Drummond the newest Red Fox?

As first reported by SNY's Adam Zagoria, Villanova forward Casiem Drummond has been granted permission to transfer. According to the report, Villanova has allowed Drummond to speak to Marist, Siena, and Boston University regarding his change of address. Drummond was in attendance last Saturday to watch the Red Foxes shock conference-rival Iona in the final seconds of the team's 51-50 win. I also saw Drummond speaking with assistants and players outside the coaches complex following the post-game press conference. Drummond would provide Marist a big man that could shift the balance of power in the MAAC. While it's no guarantee that Marist will be Drummond's ultimtate choice, I think the odds of this happening are fairly high. First off, I would rule out Siena immediately. Although Siena is the odds-on-favorite to win the MAAC and return to the NCAA Tournament, the Saints are losing a wealth of talent next season. Preseason player of the year and perennial first team selection Kenny Hasbrouck will graduate following this season. Siena will also lose sixth man Josh Duell, a former teammate of Ryan Schneider at Vermont. The loss of Hasbrouck could have the same effect as Rider losing Jason Thompson. Marist's biggest loss will be senior Ryan Schneider. Schneider leads the Foxes in scoring and rebounding, but Marist will not look anything next year like it does currently. Freshman Dorvell Carter will return from injury and Daye Kaba, a Boston College transfer, will be eligible to return to NCAA action. David Devezin, Dejuan Goodwin, Javon Parris, and Lawrence Williams will all return. Marist's potential lineup could include Villanova and Boston College transfers, in addition to Devezin, who originally played at Texas A&M.
I also think Chuck Martin's charisma and recruiting skill will play a huge factor in Casiem Drummond's decision. Every coach that comes in for a press conference at the McCann Center praises Martin's ability to run an offense and recruit players.
In my mind, Drummond will decide between Boston University and Marist. Drummond could decide that Hasbrouck's loss is not enough to deter him from choosing perennial contender Siena, but Marist and Boston are losing the least. Boston only loses one starter that averages 4.5 ppg. The other senior is a role player and the final senior has yet to see game action this season. Marist and Boston will keep their teams intact for the most part, while Marist will be adding two valuable pieces, not counting the recruiting class from next year. Siena has also recruited power forward OD Anosike for next season, a player likely to compete for time with Drummond. Boston University is tabbed as the favorite in the America East conference this season. The fact that Boston loses virtually no talent and will compete for an NCAA bid every year represents a problem for Chuck Martin and his staff. The player who may have had the biggest recruiting impact is Dejuan Goodwin. He ended the Iona game in heroic fashion and sent the Red Fox faithful into a frenzy following his game-winning fadeaway with 1.4 seconds left. The atmosphere, coaching staff, and opportunity could be enough to persuade Drummond to choose Poughkeepsie. We will wait and see though.

MAAC is back

After losing a humbling game to No. 15 Memphis, Marist returns home Friday night to take on conference rival Iona. The game marks the first MAAC contest for both teams. Marist and Iona each have two wins on the season. Iona was selected to finish seventh in the conference while Marist was chosen to finish 10th in the 10 team league. Friday is opening night for six MAAC teams. Siena outlasted Loyola, 75-68, in the conference season-opener.
The Red Foxes and Gaels look to be in for a low-scoring contest. Iona averages 63.4 ppg while Marist scores 65.7 ppg. The teams are ranked eighth and fifth, respectively. Each team ranks highly in scoring defense as well. Iona boasts a stout defense, surrendering 59 ppg. Marist's statistics are somewhat skewed because of the team's 100-61 loss to Memphis on Dec. 2. Currently, Marist is ninth in the MAAC due to allowing 74 ppg. Prior to the Memphis game, Marist yielded 68.8 ppg. The stats are also inflated due to Marist's overtime loss to the Delaware Blue Hens. Marist allowed 72 points in regulation but finished the game losing, 88-83. Those two games make Marist's defense look more suspect than it actually is.
Iona is somewhat hard to figure out. Iona took nationally-ranked Wisconsin into overtime before eventually falling, 60-58. The Gaels then followed that up with a 70-62 home loss to the Robert Morris Colonials. Marist handled Robert Morris, 72-55, and emptied its bench in the waning minutes of the game. Robert Morris is the only common opponent between the two teams.
Marist will have its hands full trying to defend Iona's Gary Springer. The 6-foot-9 senior ranks fifth in the MAAC in scoring with 14.6 ppg. He is one spot behind the MAAC's preseason player of the year, Kenny Hasbrouck. Springer also leads the Gaels in rebounding and is second in the conference in field-goal percentage. Springer shoots the ball at a 64.1 percent clip. Springer also led the team in double-doubles last season with five.
Marist has struggled at times thi year against larger opponents. Rutgers' big men Hamady Ndiaye and Greg Echenique contributed to a Rutgers' program-record 16 blocked shots in the Scarlet Knights' 63-61 win over the Red Foxes.
After Springer, Iona does not boast many scoring threats. Milan Prodanovich ranks second on the team in scoring with 7.6 ppg. Iona is a team that relies on its defense to win games, something that could give Marist trouble since the Red Foxes maintain the worst turnover-ratio in the MAAC with -6. One thing Chuck Martin has mentioned frequently with regards to the Red Foxes ability to run the dribble-drive is the length of the other teams' guards. Sophomore Rashon Dwight will pose the biggest threat to David Devezin. The 6-foot-3 sophomore guard averages the same amount of apg as Devezin with 3.8. The Red Foxes will no doubt have a good scouting report on Dwight though. Dwight hails from Bloomfield Tech in New Jersey, the same high school Marist freshman guard R.J. Hall attended.
Iona has rotated players throughout the starting lineup through each of the first five games, but the projected starting lineup for Iona is as follows:
G Rashon Dwight
G Jermel Jenkins
F Milan Prodanovich
F Jonathan Huffman
C Gary Springer

