Photo courtesy Quinnipiac Athletics
By Dylan Fearon
It’s still very early into the college basketball season, but Quinnipiac’s maturation over its first four games is evident. After starting off the 2015-16 campaign with two losses, the Bobcats have risen back to .500, defeating Holy Cross and North Carolina Central at home. Head Coach Tom Moore has seven new players that have to learn the Quinnipiac mantra, but it seems that they are already well on their way to understanding what Moore preaches.
The big thing for Quinnipiac lately has been … well … the big men. After losing Ousmane Drame and Justin Harris to graduation last spring, Tom Moore brought in Donovan Smith, a junior-college transfer from Chicago, to back-up returner Chaise Daniels and work with freshman Abdulai Bundu. Smith has been a spark plug off the bench. He’s averaging six points and seven rebounds per game in just over 17 minutes, including a nine point and nine rebound (six offensive) performance over N.C. Central Tuesday night. Even with limited minutes (64th in the conference) Smith is making them count, as his rebounds per game rank seventh in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, and his blocks per game (1.5) are second to teammate Chaise Daniels.
So far, Daniels has been the go-to-guy inside. The sophomore is averaging 12.5 points per game this season, way above last season’s average of three. His rebounds per game (7.8) are fifth in the MAAC, and he leads the conference in blocks per game with 3.8 per contest, which is also fifth in the nation. The Meridan, CT product could be the next dominant big man at Quinnipiac, following in the footsteps of former forwards Justin Rutty, Ike Azotam and Ousmane Drame.
“Every time they go out there they’re learning and getting a little better,” Moore said. “Sometimes in basketball some of things you just have to experience. Donovan has a tendency to slow the game down naturally, which is really good for him. With Chaise we have to constantly balance the power moves, the face-up jump shots and the hook shot. That comes with coaching and teaching and practice. Plus he wants to be a good student and wants to improve, so that’s half the battle.”
One player that has produced all season long but no one seems to talk about is Daniel Harris. After spending two years at Hillsborough Community, Harris was brought in to help the Bobcats’ three-point shooting woes, and he has done just that. Quinnipiac shot 30 percent from downtown last season, last in the MAAC, but Harris has helped bring that team percentage up to 38 percent in the first four games. Harris is 12-for-28 from behind the arc this season, which is good for 43 percent. But Harris can do more than just shoot. Against N.C. Central, the junior had six points, grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, and also tallied three assists, two steals and two blocks. His ability to do a multitude of things is why Tom Moore has put him in the starting lineup.
“The thing I love about Danny so far is that he is a very poised player and a very smart player, who doesn’t make a lot of mistakes,” Moore said. “He played incredible team defense during that (22-2) run (against N.C. Central). He had a couple steals to get us in transition, he boxed out, and I wasn’t surprised seeing 10 rebounds in the box score because that was how he was playing. It was nice to know he has other ways to impact the game other than just making the three.”
But the most valuable player on Quinnipiac may be senior James Ford, Jr. Ford, the only four-year Quinnipiac player on the team. Before the season, Moore believed Ford didn’t have to do too much for the Bobcats to be successful.
“I don’t think we need him to be Zaid Hearst or James Feldeine or anything like that. What we need from him is exactly what he’s delivering right now. He brings incredible enthusiasm and energy. He’s the emotional leader of our team.”
Though through the first four games, Ford has brought that energy and then some. Against N.C. Central the senior had nine points, four rebounds, four assists and more importantly, zero turnovers. There’s not much more Tom Moore can ask for.
“I love how he’s embraced his role as a senior,” Moore said. “An incredibly unselfish player. He wants to lead the program and he’s backing it up with his actions. He really embraces playing the other teams’ best perimeter guy and he’s great at it. He is all about his teammates and emotionally is fired up every day at practice. He doesn’t allow us to have a flat practice.”
And of course, there’s Giovanni McLean. After sitting out in the opener against Sacred Heart, McLean has scored in double figures since. His debut featured 18 points at Vermont. This past week he’s recorded 11 against Holy Cross and 13 against N.C. Central. Moore says he’s liked what he’s seen, but knows he still hasn’t reached his potential.
“In bits and pieces of his three games, we haven’t seen his best yet,” Moore said. “If this is his baseline, then it’s pretty good. He still needs to get in better cardiovascular shape where he can play longer stretches in games. With his improved conditioning, he is going to be more in attack mode on a regular basis.”
Now sitting at 2-2, the Bobcats next challenge is the reigning America East champions, Albany. Will Brown’s experienced perimeter offense against Tom Moore’s depth will be fun to watch on Dec. 1.
“They’re well coached and they win a lot. They are pretty straight forward in terms of preparation. They play man, a little zone, just like us. That’s why the games have been really good with them. They’ve all been good games.”
