys baskets like that in our league. You watch him in warmups, he's talking to the guys on the team telling them what we're going to do today. Then he goes and sits with Shane. You're the point guard and you're sitting with the main guy and I know he's saying 'you know man, I'm coming to you, I'm coming to you.' Gaetano runs the show."

3) Secondary Players Are Stepping Up
This goes without saying, especially when SHU has Justin Swidowski, Chris Evans, and Evan Kelley in street clothes every game. Steve Glowiak, who was expected to play the role of sharpshooting guard off the bench, has stepped in and given SHU double digits points in five out of eight conference games. He's shooting a solid 39.4% from behind the arc, after stinking up the joint last season with a 24.0% mark.

Louis Montes, who will have a post purely dedicated to him shortly, has been excellent as well, averaging 15.5 ppg (7th in the NEC) and 6.5 rpg (13th in the NEC). I hate to go all advanced statistics on you, but it's a good thing that Montes is nationally ranked in offensive rebounding percentage and fouls drawn per 40 minutes. The undersized forward is a load down low, and opposing defenders are clearly having a difficult time defending the versatile, yet physically imposing Montes.

Finally in the frontcourt, newcomers Mostafa Abdel-Latif, De'Aires Tate, and Tevin Falzon have all given Dave Bike significant contributions when needed. On Saturday with an ineffective Abdel-Latif and Nick Greenbacker on the bench, Falzon came in and scored 7 points while grabbing 9 rebounds. |

(Note: At one point, Falzon did miss an easy layup, which prompted an angry old man next to me to scream that Bike should put "that bum" on the bench. Comically, Falzon's family was sitting right in front of the old geezer, although none of them turned around to glare at him.)

4) Playing a Little Defense
I'm kind when I say that Dave Bike teams are typically terrible defensive teams. He likes offense, he likes guards that score, and he likes high shooting percentages. Well, SHU is scoring, there's no denying that with an offense that rates in the upper third of the NEC, but it could be the decent defensive effort that's pulling some of these games out. The Pioneers are second in the conference in effective field goal percentage defense and near the middle of league in points allow per possession (1.02 PPP). It doesn't sound all that awesome, but when compared to previous seasons, this is a stark improvement.

SHU may be 6-2 in the league, but there's still plenty of season ahead to them. They have to travel to all three NYC schools, Bryant, and Mount St. Mary's before the season concludes, so it won't be easy to close out on a high note. At the very least, the Pioneers have put themselves in an excellent position nearly halfway through the season. They've taken care of business at home (4-0), while staying competitive in every single game so far this season. The upcoming road trip at Wagner and Mount St. Mary's will provide another test for Dave Bike's group.

By the way, if you'd like to hear me talk about SHU and the NEC on the Sacred Heart halftime show from Saturday night's game, go here. The interview begins at the 55:10 mark.

Until next time...

Ryan Peters covers Sacred Heart men's basketball for Pioneer Pride and Big Apple Buckets. You can follow Ryan on Twitter @pioneer_pride

The 2012-13 Sacred Heart Men's Basketball Preview!!

It seems so long ago thinking back to the “glory years” of the Sacred Heart (SHU) Pioneers. It was only six years prior when players like Drew Shubik, Joey Henley, and Jarrid Frye were selflessly guiding the Pioneers into the upper echelon of the Northeast Conference (NEC). After watching awful Division I basketball for several seasons, Pioneer fans were suddenly spoiled with winning conference records, NEC playoff wins, and just a solid, fun display of good offensively efficient basketball.

That period, as it turned out, lasted for a grand three seasons. And it yielded two heartbreaking losses in the NEC title game, with the first defeat to Central Connecticut serving as one of the worst losses for me as a sports fan. It was the stomach punch game of all stomach punch games, when the Pioneers blew a 10-point lead with three minutes remaining and fell to the Javier Mojica led Blue Devils(1). In their second attempt to go dancing in the NCAA tournament, the Pioneers put forth a putrid home performance versus the Mount that allegedly led to an apologetic, rambling late night e-mail addressed to the entire campus by Mr. Dave Bike himself. In season three of the short-lived turnaround, the Joey Henley led Pioneers fell short in the semifinals to Milan Brown’s Mountaineers once again.

And that was it. Three years of above average basketball and nothing to show for it.

But rather than conger up awful feelings among the Pioneer faithful (oh wait, too late!), I’m laying out this cruel history to make a point. At least I think that’s what I’m doing.

The 2012-13 season in Fairfield (ok ok, the campus is really situated in Bridgeport) is supposed to be about hope. Can the Pioneers finally make a legitimate run at the NEC championship after toiling in mediocrity for the past three seasons? Can they once and for all capitalize on a signature Shane Gibson season by cutting down the nets in early March? Or will this be another merciless twist of agonizing losses that could slide the Pioneers back into perpetual mediocrity?

Lots of questions to answer, so let’s start with the season preview, shall we?

If you read my team preview last year (shameless plug alert), you knew I was bullish on SHU taking that next step from a lower tier team to a team with an outside chance at league contention. Bike’s Pioneers did in fact improve, but they only made it halfway based on my expectations. SHU finished 8-10 in the conference - their third consecutive losing season in the NEC – en route to a disappointing first round loss in the NEC tournament at the hands of eventual champion LIU Brooklyn.

The season left such a bitter taste in the Pioneer fan’s mouth, thanks to a record of 4-8 in NEC games decided in the final two minutes. The late game futility was not only responsible for a significant drop in the NEC standings, but it was simply brutal to watch. Justin Swidowski missed two free throws with SHU down one point with 13 seconds remaining against Central Connecticut. Velton Jones drained a buzzer-beating three-pointer to give Robert Morris a stunning comeback victory in SHU’s second to last home game of the season. SHU was leading Monmouth by eight points with three minutes left, only to inexplicably lose by seven. Watching this team when it mattered most felt like sitting through a Philosophy 101 class … at 8 AM … while hungover.

Despite the lack of execution during crunch time, it’s fair to deduce that bad luck was partially involved. Perhaps the Pioneers will not only be better late in the game, but also they’ll be more fortunate. After all, if just two of those games were converted into wins, then SHU’s 10-8 NEC mark – and number five seed in the conference tournament – would be viewed as a success. But enough with cherry picking data and theorizing about the “what-ifs.”

First let’s focus on the good. Shane Gibson is returning! The greatest player in SHU history (I’m sorry if I keep repeating that in other posts, but it’s 100% true) is coming off a junior season where he averaged an absurd 22.0 points per game, while posting fantastic shooting percentages of 51% FG/ 43% 3PT/ 86% FT(2). Quite simply, Gibson’s efficiency was off the charts, even though the Pioneers were devoid of a consistent scoring threat alongside Gibson, which consequently led to a stifling amount of defensive focus thrown at the 6’2” guard. This offseason, Gibson has built up his lower half so he can defend better late in the game and will focus on being more aggressive driving toward the rim. Really, to expect anything less from the borderline NBA prospect than an efficient 21 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1.5 steals per game would probably be as foolish as expecting SHU’s tuition rate to trend downward next semester.

