3 Reasons Why You Should Attend Sacred Heart's Last Home Game

This Friday, Sacred Heart received a headline from ESPN.com of all places, but it had nothing to do with the men’s basketball team that currently sits in seventh place in the Northeast Conference. Instead, it was focused on Don Cook’s replacement, who will undoubtedly become the most famous athletic director in the nation, not just in the cozy Northeast.

In case you have been living under a rock or simply can’t handle the internet after watching SHU suffer another painstaking loss to Quinnipiac last night, Bobby Valentine – yes that Bobby Valentine – will take over for Don Cook on July 1st as the next athletic director for Sacred Heart. July is more than five months away, so excuse me now as I defer my opinions of Bobby V for another time. And now with that out of the way, please allow me to implore you all as to why all Pioneer fans should attend tomorrow basketball doubleheader at the Pitt Center.

1) Come Support the Newtown Community

All you have to do is show up and buy a ticket to the enticing doubleheader between the Sacred Heart and Quinnipiac women and the Sacred Heart and CCSU men at 3:30 pm. A portion of the proceeds will generously go to The Newtown Scholarship Association’s Sandy Hook Elementary School Memorial Scholarship Fund. There will be several events on site for kids, including an autograph session with both the men’s and women’s teams. Even if you don’t care much for the product on the Pitt Center floor (trust me, I’m not a fan sometimes), Saturday is a wonderful opportunity to donate and support the children of Newtown, CT who’ve dealt with an unfathomable and absolute nightmare in their quaint town.

Besides, I can’t think of a better way to spend my Saturday this way: Have a greasy belt-busting lunch at the Merritt Canteen, get ushered around aimlessly by SHU’s Public Safety before parking, stop in Sacred Heart’s six million dollar chapel for a quick prayer, get Femi Akinpetide and Nick Greenbacker’s autograph, have my face painted, and then watch Sacred Heart battle a couple of in-state rivals inside the conference. Sounds like great fun to me! (No seriously, it does…expect for maybe the face painting part.)

2) Saying Goodbye to a Sacred Heart Legend

They grow up so fast, as it only seems like yesterday that a skinny Shane Gibson was coming off the Pioneer's bench to bomb threes in 2009. Today’s Shane Gibson is a little more (OK, a LOT more) jacked and has deservedly earned the title as Sacred Heart’s greatest Division I player of all time. I mean just look at his career numbers:

1,981 career points scored (first at SHU and fifth overall in NEC)

272 made three-pointers (first at SHU and eighth overall in NEC)
41.5% career three-point shooting percentage
85.1% career free throw shooting percentage

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It’s just a wonderful display of scoring and efficiency and this Saturday is your last chance to catch Gibson in his home whites. The fifth year senior is likely to crack the 2000 point mark versus CCSU (19 points away), so you’ll also be treated to an opportunity to witness Gibson crack another historic NEC milestone. Seriously, if you consider yourself one of the true 517 Pioneer fans out there, you’d be a damn fool if you missed out on a chance to experience the sudden rush of calm when Gibson hoists up his patented line drive three-pointer. There are hardly any better drugs than that, although I bet you could find some good stuff if you meander down Park Avenue for a few miles. (And remember kids, don’t forget to say “brown bag” at the shady liquor store counter should you desire some fiery spirits and lukewarm Natty Lite after 9 PM.)

In addition, this may be the last time you’ll see Dave Bike patrolling the sidelines, barking at referees with the same ferocity as my wife directs toward the TV when she realizes Revenge or The Bachelor is a rerun. This is pure speculation – and no, I didn’t get this from the same source who told me the Bobby Valentine interview was a farce, damn you coveted Pioneer Pride source – but you just never know when the big guy will decide to hang up the outdated, bland grey sports coat for good. Given that Don Cook is leaving, it’s completely plausible that Bike would do the same when the Pioneers’ season concludes.

3) Because You Care About NEC Playoff Basketball, Stupid!

Saturday’s basketball doubleheader begins with the second place lady Pioneers hosting the big bad Quinnipiac Bobcats, who can clinch a #1 seed with a win. You may not enjoy women’s basketball as much, but do your school proud by showing up to support Ed Swanson’s club. I don’t care what the sport is, anytime Quinnipiac has a chance to secure a #1 seed in its sports playoffs on Sacred Heart’s soil, the fans/students need to prevent that from happening at all costs. (For those interested, here Craig D’Amico’s excellent game preview of Quinnipiac versus Sacred Heart.)

For the second half of the doubleheader, the seventh place Pioneers will meet the ninth place Blue Devils for a desperate game of the round ball. This isn’t far off from a play-in game for the NEC postseason tournament (only the top eight teams qualify), therefore with both team’s back to the wall, it’s safe to expect some inspired, high energy play. Both clubs are struggling badly and are a combined 1-7 in their last eight (thank you Fairleigh Dickinson!). Soooo, you’re saying someone has a chance to win?!?! Why, yes they do!

Moreover, this game promises to employ a quick up-tempo style with both teams gladly pushing the pace. Trust me, this matchup won't imitate your typical Big Ten battle where the first team to 55 wins the game. I’d expect to see some fireworks in this one between Gibson and the CCSU’s stars, Kyle Vinales and Matthew Hunter.

I hope to see everyone there. I’ll be at center court, a few rows back opposite the benches intently watching the SHU Dance Te….I mean basketball team. If you see me shedding a tear after Gibson calmly sinks his fourth three-pointer of the game, do me a solid and had me a tissue. And also do the same if Howie Dickenman’s ridiculously shorthanded Blue Devils find a way to pull out a tight one late.

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

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

Sacred Heart Drops Second Straight to Mount St. Mary's, Now 6-4 in NEC

You know the old basketball coach saying: "When you allow your opponents to shoot 63% from the floor, commit nine turnovers, lose the battle on the boards by eight, and permit the opposing team's top scorer to net 23 points in the first half, then you probably gosh darnit dug yourself an insurmountable hole to climb out of."

