UMBC the class of the conference
by Sam Perkins
With almost a third of the season in the books, things are not going the way the America East had hoped as a whole, as the conference record sits at a dismal 28-48 through Sunday. Furthermore, if you take out games against non-Division I opponents the conference record falls to 25-45, and if you take out UMBC, the America East’s record falls even more to 19 and 43.
Before the tip-off of the 2007 season, there was a growing buzz that this would be the year the America East turned the corner and moved up the ladder of mid-major conferences. Unfortunately the hopes and predictions of only a few weeks ago seem like distant memories, as the conference as a whole continues to stumble through an incredibly poor non-conference slate.
Many fans feel that the non-conference schedule is not important, and that the conference season is all that matters. While no America East team will be getting an at-large bid, at least not for a very long time, the non-conference schedule is incredibly important for helping to improve the conference as a whole, and can not be over-stated. A poor performance during the non-conference schedule will result in a very poor seed in the tourney, hurts recruiting, and greatly stunts the conference’s development down the road.
Furthermore, the goal of every team in a good mid-major conference (what the America East is striving for) should not be to simply make the NCAA tournament, but to make it and win a game. Poor showings by the conference as a whole against non-conference foes will only ensure a No. 16 or 15 seed by the America East representative, and the normal beat-down that follows, and that result does nothing to help the America East grow, or to distance themselves from any of the other low-major conferences.
The season is far from over, and if history is any indicator, the conference season should truly be a dogfight, but it is frustrating to once again have “Next Year” be the slogan for the conference’s hopes of taking a step up. Talent certainly isn’t a factor in the America East’s struggles, as the conference as a whole continues to bring better and better raw talent with each passing season. It is easy to see the conference taking a huge leap forward over the next few years when looking at the current freshmen and sophomore classes throughout the league.
The problem lies in the fact that the majority of the conference’s high-impact talent can be found in its underclassmen, as lack of experience has been a big factor in many of the struggles of the conference as a whole. In fact, of the nine conference members, UMBC is the only squad in a “now or never” year, as the other eight members are all going through some form of rebuilding, and while many have lost of young talent, they are still a ways away from reaching their peaks.
What has made matters worse for the league as a whole, is that almost every team in the conference has been hit by the injury bug, and hit hard. In fact, there hasn’t been a year in recent history in which the league has been hit as hard across the board by injuries, as Boston University (Tyler Morris), Vermont (Marqus Blakely, Even Fjeld, Timmy McCrory) Binghamton (Jaan Montgomery, Minja, Mike Gordon), Hartford (Jared Von Rosenburg), and New Hampshire (Radar Onguetou) are all missing or have missed key players at one point or another. The combination of injuries and youth has led to a poor performance by the conference, as a whole, out of the gate, and some embarrassing losses across the board.
The one exception to the struggles of the America East has been the University of Maryland Baltimore County, or UMBC, who have excelled thus far. It is no coincidence that the Retrievers are one of the only veteran teams in the conference and not suffering the growing pains of many “maturing” squads (in fact, neither of the two scholarship freshmen have played for the retrievers), and have also steered clear of injury troubles thus far.
For the Retrievers, this is as good a chance of making the NCAA tournament as they are going to get in the near future, as their three top scorers are all seniors. UMBC has been impressive so far, not only for an America East team, but for any mid-major team, as they pulled off a sweep of the Atlantic-10 (beating Richmond, LaSalle, and George Washington), and have shown the ability to come from behind in dramatic fashion as they did against both George Washington and Morgan State. UMBC’s only two slip-ups came in a controversial game against Lafayette, in which there was a tremendous foul discrepancy against the Retrievers (however, coach Randy Monroe never protested the game, despite rumors to the contrary), and a disappointing loss to a very talented Wichita State team.
Monroe saw some positives in the loss to Wichita State, however. The team almost pulled off a comeback in front of a very vocal and hostile crowd, and Monroe feels that it will help his team down the line.
“The Wichita game was a tremendous experience for us,” said the fourth-year head coach. “We went in and played against ten-thousand screaming fans, and we almost pulled it off against a very, very good team. Granted we dug ourselves into a hole, but we never got down, and we never gave up.”
