By Dylan Fearon
Deep within the TD Bank Sports Center, the two newest members of the Quinnipiac men’s basketball coaching staff share an office.
Say hello to Tony Newsom and Mark Fogel.
Newsom was hired as an assistant coach in August after former assistant Scott Burrell accepted the head coaching position at Division II power, Southern Connecticut State. Prior to Quinnipiac, Newsom was the associate head coach at Fairfield, while bouncing around the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference multiple times. The former Niagara guard has also coached at Siena and Rider.
“I definitely think it helps,” Newsom said when asked about his MAAC experience. “To me the MAAC is a guard dominant league. Just being in the league over the years and playing in the league, I definitely think it helps me have an understanding of the type of players that can be successful and what you have to have in order to be able to do good things in this league.”
Fogel became the Director of Basketball Operations in September, as Burrell took former DOBO Mike Papale to Southern. Fogel comes to Hamden after serving as an assistant coach at Odessa College, a junior college in Texas. Prior to Odessa, Fogel was a video coordinator at Tulane University, as well as an assistant coach at Columbia State Community College, Mass Bay Community College and Wheelock College. But this is Fogel’s first time as a Director of Basketball Operations.
‘It’s pretty much all behind the scenes,” Fogel said. “There are a lot of people that don’t know what a DOBO does. Day-to-day you are just making sure everyone is where they need to be. Everything in terms of the daily schedule or monthly calendar, making sure everything is scheduled and guys can be where we need them to be. Another thing is doing all of the travel for the season, getting that set up. It’s really everything behind the scenes that people on the outside really don’t get to see.”
Fogel says the biggest change between being at a junior college and Quinnipiac is his time on the court with the players.
“The biggest difference at a junior college was that I was an assistant, I could be on the floor, I was coaching. Obviously now, being in more of an administrative role, I can’t do that. I have to kind of take a step back.”
Fogel earned a bachelors degree from the University of Massachusetts-Lowell in 2011, but says his “long journey in a short amount of time” has prepared him for his position at Quinnipiac.
“I’ve done pretty much everything. I’ve been at a lot of different places. I was a student-assistant at Tennessee for Coach (Bruce) Pearl. With all the different places that I’ve been, I’ve pretty much done everything. I’ve done different things every single year, so I don’t think there’s going to be something that Coach Moore or one of the staff members or something we need to get done, that I haven’t already done.”
Quinnipiac is coming off a 15-15 season, but brought in three freshman and three transfers. Guard Giovanni McLean is ready to play this year after being ineligible for the 2014-15 campaign.
“With all those new guys, you’re constantly finding what works for each guy and then your trying to bring that together,” Newsom said. “It’s been fun though because they’re open to learning but it’s been a learning experience. Our new guys bring something different to the table, it’s just a matter of meshing the old with the new.”
Newsom believes the key to this season is getting the guards and big men all on the same page.
“I think (McLean) is the type of player that can go in spurts and put up points,” said Newsom. Ayron (Hutton) was on the All-Rookie team last year, so he got a lot of valuable experience last year and we are looking really for him to take that next step.. Dimitri (Floras) has been getting good practice as well. I think our guard play is good and we just have to continue to mesh our guard play with our new inside presence.”
The one guard Fogel thinks has been great for every player, especially the newcomers, is James Ford, Jr. The senior from Hopewell, Virginia is the only four-year Quinnipiac player on the team.
“(James) has been great for all the new guys that we have because he is an extremely vocal leader,” Fogel said. “He is not going to be a guy that is quiet. If you walk in the gym you are going to hear James Ford yelling. He is been very really good for those guys. The twins (Aaron and Andrew Robinson) on the wing have started to improve and started to pick up on things that we need them to do.”
Both Fogel and Newsom, in just a couple of months, have a deep admiration for head coach Tom Moore and the rest of his staff.
“I have a great deal of respect for Coach (Tom) Moore and what he’s done with this program,” said Newsom. “He is the type of person who you want to come and give everything you have everyday for. I’ve worked with Eric Eaton and Sean Doherty before, so it feels like I’m working with family again, and Mark and I share an office so we have become close pretty quick.”
“He (Moore) doesn’t treat me like I’m below everyone else, he treats me just the same as everyone else,” Fogel said. “There’s just not a lot of people, in the short amount time that I’ve been here, that are as good to work for as Coach Moore.”
Fogel added, “Tony and I have gotten along great since day one because we share an office. So we are with each other a lot. I didn’t know Tony before I got here, but our relationship has been great. He’s been great to me.”
