This past Friday, students, fans and athletes alike came together at Alumni Hall as both the men’s and women’s teams were introduced to the crowd.
While the turnout was less impressive than last year’s, the skills showed off by the athletes were even more advanced than the previous Red Sea Madness.
Between awe inspiring dunks from Marcus Gilbert ’16 and remarkable 3-point shooting by Lexy Vazquez ’14, the season looks to be in good hands for the Stags.
The event began with the introductions of the coaching staffs by Rob Vogel ‘13, with Joe Frager in charge of the women and Sydney Johnson at the helm for the men.
The athletes followed the coaches, each showing their individual personalities through their entries onto the court. Senior Derek Needham enthusiastically beat his chest, receiving raucous applause from the crowd.
Needham is one of three seniors on the men’s team, and one of only six returning players for the Stags. On the women’s side, there are eight returning players, with Laura Vetra, Brittany MacFarlane and Katelyn Linney returning as the seniors.
It is a heavily freshman-dominated team for the men, which is going to look to their seniors: Needham, Desmond Wade and Colin Nickerson for guidance – even though the freshman showed their prowess in the showcase.
Freshman Justin Jenkins impressed from the three-point line as he was matched up against Vazquez in a competition. Jenkins hit all five of his shots from straight on, as well as several others from the baseline.
However Vazquez proved victorious in the final matchup, hitting an amazing 12 out of 15 shots from outside the arc.
“Vazquez was incredible … the amount of shots she hit was just awesome. I can’t wait to see her do it at game time. It’s going to be great,” said Keith Chapman ’15.
But the show stealing moment belonged to Gilbert. When it was time for the dunk competition, everyone’s eyes were on Gilbert.
“I had heard he was a good dunker … I didn’t know he was that good, “Chapman said.
The dunks Gilbert pulled out had the crowd going insane, Needham bowing to him on hands and knees, and Coach Johnson pushing the fellow competitors off of the court so Gilbert could put on a clinic.
And what a clinic it was.
While the individual skills were readily on display, Red Sea Madness is also, and mostly, about celebrating the teams as a whole.
All of the seniors who were asked mentioned that their goals for the season were first and foremost to win a MAAC Championship. The goals for the team were more important than whatever individual goals they may have.
“I think the teams looked really together out there. When Jenkins and Vazquez were shooting in the competition, their teams were all fully behind them. I think that’s definitely going to be a key to their success,” said Chapman.
And while combined the two teams have eight freshmen, it was evident that the teams are a cohesive unit, with their only being a brief moment where Coach Frager singled out his freshmen and first year players.
The chemistry of both teams is going to be essential to reaching that first goal of a MAAC Championship. Both teams made it to the finals of the MAAC Championship, only to fall short in the final game.
The teams still have a little under a month to prepare, as the men play their first game on Nov. 2 against the University of Bridgeport and the women begin their season on Nov. 9 against Florida.
But for the time being, Stag fans will have to make do with the teaser for the season, because when November begins, so does the madness.
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