As awesome as Gibson is though, we all know you can’t win a college basketball conference championship with just one superstar. In past ten seasons, only one team has represented the NEC in the NCAA tournament with the conference's scoring champion on their team. Within the same period, Sacred Heart has had three NEC scoring champions (Kibwe Trim 2005-06, Corey Hassan 2009-10, Gibson 2011-12). The combined conference record of those three Pioneer teams? 23-31(3).

Therefore, it’s paramount for any team to have a strong supporting cast, in order to compete in an ultra-competitive conference such as the emerging NEC. Are there players who can step up to become the reliable second, third, and even fourth option behind Gibson?



It all begins with 6’9” senior power forward Justin Swidowski. Despite putting up good numbers (11.1 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.3 BPG) in his first season at the Division I level, Swidowski was plagued with inconsistency. The versatile Swidowski had difficultly staying on the court, fouling out in six games and finding himself in foul trouble for many more. It’s his health, however, that is of more concern at the moment. After missing four games this past season, Swidowski had shoulder surgery in the offseason. Currently, he hasn’t been cleared to fully practice, although he's probable to begin the season in uniform.

If Swidowski misses time in the foreseeable future, the pressure lands partially on freshman Tevin Falzon’s shoulders. The 6’7” Falzon is a bit of a Swidowski clone - he has excellent range, is comfortable on the perimeter, and possesses several on-the-ball skills that should help him become an all-conference type of player down the road. To ask a freshman to fill in seamlessly for a veteran, however, may be asking a bit much(4).



Beside Falzon, the other freshman of note is 6'6" forward De'Aires Tate. Arguably the most athletic player on the team, Tate is the rare player who revels in doing the dirty work around the basket. In high school, Tate was a superb rebounder, shot-blocker, and running of the floor, therefore it’s safe to expect the same role for him moving forward. He's the kind of player Bike has been missing on his team for years. If utilized properly, Tate could have an immediate impact, much like Falzon.



Another important contributor bitten by the injury bug is junior guard Chris Evans. An All-NEC rookie team selection in 2010-11, Evans showed marginal improvement in an injury plagued sophomore season, yet still finished in the team’s top three in points, assists, and steals per game. He’s a stat-filler, for the lack of a better term, whose presence on the floor absolutely helps the Pioneers on both ends. Recently though, Evans has been shutout of practice, thanks to swelling in his surgically repaired knee. The timetable for his return, like Swidowski, is currently unknown and possibly even more dire(5).

If Evans misses a significant amount of time – and reports suggest that could be the case – then the onus falls on redshirt-sophomore Steve Glowiak. The 6’3 guard came to SHU from hard-hitting New Britain, Connecticut with the ability to drain the long-range jumper, but his first season in Fairfield disappointed in that regard. After a couple of solid performances early last season, including a 16 point effort versus Hampton in late November, Glowiak morphed into a ball-chucking guard who would heave the basketball toward the rim seemingly at first touch. By the middle of the conference season, Bike had no choice but to delegate garbage time minutes to Glowiak, not just because of the guard’s putrid 24.2% three-point percentage(6), but also because he was providing little else on the court.

In essence, that was a long-winded explanation just to say the following about Glowiak’s future prospects: He really needs to improve his shot selection and help the Pioneers in other ways off-the-ball. Can he do that? I have no freaking idea and neither do the coaches at this moment…

With Swidowski and Evans’ health issues hardly settled, the player most likely to become Gibson’s Robin is junior Louis Montes. Once the young man with the best neck beard on campus(7), Montes came to SHU this fall in … (wait for it) … the best shape of his life(8)! Yep, I just unloaded an tired sports cliché, but with Swidowski and Evans already less than 100% healthy, this is what we’re going with. Louis Montes is in the best shape of his life, so much so that Dave Bike proudly told me how much Montes has been sweating on the court these days. I’m not kidding.

In all seriousness, the 6’4” Montes is coming off a season where he finished in the top 15 of the NEC in rebound rate and showed flashes of becoming an excellent forward in this league. Once again, consistency has been the issue. This season, if Swidowski can ever get healthy and Falzon and Tate can play meaningful minutes at power forward, then Montes can slot back to his more natural position at small forward. He's been reportedly working hard on his ball-handling skills and outside shooting, thus to forecast a breakout season for Montes is far from a stretch.

At the point guard position, the minutes will go to junior Evan Kelley and Pioneer Pride favorite Phil Gaetano. The latter is the most natural floor general of the two, although Kelley is a better playmaker with the athleticism to slash to the hole and pop from the outside. Gaetano, however, is far more heady and composed, and was quite impressive running the point last season as a college basketball novice. If Gaetano can successfully look for his shot more and improve his turnover rate, then I'm expecting big things out of the diminutive point guard in his sophomore season.

In the frontcourt is team captain and noted Republican Nick Greenbacker(9), who surely provides value in the locker room, but on the court shouldn't play more than 15-20 minutes per game. Like Swidowski, Greenbacker has added range to his game, so at the very least, the senior could pull post defenders out of the paint if he sinks more than 35% of his three-point attempts.

Rounding out the bench are big men Femi Akinpetide and Mostafa Abdel-Latif, who by design should play no more than 10-12 minutes per game. Each player, though limited, has his strengths – Akinpetide can provide energy on the offensive glass and Abdel-Latif gives SHU one of their few … check that … their ONLY back-to-the basket post presence. Abdel-Latif, a transfer from Egypt with an awesome afro, may be a liability on the defensive end despite his burly 6’8 body.

Add it all up, and you have a SHU roster that can excel on the perimeter, but will probably struggle to defend and rebound the basketball. The Pioneers once again will rely heavily on their shooting – especially outside the paint – to win games. Hmm, doesn't that sound familiar?

Unfortunately, it may not be enough to crack the upper quarter of the NEC, which is depressing as hell with Gibson and Swidowski no longer eligible to play collegiate basketball after this season. Right now, I’m forecasting a 15-14 regular season mark, right in line with popular advance statistician Ken Pomeroy. A 15-win season would mark their first winning season in four years, which as I said earlier in this preview, seems so long ago. The Pioneers should win ten conference games, good enough to tie for fifth place in the NEC standings.

I’m hoping for more, but I’m an unapologetic realist who fully understands the limitations of his favorite team. To ask the Pioneers to lock down a LIU Brooklyn on offense, to match up with Wagner’s athleticism, or to grind out victories versus Robert Morris is a ton to ask, yet stranger things have certainly happened.

