By Paul Meyer
www.rmucolonials.com
Nov. 15, 2009
Meyer on Morris Link
Editor's Note: Second part of a three-part series on Northeast Conference team's prospects
Moon Township, Pa. - Central Connecticut State, which won Northeast Conference championships in 2000, 2002 and 2007, seemed primed for another title run this season because the Blue Devils had four starters returning from an 8-10 team.
Uh, make that three starters returning.
Outstanding junior forward Ken Horton has been lost for this season because of hip surgery.
"We'll live with it,'' coach Howie Dickenman said. "I wouldn't discount the Blue Devils having a good season - and maybe a great season.''
Horton's presence probably would have ensured a great season. Last season, Horton averaged 16.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, shot 50.3 percent from the field and 80.2 percent from the free throw line and scored 20 or more points in a game a league-high 13 times.
In his absence, the Blue Devils will move on.
"We need some people to step up their games with Kenny out,'' Dickenman said. "This team is as competitive as I've had.''
Northeast Conference coaches picked CCSU to finish fifth this season, and even without Horton, a preseason all-NEC pick, that seems a reasonable expectation.
"I think what we have is youthful enthusiasm,'' Dickenman said. "We're going to be more athletic on the perimeter. And we'll be a tougher team. I did not like the toughness of last year's team - mentally or physically.''
Dickenman will use three guards - sometimes four - as he tries to compensate for Horton's absence.
Senior guard Joe Seymore will be a key player in the backcourt.
Two seasons ago, Seymore averaged 10.7 points per game in NEC competition and shot 41.7 percent from the field and 34.8 percent from beyond the arc. Last season, those figures fell to 5.6, 32.4 and 20.4
"He had a disappointing season - by his own admission,'' Dickenman said. "He's taking this season as a chance to redeem himself.''
Seymore will get help from junior Shemik Thompson and sophomore Robbie Ptacek, who averaged 12.9 and 9.7 points per game, respectively. And sophomore Vince Rosario, who sat out last season after transferring from Stonehill, certainly will be in the mix.
"He'll probably be our best three-point shooter,'' Dickenman said. "He's an old-fashioned throwback - a gym rat. He's in there at 5 or 6 in the morning.''
Sacred Heart over the past three seasons has done just about everything except win an NEC championship. The Pioneers were 37-17 in NEC games in those three seasons and twice played in the NEC championship game, losing to CCSU in 2007 and Mount St. Mary's in 2008.
"We're pleased, but we're disappointed we didn't reach the heights of Robert Morris and Mount St. Mary's,'' coach Dave Bike said, referring to the past two NEC champions.
This season, the coaches expect the Pioneers to fall back a bit, having picked them to finish sixth.
"This is going to sound ridiculous,'' Bike said, "but I really believe we can do better than sixth. And I believe we can do worse.''
Bike believes playing better defense is something that could help his team do better than sixth this season. The Pioneers finished seventh in the NEC in scoring defense in each of the previous two seasons.
"I've heard people say that if you can play offense, you can play defense,'' said Bike, beginning his 32nd season at Sacred Heart. "We have some pretty good offensive players who'd better put it in gear defensively.''
The Pioneers lost leading scorer Joey Henley to graduation. A football and basketball star, Henley is playing professional basketball in Germany but according to Bike still wants to give pro football in the United States a shot at some point.
"I think he thinks he has more of a future in football,'' Bike said.
The Pioneers return their second- and third-leading scorers from last season - Corey Hassan (11.4 points per game) and Chauncey Hardy (11.3) - and also return Ryan Litke, who shot 44.2 percent from beyond the arc in league games.
Liam Potter, a 7-footer who sat out last season as a redshirt, returns to help improve Sacred Heart's interior defense.
For St. Francis (N.Y.), picked to finish seventh by the coaches, coach Brian Nash thinks it's time to get a move on.
"We've been lingering around that eighth spot since I've been here,'' said Nash, beginning his fifth season with the Terriers.
Indeed, the Terriers in Nash's first season were 7-11 and did not qualify for the NEC tournament. In his second season, they finished 7-11 again but did qualify. In his third season, they slipped to 4-14 and didn't make the league tournament field. Last season, they again were 7-11 and - despite losing their final three regular season games, did make the NEC tournament.
Not a lot of progress.
Things, though, could be looking up.
First and foremost, senior forward Kayode Ayeni is healthy. Ayeni last season went down with a knee injury after 10 games. At the time, he led St. Francis with averages of 13.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.
Then there's junior guard Ricky Cadell, who averaged 17.7 points per game and shot 40.9 percent from three-point range over his final 20 games. Stefan Perunicic, a 6-6 forward, set an NEC freshman record by making 87 three-pointers.
Robert Morris fans will remember Perunicic's dazzling display from beyond the arc Dec. 4, 2008. In his NEC debut, he made 7 of 11 from downtown enroute to a 28-point performance that helped the Terriers to an 87-79 victory at the Sewall Center.
Nash brought in six new players, although 6-11 center Mike Davis, a transfer from Seton Hall, will have to sit out this season. Still, there's talent on the way here.
"Sometimes,'' Nash said, "it's not the X's and O's. You've got to have the Jimmy and Joes - guys who can make the shot.''
There's something new at Fairleigh Dickinson, too.
Greg Vetrone takes over for longtime Knight coach Tom Green, who was not brought back by the university after 26 seasons, 407 victories and four NEC championships.
"It's a new time, a new era,'' said Vetrone, a former FDU assistant coach.
Getting his team to play better defense will be one of Vetrone's goals.
The Knights finished last in the league in scoring defense the past two seasons with yields of 78.2 (2007-08) and 76.1 (2008-09).
"We won't be last in defense,'' Vetrone said. "I'm a defensive coach. I'm emphasizing more of the defensive side.''
It doesn't hurt, however, that senior guard Sean Baptiste returns. A preseason all-NEC pick by the coaches, Baptiste led the NEC in scoring last season with an average of 18.6 points per game.
If Vetrone improves the Knights' defense and Baptiste does his thing, perhaps FDU will beat the coaches' expectations of an eighth-place finish.
(Next: Monmouth, Wagner, Bryant, Saint Francis, Pa.)
