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Following Marist's back-to-back wins against Delaware and Bucknell, senior captain Ryan Schneider (right) and freshman standout R.J. Hall (below) swept the MAAC weekly awards.For a team
picked to finish last in the MAAC preseason polls, the Red Foxes might start to sneak up on some people. Schneider was named MAAC player of the week after averaging 25.5 ppg and 14 rpg during the week. Hall has filled in for the injured David Devezin and played 31.5 minutes per game in the last week. Hall averaged 8.5 ppg, 5.5 apg, and 3.5 rpg in the two games, and this led to him earning rookie of the week honors. Hall dished out a career-high eight assists against Bucknell. The eight assists also marked the highest for any Red Fox this season.Click the link below for the press release:Red Foxes nab weekly honors
Villanova center Casiem Drummond has reportedly decided to transfer to Marist. Villanova gave Drummond permission to talk to Marist, Siena, and Boston University.
The move seems to make a lot of sense, as I noted in an earlier posting. Drummond attended the same high school as freshman R.J. Hall and will receive the biggest opportunity from Marist. Drummond will start right away and Marist should be a big contender in the MAAC next season. None of the MAAC teams have blown anybody away thus far, and the conensus favorite, Siena, will lose its best player in Kenny Hasbrouck. Marist will remain intact for the most part. The biggest loss will be senior captain Ryan Schneider, but look for Dorvell Carter to step up and fill his position. Boston College transfer Daye Kaba will also factor into the mix. FoxSports originally broke the story, but Marist has yet to substantiate the claim. The transfer is most likely a formality at this point since the semester has not ended yet. Look for Marist A.D. Tim Murray to confirm this report sometime next week.
Jordan signs with NBDL's Rio Grande Valley Vipers
After months of waiting, Marist College graduate and standout point guard chose to stay in the States to play his professional ball. Jordan enjoyed a successful stint with the New Orleans Hornets during preseason but was among the final cuts.
By staying in America, Jordan is only a phone call away should injuries hamper a team. The money was definitely better in Europe, but the opportunity was greater here. The Vipers are an affiliate of the Houston Rockets and New Orleans Hornets.
Jordan made his debut yesterday and played 17 minutes. Jordan dished out two assists but failed to score. This was Jordan's first significant action since a preseason game against the Indiana Pacers.
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 JenkinsF Milan Prodanovich
F Jonathan Huffman
C Gary Springer
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 j
oin 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 And
re 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.