This is why they play the games. I know I’ll be watching this winter and you should too. At the very least, you’ll get witness the great Shane Gibson in his last season before he begins what should be a successful professional career. But maybe, just maybe, Pioneer fans can be treated to some meaningful basketball in early March.

Footnotes:
(1) The fact that Mojica led the improbable comeback made for a great story, because Mojica's mother was close to committing suicide before being saved by her son 12 years prior. This story was rightfully pumped up by ESPN 2 during the televised broadcast, and surely helped the Worldwide Leader with a prominent storyline as CCSU was making their comeback. 
(2) I did not need to look up Gibson’s shooting percentages, since I already knew them by heart. I wish I was joking. 
(3) Again, I did not need to look that record up. I may have a problem…
(4) Personally, I like Falzon and his long-term potential A LOT, but it's never easy for any freshman big man to produce right away. Not every rookie will produce out of the gate like Jalen Cannon or Julian Boyd.
(5) Gulp.
(6) Glowiak has the dubious distinction of having the worst single season three-point percentage (with more than 60 attempts, aka ~2 attempts per game) in Sacred Heart history since Tre Samuels made only 23.3% of his long-range bombs in the 2001-02 season.
(7) Because of the beard, I almost gave Montes the nickname, Baby Lebron. Almost…
(8) I always think back when baseball player Jeff Franceour, then of the Atlanta Braves, bragged to the media how he added lots of muscle in the offseason and was in the best shape of his life. I took the bait in my fantasy draft and six months later, Franceour had hit a pedestrian 0.239 with 11 HRs and 71 RBIs in 155 games. So much for being in the best shape of his life! And for those of you keeping score, that is two Franceour references in as many SHU blog previews.
(9) Greenbacker's tweets per minute during the Presidential debates was, and I'm totally estimating, about 23.4 tweets/minute. Quite entertaining.

Ryan Peters covers Sacred Heart men's basketball and the Northeast Conference at Pioneer Pride and Big Apple Buckets. You can follow him on Twitter @pioneer_pride

Sacred Heart End of Season Interview with Head Coach Dave Bike

Nearly two weeks ago, long time Sacred Heart head coach Dave Bike granted me an interview to discuss the Pioneer’s past season.  I was very appreciative for the opportunity, considering I basically arrived at Coach Bike’s office unannounced.  Despite never having met me, he was very friendly and engaging, answering all my questions.  Below is my interview transcript with the Sacred Heart coach:

Pioneer Pride: To start, Sacred Heart was picked 8th in the NEC preseason poll, you finished right around there, but you certainly had your ups and downs during the season.  The ups were you swept the America East teams in non-conference, you beat Quinnipiac twice, and you had a riveting buzzer beater against Central.  The downs were you lost a lot of close games, especially in conference.  What were your general thoughts on how the season went for your club?

Coach Bike: Well, I was actually disappointed in the close ones.  You don’t count the close ones we won; you’re only disappointed in the close ones we lost.  I’m having trouble trying to figure it out, finding another year where we lost so many games that we were right there, where we had a legitimate chance to win… We finished where we were picked, and I think we had a legitimate chance to move up and we didn’t.

Pioneer Pride: Why did your team struggle in the close games?

Coach Bike: When we lost the Yale game…we allowed their player to take the ball strong to the basket and we didn’t stop him.  The second to last game against Robert Morris, again we didn’t stop Velton Jones on the last play.  So, it was a combination of different things.  We showed some improvement in some categories, our defense at times played decently, but when we needed to win a game with a defensive stop, we didn’t.

Pioneer Pride: Do you think defense was the biggest problem in late game situations then?

Coach Bike: There were times we missed a couple of shots to win a game and sometimes we didn’t get the key rebound or make the stops defensively.  And I think one thing is when the other team tests us; we have to learn to test them by going to the basket.  I think that’s what hurt us.  I don’t think we’re worse than other teams on defense, but I think our problem is we don’t test them as much as they test us.

Pioneer Pride: So your team wasn’t as aggressive as they could have been?

Coach Bike: We have to get the foul line more, and we have to be convinced of that.  We have to learn to take it to the other teams as much as they take it to us.

Pioneer Pride: Building off that, how can your team progress next season to reach the NEC Elite -- the upper quadrant of the league -- where SHU is challenging teams like Wagner, Robert Morris, and LIU?

Coach Bike: We have to get stronger physically, and if we get stronger physically then we’ll get stronger mentally, and then we’ll get tougher too, I think.  Now Gibson has worked on his body, is a strong guard and he showed more endurance this year.  But I think the other guys have to get stronger and play stronger.

Pioneer Pride : Your team didn’t have that reliable second or third guy behind Shane Gibson.  Sacred Heart didn’t get consistent play from Louis Montes, Evan Kelley, Justin Swidowski, and Chris Evans.  Were you disappointed with their inconsistent play throughout the season?

Coach Bike: We had an exercise before the year started where each player had to write down their expectations.  Gibson came the closest to his expectations -- he was right on the mark -- but some guys didn’t meet their own expectations and that’s disappointing.  The difference between being a very good player and a so-so player is consistency, there’s no doubt about it.  So we’ll do the same exercise again, and I’ll be interested if people lower their expectations, which is OK because you don’t want to have an expectation you can’t meet.  That’s unfair for a coach to expect guys to do something that they’ll have trouble (accomplishing).  You want to be in the ballpark, but then we have to figure out how to get there.

Pioneer Pride: Did injuries play a role toward the inconsistency?

Coach Bike: Yeah, for some teams a guy gets hurt and the team picks it up for a game or two.  How guys come back from an injury makes a difference.  Evans never really came back and played as tough as he could of from his injury.  Every team has them and you have to play over them or play with them.  I’m not sure if we handled injuries as well as other teams would have handled the same injuries.

Pioneer Pride: Let’s talk about some positives for the season. Shane Gibson had an incredible year as he led the NEC in points per game by scoring at a very efficient rate.  Even though Julian Boyd was obviously deserving of winning NEC Player of the Year, I was surprised the voting was unanimous, because I felt Gibson warranted at least some consideration for the award.  Did Gibson have the best season you’ve ever coached for a Division 1 player?

Coach Bike: Well, scoring wise it is, so yeah it is the best season as far as points and percentage.  Can he get better? Well, I think he shortchanged himself.  It was remarkable that he shot 51% from the floor when he could have gotten fouled more.  I think he can improve in that area.  I think he can improve on his assist/turnover ratio.  But in terms of pure scoring, he was very good.  You were talking about how surprised you were that Boyd was unanimous (winning NEC Player of the Year), but if we were in first place and LIU was in 8th place, well guess what, then Shane would have been unanimous (in winning NEC Player of the Year)... Now Shane had a remarkable year as you said, but it's not over and let’s see what he does next year.

