SMITHFIELD, R.I. – When you’re rebuilding a program, sometimes little milestones help more than one might think. It’s also true that as meaningful as those milestones might be at the time, it doesn’t change what the bottom line goal is. It’s not the end of the growth. For Don Friday’s St. Francis (Pa.) team, that’s the story after their 60-34 win at Bryant, their first road win of the season.
“To get a win like this, yes, it’s a good feeling to walk out of somebody’s place with a win,” Friday said following the game.
In the same breath, though, the second-year head coach was thinking about something larger. Friday thought back a few weeks earlier, when the Red Flash blew a lead at Fairleigh Dickinson and lost. How they lost was indicative of a lesson he tried to teach the team, and one they seemed to get since they played better even in losses to Northeast Conference leader Robert Morris. The big keys were being aggressive and tough, things that were lacking after they got the lead against FDU.
Learning experiences matter, and Friday is also trying to get his younger players to understand that the season is a marathon. To that end, one way he’s bridged the divide that can sometimes happen between younger players and veterans with a new coach is by assigning mentors to different players for both on- and off-court matters. He got the seniors to understand that they are needed because the newcomers would not learn simply by being on the court.
“Those guys have been pretty consistent with these kids off the court,” Friday said of the seniors.
Not only have they done that, but it seems the freshmen have done more than just show the potential of this team. Added Friday: “They’re feeding off the freshmen.”
Two freshmen start for the Red Flash, as Chris Johnson starts at the point and Will Felder starts inside. Felder had ten points and eight rebounds on Thursday and looks like he can develop into an anchor inside. Johnson had an off night against Bryant but has a nearly 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio, which is rare for a freshman. He moved into the starting lineup for NEC games and has stabilized the position at both ends of the floor.
“The thing that Chris has done for us that he’s really hung his hat on is pressuring the basketball, and he sets the tone for us out front,” said Friday. “Our steals and deflections are a lot higher now because of Chris.”
Anthony Ervin sees the most minutes off the bench among the freshmen, and he has some potential. He can score from the wing, and as he improves he could become the kind of instant offense player teams need off the bench or make his way into the starting lineup.
With their play and that of seniors like Devin Sweetney, the team’s best player, the Red Flash are now just a game away from .500 in NEC play. They have already won three more NEC games than last season and the most since they went 10-8 in 2004-05. Friday doesn’t want to stop there, naturally. Just getting the first road win of the season or within a game of .500 in conference play is a small step toward larger goals.
“I want to win every game out of here that we can and make (the conference) tournament, so that I have a rallying cry for my freshmen and sophomores returning next year,” Friday said. “This is what it’s going to take in the weight room, this is why you have to become stronger.”
He is already taking steps to help that happen in addition to what he’s done to help the freshmen grow and the seniors to be a big part of this. Friday said that he’s cutting down the practices because he wants the team to have something left at the end of the season. He’s using games like the FDU game as a teaching tool, as well as Thursday’s win as he wants the team to know how it feels to walk out of another team’s gym with a victory.
“You can’t take anything for granted when you’re trying to rebuild, so every opportunity is a learning opportunity,” said Friday, who was previously an assistant at Bucknell for nine seasons before spending five years as the head coach at Division III Lycoming College.
When Friday first got the job after the 2007-08 season, he started hustling. He’s kept it up in the same way he tells his players now that everything is a marathon and not a sprint. He knew he wasn’t in an established program like he had been during his last Division I stint, so he could take nothing for granted. While patience is never easy because fans and alumni want to see their teams in the NCAA Tournament yesterday, Friday seems to be maintaining a balance between the impatience of wanting to win now and being patient in light of the youth of his team and the mission to build the program.
In the journey of building a program, sometimes small milestones help, even if not as much as one might think. The Red Flash just reached one and might not be far away from getting another one in the form of a trip to the conference tournament, which would give the young players valuable experience in that setting. That wouldn’t be a small milestone, but there’s no question it would help.
