BOSTON – John Giannini doesn’t know why people are surprised by his team playing well this year. There is a reason why casual fans might feel that way, but his point is well-taken. After his team’s 84-81 win at Boston University on Thursday night, he brought that up.
“It drives me crazy when people are surprised that we’re doing well, because we finished in the top half of our league when those kids were sophomores and juniors, and we just had the worst injuries in America,” Giannini said, referring to last year’s group of seniors. “We were missing 2,900 points.”
From an early point in his tenure at the school, last year looked to be “the year”, especially given what the Explorers did when the core of the team was younger as he alluded to. He built a non-conference schedule for the kind of veteran team he had last year, along with a talented then-freshman big man, but injuries to Yves Mekongo, Kimmani Barrett and Ruben Guillandeaux were a collective killer that led to a 12-18 mark, including a 4-12 Atlantic 10 record. With such a senior-laden group, the casual fan would expect less this season once they departed, even though Guillandeaux’s foot injury came early enough in the season that he obtained a medical redshirt.
With heavy personnel losses and a pair of freshman guards likely to see major minutes, expectations were not high for this season’s team. But after the win at Boston University, the Explorers are 6-3 with five straight home games before they begin Atlantic 10 play, which puts them in a good spot.
“If someone were to tell me that Aaric (Murray) were to play 15 minutes and they would make 13 threes, I would say we don’t have a chance,” Giannini said. “This is a team that does some good things, is flawed in several ways, but they’ve really found a way every game to compete and win some close games.”
Added Guillandeaux: “To get one here on the road, with Aaric in foul trouble, with them hitting ridiculous shots, it’s a great win. It says a lot about our team to win these games.”
The Explorers were fresh off a double overtime loss to Oklahoma State, which he said was “a huge disappointment to us”. Going on the road had its risks, and for a while it looked like the Terriers would be in good shape. The Explorers didn’t get much going on offense in the first half, and it was mostly self-inflicted. Murray’s minutes were limited due to foul trouble, although when he was in the game his impact was clear (12 points on 6-7 shooting in 15 minutes). He picked up a couple of quick fouls in the second half and had to sit for a while. But a strong second half, led by 65.4 percent shooting and some better defense, helped pull it out.
“This would have been an easy game to lose,” Giannini added. “The fact that we found a way says a lot about our cohesiveness and resiliency and just the kind of intangibles that you need to have a good team.”
Guillandeaux at times showed what this team was missing last year while he was out of action. The senior guard had 21 points and three assists. Although he missed a few free throws late that helped keep the Terriers in the game, he was hardly en route to being a goat because he made his share of big plays that kept them in the game and in the lead later on.
“Coach stressed this game a lot because they’re picked first in their conference, they’re a real good team, probably a postseason team,” the senior guard said. “To get one here on the road, with Aaric in foul trouble, with them hitting ridiculous shots, it’s a great win. It says a lot about our team to win these games.”
With Murray saddled with foul trouble, reserves like Devon White and Steve Weingarten had to pick up the slack. White did some of that in the first half, while Weingarten did it in the second half, especially after Murray fouled out. Giannini showered Weingarten with praise after he scored eight points and hauled down 10 rebounds to go with three steals, and it’s because he’s quite a story. He started his college career in Division III and hardly played as a freshman, then walked on to the team. If ever there was someone who defines “work ethic,” Weingarten is that person – an excellent student who is constantly working out, and nicknamed “Cyborg” by his teammates because of that.
“What you saw today – 10 rebounds from that kid – that’s just will,” Giannini said. “He’s one of the most special individuals I’ve ever coached, and he is clearly the hardest worker I’ve ever coached. Words do not do Steve Weingarten’s work ethic justice. He’s wonderful whether it’s basketball, academics or just as a person, he’s just a stunningly good individual, and he was probably the biggest reason we won this game.”
The Explorers have an interesting mix from an experience standpoint. They start two seniors and bring one more off the bench, along with a junior, and have two freshmen and two sophomores playing significant minutes or starting. They aren’t lacking talent, especially with a big man like Murray to build around, and the mix appears to be coming into a good place.
If there’s one thing that stands out about this team, as well as what gives them the chance to be a good team, Giannini says it’s intangibles. He feels that they are a very resilient group, one that understands that, in his words, “basketball is not a smooth, even game.” They continue to compete, handled each game in a consistent manner and understand that there will be good stretches as well as adversity. The latter can come in part from having a freshman point guard in Tyreek Duren, but he’s also talented and knows how to run a team so there will be great games from him as well.
“Our guys are in a good place mentally in terms of treating every game the same, maybe better than any team I’ve ever coached,” he said. “They truly believe they can beat anyone or lose to anyone, which is the healthiest attitude any team can have.”
If they keep that up and take advantage of the homestand that is in front of them, at some point there may not be any more people who are surprised by this team’s success.