Pioneer Pride: Another positive was the play of freshman Phil Gaetano.  I was particularly impressed with Gaetano’s poise as a freshman, since he made some key plays in the clutch on occasion.  Comment on Gaetano’s progress and where you see him next season.

Coach Bike: The coaches had high expectations for Phil, and he met most of those expectations. A lot of kid’s goals are to play Division 1, but Phil’s goal is to be good in Division 1.  And I think he has a chance.  Now his size hurts him, so he has to compensate for that a little by getting stronger.  He has a good head for the game, he’s firm with the ball, and we expect him to be a good player.

Pioneer Pride: Stan Dulaire is the only major contributor you’re losing next season, so I’d like your thoughts on the Sacred Heart career of Stan, who by all accounts was a great teammate and a hard worker.

Coach Bike: Stan is a super kid.  I think he started to make moves that he could have made a few years ago.  He started to take the ball stronger to the basket.  We talked to him about red-shirting when he was freshman, and he didn’t want any part of it.  The way we tried to do things around here, it would have really benefited him.  He was a real good teammate, and a real respectful person, and he was an easy guy to root for.  He improved in all aspects of the game, but it’s too bad his college career has to end now.

Pioneer Pride: You have two incoming players, 6-foot-7 recruit Tevin Falzon, who supposedly possesses a nice inside-out game for a big man, and 6-foot-8 transfer Mostafa Abdel Latif.  How much contribution do you think you’ll get from both players in the front-court next season?
Coach Bike: The thing that was disappointing this year is (we didn’t have anyone to pass the ball inside to).  I really believe that’s an important factor, but we didn’t say that this year.  It’s not that I don’t believe we should get the ball inside more, but if I said “pass it inside”, my question this year was to whom?  Who really wanted it inside?  So one area that’s available -- to get back to my philosophy -- is if somebody shows they (can play the post).  Somebody has to step up in that area.  Could it be the returning guys?  Yeah.  Could it be the new guys?  Yeah.  I would say they have a better chance at participating (in playing the post) if they’re the guy we say, “get the ball inside to.”  I think Swidowski would have a good chance to be the post guy – I think he has real good moves – but he doesn’t want to use them around the basket the way he should…

Pioneer Pride: Coach, you’ve been coaching for a long time.  You’re coming up on your 35th year, which is remarkable.  You’re the face of Sacred Heart basketball.  How much longer do you want to do this, and are you going on a year-to-year basis now?

Coach Bike: Yeah, year to year.  At this age, I’m not planning for the next 35 years (laughs).  So we’re taking it a year at a time, a day at a time, and we’ll play it by ear.

A special thanks again to Coach Bike for the interview and hopefully I'll have the opportunity to talk with him at the Northeast Conference media day in the preseason and during next season.

You can follow Pioneer Pride for Sacred Heart and Northeast Conference men's basketball updates on Twitter at @pioneer_pride

A Melancholy Running Diary Recap of Sacred Heart's Loss to Mount St. Mary's

I returned to the Sacred Heart campus this past Saturday, in order to watch a mediocre match-up between the Sacred Heart Pioneers (10-12, 4-5 NEC) and the Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers (4-16, 2-7 NEC).  To document my 20th blog post and this special occasion, I decided to write a running diary, Bill Simmons style.  Let's get right to it, shall we?

PRE-GAME

3:15 - I arrive on campus with my good buddy and fellow SHU alum, Bricker.  I love talking sports with him, but he can get a tad negative at times about Sacred Heart's play.  In fact, his bickering can get quite annoying, but I can't hold it against him - after all, Bricker is a lifelong Cleveland sports fan.

3:20 - We make our way into the Pitt Center.  And what's this, Justin Swidowski is warming up with the team!  You can understand my surprise since Swidowski's status from a shoulder injury was classified just days ago as "no timetable for his return."  That is the problem with following NEC basketball – really vague injury reports.

3:24 - There's longtime SHU head coach Dave Bike standing on the sideline, sporting the predictable black turtleneck with a gray jacket.  Seriously, would it kill the man to put on a shirt and tie for the game?

GAME-TIME - 1ST HALF

19:35 - After securing the opening tip, NEC Player of the Year candidate Shane Gibson hits the side of the rim on an uncontested three.  Hmm, that's not the start we were looking for.

18:37 - Mount St. Mary's leading scorer, Julian Norfleet, hits two outside shots within a minute to give the Mount an early 5-0 lead.  It's so nice to see SHU's pathetic perimeter defense live in person.

15:47 - We are four minutes into the game, so it’s safe to say that the “Heart Attack” student section is disappointingly empty.  I guess the students had much better things to do on a cold Saturday afternoon in January.

12:45 - OK, Gibson is just fine.  He has scored 10 of the Pioneer's first 12 points.  Mount St. Mary's 13, Shane Gibson 10.

9:45 - While both teams make my head hurt with their sloppy play, now is an excellent time to bring up my disappointment in Louis Montes.  As in, I wish he didn’t shave his neck beard so soon.  That thing was legendary!  We were witnessing perhaps the greatest neck beard of any 20 year old, and he shaves the damn thing before I get to see it live.  Oh well, at least transfer Mostafa Abdel Latif still has his afro.  Keep it up big man!

7:24 - Media timeout with the score, Mount St. Mary's 21, SHU 17.  Looking through the box score, I suddenly realize that Chris Evans, SHU's third leading scoring, is in street clothes on the bench.  What happened with him?

3:59 - Because of Chris Evan's absence, the fans get to see more of red-shirt freshman guard Steve Glowiak and his botched three-point attempts!  I hate to be hard on the kid, but he is shooting a miserable 20% from behind the arc this season.  Please.  Stop.  Shooting.

1:26 - After trailing for the first time in the game, the Mount's Raven Barber and Norfleet combine to score the next eight points, giving Mount St. Mary's a 34-29 lead.

1:05 - Stan Dulaire was ready to end the Mount’s run, but he fails to execute an easy layup.  I can’t get mad at him though, since he seems like a good teammate who studies hard in class.  How do I know this?  Because I follow Stan on Twitter, along with four other Pioneer players.  Is it creepy that I follow these players, ages 18-22, on Twitter?  Wait, don’t answer that…

0:00 - I decided it’s only partially creepy and since I’m doing it for the blog, I can continue following my favorite Pioneers!  I hope Chris Evans continues to tweet about the lousy cafeteria food and needing a little love in his life.

0:00 - Oh yeah, Mount St. Mary's ends the half on a 10-2 run to pull out to a 36-29 halftime lead.  SHU seems like they aren't playing with any urgency whatsoever.

SECOND HALF

Warmups – OK, I’m pretty sure our starting center Nick Greenbacker just tripped over the ball rack when he led the Pioneers out to the court for the second half.  I wish this was a joke.

