BARRINGTON, R.I. There seems to be something different about Mike Hart this time around. Although the St. Andrew’s head coach and athletic director got fired up a couple of times during a visit to the school, overall he seems more at ease than before about his team. He has a younger group and no studs like Michael Carter-Williams or Ricardo Ledo, who he had the past two years, but he seems fine with that. Instead, he has a team that might not pass the look test but doesn’t figure to be an easy out.
The senior leader will be Cedric Kuakumensah (6’8″ Sr. PF, Worcester (MA)). An excellent student who will likely wind up in either the Patriot or Ivy League, he has a solid body and looked like the good post presence he’s capable of being.
Fellow senior Kalusha Ndoumbe-Ngollo (6’8″ Sr. PF, Paris (France)) joins Kuakumensah up front, while Tom Garrick (6’3″ Sr. SG, Seekonk (MA)) is another who will be looked to for leadershio. Ndoumbe-Ngollo has a live body that was on display when they worked out, and he showed some athleticism and a nice lefty runner on one play. He’s an intriguing talent who mainly needs to put it all together. Garrick shot the ball well from long range, including a contested deep three-pointer, and that’s a good sign because that’s been the missing link from his game. His body’s not there yet and he’s not the most athletic player, but he’ll surely have the Division II schools paying attention, especially if he keeps shooting like he did on Monday.
Also in the mix in the frontcourt will be newcomer Nikola Vukasavuvic (6’8″ Jr. SF, Montenegro) and holdover Bonzie Colson (6’5″ So. SF-PF, New Bedford (MA)). Vukasavuvic is an unknown to Hart at the moment, but he looks like he has a chance as he has some physical maturity and scored on a jump hook. Colson had a nice spring and summer, suggesting he’s primed to break out in his sophomore year. He scored a couple of times on runners while driving to his right, and continues to improve his game away from the basket. A year ago, he clearly needed to lose some weight, but now his body is in much better shape. Tyler Sabino (6’6″ Sr. PF, Stroudsburg (PA)) has a mature body and will be in the mix as well.
Edson Dascy (6’5″ So. SG-SF, Fall River (MA)) is a player Hart thinks people are sleeping on. A plus athlete with a good frame, he wasn’t the biggest factor on Monday but showed some potential during his freshman season. Hart could play him at the point for some minutes, but hopes it doesn’t come to that. At that position, he’s looking largely to Henry Bolton (6’1″ So. PG, Portsmouth (RI)), who has a good body and has impressed in some showcases in the past. The point guard spot isn’t entirely natural to him, so there will be some adjusting, but he looked okay handling it on Monday.
Steve Parr (6’0″ Jr. SG, West Hartford (CT)) is a complementary wing who will get minutes in the backcourt. Nick Cesare (6’2″ Sr. SG, Lincoln (RI)) and Joshua DiPietro (5’9″ Jr. PG, Narragansett (RI)) will also be in the mix.
Hart likes his team even without an elite talent, much as Carter-Williams carried the team last year with terrific play despite being the target of every team’s defensive game plan. If the Saints can take care of the ball with some good adjustments to the point guard spot, they will have a chance in most games. That will give them a chance to get players like Kuakumensah, Garrick and Colson going, and Ndoumbe-Ngollo would get more chances to develop into the player he could potentially be. And at the end of the day, Hart may still be just as at ease as he currently seems.