OK, no one probably ever said that, but that quote was running through my mind as I witnessed the best half of Jamion Christian's tenure as the Mount St. Mary's coach, and perhaps the worst half of Sacred Heart's conference season. It just was one of those halves. Mount St. Mary's Rashad Whack was unconscious in the first stanza, draining all five of his three-point attempts en route to 23 first half points. If you just include Whack, SHU possessed a tidy 27-23 lead at the half!

Unfortunately for the Pioneers, eight other Mountaineers scored the basketball in the first half, which ballooned the Mount's advantage to 23 points. That, my friends, is a really difficult hole to climb out off.

"They took it to us and didn't miss. We didn't guard them and they had - I would venture to say it - one of their better halves," said a disappointed Dave Bike after the game. "I told the guys, for us to be any good, we have to be on all cylinders or close to it."

For Mount St. Mary's coach Jamion Christian, the first half was the type of basketball the 30 year old coach had dreamed of since taking the job this past offseason. Drain threes, force turnovers, and have their opponent back on their heels with a frenetic tempo. It was Mount Mayhem personified.

"Every now and again, you get a chance to see a glimpse of how good we can be offensively, because we have a lot of different guys that can play a lot of positions and score the ball," said Christian. "I thought the key of the game today in the first half is we played very unselfishly. Really shared the ball well and that's what I'm most proud of my team in sharing the ball. That's big." 

Sacred Heart, as awful as that perimeter defense was in the first half, came out with their usual fight in the second half. After blowing several opportunities to cut the Mount's deficit to single digits, SHU finally broke through after two made free throws by Shane Gibson. The problem was there was less than two minutes left in the game, and by then KenPom's probability odds of coming back had essentially evaporated away.

It's been a storyline all too familiar for SHU; in fact, today was the ninth time in 21 games where Sacred Heart fell behind by at least double digits, only to furiously come back and cut the deficit to less than ten, and at least give themselves a chance at pulling out the upset. Remarkably, the cardiac Pioneers have won four of those games in which they dug themselves a brutal hole (Yale, Stony Brook, St. Francis Brooklyn, Monmouth), but that certainly isn't the way a supposed NEC contender should play throughout the season.

"I think we have the spunk," said SHU head coach Dave Bike. "We just have to play better."

Offensively, the Pioneers played pretty well, especially in the second half. Louis Montes has his seventh double digit effort of the NEC season with a team high 21 points. Freshman forward De'Aires Tate once again played 20+ minutes and made the most of it, having the best game of his young career with 14 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks (all are career highs). Steve Glowiak had another solid effort with 11 points (3 of 6 from behind the arc) and currently leads the team with 31 steals this season. The guard from hard hitting New Britain has helped the Pioneers off the ball in his sophomore campaign, which was something I complained about last season as he was morphing into an insufferable ball-chucker.

And finally, Shane Gibson may have had an off night shooting the basketball (6-15 from the floor), but one of the best players of the NEC had 18 points, a season high six assists, six rebounds, and three steals. Still, if the opposing team is able to lock down Gibson from behind the arc (only 1 of 5), it makes things much more difficult for Dave Bike's squad.

"Rashad [Whack] did a great job (guarding Gibson)," said Christian. "Any time you're playing against a great player, you know he's going to hit some tough shots, you know he's going to make some. We really put the emphasis on whoever was guarding Gibson tonight. Whack did an unbelievable job just taking away shots and making him shoot twos."

Whack did have himself an unbelievable game, scoring a career high 35 points on 16 shots, grabbing four rebounds, dishing out three assists, and fighting hard through the off-the-ball screens to remain in Gibson's face all night. It was pretty darn close to the NEC single game performance of the season, in my opinion.

Mount St. Mary's freshman point guard Shivaugn Wiggins had 13 points and six assists in a season high 32 minutes. It's unknown whether his excellent play of late has begun to phase out junior guard Josh Castenallos, who only played five minutes Saturday night. Castellanos has been dealing with injuries throughout the season. The win moves Mount St. Mary's into ninth place in the conference with a record of 4-6.

Despite the two game losing streak, SHU find themselves in decent position, now tied for third place with a record of 6-4 in the NEC. They have a very good top four of Gibson, Montes, Glowiak, and Phil Gaetano, but with all of the injuries and youth in the front court, the depth remains the biggest issue for this team. It was evident in the past two games. Without ball handlers and perimeter defenders Chris Evans and Evan Kelley, this team will struggle against pressure defenses like Wagner and Mount St. Mary's, hence the 43 turnovers committed in the past two games.

Whether or not the team can overcome their shortened bench remains the biggest question, but at the very least, the cardiac kids in the red and white have made this conference season interesting to watch. And after witnessing the past few mediocre seasons, it's fun to see SHU have a chance to make some noise.

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

Sacred Heart Finishes Off St. Francis to Win First Two NEC Games

I don't ever remember saying this about any of my favorite sports teams, but four wins and nine losses has never looked so damn good. Especially when you throw in that perfect 2-0 NEC record!

It seems ridiculous to celebrate after a team has won merely 31% of their games, but after one of the worst non-conference seasons I have ever witnessed as a Sacred Heart alum, I needed this. Any of the 500 fans who showed up at the Pitt Center yesterday needed this. The Pioneers have righted the ship by sweeping their two game home-stand against the Brooklyn schools to open the conference season. So everything is OK now, right?

Well, not exactly.

Sure, I'm a glass half-empty guy when talking about my Pioneers, yet these are two games that SHU desperately needed to win, which they did by the slimmest of margins. The two victories gave SHU a share of first place along with Wagner and Bryant (who could have guessed that?), but I'm far from celebrating this momentous occasion.

(Seriously Ryan, stop being a freaking baby. Just be happy they have a share of the first place lead. It could be worse. You could be a fan of Robert Morris, who's coach just called his team a bunch of wimpy, noncompetitive boys after two home losses to Bryant and CCSU.)

OK. OK. I'll humor you this time. After all, I should oblige. Especially after Mount St. Mary's head coach Jamion Christian congratulated me on SHU's win after HIS OWN press conference last night (he was in a good mood after their solid win over Monmouth).