(Special announcement: Former Editor-in-Chief of the Spectrum and SHU alum, Newsie is in the house!  Great, another pessimistic personality to watch the game with.)

20:00 – Before play resumes, let’s review the ugly stats of the first half; SHU was outrebounded 20-11, committed eight turnovers, attempted four free throws, and is now trailing by seven points to a 4-16 team at home.  I hope Bike had some motivating words for his players in the locker room.

17:47 - Apparently he didn’t, because the Mount just drained their fifth three-pointer of the game to extend their lead to the largest of the day, 47-36.  An apathetic Bike calls a timeout to stop the bleeding.  Bike has the look I have when I find out my wife made plans for us to go pumpkin picking on Football Sunday.

15:33 - Montes drills a three and then completes a layup off a nice Evan Kelley pass.  Pioneers back to within double digits.  Sadly, Montes still doesn’t have his neck beard.

13:21 – The Shane Gibson show has returned to the Pitt!  A 7-0 run, orchestrated all by Gibson, gets the Pioneers back to within two points, 49-47.  The Pitt Center has come alive!  Well, about as alive as it could, with a half filled Pitt Center awkwardly occupying half of a giant field-house.

9:46 - And Dave Bike has awoken from his slumber!  He shot up off the bench after a questionable offensive foul was called on Stan Dulaire.  Bricker notes that Bike now looks like a clucking chicken, with his head furiously bobbing up and down as he argues with the ref.  I have no comment – look I just report the events.  After all, I would like to interview the man in the offseason.

6:16 - Gibson is doing his best to keep SHU in the game.  With his 17-footer, Gibson moves the Pioneers back to within two points.  Gibson now has 30 of the Pioneer's 54 points.  The next closest Pioneer?  Louis Montes with eight points.  Great balanced scoring attack, guys.

3:53 – With SHU trailing by three and needing a pick-me-up, Stan Dulaire finishes off a layup and is fouled!  He completes the three-point play, which deadlocks SHU and Mount St. Mary's at 60-60.  This is turning into quite a game, although I’m starting to get really nervous.  Newsie, on the other hand, coolly tells me that he doesn’t really care.  That's not how I remember it after the 2008 NEC Finals loss to the Mount.

2:56 – Pioneer Pride NEC All-Rookie Team snub Kelvin Parker knocks down a contested three, and then feeds point-guard Josh Castellenos for an easy layup, all in a 25 second span.  The Mount now leads by five, with less than three minutes remaining.  I can’t believe this is happening.

2:07 – After a Gibson turnover, Parker drains yet another pressurized three to extend the lead to eight.  Ok, Kelvin I get it.  You feel slighted that I left you off my Midseason All-Rookie Team and now you’re sticking it to me.  I’m sorry, OK!  Please stop and I’ll promise to lobby @NECSports and @NECRalph on your behalf at the end of the season.

1:56 – It’s officially desperation time for the Pioneers, down eight.  Gibson drives into a crowded lane and is hacked by Norfleet.  Free throws coming up....but wait, Louis Montes and the Mount's Big Croatian Center get into a scrum.  There’s some pushing and shoving when SHU point guard Phil Gaetano is pushed!  Where’s the technical??  All of a sudden, it’s getting a little chippy out there.

1:56 – After a 30 second discussion, the refs decide to charge a double technical on Montes and the Croatian Center.  I’m not so sure about that.  SHU assistant coach Anthony Latina is livid, as he slams his fist into his chair in frustration.  It literally looks like his red face may explode at any moment.  In spite of Latina’s possible combustion, Gibson calmly sinks both free throws.  SHU now trails by six, 68-62.

1:35 – The Croatian Center is fouled on the other end, and does what any tall awkward white guy would do, make one of two free throws.  Then coming back down, Swidowski one ups him in whiteness by drilling an open three!  Bike immediately calls for a timeout with SHU now down four, 69-65.  Big time bucket by the Polish Post-up!

1:11 – The crowd has come to life late in the game, and it inspired SHU to force another Norfleet turnover.  It’s the Mount's 16th of the day.  You gotta love an offense ranked in the bottom 15% of the nation.  Pioneer ball!

0:50 – The Mount wisely doubles Gibson on the perimeter, which forces Gaetano to drive to the hole and draw a foul.  He swishes both free throws to get SHU to within two points.  I love the poise from this freshman – he carries himself like a grizzled veteran, which is like the exact opposite of Evan Kelley.

0:25 – After the Mount makes a free throw to extend their lead to three, Gaetano races down the court, hands off to Gibson, who dribbles around before nailing a three-pointer to tie the game!  Big Shot Shane Gibson, now with 35 points!  I don’t care if SHU finishes with a 7-11 NEC record, give this guy the NEC Player of the Year right now!

0:00 – Rather than calling timeout to set up a play, Norfleet races down the court, drives the lane, and misses a makeable layup.  Danny Thompson then grabs the offensive rebound (nice box-out Swidowski) but bricks the put-back as the buzzer sounds.  We are going to OVERTIME!!  Wow, the Pioneers dodged a bullet there.

OVERTIME #1

3:00 – This is the first time I ever live tweeted a game in person.  It’s exhausting.  Between watching the game, tweeting the latest news, and playing the optimistic fan to Bricker and Newsie's negativity and apathy, I’m tired!  I didn’t even have a chance to check out the SHU Dance Team’s performance.  It’s probably better that way.  Remember, I’m trying to be less creepy.

1:59 – Only eight total points have been scored in the overtime, as Swidowski ties the game at 74 all with a layup.  It was Gaetano’s 7th assist of the game.  Have I mentioned how much I like his poise?

 0:36 – We are back to a tie game, after Montes swishes two free throws.  He’s another Pioneer that I trust late in the game.  Nothing seems to bother the sophomore.  Timeout Mount St. Mary’s.  They’ll probably hold for the last shot.

0:00 – It's time for overtime #2!  Norfleet, after dribbling around the perimeter for 30 seconds, had no choice but to hoist up a contested three-pointer at the top of the key.  Luckily, he back-rimmed it.  I doubt that was the play called in the huddle.

OVERTIME #2

4:53 – Someone please help me, I can’t take this anymore.  Luckily, Shane Gibson isn’t phased by the moment.  He scores his 38th and 39th points seven seconds into overtime #2.  SHU 78, Mount St. Mary’s 76.

1:46 – After some excellent defensive sequences (or lousy offense, I’ll let you decide), Gibson manages to slide underneath the Mount’s zone defense.  Gaetano finds him with a long pass for the easy layup.  With the bucket, Gibson has officially broken SHU's Division one record for most points in a game with 41 points!  I'm not sure if Mehmet “the Turkish Nightmare” Sahan scored 41 points for his entire senior season.

