Extreme week for growing Bears
by Sam Perkins
“We know this is going to be a growing process for a long time,” Maine head Coach Ted Woodward reflected following his team’s matchup against Providence College.
The Black Bears learned quite a lot about themselves in a week versus two very different opponents. They faced a very good team in Providence College to open the week, and closed the week out versus a very bad team in New Jersey Institute of Technology, a team in just its second season of Division I.
In going along with Woodward’s analogy, the Black Bears struggled through some severe growing pains in their 30-point beat down at the hands of the Friars. As bad as Maine’s 78-48 loss to Providence was, they put up an equally impressive whooping of their own later in the week against NJIT, as the Bears bounced back to record a 86-58 win. While Maine’s two opponents during the week represent both ends of the extreme in college basketball, and neither will serve as much of a measuring stick for how the Bears stack up against their conference foes, many positives and negatives, can still be taken away from both games.
It was widely expected that Maine would be blown out by the Friars, as Providence is not only a Big East team, but a good Big East team who plays a “Big East” game, as they are big, physical and athletic. By itself, Maine’s loss to Providence wasn’t troubling, as the Friars were clearly a superior team from a superior conference. What was troubling was how the Black Bears handled a pressurized environment when they fell behind.
For the first eight minutes Maine was neck and neck with Providence, as the Black Bears made Providence play “Maine basketball,” controlling the clock and forcing a slower style of play. The Black Bears’ early efforts were spearheaded by point guard Junior Bernal, who came up with a big steal and breakaway dunk, and did a great job of disrupting the passing lanes on the defensive end, while moving the ball on offense. However, in the span of two minutes Providence blew the doors off and put the game away, as they blocked several Maine shots setting up easy transition buckets.
What Maine needed to do to stay in the game was slow the pace back down, but in front of a very vocal crowd, the Black Bears panicked and played right into the Friar’s hands. They began to shoot as soon as they got the ball down court, and seemed to cease to run any kind of a structured offense, throwing up ill-advised shots as soon as they crossed half court.
One major culprit was Bernal, whom had seemed the epitome of calm, cool, and collected early on. However, once Providence went on their run halfway through the first half, Bernal seemed to look less and less for open teammates, and take more and more hurried shots.
Equally concerning was the play of Mark Socoby. Socoby had taken over several games for the Black Bears early in the season, and his long frame, ability to score off the dribble both around the basket and from outside, and tenacious rebounding had begun to draw comparisons to former America East standout Billy Collins. However, against the Friars, Socoby seemed to lack the most key element to Collins’ success: tenacity. After being blocked badly early in the game, Socoby, grew tentative on offense and ceased to look to create any kind of shot for himself. Socoby is also still physically maturing, and while a solid athlete for the America East, he lacks Collins’ explosiveness and was badly overmatched against Providence’s wings.
The other major concern for Maine was the lack of ball handlers on the bench. Bernal was forced to sit out the second half because of bad cramps, and Maine only had three men who could handle the ball on their roster in Jason Hight, Socoby, and freshman Robby Hanzlik. The Black Bears were forced to play the entire second half with three strictly post players on the floor at all times.
One big positive, however, in the Black Bears’ loss, was that the team, while intimidated, played hard for forty minutes, and in the early going showed that when they keep their poise, they have the ability to play with anybody. The other big positive from the game was the continued stellar play of Brian Andre.
Andre dominated the second half, as Providence couldn’t put enough bodies on the floor to contain him. At 6’9″ and over three-hundred pounds, Andre is an impressive athlete for his size, and in the season’s early going has established himself as the best center in the America East. Andre possesses a great combination of size, strength, and shooting touch for any conference, let alone the America East. That makes his emergence from oblivion even more interesting, as in two years at Buffalo he barely played before transferring to Maine, and in the half season he played for the Black Bears last season he averaged a mere three points in under 14 minutes per game. But Andre’s struggles last season were due in large part to almost a year and a half off from playing in live games, and he has exploded onto the scene this season, averaging a team leading 14.6 points per game while ripping down just under six and a half rebounds per contest.
Andre’s game was on full display in the second half versus providence, as he scored sixteen of his team-high seventeen points and pulled down eight of his team high eleven rebounds in the second frame. Providence doubled down on Andre every time he touched the ball, but the Friars couldn’t stop him as he scored on an array of fade-away jumpers and baby hooks with both his right and left hands. Andre also added two authoritative slams, the second of which took the padding off of the left side of the backboard, and left the hoop tilting down at an awkward angle to the right.
Andre’s impact versus Providence also displayed how critical he is to the Black Bears’ success, as Maine failed to get him the ball in the first half. As a result, Providence was able to concentrate entirely on containing Maine’s shooters. By the time Maine started feeding Andre the ball in the second half, the game was out of hand.
After their loss to Providence, it was crucial for the Black Bears to regain their confidence and swagger as quickly as possible, and New Jersey Institute of Technology gave the Black Bears just that, as Maine easily dismantled what is one of the worst teams in Division I basketball. While it’s hard to put too much stock in beating the bag out of a far inferior team, the win was critical for the Black Bears simply as a confidence booster. From the starters to the end of the bench, the team played with an infectious enthusiasm all game. Equally important for the Black Bears were debuts of freshmen Troy Barnies and Malachi Peay, whom gave Maine some much-needed support in the backcourt and on the perimeter.
Both Barnies and Peay are wings who can handle the ball, and while neither will fill in at the point guard position, they give Maine two more bodies that can put the ball on the floor and score from the perimeter. Barnies, a 6’7″ wing who can really shoot, made his long-awaited debut after suffering a wrist injury during the preseason, and announced himself with authority to the Maine crowd by throwing down a powerful dunk while scoring seven points and pulling down eight rebounds. Peay may be the steal of Maine’s draft class, as he comes from a very competitive New York high school and has athleticism far superior to any of Maine’s other freshmen.
What was most encouraging for Maine was the overall play of their backcourt, as NJIT pressed almost the entire game but the Black Bears displayed the ability to consistently break it. Even more encouraging for the Black Bears is the impending eligibility of Kiamondre Owes, a transfer from Saint Peter’s. Owes will give Maine a new scoring dimension, as he can both shoot and penetrate to the basket, and can also handle the ball.
The Black Bears have been a pleasant surprise early on. But Maine is still far away from truly competing at the top of the conference, as they lack experience and composure, and have struggled greatly to defend. In both games Maine really struggled around the perimeter, and could get torched in the conference season.
Another need for the Black Bears is to establish an offensive and defensive presence at the power forward position. Jordan Cook has begun to turn the corner, and has shown a very pretty mid ranger jumper, and at 6’10” he will block some shots. However, Cook does most of his damage away from the hoop, has yet to show that he can establish good defensive positioning, and still gets moved around in the post. With the Emergence of Owes, and as long as they can get Andre the ball, Maine will be in every game they play during the conference slate, but they are still a ways away from being a top-tier America East team, as they lack quickness, defense, and experience.