Just let it be known that the Pioneers were fortunate to be only down five at halftime of their home showdown with St. Francis Brooklyn. The Terrier big men missed a number of easy putbacks and shots inside the paint (which included a comical two minute sequence from St. Francis center Matt Milk, poor guy), and luckily SHU took advantage by closing the first stanza on an 8-0 run. It should have been a much bigger deficit.

In second half, however, the Pioneers played like the title contending team I had originally envisioned. For the first time all season, Justin Swidowski played an absolutely dominating five minutes of basketball, registering 12 points on only five shots. He did his damage from both inside and out, and was the spark that kept in the Pioneers in the game throughout the second half. After his three-point play (the good old fashion way) capped off a 12-1 run to tie the game at 47, it was an entirely whole new game.

Despite the second half surge though, SHU still couldn't get over the hump. Anytime the Pioneers had an opportunity to seize control of the game, there was St. Francis power forward - and future All-NEC first teamer - Jalen Cannon doing damage in the paint. The shorthanded Pioneers frontcourt, sans Femi Akinpetide (personal issue) and Tevin Falzon (academic issue), were no match for the bulky sophomore, as he once again impressed with an array of smooth post moves and an uncanny ability to grab rebounds on both sides of the floor. Cannon finished with 20 points and 16 rebounds.

(Quick side note: The SHU radio announcer said this about Cannon during the game, "Jalen Cannon is becoming one of the better players in the NEC." That certainly is the understatement of the year!)

Luckily for the Pioneers, a player who has already earned All-NEC first team honors in Shane Gibson played like a star yesterday. It was vintage Gibson (28 points on 17 shots), as he scored the final four points of the contest to will his team to victory. Rather than hoisting up a contested 25 footer in SHU's final possession, Gibson wisely drove past his man and was fouled by Akeem Johnson as he attempted the game winning layup. Gibson then calmly swished both free throws with five seconds left to give the Pioneers their first lead since they were up 3-0.

SHU, of course, held on and will now embark on an arduous four game road trip. The first week keeps the Pioneers in Connecticut for critical in-state battles with CCSU and Quinnipiac. The second leg finds Dave Bike and company in Western PA to face St. Francis (PA) and an angry and winless (in the NEC anyway) Robert Morris club.

Anything less than a split of those four games will be disappointing, but given the wild wild NEC (sorry I had to steal that phrase from Colonial Corner writer Andrew Chiappazzi), you never know what is going to happen. Yet with the wide openness of the conference, SHU has a chance. If Shane Gibson can consistently return into that dynamic player from a season ago, if Justin Swidowski is finally back full healthy from his shoulder surgery, and if role players like point guard Phil Gaetano continue to produce (19 assists versus five turnovers, four of six from three-point range in both conference games so far), then who the hell knows what this team can do.

I'm not celebrating the 4-9 Pioneers yet, but I'd be lying to you if I said there wasn't a fist pump ... or twenty in the Peters' household last night.

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

Sacred Heart Falls to Lafayette in the Final Seconds

If it ain't one thing, well it's another.

The Sacred Heart Pioneers lost on Sunday afternoon in excruciating fashion, when Lafayette freshman guard Bryce Scott drained an OPEN three-pointer with two ticks remaining on the clock. It was the Pioneers' fourth straight defeat and leaves them with a 0-3 record against Patriot League opponents this season.

The defense was, as usual, lacking in the first half as Lafayette raced out to a 20-4 advantage. Only eight minutes had elapsed and already Dave Bike had burned through two timeouts and enough violent head-bobs to make a figure skater dizzy. As I was listening to this wretched mess on my car ride home from Costco, I shuttered to think that I'd be writing yet another depressing blog post. Luckily, I had just purchased a pair of sleek Calvin Klein jeans for $19.99, so I was in a decent mode. But I digress.

After falling behind by 16 points, Bike emptied out his bench probably sick to his stomach. The underachieving Pioneers were now seven for eight in finding themselves down double digits at some point in the first half. Let that resonate with you for a second. They had found a way to be trailing by ten or more points in the first half of 87.5% of their games.

This time around, however, Bike's message got through to the players. Steve Glowiak and Nick Greenbacker combined for 20 first half points, Mostafa Abdel-Latif grabbed four boards in three productive minutes, and the high motored De'Aires Tate provided some much needed energy of the bench. As hideous as the opening minutes had been, SHU was actually heading into the locker room down three points, despite receiving absolutely zero contributions from Shane Gibson and Louis Montes. All things considered, it was a moral victory worth celebrating.  And these days, I guess that's something us Pioneer fans will have to settle on.

The second half was an exciting back and forth affair, but when a Phil Gaetano three-pointer gave the Pioneers' their first lead in nearly five halves (more than two games) of basketball, it felt like Bike's bunch would persevere with a badly needed road victory. Gibson was back to his usual self in the second half, as he impressively poured in 25 points on 13 shots. Gaetano had another double digit assist effort. The only problem was I forgot about the dreadful Pioneers' defense.

If you read my previous post, you already knew that the Pioneers' defense was never to be trusted. And of course with today's game in the balance, Lafayette scored 17 points in their final 12 possessions, good for a dismal 1.42 points per possession (the average is roughly 1.00 points per possession). Perhaps if SHU hadn't missed eight of their ten free throw attempts, they wouldn't have been in this predicament. Either way, a stunned group of Pioneer players had to endure a long bus ride home to Fairfield after falling to Lafayette 72-70.

In the grand scheme of things, the loss means very little. SHU wasn't getting an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament anyway (wouldn't that have been hilarious), but a record of 3-5 sure as hell would have looked a lot better than a record of 2-6.  In fact, SHU is off to their worst start since ... well two years ago when the Pioneers only won one of their first eight contests. After that 1-7 start, SHU righted the ship by embarking on a three game winning streak. A possible winning streak, this time around, is unlikely to come with Stony Brook and road games against A10 foes La Salle and George Washington to finish out the non-conference slate.

