The previous year’s Men’s Basketball team compiled the most wins (24) since the 2010-11 season and came one game short of qualifying for March Madness. Coming off such a successful season would expectedly garner excitement, yet some fans may have doubts considering the overhaul of last year’s roster. This year, the Stags are without key contributors Caleb Fields ‘24 and Jalen Leach ‘24, yet eight new scholarship players have been added. Even Head Coach Chris Casey admits that “we probably lost 95% of our scoring,” but he was quick to add that this year’s team is extremely hardworking and has lots of talent.
Although the roster of the basketball team may be different, their playing style and energy are largely the same. Coach Casey stated that his staff recruits players who have the ability to play in the fast-paced style that Fairfield capitalizes on. With such a young team, chemistry may be a work in progress but it will surely develop throughout the schedule.
The season kicks off with a tough away game on Nov. 4 against the University of Rhode Island (URI). URI is coming off a disappointing 2023-24 campaign, yet playing any team from the Atlantic 10 is a challenge. Coach Casey certainly respects the larger mid-major, but he says preparing for the matchup will be no different than playing an in-conference opponent. He cited Derek Jeter when the Yankees legend once said, “If you have the same approach to a spring training game as you do for a World Series game… Nothing changes.” Each opponent should be treated similarly since consistency and hard work are the intangibles that lead to success.
No challenge is insurmountable for this Fairfield team and they will attack the Rams of Rhode Island just as they will any other MAAC team.
The second game of the season is at Georgetown on Nov. 9. Similar to Rhode Island, the Hoyas have struggled in recent years but with such a storied history in basketball, traveling down to D.C. will definitely be an experience for the Stags. Casey was reluctant to talk about the second game of the season as his prevailing motto is “Day to Day”, not worrying about the future and working as hard as possible in the present. However, he also admitted the matchup will be particularly special as Georgetown is a fellow Jesuit Institution and has a tremendous basketball history. Nevertheless, Casey assures fans that his team will remain focused on the task at hand rather than being caught up in the hallowed ground of a basketball superpower.
Regardless of the outcome of the first few games, the common denominator throughout this season’s ups and downs will be the team’s relentless desire to improve. “Taking things day to day and stacking good ones up” as Coach Casey says.
The opening home game is on Friday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. in Mahoney Arena against the Bloodhounds of John Jay College. The University has also made it known that they have sold the most season tickets in Fairfield basketball history which indicates that the community is rallying behind this program and demand for seats may overwhelm the supply. With numerous sellouts in 2023, students should be ready to claim their tickets as soon as they are available. Casey’s final message to the Fairfield community is a call to action.
“We need to get everybody out, every game, and make every game a sell-out, and make it the hardest place to play in the conference.”
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