1:25 – Castellanos attempts a 25 footer at the top of the key.  Terrible shot.  Fortunately for SHU, the rebound lands in Gibson’s hands.  SHU now has the ball up four, 80-76.  Things are looking good!

0:50 – OK, time for me to shut up.  Gibson, whose usage rate for the game has to be 99.4%, gets stripped by Castellanos, leading to a fast break dunk by Danny Thompson.  And to pour salt on the wound, Montes commits the silly foul and has now fouled out.  Ugh…

0:16 - After holding the ball for most of the shot clock, Gibson actually gets a good look.  The shot goes up and ..... rims out.  Rebound to the Mount.  They are down one, 80-79.

0:06 - With no hesitation, Castellanos beats Gaetano off the dribble and is fouled attempting a shot in the lane.  Two free throws coming up, and SHU's lead is a measly one point.  I'm about to throw up on my cell phone during this live tweet.   

0:06 - Castellanos, of course, hits both free throws, leading to a timeout.  Six seconds remain and the Pioneers must bring the ball the length of the floor, down one.

0:00 - Gaetano pushes the ball up the floor, passes to Gibson in the corner who quickly squares up to attempt a three.  His three however, is partially blocked by Thompson, but lands in the hands of Swidowski.  Swidowski has one last chance in traffic.....and it rims out.  There was a whole lot of contact there, but no call.  Bike is now verbally assaulting the officials as they run off the floor.  The game is over - Mount St. Marys 81, SHU 80.

POSTGAME

After squeezing in my last live tweets and leaving the Pitt Center with Bricker and Newsie, I had few words.  I sat in my parked car for ten minutes trying to figure out what went wrong.  A four point lead with the ball and less than one minute left and we lost the game?  This despite Shane Gibson scoring 41 points on 16 of 28 shooting?  This is a tough one to swallow.  I haven’t been this depressed since I witnessed Dick Clark slurring his way through ABC’s New Year’s Rocking Eve. 

Maybe it’s a good thing I live in Maryland and don’t have season tickets, both for my marriage and my sanity.  Until next time...

Four Thoughts on What Sacred Heart Needs to Improve Heading Into Conference Play

Now that Sacred Heart’s (7-8, 1-1 NEC) non-conference schedule has ended – with a decisive win at New Hampshire last Thursday evening – it’s time to deliver a Pioneer update.  The first 15 games came with mixed results.  There was the good: 3-0 versus America East opponents, a key NEC road victory over Quinnipiac, and of course the bad: blow out losses to Rutgers, Richmond, and Notre Dame,  and a 1-3 record in close games when either team was within 4 points in the final 2 minutes.

All in all, chalk it up to an inexperienced team still trying to find their way.  However, with SHU’s two leading scorers as juniors (Shane Gibson and Justin Swidowski), the Pioneers have a limited amount of time to become a factor in the NEC.  Without sustained consistency, Dave Bike has juggled his lineups throughout the season, as he struggles to find that go-to-group to employ in critical moments.

As I said in the team’s season preview, I’m expecting a return to the NEC tournament, after falling short the previous two seasons.  10 wins and 8 losses in the conference is the goal, with an opportunity to find their way into the NEC playoff semifinals.  Based from what I’ve seen, Sacred Heart does have the ability to achieve these goals.  But in order to compete with the upper echelon of the NEC, the Pioneers need to improve in these 4 areas I’ve outlined below.

1) Shane Gibson Can’t Do It All Himself

Among NEC players, Gibson is currently second in scoring (19.2 ppg), fifth in three-point percentage (41.2%), and third in true shooting percentage (62.0%).  He undoubtedly has shouldered the load and made a strong case for an All-NEC First Team selection at season’s end.  But he needs help.  As was the case last season, SHU lacks a balanced attack; therefore teams are more likely to double Gibson in the crucial moments of a game.  SHU desperately needs another guard to step up his production and I’m looking no further than sophomore Chris Evans.  I didn’t call him “The Future” last year for nothing.  So far this season, SHU is 5-1 in games when Evans scores in double digits.  Evans is perhaps the most well-rounded player on the team, as he’s in SHU’s top three in scoring (8.7 ppg), rebounding (4.0 rpg), assists (2.5 apg), assist/turnover ratio (1.5), and effective field goal percentage (50.0%).  Other candidates to become Gibson’s sidekick are Evan Kelley and Louis Montes, although the former still suffers from bouts of inconsistency while the latter may not have a good enough outside shot to become Gibson’s Robin.  If Evans can become a reliable back-court mate for Gibson, the Pioneers could surprise some teams.

2. Justin Swidowski Has to Stay on the Floor

As Swidowski adjusts to life in Division 1 basketball, there is one glaring weakness that has limited his potential – defensive fouls.  Averaging 3.3 fouls per game (and fouling out already in 3 contests this season), Swidowski’s premature absences force Bike to tap into his already thin front-court.  Without him, SHU’s lack of big man depth will be exposed more often than not, given the limited offensive arsenal and athleticism of Nick Greenbacker and Femi Akinpetide.  Femi did fill in admirably for Swidowski at Quinnipiac, however performances like that should not be the norm, especially against bigger competitors like Wagner and Robert Morris.  The 6-foot-9 Swidowski absolutely has an opportunity to average 14 points, 7 boards and 1 block per game in conference play, but he must provide the Pioneers with 28-30 minutes a game in order to do so.  If he can, then the Pioneers will be better defenders in the paint and have more opportunities for slashers like Evans, Gibson, and Kelley to drive to the bucket with Swidowski’s outside range in play.

3. Sacred Heart Has to Shoot the Ball Well

When a team makes a higher percentage of their shots, their chances for victory greatly increase.  I know what you’re thinking, “Wow, thanks Captain Obvious!”  But with Sacred Heart, this point is really stressed.  Historically, Bike has fielded guard heavy teams that rely immensely on their outside shooting.  Past Pioneer squads have never been exceptional defenders or dominant rebounders, and as a result, they’ve had a very difficult time overcoming poor shooting performances against quality competition. The SHU roster this season is no exception.  They can’t win by merely out-muscling a team on the glass like Quinnipiac.  Nor could they pull out a victory by just shutting down a good offense like Wagner or Robert Morris could.  Therefore it’s quite simple - shoot well or lose more often than not.  In fact, when Sacred Heart’s effective field goal percentage is less than 50%, which is close to the NCAA average, they are an atrocious 2-9 versus NEC teams since last season.