Instead, keeping the remaining players healthy will be paramount. There's now 24 days before SHU opens their NEC conference season at home against the shorthanded LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds. Hopefully, the remaining ten players on scholarship can begin playing together as a cohesive unit, while putting together a consistent effort for 40 minutes. It may not sound like much, but the Pioneers are running out of non-conference games to figure their issues 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

A Few Thoughts on Sacred Heart's Early Season Slide

First of all, I’d like to apologize. I haven’t been the greatest at updating the blog with recent game recaps. The truth is, I have a lot on my plate. A marriage. A full time job which requires me to commute nearly two hours a day. Another blog to write for. An insatiable need to watch as many episodes of The League as I possibly can (I didn’t start watching until season 3 launched). A 15 year old frisky feline that demands my attention when I’m home. But really, all of this is no excuse, as it shouldn’t take much to update my Pioneer Pride site with timely game recaps smeared with self loathing and bitter disgust. After all, transcribing my anguished fan-hood should come naturally!

It’s just difficult to write about your alma mater, the team you passionately root for, when they’ve sorely underachieved in the early going. It’s difficult when another blogger, or someone on Twitter, dismisses your Pioneers by calling them soft or bad, yet you can’t respond because you have no legitimate comeback. Some of issues are the team’s fault, and some of blame falls on the unfortunate circumstance of poor health. Losing Evan Kelley and Chris Evans to season-ending injuries is a substantial blow, especially when they’re basically the third and fifth best players on the Pioneers’ roster. Take the third and fifth best players off any NEC roster and see how they’ll do. Would LIU be as dominant without Jason Brickman and Brandon Thompson? How would our hated in-state rivals from Quinnipiac perform without say Jamee Jackson and Zaid Hearst? Do you think Central Connecticut would survive if they lost their point guard Malcolm McMillan along with long-range bomber Adonis Burbage?

The answer, of course, is those teams would struggle to maintain their current level. But rather than sulk and whine about what could have been, I’ll be a man and suck it up. Even though SHU has dropped five of their first seven contests and has yet to play a complete game from start to finish, I still remain a (fairly) confident fan.

The NEC is an one bid league, and for most teams in this low mid-major conference, November and December games really don’t mean all that much, other than making sure your team begins to cohesively gel as one before conference play kicks off. If Dave Bike can somehow piece it together this month, then I believe this team can have success. But they must do the following in order to have any kind of a chance in hell to finish in the top six of the NEC.

1) Paging Shane Gibson as a Junior - We’ve seen a different Shane Gibson this season, and I frankly don’t like. I can’t really pinpoint why he has struggled in the early going. Maybe he has more of a target on his back. Maybe school is adding unwanted stress to the fifth year senior. Maybe he's having girl trouble. Whatever the reason, I want the old Shane Gibson back. Sure, we’ve seen pockets of his greatness (the Yale, Stony Brook comebacks, his latest effort versus Holy Cross certainly comes to mind), but SHU desperately needs the 2011-12 version to grace the Pitt Center floor. Dave Bike needs the super-efficient, hit 43% of his threes, grab a steal and a half a game version of Gibson back. Hopefully, the nagging injuries won’t be an issue moving forward and Gibson can recreate the magic that made him such a special player last season. With the semester soon ending and a lighter schedule the remainder of December, I’m still making the bet that the Shane Gibson of old will terrorize NEC opponents come January.

2) For the Love of God, Play Some Freaking Defense - Defense has never been the strength of a Dave Bike led team, but even this seven game stretch has seen some rather atrocious defending. In the young season, the Pioneers are giving up 1.14 points per possession, good for second worst in the NEC. SHU isn’t turning the opponent over at all (only 16.1% of their opponent's possessions result in a turnover, good for bottom 20 in the nation), they aren't defending in the paint (49.8% field goal percentage defensed), nor are they defending the perimeter (37.4% three-point percentage defensed). For SHU to experience even a modicum of success, they have to win a couple of games on defense, which at this point seems to be a long shot. They can't keep going into halftime trailing - in the first seven games, SHU has been forced to begin the second half down every single game!

3) The Young Bucks Need to Step Up. Shane Gibson said it best when I asked him after the Lehigh game about the Pioneers’ rash of injuries. His response: “I feel like we're a young team, but we're not. Evan Kelley's hurt now so at the guards it's me, Phil (Gaetano) - Phil's a sophomore - Steve Glowiak's second year, so now we're young again.” Not only does sophomore Glowiak have to step up – and he has so far shooting a sensational 52.0% from behind the arc – but the freshmen frontcourt duo of Tevin Falzon and De’Aires Tate need to play well also. SHU has a somewhat deep frontcourt, but with the backcourt now seriously compromised, expect Louis Montes to play predominately at the small forward position. Much of time last season, Montes was part of Bike’s “small-ball” lineup instilled as the slashing power forward who could also stretch the defense with his perimeter skills. Now, with Gaetano, Gibson, and Glowiak (the 3G’s) as natural guards, Montes must play more as a “3” on the floor. This means Tate and Falzon need to fill the power forward role Montes will be vacating. Last Wednesday versus Holy Cross, Tate had his breakout game, scoring ten points with six rebounds in only 15 minutes of action. Earlier in the season, Falzon enjoyed some success as well, so hopefully as the season progresses, both of these freshmen can get further acclimated to the rigors of DI basketball and produce at a more productive and consistent level.

Sure, there are others things needed to spark an improbable Pioneers run (I’m looking at you, Justin Swidowski), but I wanted to hammer down those three main points. If SHU can improve in those facets mentioned above, I may not have to scale back my original conference projection of ten wins and eight losses for the red and white.

Although at this juncture in the season, I'm pretty damn close to doing so. Hopefully they can begin to turn things around at Lafayette this Sunday at 2 PM. Listen in, why don't you?

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

Chris Evans and Evan Kelley Likely Done for the Season

Other than the two miraculous, wildly improbable comebacks, the Sacred Heart basketball season couldn’t have started off any worse. Really, had Yale or Stony Brook made another play or two down the stretch of their respective games, the Pioneers could find themselves winless through six games. That’s right, 0-6, as in their worst start since the 2002-03 season, when they finished their fourth year as a Division I program with a robust 8-21 record. Oh how I don’t miss those days...