Looking ahead: 2009 recruits

Since the Red Foxes do not play again until Nov. 29, I figured now was as good a time as any to look at Marist's future. At this time, the Red Foxes only have nine players on scholarship. In addition, freshman Dorvell Carter tore his ACL and will likely miss the rest of the season.
Matt Brady's late and unexpected departure handcuffed current head coach Chuck Martin as far as recruiting goes. Give Martin and his staff credit for acquiring the recruits they did so late in the signing period. His signing of R.J. Hall has genius written all over it. The 5-foot-10 point guard from Bloomfield, N.J. has averaged 10 points and nearly 18 minutes per game. Martin also brought current starter Javon Parris with him. Parris began his collegiate career at the College of Charleston before transferring to a JuCo in Kansas. Finally, Martin lured Daye Kaba from Boston College. Kaba is currently serving his year in residency following his transfer.
Martin fortunately will not have to wait until April and May to start recruiting. According to the Philadelphia Daily News, wing guard Sam Prescott has verbally committed to Marist. Prescott is currently a senior at Imhotep Charter in Philadelphia. Prescott did not expect to have this opportunity. "It's an honor and a privilege to get a scholarship," Prescott said in his interview with the Philadelphia Daily News' Ted Silary. "In the back of my mind, I never thought this would happen. I'm being very humble about this. I didn't think I was a very good basketball player until I started getting calls from a couple of schools."
Marist was one of several schools reaching out to Prescott. According to Rivals.com, the 6-foot-3 guard received interest from Howard, Stony Brook, and Saint Francis (PA).
Prescott will not be the first Imhotep Charter product to grace the MAAC. Niagara's freshman forward Kashief Edwards also hails from Imhotep Charter. The MAAC named Edwards the conference's rookie of the week on Nov. 17 based on his performance against Towson.
Prescott is not the only high school senior to commit to Marist though. Anell Alexis verbally agreed to join in the Red Foxes in 2009 as well. The 6-foot-5 guard/forward chose Marist over Penn and Elon. Alexis played his high school basketball at N.J. powerhouse Saint Benedict's and is spending this year at Saint Thomas More Prep School. There's no doubt that Marist assistant coach Bashir Mason played a large role in Alexis' recruitment. Mason coached at Saint Benedict's Prep prior to joining Martin's staff. According to an interview with CAA Insider Bill Martin, Mason played a large role in Alexis' choice. "Coach Mason played a part in my decision because of the fact that we came from the same high school program [and that] makes it easier for me to know what to expect in terms of the program," Alexis said. "He's someone that I can work out with and talk to at the same time and help me go in the right direction."
Elon and Penn offered Alexis a scholarship outright, but he was also being looked at by Buffalo, Tulane, and Boston University. Coach Martin made Alexis one of his top priorities and according to Alexis, Martin attended a vast number of the player's games. "Coach Martin made Marist feel like the right place for me, in that it would be an ideal situation for me to develop as a player and a person," Alexis said. "The school community and the coaching staff would help me in doing that. I feel that over the next four years at Marist, my skill level and overall game is going to improve significantly. The fact that Coach Martin came to almost all of my games showed that he really wanted me there as a part of his program."
Marist will need a solid recruiting class to keep pace with top MAAC schools Siena and Niagara. Siena has already signed 6-foot-8 power forward OD Anosike to a letter of intent. Anosike is a three-star recruit according to Rivals.com and received interest from Fordham, Temple, George Mason, and Delaware. The Staten Island native played his AAU ball with the N.J. Shoreshots.
Niagara also has a three-star recruit of its own. Rivals.com reports that Niagara has a solid verbal commitment from Andre Gillette (pictured below), a 6-foot-8, 220-pound power forward from Philadelphia. Gillette has received interest from Pittsburgh, Saint Joseph's, Temple, and Xavier. It's obvious that Siena and Niagara are bulking up on the front line, something that Marist will need to do as well.
It's still way too early to predict which prospects will attend where, but the process is interesting to follow. Marist is loading up on faster players that can shoot while the other MAAC schools seem to be targeting big men. This fits right into Martin's dribble-drive motion offense. It is also important to note that nothing is final until a national letter of intent is signed, and even then nothing is certain. Former Marist head coach Matt Brady is the prime example. Highly touted recruits Julius Wells and Andrey Semenov were expected to show up in Red Fox uniforms this season, but they chose to forgo the opportunity and follow Brady to James Madison. Wells currently leads James Madison in scoring with 14 ppg.

