After an incredible start to its season, the men’s basketball team has begun to lose more than just games recently.
The Stags, who have lost three out of their last five games, announced last Saturday the immediate resignation of assistant coach and former NBA player Roshown McLeod.
McLeod plans to return to his former home in Atlanta in an attempt to save his marriage after his wife of less than a year was unable to find employment in the Fairfield area.
“It’s definitely a loss to the program, but we’re not going to let it affect us at all,” forward Nick Delfico ’03 said. “He has great experience of basketball. He’s seen it all. He gave us great advice how to play certain guys and how to defend against certain teams.”
Volunteer assistant coach Tim Ryan ’02 will move up to the paid position left by McLeod.
Tonight Fairfield travels to Manhattan and looks to break-out of the current slump that has seen the team drop two games behind the first-place Jaspers.
“We just got distracted at home, thought our record was going to speak for itself … coming in 8-1 and thinking everybody would lie down for us,” forward Dewitt Maxwell ’06 said after Sunday’s loss to Niagara. “It turned into pretty much a wake-up call. We want to [beat] Manhattan and let the rest of the league know we’re back.”
The Stags will need to do a better job defensively against Manhattan’s stand-out guard Luis Flores who torched Fairfield for 44 points in Manhattan’s 93-86 win in the teams’ first encounter Jan. 23 at the Arena at Harbor Yard.
“We definitely need to contain Flores. He can’t score 44 or anything remotely close to that,” Delfico said. “We also need to win the rebounding war and control the tempo of the game.”
Controlling the boards and the tempo of the game has been something the Stags have lacked the majority of the team’s recent five-game home stand.
“I don’t think we’re struggling. We’re just making mental mistakes by not properly executing offensively and defensively,” Delfico said. “We need to step up our mental approach.”
In the Stags most recent setback, an 85-74 loss to Niagara Sunday, Fairfield shot a dismal 53.3 percent from the free-throw line while also getting beaten up under the basket.
“I’m very disappointed. Very disappointed,” head coach Tim O’Toole said after Sunday’s game. “We got punched on the offensive glass in the second half. Punched.”
Maxwell referred to Fairfield’s play on Sunday as “soft” as the Stags were noticeably outplayed and lacked the desire Niagara had to win the game, according to O’Toole.
“It’s about work,” O’Toole said. “Everyone needs to work, and I don’t think everyone’s doing that.”
The Stags finish off their home schedule this weekend against Marist on Saturday and Rider on Monday before playing their final three games on the road.
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