But they’re not and at two wins and four losses, SHU shouldn’t be in full blown panic mode yet. Of course, if the health of the team continues to deteriorate, then all bets are off. We are beginning to inch closer to that realm.

For starters, junior guard Evan Kelley will not return this season. Kelley, who spent the majority of the preseason rehabbing his dislocated kneecap, had a major setback in practice after the Stony Brook game two weeks ago. Because of the setback, Kelley will most likely undergo surgery before Christmas to repair the knee. The surgery would, of course, sideline Kelley for the remainder of the season.

"No. I would say 99% no," said assistant coach Anthony Latina when asked if Kelley could return this season. "Playing him again puts (Kelley) at greater risk to tearing an ACL on top of his dislocated kneecap."

Chris Evans, arguably the team's second or third best player behind Gibson, also is highly unlikely to return to the team this season. Evans underwent meniscus surgery in the offseason, yet the knee hasn't responded well when subjected to practice on back-to-back days. Evans has recently begun practicing, but it may simply be too late to get the team leader back into the lineup come January.

"He's trying to get back," said Latina. "But the problem with Chris (Evans), by the time he's really healthy and in shape, we're going to be two to three weeks into the (NEC season). And then, do you bring a guy back for 12 games? It's a tough call."

The silver lining in all this is the Pioneers will get to redshirt both players and gain an extra year of eligibility on the duo. Of course, they were supposed to add value and depth to a roster ready to win now, especially with Shane Gibson and Justin Swidowski as seniors.

But the team, Latina says must move forward. "It's very tough, but (the team) is staying focused, they're trying to work and we can't worry about the guys that aren't playing. We have to make sure the guys that are playing are improving and that we're improving as a team."

Shane Gibson injured his ankle in the Lehigh game, but should be ready to play tonight in the Pioneers' second home game versus Holy Cross. Gibson is at little risk to worsen the injury, therefore it's more of a question of how effective he'll be moving forward. Steve Glowiak, on the other hand, is questionable for the Holy Cross game with an ankle sprain.

Add it all up, and you have a backcourt that's been decimated by injuries in the early going. It's not the start this Pioneer fan envisioned, but they must move forward with the current roster. Whether that gets them into the upper echelon of the NEC, is completely unknown at the moment.

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

C.J. McCollum and Lehigh Smoke Sacred Heart, Running Diary Style

For SHU's home season opener, I figured it was a great time to document the event with a running diary, Bill Simmons style. I originally wanted to break out the diary for the SHU/Stony Brook game, but then all hell (aka Shane Gibson's late game heroics) broke loose. So instead, I'll dedicate the running diary to future NBA lottery pick C.J. McCollum and his Lehigh Mountain Hawks. Lehigh comes into the Pitt Center as the defending Patriot League champions, fresh off a stunning upset over the Duke Blue Devils in last season's NCAA tournament. I'm not expecting much from my Pioneers today, but at the very least, I'm hoping Shane Gibson will put on a show in front of his home crowd. Here. We. Go!

Pre-Game: Here on press row, there are three seats reserved for NBA scouts. They're obviously here for McCollum, whose a future NBA lottery pick. Maybe they're also here to catch a glimpse of Gibson as well?

15 minutes before tip-off, I'm almost able to count the number of fans in the stands. I'm guessing there are 300 fans here at the moment. Yikes. Hopefully, there's crazy traffic heading into Fairfield right now! Public Safety probably needs more manpower to control the sudden rush of traffic.

19:46: And we are under way with Lehigh winning the opening tip. On the first play of the game, McCollum backs Gibson down in the post for a quick bucket. That took all of 14 seconds.

19:04: And McCollum hits a long three in Lehigh's second possession. Containing him might be a problem. 5-2 out of the gate for Lehigh.

17:09: Holden Greiner (no really that's a real name) hits a three pointer to give Lehigh a 10-2 lead.

16:41: Femi Akinpetide with the strong move and the foul! Femi has all five points in the early going for SHU. Don't get me wrong - I love Femi and the energy he provides SHU on the boards, but SHU will not have long term success if Femi is the go-to-guy on the offensive end.

15:09: Phil Gaetano hits a three to pull the Pioneers to within four, 12-8. I don't like the flow of this game early on. I have a feeling SHU will need to hit a lot of threes just to keep up with this Mountain Hawks offense.

13:51: McCollum drains another long three. And on SHU's ensuing offensive possession, McCollum forces Gibson into a quick turnover. Gibson is now 0-2 from the floor with two turnovers. Seems like he's trying to do too much.

11:18: Pioneers having a hell of a time trying to keep up with Lehigh. The Pioneers are running back very disorganized on defense, leaving open looks in transition for the Mountain Hawks.

9:57: And just as I finish writing that, Lehigh drains another transition three pointer in front of SHU's bench. Dave Bike with the timeout. It's already 28-16 Lehigh.

9:15: Gibson hits his second three-pointer of the game, but then McCollum immediately answers with a three of his own. Is he even breaking a sweat? Right now, he is by far and away the best player on the floor, and it pains me to say that with Gibson out there. But that's what I am ... brutally honest.

7:57: I think I saw a couple of the NBA scouts drooling at their station. McCollum now has 16 points.

6:07: Lehigh hitting an incredible clip of their long range buckets. I mean incredible! Now 8 for 12 by my count. It's a little of hot shooting but also a lot from the Pioneers' porous defense. It's been atrocious early on.

4:51: Breaking News!! SHU prevents Lehigh from scoring in their last 3 possessions. Prior to those 3 possessions, the Pioneers probably have given up close to 1.75 points per possession. I'd look this up to confirm, but I have the motivation of SHU's defense right now.

3:13: Knutson and McCollum are killing SHU right now. They've scored 27 of the Mountain Hawks 47 points. Knutson, a preseason All-Patriot League selection, has carved up the Pioneer frontcourt in this half. Nick Greenbacker nor Justin Swidowski can keep up with the savvy 6'9" big man.

