WORCESTER, Mass. – The fourth season for a head coach at a program that was not winning when he took over is often a very crucial one, if not a do-or-die season for his tenure. Milan Brown is now in that year at Holy Cross, and while no one thinks he’s in any danger if the Crusaders don’t win this year, the team’s personnel is such that this year will tell a lot about where they are headed.
Holy Cross isn’t lacking talent or experience, although they have less of the latter since senior big man Dave Dudzinski is the only senior on the team. They return over two-thirds of their scoring and rebounding from last season. In addition, it’s a team full of his players as no one currently in the program played for a prior coach at the school. The classes that will determine where this team goes are largely the junior and sophomore classes, all of whom have pretty good experience for where they are in college and thus need to show good growth.
Floor leader Justin Burrell is probably the best example of that. The Patriot League Rookie of the Year two seasons ago, he was better last season but perhaps not by much in the areas that count for floor leadership. He was second on the team in scoring and shot over 38 percent from long range, but needs to make teammates better and take better care of the ball as his turnovers were up from his freshman year. His running mate is Cullen Hamilton, who showed promise as a freshman but is capable of shooting better than he did. However, he has returned as a more complete player, evidenced in part from his game-high 26 points on 11-16 shooting (3-6 from long range) and four assists, and that may open up better opportunities for him as he can now keep defenders honest with his dribble.
Help on the perimeter comes from a couple of younger players, with Burrell primarily backed up by freshman Anthony Thompson and sophomore Eric Green being the primary reserve off the ball. Thompson is small but quick and has a good motor, and you might see him and Burrell together at times for a small but quick lineup. He made perhaps the play of the game in their 88-68 exhibition win over Assumption on Saturday, where he weaved through a crowd of defenders, absorbed contact and laid it in for a three-point play opportunity. Green, who sat out last season, has the potential to be an excellent defender and was consistently one of the team’s best players in practice last season. Freshman Robert Champion could also figure into the mix there or at small forward.
While Dudzinski will anchor the frontcourt, he will have good help there. Taylor Abt looks ready to play a big role with a good body and a nice touch shooting the ball, giving them two stretch options from the four and five spots. He had a lot of things not go his way last season, but is more mentally tough and confident. Christopher Morgan started seven games down the stretch last year and helped take some of the defensive load off Dudzinski as he matched up better with some of the opposing four men. Freshman Malachi Alexander is athletic and has a good body for his age, and he’ll go past Morgan on the depth chart as he can also play both forward spots.
The wing will largely be manned by Malcolm Miller, the team’s X-factor. The junior has long been a “potential” player and shown signs of turning a corner, and he’s shown plenty at the defensive end. His body looks more mature now and he seems more into the game offensively. Alexander and Green could see time there as well, as could Champion.
Holy Cross put more pressure on the ball in Saturday’s exhibition, and that’s something they want to do. In all, they want to play faster, and they know who they want to do it with as they appear to be pretty settled into their lineup rotation.
With Bucknell and Lehigh losing a lot from last season’s team, there’s a possibility that someone can come in and take over at the top. Nearby Boston University looks like the league favorite in their first year, but Holy Cross has the pieces to be a factor as well. They will certainly be prepared for it, as the non-league slate is very demanding with just three home games. They open against Harvard in the Boston Garden, then play at North Carolina and Fairfield in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off before playing two more games at Mohegan Sun Arena, the first of which will be against Belmont. They close the slate at Michigan.
The good thing is that the Crusaders seem to have a handle on how they want to play and who will play the minutes. Brown will still work on combinations depending on matchups, but from a personnel standpoint they’re quite settled. If the guards mature and Miller continues to grow into the factor he can be, it will go a long way towards contending with the opportunity being there.