With UMBC it isn’t simply the case of a decent team in a bad conference; the Retrievers are a good team period, as they have the talent to be an upper echelon team in either the Atlantic-10 or the Colonial. UMBC has as complete a starting five as you will see at the mid-major level, as all five of their starters are capable of blowing up and scoring twenty-plus points on any given night.
UMBC has a truly well rounded starting five, with no discernible deficiencies at any position. Cavell Johnson, a 6’8″ shot blocker, starts in the post and is the most athletic player above 6’5″ in the conference. Johnson can score in a variety of ways, and with either hand, around the hoop, and can even knock down the three to keep teams honest. Johnson also leads the conference in rebounding, and is far stronger than his slight frame would suggest. Guards Ray Barbosa and Brian Hodges provide tremendous complements for Johnson and greatly stretch the defenses. Hodges may be the best shooter in the conference, and is second in the conference in three-point field goal percentage, three-pointers, and three-pointers made per game, and at a solidly built 6’3″, he has no problem getting his shot off. Barbosa is as explosive a scorer as there is in the conference, and can not only light it up from downtown, but can also get to the rack and score around the basket.
Daryl Proctor is a warrior at the other forward position, and is fundamentally the best rebounder in the conference. Proctor is also a very dangerous scorer who seemingly wills the ball into the hoop from the low blocks no matter how many bodies are thrown at him around the basket. Monroe continues to be blown away day in and day out by Proctor’s sheer tenacity and will to compete, saying, “I’ve never seen a player with Proctor’s heart or work ethic. I kid him all the time, telling him ‘I know they list you at six-four, but you’re really six-two and a half, in shoes.’ But then in games he’s got bruises on his elbows, his arms, a scar over his eye, but you look at the box score and he has eight, ten, twelve boards and twenty points. The kid just won’t be denied.”
Jay Greene, whom opponents have taunted as “Scooter” and “Rudy,” is the best distributor in the league, and has already had several games of ten or more assists. Greene is a truly unselfish, pass-first point guard that makes the team flow, however he is also capable of scoring when needed, as he has already scored twenty or more points and hit six or more three-pointers in a game twice this year.
It will be hard for anyone in the league to match up against the Retrievers, as they boast four of the conference’s top ten scorers (Hodges, Barbosa, Proctor, Johnson), two of the conference’s top six rebounders (Johnson and Proctor), three of the conference’s top ten three point shooters (Hodges, Barbosa, Greene), the conference’s second-leading shot blocker (Johnson), and the conference’s best distributor (Greene leads in both assists per game and assist-to-turnover ratio). The Retrievers also have the highest scoring offense in the conference, the highest scoring margin, are the best free-throw shooting team, are second in field goal percentage, and third in field goal defense.
But it is more than simply talent that has made the Retrievers what they are, as the team has the best on- and off-the-court chemistry of any squad in the America East, and Monroe gushes that this team is not only the most talented, but the most unselfish one that he has ever coached.
Before the season began, the outlook for the Retrievers appeared to be one of two extremes: either the team would be scary good, or would implode in upon itself, with not enough shots to go around, nor enough space in the locker room for all of the egos on the roster. Monroe appeared to have a volatile situation on his hands, with established stars in senior Brian Hodges and junior Jay Greene, having to learn to share the spotlight and the ball with three high-impact transfers in Johnson, Barbosa, and Proctor. For upperclassmen comfortable in their niche as “go to” players, learning to defer to three scorers could have been hard, but Monroe feels that is a credit to Greene and Hodges, whom Monroe says “has the least ego out of any player I have ever coached.”
The one question mark for the Retrievers remains their bench, as UMBC has essentially gone with a seven-man rotation all season, with wing Matt Spadafora and center Justin Fry spelling the starters. Spadafora, an athletic and lanky wing, has been a pleasant surprise, playing stingy defense and chipping in a few buckets The true question mark will be Fry, who has the potential to be a special player with his size (6’9″), range to the three-point arc, and shot-blocking potential, but he has struggled after a solid freshman campaign. He has shown some improvement after being moved to the bench from his starting roll at the beginning of the year, and if UMBC can get him going they could become even scarier. Monroe also got a boost by the return of Uwem E, who provides a body in the paint.
If UMBC can keep their starters healthy, no one in the conference can stop them. However, that will require their three bench players to step it up and play 15 to 25 minutes a night so that their starting five doesn’t run out of gas.