0:34: De'Aires Tate with a defensive rebound and then a bucket on the other end. This game appears to be a blowout, so at the very least, I'll get to see SHU's future on the court. It'll give the fans (albeit very few of them) something to actually cheer for.

0:00: Lehigh hits a breakaway layup at the buzzer to give team a 16 point advantage at the half. A fitting end to the worst half of the season. And that's saying quite a lot.

Halftime: The stats are frankly ugly from SHU's perspective: 57.6% from the floor and 53.3% from three for Lehigh. I'll stop before I start crying in public though...

2nd Half, 19:00: Swidowski commits an offensive foul and then gives a look of bewilderment to the referee. It seems like Swidowski has had that face for the majority of the young season, as have I! I've seen lots of inconsistency out of the big man. On a related note, my depression is starting to sink in.

16:36: The Pioneer defense has been so bad today. And no adjustment out of the coaching staff at the half. No matchup zone, no box and one, nothing. Just more terrible man-to-man. This is just awful to watch. Oh yeah, Lehigh leads 59-37.

15:45: Wouldn't you know it, Dave Bike has a pulse. He implements a 2-3 zone out of the timeout, but then McCollum hits another open three. You're halfway there Mr. Bike, now how about a matchup zone? Please?

15:00: Gibson picks up a quiet technical foul. It's his second one in as many games. This is really depressing. He just seems to have a different attitude this season. Maybe his girlfriend dumped him? I'm legitimately bummed out. SHU beat reporter Bill Paxton is trying to lift my spirits here on press row. We're talking about the 2007 SHU team. Oh Drew Shubik, how I miss you...

12:44: At least I've been treated to my first live look of CJ McCollum. He just crossed over Gibson and hit a three. Coming back down the floor, McCollum flashes a smile toward the NBA scouts. Now, there's no way I'm missing an opportunity to see Lehigh when they visit Navy and American. He's some talent.

11:56: Gibson drains a three to cap off a12-4 run for SHU. To cut the Mountain Hawks lead to 23 points. We're back baby! Timeout Lehigh.

10:02: I'm struggling to pull out highlights now, so maybe this is a good time to recommend a movie to you. I begrudgely had to see Life of Pi on Friday, after Lincoln was sold out. Turns out my wife was right, Life of Pi was a very good movie. And there may or may not have been moisture near my eyes at the end. Thankfully the theater was dark and I had 3D glasses on. (Hopefully most of you already left the running diary, because the game has been over since halftime)

8:34: Montes with a strong move using the left hand to draw the foul. The reason I mention this? Well 1) this game sucks and 2) Montes has had an off game, for perhaps the first time all season. He hits both free throws, but who really cares at the moment.

6:12: Nice to see after a Swidowski three (he's alive after all), Dave Bike decides to ditch the full court press. In fairness, you'll never mistaken SHU's press for the Mount Mayhem or Monmouth's full court pressure. I'm not sure if I've seen a turnover yet this season from the Pioneers' lazy press.

5:26: I just caught myself muttering "only the NEC conference play matters." Ahh yes, we're five games into the season and I'm already looking ahead to January. Pioneer basketball everybody!

4:59: Pioneers commit their 20th turnover. Even Coach Latina looks dejected and he usually has the energy of someone who just drank four cups of coffee.

2:53: Justin Swidowski fouls out after a decent performance offensively. The final numbers from the senior: 10 points, 10 rebounds. Honestly, I never would have guessed he had a double double, mainly because him and the rest of the frontcourt could not contain Knutson and company. But at least Swidoswki is perhaps close to being fully healthy.

1:23: Louis Cramer with the tip in. The walk-on! Lead back to under 20 points! WHY AM I SHOUTING!

0:00: The game has mercifully ended with the final score: Lehigh 91, Sacred Heart 77. It's only a 14 point loss, but make no mistake, this game was NEVER in question in the second half. It's the Pioneers third such game this season, with their blowout losses to Rutgers and Hartford serving as the other lopsided defeats.

Postgame: I overheard assistant coach Johnny Kidd's post game interview on the SHU radio broadcast. His quote: "I thought we would come out and make a statement." Umm, well that didn't happen, now did it?

A couple of hours after the game, I received a call from an unknown number on my cell phone. It was Sacred Heart asking for a donation. The quick conversation went something like this:

SHU: So Mr. Peters, have you been back to Sacred Heart since you graduated?
Me (clearly caught off guard): Umm, yeah. I was there today.
SHU: Oh really?! That's great! Did you enjoy your time on campus today?
Me: (What I said) Suuuuure ... I guess.
       (What I should have said) Are you f***ing kidding me? Did I enjoy watching SHU get absolutely destroyed by Lehigh?!?! Did I enjoy watching this defense?! And their stagnant offense?! What kind of question is that? HOW DARE YOU ASK ME FOR ANOTHER DONATION! (emphatically hang up)

On second though, maybe it was good I was polite and reserved. Maybe I don't need therapy after all.

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

Shane Gibson Leads Sacred Heart to Another Comeback Victory Over Stony Brook

I had it all planned out. I was going to present a running diary (Bill Simmons style) of Sacred Heart's latest loss to Stony Brook. There would have been tons of self-depreciating jokes, lots of whining about Pioneer basketball, and just some solid game observations. Basically a win win for everyone involved.

Well, that plan was scrapped when the Shane Gibson show took hold late in the game.

There I sat on press row, using every ounce of my being from not cheering in wild excitement as Shane Gibson drove to the lane, drew contact, and hit the go-ahead layup. I'm fairly certain I had a smile and a look of complete bewilderment at the same time, but to be honest those final minutes were a complete blur. Turns out the Pioneers' hero doesn't remember those critical moments either.

"I really don't even remember that much of those last minutes," said a smiling Gibson after the game. "I was just playing to get the job done."