Marist’s guards deliver first win to Chuck Martin

Marist returned to the site of its first regular season game, but the result turned out differently this time.
Riding his guards’ play, Chuck Martin earned his first win as a head coach. Guards David Devezin, Dejuan Goodwin, and R.J. Hall led the Red Foxes to a 72-55 win over the Robert Morris Colonials.
Marist moved to 1-2 on the season and won its first game of the Garden State Classic. Robert Morris fell to 1-3 on the year. The Red Foxes will close out the Garden State Classic Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. at the Rutgers Athletic Center (RAC) against Delaware.
Point-guard David Devezin contributed a game-high 18 points while dishing out three assists. Dejuan Goodwin, a surprise starter, poured in 11 points while hauling in six rebounds in his first start of the season. Goodwin took Kaylen Gregory’s starting spot in the rotation for this game.
For Chuck Martin, his first win was more about his staff and his players than himself.
“It’s rewarding for my staff and it’s rewarding for my team more than me,” Martin said. “I think my staff did a great job, and I think the kids really did a great job of buying into it.”
Marist fell behind early and trailed for most of the first half, but after senior Ryan Schneider drained a corner three-pointer to give the Foxes a 30-27 lead, Marist never looked back.
The Red Foxes offense improved dramatically. Marist shot 50 percent from the field and 55.6 percent on three-point attempts. The shots started falling tonight.
“It makes a big difference,” Schneider said. “When you shoot 30 percent in your first two games, you’re going to have a hard time winning…It’s nice when you hit shots because you just see the energy level picks up.”
With Robert Morris presenting smaller size than Marist has seen in the first two games, Martin looked to exploit that. Dejaun Goodwin started as an extra guard in the backcourt and R.J. Hall saw extensive minutes coming off the bench. The Marist guards combined for 45 of the team’s 72 points.
“I think they did a great job just being poised, composed and playing not to lose, playing to win,” Martin said regarding the Marist guards.
Marist ended the first half with a 33-31 lead, but that is the closest that Robert Morris would get. David Devezin opened the half with a driving lay-up that prompted Robert Morris head coach Mike Rice to take an immediate timeout.
From that point on, the Marist defense smothered Robert Morris. Robert Morris only scored nine points in the first 12:08 of the second half.
“Certainly in the second half, we just locked down and had a lot more energy and intensity defensively,” Schneider said. “In the first half they hit some tough shots and we were kind of in their face for a couple of tough shots, but certainly in the second half we did a much better job of kind of getting up and putting some ball pressure and rebounding better.”
After moving to 1-2, Marist will take on the Delaware Blue Hens in its final game of the Garden State Classic. Delaware also sits at 1-2, with its lone win coming against Saint Bonaventure. Delaware opened up the season with losses to both Rutgers and Robert Morris.
Marist’s game against Delaware will mark its second game in two days.
“It’s a tough turnaround, but we just have to gut it out and find a way to compete and see what happens,” Martin said.