He yelled. He screamed. He jumped up and down.
Typically, that really isn’t the sort of public display you’d like to see from your freshman point guard, whom a few hours earlier head coach Ed Cooley depicted as one of the team’s “two main cogs,” only a few hours from the biggest game of his blossoming collegiate career.
But don’t be quick to judge Derek Needham’s outward emotion. In fact, Cooley encouraged it, and the players even howled with laughter at the entire scene.
The yells, the screams, and the jumps came when Needham decided to don Cooley’s Nike warm-up jacket and impersonate the coach’s on-the-court mannerisms, an impression that the freshman debuted at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) award ceremony this past Thursday and has perfected over the past few days.
“Man, that was funny,” Cooley said. “He’s a great kid, isn’t he? I hope he hits a few shots today so I don’t have to breakout the jumping jack routine.”
The ‘Saturday Night Live’-esque moment came midway through the team’s afternoon walk-through in preparation for the team’s Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championship Game this evening against the Saints at the Times-Union Center, the team’s first appearance in the conference championship game since 20003.
Say this about the Stags: they’re as relaxed and composed as can be.
Judging by Needham’s skit, it’s safe to say that, if you’re expecting a team to quiver with the prospect of playing Siena in its backyard tonight, or cower away from the two-time defending champions, then you’ve got the wrong team.
“It was nice playing at Maryland and they had 20,000,” Needham said. “They’ll have 10,000 tonight, but we’ll be fine.”
Needham also had some choice words when asked if he felt the Stags needed to “pitch a perfect game,” as Cooley alluded to at the last night’s post-game press conference following the team’s 69-63 win over Niagara.
“We do, definitely,” Needham said. “But the other team has to play a perfect game, too.”
Cooley echoed a similar sentiment.
“There are two sides to the floor,” Cooley said. “They’ve got defend just like we have to defend. I really think tonight comes down to whoever rebounds.”
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