4. The Freshmen Must Continue to Develop

Another bright spot for the Pioneers has been the emergence of Phil Gaetano.  The freshman has done a nice job running the point, filling in for the graduated Jerrell Thompson.  Already, Gaetano has posted a solid assist/turnover ratio of 1.43 and is averaging 3.3 assists per game, good for 11th in the NEC.  The other newcomer is Steve Glowiak, who was recruited onto Bike’s team as the newest sharpshooter.  So far, he has struggled from behind the arch, with a three-point shooting percentage of 24.5%.  Each player's development is important - Gaetano must keep the turnovers down for SHU to compete and Glowiak has to take better shots.  If both players can improve throughout the conference season, the Pioneers will have some excellent depth in the back-court.

If Sacred Heart can progress in these 4 areas, then maybe we’ll see the Pioneers at Robert Morris or Wagner battling for a spot in the conference tournament finals.  This alum will continue to dream for that moment.  Until then, enjoy the NEC action coming up!

Pioneer Pride Quick Hits I

It is time for the first installment of the Pioneer Pride’s Quick Picks!  Let’s begin…

• I’m excited to announce my inclusion into Big Apple Buckets Power Poll!  John Templon, the creator of nycbuckets.com, does a terrific job covering college basketball programs in the New York City area.  Every month on his website, he releases a Power Poll, which ranks all the teams in the tri-state area.  The NEC teams included in this poll are St. Francis (NY), Monmouth, Fairleigh Dickinson, Wagner, Long Island University and, of course, Sacred Heart.  I’ve been recently added as a voter of the poll, along with 13 other beat reporters and bloggers of different teams.  Time to study up before I cast my vote this Sunday night!

• It’s been a light week in college basketball – thanks to finals week – therefore I’ve caught up on some reading material.  In the past 2 weeks, there have been 3 features on individual Pioneer players.  William Paxton, of the Connecticut Post, wrote an excellent piece on SHU forward Femi Akinpetide, detailing his charitable work off the court.  Chris Elsberry, also of the Connecticut Post, featured junior forward Justin Swidowski, by illustrating the toxic losing atmosphere Swidowski was subjected at his prior school, Holy Family.  Reading this article is a must, because if you stick with it until the end, you’ll be rewarded with a Dave Bike fat joke!  And finally, a small piece on Phil Gaetano was penned yesterday by Record Journal writer John Petit.  It was evident in the article that Bike is expecting big things from his freshman guard.  Look for Gaetano's playing time to increase during the conference season if Evan Kelley continues to provide erratic minutes at the point.

• Tim Tebow is clearly God's quarterback.  But who is God's team in college basketball?  We are about to find out!  On Monday night, SHU will travel to South Bend to take on their second and final Big East opponent of the year, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.  Notre Dame (7-4, RPI 228) has struggled out of the gate, thanks to senior Tim Abromaitis shredding his knee ligament, thus requiring season-ending surgery.  Without Abromatitis, Notre Dame has failed to defeat anyone in the RPI top 175 and now finds themselves only a couple RPI points ahead of SHU (6-6, RPI: 231).  So does SHU have a chance to end Notre Dame’s 26 game non-conference home winning streak?  Quite simply, no.

• David Wright apparently has it all.  A very good baseball player entering his prime, check.  Good looks and a boyish innocence, check.  A multi-million dollar contract, check.  But is he a dominant player in fantasy football??  David is currently part of a MLB players 12 team fantasy football league hosted by CBS Sports, and from the looks of it, he has one hell of a team.  Now if only David can hit the goddamn ball out of Citi Field every once in a while…

(Side note:  Ben Sheets evidently sucks at staying healthy and fantasy football)

SHU Defeats Brown in my Highly Anticipated (OK Maybe Not) Return to Campus

For the first time this season, I was on campus to witness a Sunday afternoon basketball showdown between the Sacred Heart Pioneers and the Brown Bears.  Before the game, I decided to visit the recently built Chapel of the Holy Spirit, which now occupies a portion of the campus quad where the famous (or infamous, depending on who you ask) 1998 J-Hill Football Battle took place.  I knelt down and prayed for a SHU win, and for my friend Dave’s future mental health, since my bony knee collided with Dave’s temple during a tackle to leave him mildly concussed in the aforementioned football game (sorry Dave, but if someone gets concussed while I compete for a win, so be it).  After this brief one-way conversation with God, I found myself in the Pitt Center amongst a raucous crowd of…..434 people.  Not even the mascot, Big Red, made a pity appearance.  It was just the type of atmosphere I would expect for a NEC/Ivy League basketball game over Thanksgiving break.

Nonetheless, there I was enjoying the game.  I was hopeful SHU could bounce back after a brutal loss against Lipscomb, where they were literally 10 seconds away from winning the "prestigious" Cancun Classic, Riviera Division Tournament at a Mexican resort in a giant ballroom. No really, they played the Cancun tourney in a freaking ballroom!  In the game, Evan Kelley competed masterfully down the stretch, but came up un-clutch by missing the tying free throws with 3 seconds remaining.  How would SHU respond to that?

Well, SHU played a frustratingly inconsistent game – especially on the defensive side of the ball - against Brown, but luckily for them, 80% of Brown’s starting lineup consisted of slowish white guys who had trouble creating their own shot.  Oh the joys of Ivy League basketball!  In the end, SHU avenged last year’s loss to Brown with a 77-64 victory, to improve their record to 4-3.  My notes from the game are below:

•  My first look at freshman guards Steve Glowiak and Phil Gaetano was positive.  Yes, Gaetano made a couple of costly turnovers in the 2nd half and Glowiak has never met a shot he didn’t like, but we must not forget that these kids need time to mature.  Gaetano is the only actual point guard on the roster with talent (sorry Steve Zazuri, but you’re only on the team because daddy played for Bike years ago), and Glowiak displayed his range in the 1st half by draining 3 quick buckets to spark an 18-2 SHU run.  There will be ups and there will be downs, but patience must be practiced with these freshmen.

• When Brown had erased a 15 point deficit midway through the 2nd half, it was Shane Gibson and the bearded Louis Montes who stepped up their play late in the game.  Gibson really played the part of team leader, by willing SHU through some brutal offensive stretches by sinking some critical shots when it looked like Brown could extend their lead.  Once Gibson and company took back the lead, Montes drained a couple of wide open three pointers to effectively ice the game.

•  For the most part, Bike did a good job rotating his players, although I’m still scratching my head over the offensively inept Femi Akinpetide getting 17 minutes on the floor.  Luckily, Bike came to his senses by removing Akinpetide for good with 12 minutes remaining in the 2nd half.  On a related note, SHU outscored Brown 26-10 to close out the game!

•  The afro on inactive junior forward Mostafa Abdel Latif is growing in nicely.  To the 5 SHU students who read this blog – please, please, please keep Abdel Latif away from the Haircutters Salon at the Trumbull Mall.  His hair has great potential if it avoids clippers for the next few months.  Thank you.

