The Fairfield men’s basketball team faces the difficult task of replacing last year’s leading scorer, Terrance Todd, who graduated after a season in which he placed sixth on the Fairfield all-time scoring list with 1,530 career points.
Todd averaged 18.8 points last season and was named to the All-MAAC second team. The guard averaged 15.9 points in his junior season and 14.9 during his sophomore year, leading the team in points in both of those seasons.
Fairfield also lost Dewitt Maxwell, who was the team’s second highest scorer last season. The team is therefore missing a total of 28.4 points per game, which is a lot to replace.
With these two gone, the Stags will turn the existing group of players to step up and take over the role of leading scorers.
“Anytime you lose a four-year player who was a leading scorer three of those four years, it is hard to replace him,” said Head Coach Ed Cooley. “Roles will change and we will look for more aggressive shooting and more scoring from different guys.”
The Stags have a deep team, but no one player appears to be ready to become the go-to scorer. Senior captain Michael Van Schaick provides a threat from the outside and with his deadly three-point shots, he could become the team’s leading scorer.
Van Schaick is the team’s captain as well as the highest returning scorer from last season, averaging 8.8 points per game last season.
“It will be hard to replace a player like Terrance,” Van Schaick said. “We will have a lot of help from the freshman class, who can share the load with the upperclassmen. We will all have to step up and score.”
Danny Oglesby, also a senior guard, is a good shooter as well, but has been nursing a back injury. Oglesby was the high scorer, with seven points, in the Red-White scrimmage.
Ogelsby also believes that it will take a team effort to replace Todd’s scoring,
“Todd was a unique guy and it is always difficult to replace someone who scores as much as he did,” Ogelsby said. “I think that it will be a lot of people stepping up to score this season.”
Sophomore Jonathan Han has shown the ability to create from the point guard spot, driving to the basket and then either laying the ball in or dishing to a player on the outside.
Fellow sophomore point guard Herbie Allen is a similar player to Han, and is good at taking the ball to the hoop.
Both Allen and Han were named to the All-MAAC rookie team last season.
Allen has great speed, but, at times, appears out of control. He has good leaping ability and can take the ball hard to the hoop. He adds instant offense to the team when he enters the game, which was shown during the Bridgeport game when he quickly scored five points during the Stags’ 15-4 run.
Along with Van Schaick, Oglesby, Han and Allen, freshmen Anthony Johnson and Greg Nero have the ability to be the team’s leading scorers. However, they may need more time to develop into the roles of go-to players for Fairfield.
The Stags will also look for Marty O’Sullivan ’07 to return from an ankle injury that ended his season after two games last year. O’Sullivan is a strong player who can score and pass. He started well last season, scoring 16 points in his first two games, before falling victim to the injury.
Han led the Stags in scoring in the team’s exhibition game against Bridgeport with 13 points, 11 of which came in the second half to help the Stags pull away from the Purple Knights.
Han did not have many opportunities to take open shots, but used his quickness and ability to drive to the basket to score.
With about 10 minutes left in the second half, Han moved down to the corner of the court and then cut backdoor, receiving a pass and laying the ball in for two, exemplifying his good court sense.
“Terrance did a lot of scoring for us last season,” Han said. “However, this year we have a stronger team with much more depth, so we will not have to rely on one player like we did last season.”
Van Schaick is dangerous from long range, making 43 percent of his three point shots last season. During the game against Bridgeport, he opened up the game with a three point shot and finished with 11 points, tieing Anthony Johnson for second most on the team.
Van Schaick would hit two more three pointers in the second half to help the Stags expand their lead.
Van Schaick is a good shooter, but does not have the ability to get to the hoop that Han does.
Freshman Anthony Johnson seems to have the best chance of the freshmen to step up and become a key player on the team. Johnson’s athletic ability helped him score 11 points in the second half against Bridgeport.
Johnson relies on his power to put up points, scoring at least six of his 11 points off of offensive rebounds.
Fellow freshman Greg Nero also has the ability to be a leading scorer for the Stags. With his combination of inside and outside ability, he can score from many places on the court.
In the first half of the Bridgeport game, Nero scored 8 points. If he gets in a good match-up in the low post, he has the strength to get to the basket. His ability to hit threes makes him a versatile player who, if hot, can put a lot of points on the scoreboard for the Stags.
Nero delighted the crowd at the Red-White scrimmage in early October with his offensive ability, scoring six points and throwing down monstrous dunks during the warm-ups.
“The freshmen all bring energy and different skills to the game and they will do a good job helping us replace Todd’s scoring,” Han said.
The Stags may not have one player, who like Terrence Todd, will step up every night and lead the team in scoring, but they have many players who will be able to lead the team on different nights.
“We will have different guys leading scoring on different nights, my system is an equal opportunity one and there will be days when guys will be hot and days when they will not,” said Cooley.
In the end however, one of the five talented freshmen will be looked at to be the long-term replacements for Todd.
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