Connecticut, Georgetown, Providence, and Boston College. Four games. Four top Division 1 powerhouses.
Hired in April of 2005, men’s head coach Ed Cooley immediately began working toward recruiting a top notch class of students and creating as impressive a schedule as one can build.
Cooley hopes to make a big impression in his inaugural campaign as the Fairfield basketball coach.
However, before the former Boston College assistant even steps onto the Alumni Hall floor, you can bet he has already been working hard at improving the team.
Fairfield is a smaller Division 1 school with a new coach, 13 players learning new systems and is coming off a losing season.
So why pack the schedule with teams that get more national coverage than most NBA teams? Well, according to Cooley, “I’m hoping our community sticks with our team through this transition. At the end you’ll want to be apart of this little red wagon that is going to be a big red wagon.”
Three of the four teams, namely UConn, Georgetown, and Boston College, open the season ranked in the National top 25, while Providence was picked to finish tenth in the always difficult Big East, over five other talented teams.
Georgetown is a possible National Championship team and begins the season ranked eighth in the country. The Hoyas were picked to finish second in the Big East this season.
The team is coached by John Thompson III, the son of one of the most successful coaches in basketball history, and is led by two of the top players in the country, small forward Jeff Green and center Roy Hibbert.
Hibbert, who is 7-foot-2, averaged 11.6 points per game last season, along with grabbing 6.9 rebounds per game. Hibbert has the ability to score 20 points and record ten rebounds a game. He is an excellent defensive player, who uses his size to block shots and shut down opposing centers.
With a solid year this season, Hibbert could be a first round NBA draft pick. The 6-foot-8 Green averaged 11.9 points per game, using his combination of strength and shooting ability to score points. He has the talent to take over any game. It will be tough for the Stags to handle the size of the Hoyas. The Hoyas should be the best team that Fairfield plays all season.
Boston College, the team that Cooley coached last season, is ranked 15th in the country. BC returns two of it top players Jared Dudley and Sean Marshall, but loses of the best players in school history, Craig Smith, who averaged 17.6 points per game last season.
Dudley averaged 16.7 points, while Marshall averaged 11.1. BC also features one of the top freshmen in the country, Shamari Spears, whom Cooley helped recruit.
UConn lost its top six scorers from last season, but features one of the best freshmen classes in the nation and has many younger players who are ready to step up and replace the lost players.
The Huskies are a young team and may be vulnerable to and upset, but are also very talented and should quickly come together to form one of the top teams in the country.
Still, with the old MAAC rivals Manhatten, Canisius and the rest of the conference, the Stags will be looking to take what they learn against the exclusive teams early in the season to build on it and take down their MAAC foes.
Senior Marty O’Sullivan understands the value of the games.
“We’re looking at them as gearing up for the league and playing top competition like that is only going to make us better,” he said.
For the players, especially the young ones, the big games will be dreams come true. Playing on the hardwood of the Hartford Civic Center in front of the raucous fans, arriving in Beantown to face Al Skinner’s Eagles in Chapel Hill and invading the Friars in Providence are three nights that are bound to be memorable for the Stags, at the very least.
“I like playing [top teams]. For the people that have been here, it shouldn’t be a big deal,” said senior guard Danny Oglesby.
The freshmen are bound to be geared up for the contests. “Once they get on the floor, they’ll just play,” Oglseby said of the younger kids.
However, many Stags in the Stands are left asking the question “Can Fairfield actually compete with teams such as UConn, Providence or Boston College?”
Cooley certainly hopes so, but has the same approach for every game, saying “You have to be realistic of who you’re playing, where you’re playing. I’m trying to win against every team we play. I think every win is going to get everyone excited about a young team.”
Fairfield Athletic Director Eugene Doris sees both sides of the big games.
“The benefits of such an elite schedule are fan interest, recruiting, player desire to prove they can play with the best. The drawbacks are obviously the definite possibility of having a losing record in non-conference competition. You never want the confidence of the team to be affected,” he said.
One game you can bet Cooley is looking forward to is the Dec. 6 game when the team travels to Boston to face the team he heavily recruited and was an assistant coach for the past 10 years with.
Cooley said during a recent interview on WVOF’s Mike “The Sports Edge” that he would have liked to have scheduled the game later in the year, but is nonetheless looking forward to his homecoming of sorts.
Cooley, homecoming and all, will have one goal, to win. At Monday night’s Meet and Greet at The Levee, Cooley told the fans “you guys are going to help us no matter where we play.”
If the Stags do pull off an upset in any of the games, Stags in the Stands leader Marco Ambrosio feels it would be huge for the school.
“It will be amazing, that’s where we want to be, the big show. That’s where we are trying to get to. The buzz on and off campus would be amazing,” he said.
The chance of a Stag upset and national coverage, no matter what the size, is very intriguing to think about. A win can put the team on the national radar.
A win could potentially get the team closer to an at large bid into the NCAA Tournament.
“It would prove we have arrived and gives the program a solid foundation. Recruits would pay attention,” Doris said.
With such a tough docket though, Cooley admits that there will be some bumps in the road. He asks that everyone bear with the team.
“I’m hoping our community sticks with our team through this transition. You have to generate excitement with your product on the floor,” he said.
So, whether it is a win or loss, a blowout or nail-biter, the benefits of playing such high caliber teams will shine greatly on the Stags’ hoops program. The team will grow both as basketball players and as a unit. The Stags’ fans will be watching patiently, and with just a little luck Fairfield will pull off the improbable.
Leave a Reply