By Paul Meyer
www.rmucolonials.com
April 12, 2010
Meyer on Morris Link
Moon Township, Pa. - They lose four seniors for sure. Four players who together averaged 28.7 points per game this season.
That total will rise to five seniors and 36.3 points per game if, as expected, guard Jimmy Langhurst is denied a medical redshirt season by the NCAA.
They lose Mezie Nwigwe, the Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Year, from a defense that allowed NEC opponents an average of just 60.9 points per game (second in the league) and was the best against NEC foes in field goal percentage defense (38.3) and three-point percentage defense (29.6).
They lose a senior class that played in an NEC record 90 victories over four seasons, a National Invitation Tournament and two NCAA Tournament's.
Despite all that subtraction, Robert Morris University coach Mike Rice greatly anticipates the next edition of the Colonials.
"I can't wait for next season,'' Rice said.
Small wonder.
The Colonials could return as many as 40.9 points per game and will return their starting backcourt that features NEC Rookie of the Year Karon Abraham.
Second-year forward Russell Johnson, who averaged 7.3 points per game this season and seemed to elevate his game a notch in the final week or so, probably will join Abraham and point guard Velton Jones in the starting lineup.
"Russell's learning how to become a player in Division I, a successful player in Division I,'' Rice said. "And that is you can't float. You can't be finger-rolling from the foul line. I think very highly of Russell Johnson.''
Gary Wallace, who will be the only fourth-year senior next season, brings back his veteran leadership, wise counsel to the young players and thorough understanding of Rice's system.
"Follow the formula,'' Wallace said. "Coach always preaches, 'You do it our way, we win. You break apart and try to do it by yourself, we lose.' And stats and records have shown that. We do it coach Rice's way, we're successful. When we don't, we're not.''
And there should be a strong influx of new talent, some incoming freshmen with perhaps two inside junior college players. Rice and his staff have at least four more scholarships to award following the signings of Brook Turson and Malcolm Lemmons during the early signing period last fall.
Turson, a 6'3" guard from Plymouth, Ohio, could backup Jones at the point.
"Brook's biggest strength is his knowledge and feel for the game,'' Rice said. "One of his best attributes is that he's a tough, hard-nosed player (who's) a throwback and makes the players around him better.''
Lemmons, a 6'5" forward from Washington, D.C., should provide help up front, where the Colonials lose Dallas Green, Rob Robinson and Josiah Whitehead.
"He'll fit in athletically and physically in our system,'' Rice said. "His strength is that he will be able to guard multiple positions.''
It's possible that one or two of next season's newcomers could wind up starting.
What seems certain is that Abraham, Jones and Johnson will form the core of the 2010-11 Colonials.
Jones, who took over the point guard spot after Langhurst went down for the season with a knee injury just after Christmas, averaged 8.0 points per game and demonstrated a knack for penetrating into the paint. Jones should be able to raise his point average, especially if he can improve his free throw shooting. He was just a 58.9 percent shooter from the free throw line - and he got there often. His 129 free throw attempts were second on the team only to Abraham's 148.
Johnson also should score more. Like Jones, he needs to shoot better from the foul line. He shot only 59.2 percent at the stripe this season.
"I think you'll see a big growth in the games of the returning freshmen,'' Rice said.
There doesn't seem to be a lot more that Abraham can do, though.
Inserted into the starting lineup following Langhurst's injury, Abraham stabilized an offense that had been searching for a go-to scorer and helped the Colonials win 19 of 23 games before they lost to Villanova 73-70 in overtime in their NCAA tournament game.
"He did everything we asked him to do,'' Rice said.
Abraham led the team with an average of 13.6 points per game, best among NEC freshmen. He led the NEC in free throw shooting (85.1 percent) and was second in the league in three-point accuracy (44.3 percent).
Down the stretch, even as the opposition targeted him in their game plans, Abraham excelled. He scored in double figures in 13 of the final 14 games and averaged 16 points a game over the final eight games.
His scintillating performance against Villanova offered a strong hint about what he might accomplish next season. He scored 23 points against the Wildcats.
That tough loss to Villanova, a No. 2 seed, brought the Colonials a lot of positive attention. They were lauded on a national level for their defense and their grit. And Rice received kudos from Villanova coach Jay Wright.
"Mike Rice has great passion,'' Wright said. "He's an excellent teacher. You can tell by the way they play. He's a very good recruiter. You can tell by the players they have at Robert Morris. Not that (those players) are better than Robert Morris, but they're the right kind of players.''
Abraham, from Paterson, N.J., was attracted to Rice and Robert Morris almost immediately during his recruitment.
"Because of the program itself and the team chemistry,'' he said. "It's a family. It's not just about basketball. It's about other things. It's about life experiences and helping you out in life and what you're going to do after college.''
Abraham and his mates, those who are returning and those yet to arrive on campus, will face a bit of a daunting non-conference schedule next season.
The Colonials to date have just one non-conference home game scheduled: Duquesne. They have road games at Arizona, West Virginia, Appalachian State, Morgan State, Kent State, Cleveland State and Ohio University.
Rice, however, is undaunted.
"With the (returning) freshman group I have here and the potential recruiting class we have coming in, we're looking to grow,'' Rice said. "I'm excited about how good we are and how good we can be.''
NEC NUGGETS: It's unlikely Robert Morris will play Pitt next season, but the series could be resumed in 2011-12 … Wallace will become the winningest "class'' in RMU history if the Colonials win at least 18 games next season … Wagner hired Dan Hurley to succeed Mike Deane as its basketball coach. Hurley, who played collegiately at Seton Hall, joins the Seahawks from St. Benedict's Prep in Newark, N.J., where he had a record of 223-21 in nine seasons as head coach. Hurley's brother, Bob, the former Duke great, will be one of his assistant coaches … Brian Nash has resigned as coach at St. Francis (N.Y.).
