Siena coach inks extension

Siena head coach Fran McCaffery signed an eight year extension today. The deal is intended to keep McCaffery around through the 2016-17 season.
The former Notre Dame assistant has led Siena to the NCAA Tournament the last two seasons. In both tournament appearances, the Saints have registered a first-round upset. Siena blew out Vanderbilt two years ago and upended Ohio State this past March.
While Siena fans and pundits are probably thrilled about the news, the deal is not as significant as it might seem. Although many want to think McCaffery will stay around to turn Siena into the Gonzaga of the East, he will most assuredly leave well before 2016. Before Chuck Martin became the Marist head coach, previous coach Matt Brady had signed a four-year extension. Brady did not even leave for a more desirable job by going to James Madison. When I spoke to Marist AD Tim Murray last year regarding Brady's departure, he was pretty surprised at the move and the new school.
McCaffery will not leave for any old job, however. He will wait for an offer from a major program like Notre Dame or Villanova (providing Jay Wright earns a promotion in the coming years). After this coming year, Edwin Ubiles, Ronald Moore, and Alex Franklin will graduate. My bet is McCaffery leaves after next season. The program will need to be completely rebuilt. McCaffery could easily pull a Brady, leaving one year after an extension. This is a business, after all.

Devezin won't return next year

According to the MAAC and the Poughkeepsie Journal, Marist star point guard David Devezin was denied his request for a medical red-shirt dating back to his freshman season at Texas A&M. Devezin's short but successful career as a Red Fox is over.
Devezin appeared in three games for Texas A&M as a freshman before breaking his foot. Upon transferring, it was understood that Devezin was a medical redshirt. The MAAC shot that down, however.
Devezin's loss leaves Marist with a crater at the point guard position. While R.J. Hall is more than capable of starting, Devezin's depth and experience would have been critical with juniors Daye Kaba and Casiem Drummond receiving eligibility.
Hall will start next season and will likely be backed up by one of Chuck Martin's three recruits. Sam Prescott and Candon Rusin are both listed as shooting guards coming out of high school, but Martin will likely be forced to develop one as a No. 1.
With Devezin's departure, Marist will be without its top two scorers next season. Ryan Schneider and Devezin will both leave as seniors. R.J. Hall, a MAAC all-rookie selection, is the next highest scorer.
Other notes
Matt Brady recruit Lawrence Williams will not return to the Marist team next season, per the Poughkeepsie Journal.
While a specific reason was not given, head coach Chuck Martin stated that Williams was not a good fit for the program and believed a fresh start would benefit the Paramus Catholic product.
Williams' stamina and style of play did not seem to be a good fit for the uptempo Marist dribble-drive. While it is not clear if Williams' midseason suspension had anything to do with his departure, his athleticism did not seem to fit the mold Marist was looking for.
Without Williams and Casiem Drummond not eligible to play until the 2010 spring semester, Marist will likely start the season with Korey Bauer and Alex Vouyoukas at the No. 4 and 5 spots. It is also possible that Chuck Martin could go with a smaller lineup and start freshman Anell Alexis at the No. 4 position. Alexis is a 6-foot-6 small forward according to Scouts, Inc. However, Marist played with a 6-foot-6 Williams and 6-foot-7 Schneider at the No. 4 position last year.

Jordan impressing in NBDL

It looks like Jared Jordan made the right decision staying in the States.
Although the Marist star played overseas in Lithuania last season, he passed on the money to stay and play in the NBA's developmental league. So far so good.
In last night's 121-114 loss to the Reno Bighorns, Jordan poured in 21 points while dishing out five assists in 34 minutes of game action. Jordan has had an impressive campaign with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. He's started 26 of 33 games and averages nearly a double-double. Jordan scores 10.2 ppg and notches 8.7 apg. His assist-to-turnover ratio is close to 4-1.
While Jordan won't latch on with a team this season, he is sure to get an invite to training camp with some team prior to the 2009-10 season. NBA teams also have a resume to attach to the player. Jordan played sparingly in Lithuania, a common problem facing young players venturing overseas. High school star Brandon Jennings passed on college to play internationally for one season prior to entering the NBA Draft and the decision looks foolish. Jennings has played in limited minutes and struggled while in the game. Nevertheless, he is still considered by many a Top 5 pick in this year's draft.
Jordan impressed the Hornets' brass while spending training camp with New Orleans prior to this season, but the team opted to keep two roster spaces open rather than keeping Jordan and big-man Courtney Sims.

