Northeast Conference Notebook
The Professional Travels of NEC Veterans
The Northeast Conference may be small in the land of the Big East, but it has plenty of professional talent. In April, U.S. Basketball League teams drafted three NEC player, Quinnipiac’s Rashaun Banjo, Central Connecticut’s Ron Robinson and Wagner’s Nygel Wyatte. Although none of the trio signed, Banjo went on to sign a professional contract in Luxembourg while Robinson inked a deal in Belgium.
This group is not the first wave of NEC players to go pro. Corsley Edwards, of Central Connecticut State fame, was drafted in the second round of the NBA Draft in 2002 by the Sacramento Kings. Edwards never suited up for the “Queens,” as center Shaquille O’Neal, a former Los Angeles Laker and Sacramento’s nemesis, used to refer to the Kings. But Edwards did play for the Orlando Magic in the 2004 pre-season. After the Magic cut him, the former Blue Devil went to the Continental Basketball Association for four games and averaged 20.8 points per game and 11.8 rebounds per game.
So what, you ask? Well, Edwards returned the NBA this month to play for the New Orleans Hornets. He played his first NBA game Dec. 4 in a 92-69 loss to the Detroit Pistons. He tallied five points and four rebounds in 19 minutes. Edwards has played in six games this season, averaging 1.3 points per game and 1.3 rebounds per game.
NEC Standings Are a Disaster Area
Talk about being flipped upside down. You would think a tornado ripped through the NEC standings the way teams are turned around. It is the second straight season that the pre-season No. 1 has struggled in the non-conference portion of their schedule. This season, Monmouth is suffering the same fate that Quinnipiac did a year ago. The Bobcats finished 9-20 (5-13 NEC), and the Hawks appear to be following in the ‘Cats paw prints, starting 1-6 before NEC play.
Long Island University, picked to finish dead last in the NEC after occupying the conference basement in 2003-04 are currently tied for first with a 4-3 (1-0 NEC) mark. Led by a talented core of sophomores the Black Birds look as though they will improve greatly on their last place finish from a year ago.
Another big surprise in the NEC is underachieving Quinnipiac. Coming off a disappointing campaign last season, the Bobcats came out of the gates hot at 4-2, including an 88-85 win in the NEC opener at Robert Morris. Since then, the Bobcats have lost two consecutive non-conference games at Drexel and Northern Arizona, dropping them to 4-4 (1-0 NEC). But they are still tied for first after being picked to finish No. 8 in the pre-season coaches’ poll.
Biggest Surprise
Long Island: 4-3 (1-0 NEC)
Key wins: vs. Leigh 66-56, at Wagner 93-73
Biggest Disappointment
Monmouth Hawks: 1-6 (0-0 NEC)
Key losses: at Villanova 70-50, at Seton Hall 70-50
At the Quarter Season Mark, the Winners Are…
Player of the Year: Rob Monroe, Guard, Quinnipiac
Monroe is coming off a season-ending foot injury in 2003-04. All he has done is score 19.8 points per game, which is second in the NEC, and dish out 7.5 assists per game, best in the conference. He also has a 2.22 assist/turnover ratio, averages 2.88 three pointers per game and leads the team in free throw attempts, steals and minutes per game.
Honorable Mentions: Darshan Luckey, St. Francis, Pa.; Landy Thompson, Mount St. Mary’s
Coach of the Year: Joe DeSantis, Quinnipiac
DeSantis’ team is tied for first in the NEC after being picked to finish No. 8 according to pre-season projections. The team is 4-4 (1-0 NEC) after losing two of the most decorated players in school history, Banjo and Kason Mims. DeSantis starts one junior transfer and has seven first-year Division I players on the roster.
Honorable Mentions: Jim Ferry, Long Island; Bobby Jones, St. Francis, Pa.
Rookie of the Year: Kevin Jolley, Quinnipiac
A junior transfer, Jolley averages 9.2 points per game, 7.6 rebounds per game, which leads the team and is good for second in the conference. He has started all eight games, playing 27.3 minutes per game.