The day started off poorly for SHU's star player. Gibson wasn't in the starting lineup since he was late for the team bus, so he calmly sat on the bench during the first seven minutes of the game. After falling behind 10-5, Gibson entered the game and promptly turned it over on his first possession. One minute later, there was Gibson back on the bench again. Now, Dave Bike was OFFICIALLY sending a message to the NEC's leading scorer from a season ago.

All told, Gibson played only one minute in the first half, but the Pioneers did their best to keep it close. They battled back from a quick 9-0 deficit to tie the game at 23 all, before succumbing to a 6-0 Stony Brook run to close out the half. Steve Glowiak hit a couple of big three-pointers. Evan Kelley was looking much better in his second game back from injury. And Louis Montes and Femi Akinpetide were corralling a majority of the loose balls off the glass, especially on the offensive end.

Dare I say the Pioneer's effort in the first half yesterday was ... well the opposite of listless!

The second half provided much of the same result for the first 15 minutes. Stony Brook took a 12 point lead on an Eric McAllister putback with only five minutes remaining. It appeared the Pioneers would fall short, despite a terrific effort.

But then it was time for the Shane Gibson show. The 6'2" senior scored SHU's final 11 points of the game - including two loooong three-pointers - on 4 shots to spur an improbable 18-4 Pioneer run. The Stony Brook crowd went from saying "Woah" on Gibson's first three to "Oh no" on Gibson's second three to "Oh God no!" on Gibson's penetrating runner toward the lane to complete silence on Gibson's game winning bucket and the foul. Un-freaking-believable.

It was a remarkable ending to what essentially was the worst three game stretch of Gibson's career. Prior to those final three minutes, Gibson had only scored 20 points on 7 of 35 shooting to go along with ten turnovers. Yikes.

I give all the credit in the world to Dave Bike. The 35-year head coach got the message across to Gibson loud and clear: I will not put you ahead of the team, and if you break the rules and not give a complete effort on the floor, I will bench you no matter how valuable you may be to the team.

When asked about Gibson's situation, Bike conveyed his pleasure with his star guard's final effort. "What he did when he had that last chance to get back in there, and then he played well and played hard, I mean that's what we're looking for him to do."

Added Bike, "I think he's in charge of his playing time. I'm just going to interpret the actions."

Gibson admitted he has felt some pressure recently, which has contributed toward his struggles. "A little bit of off-the-court, on-the-court," said Gibson. "I mean there's more pressure from the other team giving me more respect, I guess, so it's hard to score for myself and my shots just haven't fallen. I feel like I've been rushing everything."

Gibson then admitted that the school workload has probably added to his on-the-court issues as well. "To be honest, school has been stressing me out a little bit. Once I get past this semester, I think that'll be a weight lifted off my shoulders and I'll be able to concentrate more on basketball."

Obviously, I'd be completely out of line if I didn't praise the rest of the team for their performance yesterday. Without them, the game never would have stayed within the jaws of victory. Femi Akinpetide continued his surprising run with eight rebounds (four on the offensive end). Louis Montes had another big game, registering a season high 20 points to go along with nine rebounds. Phil Gaetano had one of those quietly productive efforts - much like LIU point guard and All-NEC second teamer Jason Brickman - by dishing out ten assists, grabbing five rebounds, and hitting two critical free throws right before Gibson began his 11 point miracle run.

This was the Pioneer team we’ve been waiting for since the start of the season. Hopefully, one of these games they can put together all of the pieces for 40 minutes. To be 2-2 at this juncture of the season, after only leading for approximately 8% of the total game minutes is quite fortunate.

Coming up next is the Pioneer's first home game on Sunday afternoon. They take on Lehigh, the defending Patriot League champions, who you might remember as the #15 seed that shocked the country by upsetting Duke in the NCAA tournament. In the game, Lehigh's star guard, C.J. McCollum, scored 30 points and has since been in the national spotlight. He's a probable first round selection in the NBA draft next June, so Gibson is eager to square off against the All-American guard.

"I've been thinking about it, obviously," said Gibson. "I know he's a very good player and I'll see what I can do against (college basketball's) best."

Hopefully Sunday night was the spark Gibson needed to lead his Pioneers down the road.

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

Sacred Heart Blown Out by Hartford, in my First Live Look

Shane Gibson's number 25 jersey wasn't the only thing the Sacred Heart Pioneers left in Fairfield before boarding the bus to Hartford (he had to wear #1 for his jersey tonight). They also forgot their game.

In what transpired as a putrid performance at the Chase Family Arena, the listless Pioneers lost to Hartford, 62-47, and it wasn't even that close. The Pioneers shot 33% from the floor, which included ten out of 11 missed attempts from behind the arc. They committed as many turnovers (16) as made baskets (16). Their bench was outscored by Hartford's bench, 29-7.

The Hawks used an 18-2 run in the middle of the first half to pull away, and in reality, it could have been much worse. Hartford missed several make-able buckets around the rim. It pains me to say that the Pioneers were "fortunate" to be only down 16 points at the half.

It was games like tonight that made me wonder why I bothered making the trip up to Connecticut. There I was, a 33-year married man as the only "media" member sitting on press row, watching a team that really hasn't put together a stretch of good basketball for more than ten minutes at one time. Without the furious and improbable comeback versus Yale, the Pioneers would be sitting there winless at 0-3 with two very difficult games in Stony Brook and Lehigh coming up.

When asked about his team's performance this season, head coach Dave Bike seemed equally perplexed. "We had three opportunities to play basketball and we haven't played well. And that's just the concern. I think we have a chance to play OK, I do."

Added Bike, "I thought we got beat twice (tonight). I think (Hartford) outplayed us at times, they shot better than us, but they also game beat us. I'm not convinced it was Hartford's defense that caused us to have listless turnovers, as the reporter says."

That "reporter" Bike was referring to was, of course, me. Yes, I used the word listless to describe the Pioneers' effort in the first half and I'm not sure Bike was too thrilled with my adjective. But from my perspective, how could I not use the word listless? Other than the frontcourt play of Femi Akinpetide and Louis Montes (who by the way looks jacked this season), there wasn't one other player tonight that was encouraging to watch. Shane Gibson went 3 of 14 from the floor. Justin Swidoswki and Nick Greenbacker combined for one point, six rebounds, and six personal fouls in 28 minutes. Steve Glowiak bricked two more three-point attempts and committed two turnovers. The Pioneer with the most energy all game? That was SHU assistant coach Anthony Latina.

