Robert Morris is Focused on a Conference Title in November
PHILADELPHIA – Mike Rice is a realist. He knows that the Northeast Conference simply doesn’t produce at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament. So when talking about what his team is trying to do in their non-conference schedule, it all leads to one thing: a Northeast Conference championship.
That is the focus for the first-year head coach and his team, who leave Philadelphia with a 1-1 mark after they took third place in the Liberty bracket by cruising to a 72-53 victory over Howard. His reflections on Saturday’s game demonstrate that focus.
“These days are days where you now build and get better,” said Rice, a Pittsburgh native. “You’re not going to have an at-large team in the NEC, so every time you play a non-conference opponent, they’ll do different things, they’ll have different looks. I told them, this is another step in winning a conference championship.”
They haven’t played any NEC games yet, but the Colonials will play their NEC opener in less than two weeks. Aside from that, however, Rice recognizes the goal for this team, one that has the talent and experience to contend in the NEC. He knows that the path to the NCAA Tournament is through the conference.
Rice was across town last season as an assistant at Pittsburgh, so he knows the landscape. He knows that last season, the Colonials went 8-1 in non-conference play and appeared to validate projections by many that they were among the favorites in the Northeast Conference, before a so-so conference showing changed that. They went 9-9 and lost to Mt. St. Mary’s in the quarterfinals of the Northeast Conference Tournament.
It’s possible that he also takes a cue from what happened at Wagner two years ago. That year, the Seahawks impressed in non-conference play with a 7-2 mark that included a win at Rhode Island and a close loss at UCLA. But they fall apart in NEC play with a 6-12 mark that left them out of the conference tournament.
“If you’re going to be a great defensive team, you can’t have Tony Lee, Jeremy Chappell, A.J. Jackson playing over 30 minutes,” said Rice, who added that he feels his team isn’t there yet on the defensive end. “Then you get last year’s results, which was an 8-1 non-conference season. They just wore down, and they took defensive possessions off in the NEC.”
A good non-conference showing doesn’t necessarily mean a team will wear down, but Rice is cautious of that and is trying to build depth with his team. To that end, the Colonials currently have eight players who average at least 11 minutes per game. Only Chappell, a junior guard, averages over 30 minutes per game, checking in at 31.2.
Rice mentioned three players that are a big reason the Colonials can contend in the NEC. Chappell is the leading scorer and also averages over four steals per game. Jackson will put up his share of double-doubles, as will Lee, a senior who plays bigger than his size. The Colonials appear to have the personnel to go deep as Rice wants to, with players like 6’8″ sophomore Dallas Green and 6’4″ sophomore guard Mezie Nwigwe off the bench. Freshman Gary Wallace is also getting minutes, and it doesn’t hurt that he comes from a winning program as he played at Seton Hall Prep in New Jersey.
Any competitive athlete wants to play every minute, but it’s not always practical. Rice understands that and knows it’s part of his challenge in trying to manage the team for the bigger goal.
“I’m trying to build depth, and sometimes it’s frustrating,” said Rice. “It’s hard to take out Jeremy Chappell and Tony Lee, they’re tremendous offensive players, but you’ve got to do it defensively.”
As the Colonials continue to build depth while trying to win games, the focus is clear. For Rice and his team, everything is supposed to lead to a Northeast Conference championship, even while not playing conference opponents.
