CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – St. Francis College is not a school that might naturally jump out at the casual fan as a place of potential. While it is located in Brooklyn, where there is in theory a natural recruiting base, it doesn’t seem to have much going for it at first glance. The home gym has been widely panned as not even being a bandbox, although teams in their conference don’t need to have big, state-of-the-art facilities and probably can’t support such a facility financially. In other words, it would seem to be a difficult place to win – and as such it’s easy to forget that the school actually has a pretty rich history in Division I basketball.
But now in his third season, Glenn Braica is trying to change all of that, and with some early results, can see potential perhaps even better than when he left St. John’s to take the job. The Terriers are one of five member schools that have never made the NCAA Tournament despite being members of Division I since the modern re-classification in 1948.
“People are into it,” said Braica. “I think with the Barclays Center and everything, it’s a pretty exciting time in Brooklyn. I think people in the area and around the school are excited.”
The Terriers are just 2-5 after losing 72-64 at Boston College on Saturday. That wins have been hard to come by thus far is a sign of growing pains on a team that is still young. There has been promise, and some of it was visible on Saturday as the Terriers scored the first seven points of the second half to take a nine-point lead. A run of 11 unanswered BC points as part of a 17-2 run would change the game, and the Terriers wouldn’t be able to pull off their first win over an ACC team.
Since Braica took over two seasons ago, the program has made strides competitively. Last season, they finished fourth in the Northeast Conference and hosted a conference tournament game for the first time since 1997. With much of that team back, hopes are higher for this season, although it’s not the most experienced with just two seniors and seven freshmen and sophomores. Braica has warned his team, however, that improving won’t naturally follow – his team has to earn it, not unlike trying to get a win in a game like on Saturday.
“We let the game unfold, and we tell them, when you come into these places, it’s a tough situation,” said the third-year head coach. “You have to try to make the game yours, you can’t let the game unfold.”
No one gave Boston College fits as much as one of their sophomores, Jalen Cannon. A well-built post player, he is undersized but has every other attribute you could want in a post player. He had a double-double against the Eagles with 23 points on 8-13 shooting and 13 rebounds. Braica noted that Cannon doesn’t have the kind of low assist/turnover ratio that most post players have, attributing that to a good passing ability and feel for the game.
Cannon helped the Terriers out-rebound Boston College 36-32, and in the first half they had an 8-0 edge in second-chance points. Akeem Johnson, one of two seniors, helped him with nine points and eight boards.
The perimeter is where some improvement could come, and some of that will come from Dre Calloway getting healthy again. The senior point guard redshirted last season with a shoulder injury, then sprained his ankle in the preseason but was able to play in the team’s first six games before a bruised foot shelved him on Saturday. With him out, they started sophomore Brent Jones and later went to freshman Anthony White. They combined for 10 turnovers, a key stat since Boston College cashed in the 18 Terrier turnovers for 25 points.
“We need better point guard play, we need more direction,” said Braica.
On the whole, the biggest single area for improvement that stands out is at the defensive end. Opponents are shooting 48 percent from the field against the Terriers, and they surrender more than 11 offensive rebounds per game in being out-rebounded by just under four per game. Braica notes that this team is small, but often has a quickness advantage, and that can serve them well.
“I think in our league, we can be okay, we can be solid on the glass at least,” said Braica.
The odds are that St. Francis will enter NEC play with a losing record. That’s not the worst thing that could happen, and it’s not like the NEC is going to land an at-large team in the NCAA Tournament. The important thing is for the team to develop in non-conference play, and it looks like that is happening. It also looks like they will need to develop depth out of necessity with Calloway being out for the moment, though likely not for an extended period.
St. Francis showed enough promise last season and brings enough back to think this year’s team could make the next step. So far, the non-conference record won’t get anyone envisioning it. Instead, it will take defensive improvement, including on the glass, and some more growth from the point guard spot. Right now, the losses aren’t good on the bottom line, but an inevitable result of growing pains.
