After a disappointing finish last year with a 9-19 record overall (7-11 MAAC), new faces were brought into the Fairfield men’s Basketball program to turn things around.
A host of uncertainties surround the program with a new head coach, the loss of the top scorers from last year and five new freshmen. Despite these uncertainties, hope abounds.
The new head coach, Ed Cooley, was hired in April after a nine-year stint as an assistant coach at Boston College. Although Cooley has never held a head coaching position before, he is well qualified for the job, having spent the past 10 seasons as an assistant to Al Skinner; a year at University Rhode Island and nine at Boston College.
Senior guard Michael Van Schaick noted that Cooley is very defensive-minded, which is not a big change from last year. “I will say this about coach Cooley though, he is very well-thought-out and explains things very well,” he said.
Fellow senior guard Danny Oglesby also remarked on the coaching change. “Whenever there is a coaching change there will almost always be a different approach and I think coach is just being himself, trying to make sure that we are getting better, but having fun too and being disciplined,” he said.
Cooley’s non-conference schedule is not doing him any favors his first season either. The opening games include Holy Cross, Saint Joseph’s, UConn, Central Arkansas, Georgetown, Loyola Chicago and Boston College. Last year these teams were a combined 157-69.
Cooley commented, “Not even a pro schedule is this rough.” After playing 13 games in the opening month, any team would get worn out, but add in the fact that these are some of the top teams in the country, and the Stags may struggle at times. “It is the coaching staff’s job to make sure we keep the kids positive,” Cooley said. With the staff and the school behind them, this schedule should leave the team well prepared for the MAAC competition it will face in the later part of the year.
Even if the Stags are unable to post a winning record in the beginning, they will be in a good position for a post-season tournament invite if they are able to play well in the MAAC.
Their main challenge will come from Marist, the unanimous pick to win the MAAC in the preseason Coach’s Poll (Fairfield was voted ninth). The Red Foxes feature senior point guard Jared Jordan, recently rated by Sports Illustrated as the 10th best college basketball senior in the country.
Hopefully, after their opening games the tough MAAC will seem a little bit easier in comparison.
Along with a new coaching staff the Stags have lost their top two scorers, Terrence Todd and Dewitt Maxwell, leaving a void of 28.4 points per game from last year. Some new players are going to have to step up their game this year to fill the gap.
Cooley himself is still unsure who will rise to the occasion. “Even this week, I’m not going to know,” he said.
He is more concerned with players finding their roles and playing well. The rest will work itself out.
Five freshmen were brought in to give the team some frontcourt help and some depth as well. All of the newcomers are 6-7 or taller and play forward except for guard Devin Johnson, who measures in at 6-4. With only three non-freshman frontcourt players eligible to play (sophomore Michael Evanovich must sit out the season after transferring from Iowa State), these rookies should expect to play a large role in the team’s successes or failures.
“The freshmen will all contribute. They’re still learning, but really talented,” Van Schaick said.
Oglesby was optimistic about the influence of adding so many frontcourt players to the team. “I think that one of our major weaknesses from last year was our size and now that we have more bigs than guards we can do different things on the court. I think our big guys will step up a lot this year,” he said.
Despite their losses the Stags do have some key players returning as well.
Van Schaick, the third leading scorer from last year’s team at 8.8 ppg, is back along with two fellow seniors, forward Marty O’Sullivan and Oglesby. O’Sullivan missed significant time last year due to an ankle injury and only played in two games. However, in those two games he showed the ability to score and rebound, a critical role on a team with a youthful frontcourt.
Oglesby was a key player off the bench last year averaging 6.3 p.p.g. in only 15.4 minutes, providing a huge boost. He should get increased playing time this year and look for his numbers to rise.
Two more players who should expect to see their roles increase this year are Herbie Allen and Jonathon Han, both sophomore guards. They both received significant time as freshman last year. Han handled the ball impressively with an 83-56 assist-to-turnover ratio and Allen showed off his deadly shot, making 43.6 percent of his shots from downtown and earning a spot on the MAAC all-rookie team.
Overall, this year’s team should survive its early schedule and return tougher and ready to face teams in the MAAC. Despite being inexperienced in the frontcourt the mix of returning and new players has the possibility of coming together and forming a very competitive team.
Oglesby summed up his senior year by saying, “I mean the only goal I have is to play in the tournament and I know that as long as we get better every game we have a chance to do that.”
If Cooley can get the returning players to step up their game and the freshmen to contribute right away, this team should fulfill Oglesby’s hope.
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