This past weekend, Sacred Heart freshman Tevin Falzon stepped on the court for the first time as a collegiate athlete, when his Pioneers battled in-state rival Yale in their season opener. In what turned out to be a scintillating comeback victory for the Pioneers, Falzon chipped in with five points, five rebounds, and a blocked shot in 20 minutes. Two nights later, Falzon was Sacred Heart's lone bright spot, as he scored ten points in a blowout loss to Rutgers University. It has been a nice start to what many are hoping will be a very productive career.
Speak with the freshman and you’ll come away impressed. You’ll sense someone with a maturity beyond his young age, who speaks with humility and respect. Falzon seems genuinely grateful for having the opportunity to play at Sacred Heart.
Combining Falzon’s maturity and undeniable talent, it probably came as no surprise that the baby faced 6’7” forward is playing at the Division I level. The path to Sacred Heart, however, was far from smooth journey for him.
Ever since he suited up for Newton North High, the buzz appeared to always surround Falzon. Here was a 6’3” freshman with size 16 shoes who was uniquely versatile, had a soft touch around the basket, and skills on the perimeter that seemed to come naturally on a basketball court.
Yet despite the talent, there were always bumps in the road that impeded his progress. After beginning his freshman season on the varsity team (a nice accomplishment for a high school rookie), Falzon was bumped down to junior varsity. Heading into his sophomore year, he suffered a concussion playing football in the fall, which forced him to miss the first couple of weeks of the basketball season. He would wisely never play football again.
Then, Falzon was primed for a breakout campaign his junior season. All the hype and excitement, however, failed to live up to his expectations. He didn't start much of the time, and consequently, struggled to make a consistent impact. In spite of the inconsistency, college coaches took notice and raved about the teenager's skill-set and potential. But with the attention came unwanted criticism. Comments containing the phrases "inconsistent motor" and "suspect conditioning" were published in Falzon’s scouting reports. When asked about it, Falzon doesn’t shy away from the negative publicity he received as a high school teenager.
"They were definitely fair criticisms," said Falzon. "That was kind of my problem throughout my high school career, that I was inconsistent. Sometimes I'd look like a superstar, sometimes I'd be nonexistent. That was something I tried to work on and got better at throughout my high school career."
Part of the problem, as it turns out, was also between the ears. Reflecting back, Falzon fully acknowledges that his mental focus lacked a bit when the going got tough at the high school level.
"I wasn't in the best shape which held me back a little bit,” admitted Falzon. “And then, mentally I wasn't always the toughest kid. Little things bothered me sometimes and that kind of affected the way I played.”
Even after undergoing three mildly disappointing seasons at Newton North, Falzon still received plenty of interest from college programs in the New England area. Quinnipiac, Hartford, New Hampshire, and Central Connecticut were just some of the schools that kept an eye on the versatile forward. The Division I dream appeared live and well, and slowly but surely Falzon started to take control of his destiny. His conditioning and focus began to improve. Soon after, scouts became cognizant of Falzon’s newfound athleticism and explosion. Things were surely heading in the right direction. It was going to be a monster senior season, or so he thought.
But then, the biggest road block to his basketball career got in the way. During an AAU game in the summer before his senior season, he awkwardly landed on his wrist after being fouled on a layup. Originally diagnosed as a sprain, Falzon had a feeling his injury was far more serious.
“It was kind of ridiculous because I went to the emergency room that night, and they told me it was a sprain," explained Falzon. After two weeks with virtually no improvement, he went to see a hand specialist who told him he would need surgery. "I couldn't believe it."
All told, Falzon missed about three months of his senior season because of a dislocated wrist. It was obviously heart wrenching, and especially frustrating when Falzon was reduced to a spectator when Newton North hosted St. Anthony High, which at the time was the number one ranked high school basketball program in the country.
Falzon eventually came back in time to help North Newton reach the playoffs, and as an added bonus, got to play alongside his equally talented younger brother Aaron. But the Division I schools that had showed interest before the injury were now long gone. He had to start from scratch.
To Falzon’s credit, he continued to work hard on his game and his body. He enrolled at Winchendon School to play a prep season and refine his game, and earn that Division I scholarship he so greatly wanted.
Before anyone had a chance to see him at prep school though, Falzon caught the attention of Sacred Heart assistant coach Johnny Kidd at an AAU tournament in Springfield, MA. The veteran coach was impressed right from the start.
"I thought [Falzon] had tremendous upside - he was obviously plenty skilled,” said Kidd. “I think the problem people had with him was they thought he wasn't in game shape. I just saw through that and believed [we could get him in shape]. I just saw he had a feel for the game, he had a good left and right hand, he drives, he can score from either inside or outside. He just has a lot of tools."
Kidd’s glowing praise eventually made its way back to head coach Dave Bike, and shortly after Sacred Heart became the first Division I school to offer Falzon a scholarship. Rather than waiting it out, Falzon honored Coach Kidd’s trust and belief with a verbal commitment before he began his prep season at Winchendon. Falzon was very appreciative of the confidence the Sacred Heart coaching staff had in him.
"I know they really wanted me and believed in me,” said Falzon. “I'm a loyal person and when they believed in me, I'd rather go there, then somewhere else."
With the season now underway, Falzon continues to progress nicely in the eyes of the coaching staff. Sacred Heart’s power forward of the future has continued to put in the hard work necessary to become an impact freshman in the Northeast Conference.
Kidd gives Falzon a lot of credit. “He was up here for six weeks in the summer and it was obvious that his body was not in great condition, so I talked to him about nutrition and his conditioning, what he had to do between the end of the summer and the fall to get himself into good shape.”
Thus far the hard work has paid off. Falzon has improved his nutrition and is working hard in the weight room, so much so that he’s down to a playing weight of 215 pounds, which is about 15 pounds lighter from the summer. "I give the kid a lot of credit. It was so obvious when he came back,” said Kidd.
With his conditioning improving, the multi-skilled Falzon has his sights set on making the All-NEC rookie team at season's end. It won't be easy given the crop of talented freshmen coming into the conference, but there's no denying Falzon's potential and talent. As a stretch forward with legitimate three-point range, his skills fit in well with Sacred Heart’s perimeter oriented offense.
For Falzon, it's been an somewhat arduous path to the next level, but the freshman endured and he's thankful for the opportunity to play at Sacred Heart.
"It all worked out well in the end. I guess everything happens for a reason."
Ryan Peters covers Sacred Heart men's basketball for Pioneer Pride and Big Apple Buckets. You can follow Ryan on Twitter @pioneer_pride
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Sunday, November 11, 2012
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
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
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
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
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
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