Honorable Mentions: Mark Porter, Wagner; James Ulrich, Wagner
Defensive Player of the Year: Joseph Ison, Robert Morris
Ison leads Robert Morris in blocks and steals, averaging one swat per game and nearly two theft per game.
Honorable Mentions: Devon Neckles, St. Francis, N.Y.; Tony Cavalieri, St. Francis, N.Y.
Team Recaps
St. Francis, Pa., Red Flash (5-3, 1-0)
Leading Scorer: Darshan Luckey, 20.4 points per game
Last Game: Win vs. Slippery Rock, 70-44
The Red Flash are off to a strong start in 2004-05, winning five of their first eight games to share the lead atop the NEC standings. St. Francis won its NEC opener Dec. 4 at home against Central Connecticut State, 84-81 in overtime. The Flash have played the toughest non-conference schedule by far, as they have traveled to No. 13 Pittsburgh and hosted surprising No. 21 George Washington.
Darshan Luckey is a favorite to win NEC Player of the Year as he is once again enjoying a fine campaign. He is averaging a team high 20.4 points per game and is No. 4 in the NEC in steals with 1.6 steals per game.
Long Island Blackbirds (4-3, 1-0)
Leading Scorer: James Williams, 14.7 points per game
Last Game: Win vs. Old Westbury, 70-60
The Blackbirds are exceeding expectations so far in 2004-05. Despite the impressive early season record, Long Island only has one player, sophomore James Williams (14.7 points per game) averaging double figures in scoring. Williams has scored more than 20 points twice, including a team season-high 27 points in the conference opener, which they won at a struggling Wagner team Dec. 4, 93-73. The Blackbirds are 2-0 on the Island, including the season opener, a 66-56 win vs. Lehigh.
Long Island still has to travel to Tempe, Ariz., for the Arizona State Hoops Classic Dec. 28-29 where they will face Arizona State and either Penn State or Valparaiso. NEC play resumes once the calendar flips to 2005, when the Blackbirds travel to Loretto, Pa., to play St. Francis, Pa.
Quinnipiac Bobcats (4-4, 1-0)
Leading Scorer: Rob Monroe, 19.8 points per game
Last Game: Loss at Northern Arizona, 102-87
The new look Bobcats are turning heads in 2004-05 with their up-tempo style and fresh-faced roster. Quinnipiac sports seven new players on the team’s roster this season, and junior transfer Kevin Jolley has become a team leader. Along with senior player of the year candidate Rob Monroe and junior sharpshooter Craig Benson, Jolley and the Bobcats have people excited once again in Hamden, Conn. After starting the season 4-2 with a buzzer-beating 88-85 win against Robert Morris, the ‘Cats have been knocked off twice in a row by non-conference foes Drexel and Northern Arizona.
The ‘Cats go to down I-91 to play in-state foe Connecticut Dec. 30 and then hit the meat of their NEC schedule with four of their first five games at home.
Fairleigh Dickinson Knights (4-6, 1-0)
Leading Scorer: Gordon Klaiber, 16.7 points per game
Last Game: Loss vs. St. Peter’s, 94-91
Although the Knights sport a losing record, they are tied for first in the NEC thanks to their conference-opening victory against Wagner, 82-75. The Knights have had some tough breaks on the road, losing to Buffalo, 87-84 in overtime and falling to two PAC-10 opponents California, 80-66, and Arizona State, 89-81. The Knights are only 1-1 at home because a majority of their games have been on the road or at neutral sites. Their lone home win came Nov. 28 against Dominican, 78-45.
The NEC schedule will either make or break the Knights as they play four consecutive games away in February before ending the season with three straight at home against Central Connecticut State, Quinnipiac and Wagner.
Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers (3-5, 1-0)
Leading Scorer: Landy Thompson, 18.4 points per game
Last Game: Loss vs. Navy, 90-81
The Mount is in the same boat as Fairleigh Dickinson: not a great overall record, but still at the top of the hill because of an NEC win. The Mountaineers beat Sacred Heart 70-58 to get to 1-0 in conference play. Mount St. Mary’s played George Washington during the Colonials’ rise to the Top 25, falling to GW 81-58 in Washington, D.C. But 1-3 on the road is not going to cut it because the Mountaineers will play sets of three, two and two on the road during NEC play.