Shane Gibson has now had two awful games in a row, which hasn't happened since he was a sophomore. Corban Wroe, the defensive specialist for John Gallagher's Hartford squad, did a fantastic job keeping Gibson in front of him all night forcing a bevy of outside jumpers. Unfortunately for the Pioneers, most of his shots didn't go in.

Looking ahead, it doesn't get any easier for Gibson and his team. They travel to Long Island to take on Stony Brook, whose defense has already shutdown two MAAC schools in Rider and Marist. I'll be in attendance at that game, but I'm scared at what I'll possibly witness.

I'll also be on the Pioneers' radio halftime show for the game, so I encourage you to tune in, especially if Stony Brook is up big at the half. I'm one more 16 point halftime Pioneer deficit away from completely losing it on the air!

And who knows, maybe Coach Bike will banish me from asking him questions after the game about how listless his team was.

Until next time...

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

Sacred Heart Shocks Yale and I'm Nowhere Near the Event

Sometimes I feel like the worst fan in the world.

I vividly remember sitting in an airport this summer, awaiting our flight back to Baltimore, when I suddenly realized that a family Bar Mitzvah had been scheduled on the same day as this year's Connecticut 6 basketball event. Don't get me wrong, I was curious/excited to attend my first ever Bar Mitzvah, but at the expense of seeing the season openers of Quinnipiac, CCSU, and my Sacred Heart Pioneers? Damn...

Oh well, I thought. I probably won't miss much anyway. Quinnipiac should beat a young Hartford squad fairly easily. Fairfield - who had never lost in the CT6 event - should have no trouble with a young CCSU team that lost nearly 55% of their scoring from a season ago. And of course, Sacred Heart will have their way with a Yale team that was picked 6th in the Ivy League Preseason Coach's Poll.

I probably wouldn't miss much. Shalom!

So you could imagine my horror as I quickly checked my cell phone for the Yale/SHU score after the family event. I pulled up Twitter, quickly updated the timeline, and found this tweet at the top.

https://twitter.com/wspaxton/status/267411304724193282

Oh no. I didn't investigate why my Pioneers were down 16 at the half, and I quickly put away my phone. About 20 minutes later, I checked one more time while my wife and I were walking to dinner in Philly with our friends. Yale had extended their lead to 24 points with about 15 minutes left. What a disaster.

Honestly, I figured that was it. Usually, I'm a half-glass full guy, but when my wife stated it would take a miracle for the Pioneers come back from that deficit, I pretty much agreed with her. Which is also weird because I sometimes enjoy pushing her buttons by foolishly disagreeing with her.

Fast forward to 30 minutes later. I'm in a restaurant bathroom and my friend and fellow SHU alum Newsie sends me a text, simply asking me what the hell is wrong with SHU. Truthfully, I don't even remember my response, because I had a blurred moment sparked with anger, disappointment, and sadness. I'm pretty sure it wasn't a pro-Dave Bike message though. Or something that surely summarized my disappointment.

But really, it's time for me to wrap up this trivial story. Long story short, I quickly check my phone after dinner only to discover ... that the ... Pioneers ... actually WON?!?! I figured something was up, since there were several text and Twitter messages awaiting me on my phone. Absolutely amazing.

Turns out the Pioneers - after trailing 24 points early in the second half - mounted separate 11-0 and 14-0 runs to get the game close enough for Shane Gibson to perform his magic. Gibson had 29 points (on 11-21 shooting), and sunk a clutch basket late in regulation to force the game into overtime. You still think Gibson isn't a top 50 player in the mid-major ranks now, Mid-Major Madness?! HUH?? I CAN'T HEAR YOU?!

Louis Montes had a double/double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, but more importantly corralled a number of critical offensive misses in overtime. Justin Swidowski, who appeared healthy just from the box score, scored 17 points on only five shots in 23 minutes. Nice! The frontcourt of the future also chipped in, led by Tevin Falzon adding five points, five rebounds, and one blocked shot in 20 minutes of action. Steve Glowiak, who's role is that much more important with Chris Evans and Evan Kelley out of the lineup, grabbed four rebounds, stole the ball twice, and hit two critical free-throws late in overtime to help seal the improbable victory.

It really was a miraculous win and nice to see the Pioneers win a tight game, after struggling so mightily in that category last season! As I was catching up on Twitter, it was pretty awesome to see some of the SHU player tweets like these after the game.

https://mobile.twitter.com/TNICE34/status/267448270861762560?p=v

https://mobile.twitter.com/Mostafaa24/status/267453928583606272#tweet_267453928583606272

It's certainly moments like this that capture why I love the purity and competitive spirit of mid-major college basketball.

Looking ahead, the Pioneers head to New Jersey to take on Rutgers University this coming Monday night. A victory there would be one hell of an upset, not just because SHU is 0-16 career versus the Big East, but also because Mike Rice's Scarlet Knights will be angry too. This past Friday, St. Peter's shocked Rutgers by beating them 56-52 on their home floor. Perhaps it would be imperative for the SHU coaching staff to aim for next Friday as a possible return date for Kelley and Evans, although I'm currently in the dark regarding their injury status.

After the Rutgers game, I'll be attending the next three Pioneer games live - at Hartford (Friday, 11/16 at 7 pm), at Stony Brook (Sunday, 11/18 at 2 pm), and home versus Lehigh (Sunday, 11/25 at 2 pm). After a performance like last night, I absolutely can't wait to get my first look at the 2012-13 Pioneers.

The season is underway and I'm already giddy, even though I haven't seen or heard one minute of the SHU/Yale game yet.

Hopefully next season, it's CT6 or bust. Until next time...

Ryan Peters covers Sacred Heart men's basketball and the Northeast Conference 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