By Paul Meyer
www.rmucolonials.com
November 3, 2010
Meyer on Morris Link
Moon Township, Pa. - Way high on coach Andy Toole's preseason "Fret List'' concerning his Robert Morris University Colonials was "Rebounding.''
As in, the lack thereof.
Or the not enough thereof.
Judging by his relatively short team's job of glass cleaning in its exhibition game against McGill Tuesday evening, "Rebounding'' is likely to be on Toole's in-season "Fret List'' also.
"Horrifying,'' Toole said of the Colonials' rebounding effort. "A disgrace, especially when all we talk about is rebounding.''
McGill, a school in Montreal, Quebec, with the playing talent of an American Division II team, outrebounded the Colonials, 35-34. The Redmen had 14 offensive rebounds to 10 for the Colonials.
Add in that McGill spent much of Tuesday on a bus from Rutgers, where it played former RMU coach Mike Rice's new team in an exhibition Monday evening, losing by 12 points.
Also consider that McGill, in Toole's terms, was "the smallest and least athletic team we'll play all season,'' and you get more of an idea of Toole's angst about his club's rebounding problems.
Also never mind that Robert Morris won its exercise against McGill, 77-54.
Toole is legitimately concerned about his team whose tallest player is 6'8" freshman Deion Turman, the Mt. Lebanon product who played just the final 4:32 against McGill.
Toole during the preseason has stressed "gang rebounding'' by his team, an all-out rush to the basket with everybody trying to rebound.
That includes the guards.
Perhaps that's a tough sell to the guards, who are used to taking shots and falling back to play defense.
"It seems it is hard,'' Toole said. "Guards think that when a shot goes up, it's break time. Well, it's not. They'd better get in there and get their hands dirty.''
RMU's starting guards against McGill - sophomores Karon Abraham and Velton Jones and senior Gary Wallace - had a total of three rebounds, two by the 5'9" Abraham.
"Gary Wallace with no rebounds is ridiculous,'' Toole said. "He has more muscles than anybody in the gym and no rebounds.''
Reserve guards Coron Williams, Elton Roy and Anthony Myers did better on the glass, combining for nine rebounds, including five by Myers, a freshman from Washington, D.C.
Myers also contributed five points, an assist and a steal in his first "sort of real'' college game.
"I'm pretty sure he caught the eye of everybody,'' Abraham said. "He did all the little things.''
Another newcomer, junior college transfer Lawrence Bridges, had a game-high seven rebounds.
The 6'5" Bridges, who began his career at Central Michigan and continued it at Columbus State last season, will be expected to be a force underneath.
"That's my role,'' Bridges said. "Everybody's got to chip in and rebound.''
Bridges remembers the Colonials from his season at Central Michigan, which played RMU in back-to-back seasons in 2007-08 and 2008-09.
"I knew this was a real intense team that played up-in-your-face defense,'' Bridges said.
The Colonials, whose hallmark over the previous three seasons became stifling defense, appeared to have played stellar defense against McGill.
The Redmen shot just 30 percent (15-of-50) from the field, including 29 percent (5-of-17) from beyond the arc. McGill committed 23 turnovers, leading to 28 points by the Colonials. And RMU outscored McGill on turnover-fueled fast-break points 16-0.
And yet …
"Very disappointed,'' Abraham said of his team's defensive play and other perceived gaffes. "We've got to work on getting in the gaps and work on our help-side defense. We didn't do what we were supposed to do.''
"Our defense wasn't what it should be,'' Jones said. "And we work on it every day.''
"We won, but it's a loss for us,'' Abraham said. "Basically, it's a loss.''
But could that feeling be a good thing for the Colonials? Could they use that feeling as motivation against Saint Peter's in the 2010-11 season opener at the Charles L. Sewall Center Nov. 13?
"If we play like this against Saint Peter's, it will be bad,'' Abraham said. "It will be a loss.''
Expect, then, that the Colonials will focus even more on defense in the practices between now and the Saint Peter's game. That the upperclassmen, who are primarily sophomores, will work even harder on getting the newcomers to buy into the system.
"When you have six new dudes, it's going to be rough,'' Abraham said.
"We're young,'' Jones conceded, "but we have to get the freshmen to play a year ahead.''
How does that happen?
"By working hard in practice,'' Jones said. "Just work hard. And learn from us in practice.''
There was no doubt that the sophomores and Wallace, the team's only senior, spent extra time during the McGill game instructing the newcomers.
"They're looking for somebody to teach them and help them instead of having the coaches yelling at them,'' said sophomore forward Russell Johnson, who led the Colonials with 20 points against McGill. "We have to help them out and bring them along to get them to where we are.''
Toole is pleased that his upperclassmen feel the responsibility to help the newcomers.
"I think it's terrific,'' he said. "It shows they care about the well-being of the program. It's much more powerful for players to hear it from their teammates than from the coaches.''
All that having been said, the "six new dudes'' did contribute 18 points and 21 rebounds against McGill.
"I thought the young guys, playing for the first time with the lights on, responded pretty well,'' Toole said.
Notably, Yann Charles, a 6'5" freshman from Montreal who started and played 18 minutes, had seven points and four rebounds.
NUMBER CHANGE: Jones, who wore No. 3 last season, is wearing No. 2 this season in honor of a close friend from home in Philadelphia who was shot during the offseason and who might wind up paralyzed.
The friend's name is Brandon Savage, a teammate of Jones in AAU basketball.
And, Jones pointed out, No. 2 is also worn by his brother, Hasan.
Jones against McGill had a game-high seven assists.