Landy Thompson (18.4 points per game) and Charles Cook (10.8 points per game) are the only Mountaineers averaging in double figures.
St. Francis N.Y., Terriers (2-4, 0-0)
Leading Scorer: Tony Cavalieri, 13.8 points per game
Last Game: Loss vs. Columbia, 65-57
The Terriers announced that their home floor will be dedicated to Peter Aquilone, a long-time friend of the college who passed away in September. The floor will be redesigned to honor Aquilone. The College also redesigned and launched a new athletic Web site, signs that officials at the St. Francis administration are starting to get serious about Terrier athletics. (You may visit the new site at this link.)
St. Francis has not played an NEC game but will enter conference play Jan. 6 at Robert Morris. The Terriers defeated a slumping St. John’s program 53-52 in Jamaica, N.Y., in November. Taking another shot at the Big East, the Terriers fell short in their attempt to knock off Seton Hall, losing 57-56.
Monmouth Hawks (1-6, 0-0)
Leading Scorer: Blake Hamilton, 15.6 points per game
Last Game: Loss vs. Princeton, 56-52
Talk about a total 180 degree turn. The Hawks, who appeared in the NCAA Tournament last year as the automatic bid from the NEC, were picked by the coaches and many publications to win the NEC in 2004-05. That has been anything but the truth. The Hawks are struggling as they prepare to enter conference play. To their credit, the Hawks have only lost two of their six games by four points and have only played two games at home.
A road schedule that includes games at San Diego State and Big East teams Seton Hall and Villanova does not inspire much hope for a victory, but it does provide invaluable experience.
Central Connecticut State Blue Devils (2-4, 0-1)
Leading Scorer: DeMario Anderson, 13.0 points per game
Last Game: Win at LaSalle, 60-48
The Blue Devils won their season opener, an 87-70 romp at home against Colgate. Since then, they have been racking up the losses like the letter ‘L’ is going out of style. They lost their next four games before finally snapping the skid on a trip to the City of Brotherly Love to play La Salle.
Robert Morris Colonials (2-6, 0-1)
Leading Scorer: Maurice Carter 15.1 points per game
Last Game: Loss vs. Eastern Kentucky, 79-69
Starting the season 1-0 is admirable, but the season does not end there. The Colonials seem to have forgotten that. After starting a perfect 1-0, Robert Morris proceeded to lose six of the next seven games, with the only win coming at home against Thiel (who?), 107-47.
The Colonials lost their NEC opener to Quinnipiac, 88-85, on their own floor. Like most NEC teams, Robert Morris is making the rounds against big conference teams such as Ohio State, Virginia and Pittsburgh early in the season.
Mo Carter is a bright spot for this struggling team, however, leading the team in scoring.
Sacred Heart Pioneers (1-6, 0-1)
Leading Scorer: Kibwe Trim, 12.1 points per game
Last Game: Loss at Columbia, 76-67
The Pioneers lost their NEC opener at Mount St. Mary’s 70-58 Dec. 4. Their first win came in the second contest of the season, a game against Army at West Point, N.Y., 67-52. Leading scorer Kibwe Trim has been the high man for Sacred Heart in four of their seven games. Mike Parker, is averaging 13.5 points per game, when he plays. But he has only played in two games so far in 2004-05.
Sacred Heart starts continues with NEC play Dec. 30 at Monmouth before taking on Harvard, the team’s last non-conference opponent of the season.
Wagner Seahawks (1-7, 0-2)
Leading Scorer: Sean Munson, 9.9 points per game
Last Game: Loss at Northern Iowa, 86-56
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Two years ago, Wagner was celebrating on their home floor as they captured the NEC crown and waltzed into the NCAA Tournament, where they eventually got hacked to pieces by Pittsburgh. And now this: Wagner is last in the NEC and their leading scorer averages a pedestrian 9.9 points per game.
The Seahawks’ lone win came at home, a 66-65 win against Albany. And if one basket rimmed out or Albany had hit one more shot, we would be talking about a 0-7 Seahawks team that should basically pack it in for the season. But this is the NEC, and there is no clear favorite at this point of the season.