Jay Gavin given a dose of karma

A year after Jay Gavin transferred to Virginia Commonwealth due to head coach Matt Brady's departure, another coach has left the former MAAC rookie of the year.
Given the opportunity to stick around and play for Chuck Martin, Gavin chose to join VCU, another school that heavily recruited him.
Well VCU head coach Anthony Grant has pulled a Matt Brady, leaving Gavin to adjust to another head coach and most likely, a step back for the program. Grant, a one-time assistant with Florida's Billy Donovan, accepted the head coaching position at the University of Alabama.
Gavin will become eligible to join the Rams' active roster next season after serving his mandated redshirt season following his transfer. While Gavin gets to join a team that has gone to the NCAA Tournament two years in a row, he will become a part of a team in flux. Gavin will experience what last year's Red Foxes had to endure.
In addition, Gavin will miss the opportunity to play with two major conference transfers joining the Red Foxes next season. Swingman and Boston College transfer Daye Kaba (right) becomes eligible for the start of the 2009 season while Villanova transfer Casiem Drummond (above) will become eligible for the start of conference play. The players transferred from the ACC and Big East, respectively, and bring the kinf od size and bulk that Chuck Martin emphasized the team needed following a home loss to Rider.

Siena's dream run ends in Dayton

Siena gave the nation's top team a scare, but ultimately, Louisville persevered and now Marist fans can breath a little lighter.
Siena held a 63-62 lead with a little over five minutes left in regulation, but Louisville's Terrence Williams took over and led the Cardinals to a 79-72 win.
Poughkeepsie product Edwin Ubiles delivered a career performance that is likely to earn him preseason player of the year honors next season. The junior scored 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Fellow junior Alex Franklin poured in 19 points beside Ubiles. Siena's one impacting graduating senior, Kenny Hasbrouck, fought injury late and finished with 11 points. The loss ends Hasbrouck's historic career at Siena.
With Hasbrouck out of the picture next season, it is interesting to see how Siena will replace him. Freshman Kyle Downey took his place in Poughkeepsie after Hasbrouck fouled out late and emerged as the hero that night. That performance alone likely earned Downey a spot on the all-rookie team. Although Downey is tabbed as the team's strongest player in the weight room, he really only stepped up against Marist in the team's miraculous overtime win on Jan. 15.
Siena will still enter next season as the consensus favorite for No. 1 spot in the MAAC and rightly so. Hasbrouck's loss makes the team a little more interesting though. No. 2 Niagara will only lose center Benson Egemonye, but he was a central part of their offense. His presence down low opened up the floor for Tyrone Lewis and the team's two Big East transfers.
Had Siena upset No. 1 Louisville, the rest of the MAAC teams might have been in serious trouble. Siena has brought great attention to the conference, but Marist and the other schools don't want to see Siena turn into the Gonzaga of the east. NCAA Tournament wins will only help Siena's recruiting. On the plus side, Marist has arguably the best recruiting coach in the conference now. Martin was able to secure R.J. Hall late in the signing period last spring and lured Villanova bigman Casiem Drummond away from Boston University and the aforementioned Siena. For the coach of a 10th place team to coax Drummond away from Siena, a perennial NCAA tournament participant, is a major boon to Chuck Martin's resume.

Familiar faces finding national success

With March Madness in full swing, two Marist foes are enjoying Cindarellia status in the NCAA Tournament.
Marist rival Siena knocked off No. 8 Ohio State, 74-72, in double overtime on the heels of two clutch three pointers from Ronald Moore. The biggest upset of the tournament goes to Cleveland State, a team Marist has faced two straight years, including this past season on Dec. 13 in Poughkeepsie. The Vikings handed a short-handed Marist team a 66-47 loss.
J'Nathan Bullock starred against No. 4 Wake Forest last night, pouring in 21 points in the 84-69 win.
Both Siena and Cleveland State came to McCann this past season. The match-up with Siena proved much more competitive with the Saints ultimately winning, 91-85, in overtime. Cleveland State topped a David devezin-less Marist team.
One note about Marist's schedule this year was the increase in difficulty. Marist's schedule grew much tougher under Chuck Martin than under previous head coach, Matt Brady.
Marist played five teams that went to the NCAA Tournament this year. The Red Foxes posted a 1-4 record against those teams. The lone win came in the Garden State Classic when Marist routed Robert Morris, 72-55. Robert Morris won the NEC and lost to No. 2 Michigan State in the first round of the tournament. Marist also faced Binghamton and Memphis on the road.

Marist-Niagara postgame audio

A pretty good press conference from Marist considering the circumstances. Niagara coach Joe Mihalich, Tyrone Lewis, and Rob Garrison speak for Niagara while Marist coach Chuck Martin is accompanied by seniors Ryan Schneider and Kaylen Gregory. The Marist portion of the press conference begins at the 6 minute mark.