Peter Caty/The Mirror
Since Ed Cooley took over as Faifield’s head coach in 2006, he’s had to deal with more than his fair share of issues: brutal out-of-conference schedules, an inherited roster of underclassmen, the rise of Siena as one of the nation’s preeminent mid-major teams.
But when Cooley made a decision to bypass a stop at the team’s locker room and walk right onto the bus’ following the Stags 65-60 loss to Manhattan, he probably realized he never saw this coming.
First, came the injuries. For the first time in his tenure, the Stags have suffered countless broken bones and battered bodies, the product of a grueling opening month and an improved conference finally taking its toll.
Sophomore forward Warren Edney, who led the team in scoring in three of Fairfield’s first four games, suffered an Achilles’ injury in early December. With the exception of 15 hobbled minutes against Siena twelve days ago, Edney has missed six of the team’s last eight games.
In addition to Edney, Herbie Allen nearly fractured his wrist against Siena on Jan. 17. Fairfield lost the ensuing game against Rider. Forward Greg Nero has also battled countless back injuries throughout the course of the season.’ Even center Anthony ‘Peanut’ Johnson has been bit by the injury bug.
‘The whole situation is that injuries have really taken a toll on us,’ Cooley said.
Worse yet, the injuries have been magnified by the Stags’ recent slump. Back-to-back let down games against Siena and Rider, the conference’s top teams, were especially painful given strong fan turnouts and the games postseason implications.
Throw in a Manhattan loss and an alleged altercation between an assistant coach and a player, and suddenly you have a team in crisis.
‘There is too much negativity,’ Nero said. ‘It’s not us out there right now. We’ve got to find ourselves.’
In times like this, a coach is supposed to turn to his senior, his captain, his team’s leader.
After three years with the guy, you’d think that the two would be less like fearless leader and field general and more like confidant and friend.
Now, more than ever, Cooley needs Jon Han.
Regardless of the recent off-the-court issues, which Cooley said were largely blown out of proportion, Han is the answer. He is supposed to be the face of this team and this season. A preseason selection to the All-MAAC team, Han has garnered praise from competitors and peers alike for his passing ability and scoring touch.
Still, there is much to critique.
Han’s body language of late has been disappointing, looking more like a prized freshman recruit who suddenly realized that his supporting cast is subpar rather than a senior leader ready to claim ‘his time’ and rally a talented cast of teammates.
At certain instances in last Friday night’s at Alumni Hall, a game that saw Han start the game on the bench for the first time all season, the senior point guard’s face told the story.At times, he seemed aloof and indifferent, cold and annoyed.
‘When we’re in this kind of funk, our veterans have to play well and they haven’t been,’ said Cooley of the team’s recent efforts. ‘And we have as veteran group, but we’re just not answering the bell at all. It’s frustrating.’
Following a 20-point effort against Siena, Han struggled on the court as well. He scored five points in 34 minutes of play, then followed that effort by shooting 2-of-12, as well as 1-8 from three-point range, in the loss to Manhattan.
Cooley knows all too well the importance of a senior presence. Two years ago, Michael van Schaick went from riding the pine in Cooley’s first game behind the bench to a’ Fairfield cult hero. Last season,’ senior bench players Mamadou Diakhate and Marty O’Sullivan provided unexpected sparks in the team’s impromptu hot finish to the season.
‘There is something about seniors,’ Cooley has stated at many a post-game press conference, many of them after wins.
Injuries are a part of the game, as are losing streaks. But a year later, the last thing Cooley expected this season, in ‘Our Time,’ was a lack of senior leadership.
‘Leaders have to take control on the court, including myself,’ Nero said. ‘We really have to act like men.’
The season is far from over – Fairfield still boasts a record on the right side of .500 and has an important conference series against Niagara waiting in the wings. This much is clear, though: the real Jon Han is needed more than ever.
‘This can either kill us or make men out of us,’ Nero said of the team’s slump.
For the Stags’ sake, let’s hope it is not the former.
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