Later this week, the Pioneers begin conference play with a couple of difficult road games, at Quinnipiac on Thursday and at Central Connecticut on Saturday.  I would easily sign up for a split, which is realistic if we get the Sacred Heart team that defeated Hartford, Stony Brook and Hampton.  If we get the team that coughed up a 15 point lead to Brown however, then it could be a messy start for Bike’s squad in the NEC.

The 2011-2012 Sacred Heart University Men's Basketball Preview...Well Sort of

After three years of flirting with a NEC championship and the school’s first ever NCAA birth, Sacred Heart University (SHU) has toiled in mediocrity for the past 2 seasons.  The team, rife with inconsistency, poor front court play, and lousy defense, has failed to even qualify for its league’s tournament, even though the NEC is arguably the worst league in Division 1 basketball.  No wonder no one cares to write a team preview!

So here I am, as one of the three-dozen diehard Sacred Heart men’s basketball fans left, providing you with a blinded, unqualified, and late in-depth look at the 2011-2012 team.  Trust me, I’m the right man for the job.  I may reside in Maryland these days, but last year I received several incredulous glances from my wife for interrupting dinner because I was listening to the radio feed of a SHU/St. Francis (NY) game in the middle of January.  You may call it a sickness, I call it Big Red Pioneer passion baby!!  Anyway, you’re all welcome for the preview.  Feel free to high-five me next time we cross paths at the Pitt Center to show your gratitude.  Just please don’t interrupt me while I’m guiltily checking out the dance team.

OK moving along…despite their poor 2010-11 campaign, there are a number of reasons to be optimistic about SHU basketball this season.  Naturally, I’ll start with the most insignificant reason.  One of my all-time favorite players, Drew Shubik, has been hired as an assistant coach!  This former scrappy, hard-nosed guard was the heart and soul of those successful SHU teams and now he’s coaching 4 years later.  I guess he wasn’t good enough to play in Europe, but that’s beside the point.  Hopefully now, his youthfulness and energy will inject life and defensive intensity into the team, because God knows Dave Bike and assistant coach Johnny Kidd aren’t getting any younger.  Sure, adding Shubik to the coaching staff will probably account for, let’s say 0 extra wins, but at least I can look over to the bench and see a coach under the age of 50…and not wearing the same old tired black turtleneck/gray jacket combo like Bike.

(And now please excuse me for a moment, as I relive the Shubik glory years of 2006-2008)…

Onto to the actual players - guard Shane Gibson stepped up to have an extraordinary campaign last season, averaging 17.2 pts/game while shooting a solid 39% from beyond the arch.  Despite finishing second in NEC scoring, Gibson was inexplicably left off of this year’s NEC Preseason 1st team.  I’m not sure why, other than that no one respects the Pioneers.  Nonetheless, Bike is drinking the Gibson Kool-Aid, so much so that Bike recently said in an interview that Gibson was among the best offfensive players in New England.  Wow, really?!  Among stars like Jeremy Lamb of UConn?!  Regardless, Gibson has a chance to be the most prolific scorer in SHU history, and he’s only a junior.  Starting alongside Gibson at the point will be lanky sophomore Evan Kelley, or as his friends awesomely call him, Young Money.  This freshly minted point guard has big shoes to fill with the departure of the Jerrell Thompson.  Kelley’s length should give him a size advantage over most NEC point guards, although it remains to be seen if Young Money can shoulder the ball handling duties.  Backing up Kelley will be Bike’s best recruit of the 2011 class, 5’10’’ freshman Phil Gaetano.  Gaetano, although short in stature, posted impressive stats in high school and should play meaningful minutes to showcase his superior ball control skills.  Gaetano’s poise could act as the perfect complement to Kelley’s apparent lack of maturity.  

Two other sophomore guards, Chris “The Future” Evans and Louis Montes will play significant minutes for the Pioneers.  A 2010-2011 all-NEC rookie team selection, Evans does something that many former SHU guards never did, drive aggressively to the hole.  For years, SHU fans have been subjected to watching ball-chuckers like Ryan Litke, Luke Granato, and Corey Hassen, who all wouldn’t have driven to the hole if there were a free pie from Sergio’s Pizza waiting for them under the basket.  Their heave-first mentality has made this guy appreciate Evans, since he can score in a variety of ways.  The final piece of the guard rotation will be manned by red-shirt freshman Steve Glowiak, who should provide SHU with a deep threat off the bench.

Since the departure of power forwards Brice Brooks and Joey Henley, Bike has failed to recruit a respectable front court presence that could score and defend the paint (and no, I’m not counting Liam “The Big Suck” Potter and Mehmet “The Turkish Nightmare” Sahan as capable replacements).  Until now.  Justin Swidowski, or as I deem him The Polish Post-up (I’ll accept nickname suggestions until Dec. 31st), may be the dominating low-block presence SHU has been waiting for.  Swidowski averaged an impressive 24 points and 9 boards per game two seasons ago, albeit at division 2 school Holy Family.  Whether his production translates to the NEC remains to be seen, although his performance against Harford and Stony Brook are certainly an encouraging start.  Starting alongside Swidowski is undersized senior co-captain Stan Dulaire, whose athleticism will provide the occasional highlight reel dunk, and more importantly, help him compete with most NEC power forwards.

Other than Swidowski and Dulaire, the only other front court player worth mentioning is junior co-captain Nick Greenbacker.  By all accounts, Greenbacker is a smart, hard-working, and well respected presence in the locker room, but is an ultimately flawed player who should provide no more than 10 minutes per game.  Basically, he’s the Jeff Francoeur of SHU basketball.  It is our hope that Greenbacker doesn’t attempt to cheer up his teammates by shooting around in only his underwear, like Mr. Franceour would do.

The rest of the roster is filled out with non-contributors like Femi Akinpetide and slow-footed Steve Zazuri, who shouldn’t see significant minutes this season.  If they do, well it will be a third straight pathetic season of SHU basketball.  At the very least, the Egyptian bench-ridden power forward, Mostafa Abdel Latif should provide fans with an entertaining afro.

All in all, the Pioneers are most likely a year away from having a respectable chance towards clinching that ever-elusive NCAA berth.  For this season, I expect a sizable improvement in the team’s performance.  Like Bike said in a preseason interview, there are no more excuses with this roster!  My prediction - the Sacred Heart Pioneers finish near 0.500 overall, and finally qualify for the NEC tournament with a respectable 10-8 conference record.  They’ll eventually fall in the NEC semis to a “powerhouse” team like Long Island or Robert Morris, but in the end, we’ll be encouraged with the direction of the program.  With any luck, I’ll be in the Pitt Center cheering on the Big Red at the NEC championship game in March of 2013.  How glorious it will be...until I'm forced to relive the nightmare of the 2008 championship fiasco.  But that’s for another bitter blog entry.  Until then, let’s go Pioneers!