When you spend a number of years working for someone, your own style at some point becomes heavily influenced by that person. Sean Kearney spent the past 14 years working for Mike Brey, so it won’t surprise anyone that Kearney’s team at Holy Cross will be playing a little like Brey’s teams have. The hope for Crusader fans is that the same winning Brey has done also follows.
Under Ralph Willard, who left to become good friend Rick Pitino’s top aide at Louisville, the Crusaders generally played a slow, methodical game offensively. Kearney will get this team to pick up that pace, and while there are sure to be some growing pains, he inherits a team that looks to have the personnel to make that transition effectively in time. In their exhibition win over Assumption College, the Crusaders scored 79 points – a total they topped just twice last season and just one more time in 2007-08 – but also had 23 turnovers.
“We certainly turned it over way too much for my liking, and assist-to-turnover-wise – 16 to 23 – I think at worst you want to be one-to-one in your ratio and hopefully better than that,” said the first-year head coach. “I think that will improve for us.”
The position where turnovers are most a concern – point guard – is also the one position where the Crusaders have a question mark entering the season. There are no concerns at the off-guard spot, where reigning Patriot League Rookie of the Year R.J. Evans is the starter and likely to be the team’s top scorer. Add in classmate Devin Brown, who had some good moments along with growing pains last year as he had to play the point at times, and St. John’s transfer Mike Cavataio, and you have three solid players there already. It can be easy to forget Adam May, one of two seniors on the team, but he’ll be in the mix as well and can occasionally play power forward.
But at the point, the incumbent is junior Andrew Beinert, and he’s had a tough time his first two seasons. Although he started all but two games last season, he had 68 assists and 89 turnovers, a worse margin than as a freshman when those numbers were 41 and 51, respectively. He shot over 45 percent from long range last season, but with Pat Doherty gone, they need him to orchestrate the offense first. Brown can play the position, but it’s not his natural spot and a large part of the growing pains he had last season came from having to play there while Doherty was out. They also won’t want to lose his scoring punch, which he showed once again in the exhibition game. Beinert had seven assists with five turnovers in the exhibition game, and all in all Kearney is encouraged by what he sees from his point guard.
“I think early on in practice, the turnovers were a little bit higher for him, like they were and are for everybody,” Kearney said. “But he’s really done a better job of cutting down the turnovers. As I told them, we’re going to turn it over some, because we’re playing faster and there are more possessions.
The frontcourt has a fine anchor in the team’s other senior, Eric Meister, and a returning all-Patriot League member in junior Andrew Keister. Meister had 11 points and 18 rebounds in the exhibition game and was constantly around the ball. Always a solid, unspectacular player, he’s now needed for a lot from a production standpoint and appears ready to deliver.
“He might be the fifth-flashiest guy on the floor in terms of our starters, but he’s been terrific,” Kearney said of his big man. “I tell these guys every day that we meet as a group, you guys better take care of Meister now, because he’s taking care of every one of you guys here in the room. You’re lucky to play with him.”
Keister has battled injuries during his career, but was finally healthy last season and showed what he’s capable of in earning first team All-Patriot League honors. The honors came mainly due to his play in league games, where his numbers (12.5 points, 8.8 rebounds per game, 67.3 percent from the field) were much better than his overall numbers (8.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 58.8 percent). He also posted seven double-doubles, all but one of which came against league foes.
May will get minutes up front behind Meister and Keister, and freshman Phil Beans could be the next player in the rotation as the promising big man was productive off the bench in the exhibition game. The Crusaders’ veteran depth affords them the chance to bring Beans along at any pace they are comfortable at.
The Crusaders have plenty of challenges in their schedule. Non-conference road games include trips to Rhode Island, UNLV, Fairfield, Stony Brook and North Carolina State, along with a neutral site contest against Central Connecticut State at Mohegan Sun Arena. Matchups with George Washington and Ivy League contender Harvard highlights the home slate, and they play UMass at the DCU Center. While the league slate includes alternate three-game stretches at home and away, they get the home games first, which could give them a chance to start strong.
The Crusaders were picked as favorites in the Patriot League preseason poll of head coaches and sports information directors. With Keister and Evans being preseason All-Patriot League picks, that doesn’t come as a surprise, especially when looking at the overall depth. With that, Kearney’s first season may include something he had a lot of alongside Mike Brey the past 14 years: wins.
