Photo courtesy Quinnipiac Athletics
By Morey Hershgordon
Coach
Tom Moore (9th season; 143-108; .570)
Last year
Most casual college basketball fans are quick to label last season’s 15-15 (9-11 MAAC) campaign as mediocre. Go one step further to examine Tom Moore’s squad and some might hold their tongues. Predicted to finish fifth in the preseason poll with highly touted do-it-all guard Gio McLean in the mix, the Bobcats finished sixth without him. Yes, Zaid Hearst and Ousmane Drame were two of the league’s top talents, but Hearst’s game was not suited to be a number one option, and while Drame had nights of 33 points and 13 rebounds and 27 points and 23 rebounds he was often tabbed as one of the more polarizing players in recent history. Senior Justin Harris played more minutes in Quinnipiac’s season opening double-overtime win against Yale than he had in his first three years combined; he went on to start every game afterward. Sophomore point guard Kasim Chandler regressed tremendously and ultimately handed freshman Ayron Hutton his starting job midway through the season. A.J. Sumbry and Samuel Dingba were plagued by injury, diminishing any contributions the Bobcats faithful had envisioned. And then, even with the aforementioned names, Quinnipiac was in almost every game. It lost 12 games by six points or less including being upset by Marist in the opening round of the MAAC Tournament.
Key Losses
Zaid Hearst (1st team All-MAAC; 18.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 2.5 apg)
Ousmane Drame (Defensive Player of the Year; 2nd team All-MAAC; 14.9 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 2.9 bpg)
Evan Conti (9.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.6 apg)
Justin Harris (8.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.1 bpg)
New Faces
Andrew Robinson 6-foot-6 210lbs (Silverbrook, MD; Silverbrook HS/Putnam Science Academy)
Aaron Robinson 6-foot-6 205 lbs (Silverbrook, MD; Silverbrook HS/Putnam Science Academy)
Abdulai Bundu 6-foot-8 210 lbs (Upper Marlboro, MD; Largo HS)
Unspoken …
Daniel Harris (6-foot-3 200 lb shooting guard)
Harris comes to Hamden by way of the JUCO route. The sharpshooter spent two years at Hillsborough Community College in Florida. Harris is another long and athletic guard that Quinnipiac has lacked in seasons past (sub six-foot guards in Umar Shannon and Kasim Chandler). At 6-foot-3, Harris is able to see overtop of defenders, make entry passes to big men on the block and knock down shots over many guards in the MAAC. Last season, he connected on 38 percent of his threes at HCC. Harris should step in right away and contribute for the Bobcats, who shot a meager 30.7 percent from 3-point range last season, which ranked last in the conference.
3 Games to watch
vs. Albany (Dec. 1)
With favorable games to begin the season and ice hockey’s exciting start, the TD Bank Sports Center will be rocking. All eyes lie on Lender Court for a potential quality out-of-conference win. A great home crowd against a senior-laden consistent NCAA tournament team is exactly what the Bobcats need. The Great Danes have nine juniors and seniors on a roster of 13 players that won 24 games last season. Quinnipiac has had Albany’s number, winning the last two matchups in consecutive seasons, but Will Brown’s methodical and systematic offense will make the Bobcats defend for the entire shot clock.
vs. Rider (Jan. 4)
To be a top-5 team in the MAAC, winning opening conference home games is a must. This early January affair with last year’s regular season runner-up is vital if the Bobcats want to establish themselves as a contender in the league. Avoiding getting swept against the top-tier teams and taking care of business against the bottom half, will put them in good position for a first-round bye come early March.
vs. Fairfield (Feb. 13)
The Stags upset the Bobcats in Hamden last season thanks to poor free-throw shooting late and a Marcus Gilbert fade-away three pointer at the end of regulation. The Stags not only have more experience, but they got even older; and that’s very rare in college basketball. Gilbert will have 2015 All-MAAC Rookie Team guard Tyler Nelson beside him as well as senior frontcourt teammate Amadou Sidibe. This mid-February contest is a trap game between road contests in New York City (Manhattan and Iona).
Which door will QU open?
Door 1 (20-8, 14-6 MAAC and a 3rd place finish)
Opening Door One for Quinnipiac will take cohesiveness and togetherness; it will take nine to 10 men to accomplish. But Tom Moore has that depth at his disposal this season. During the last four years, Moore has given double-digit minutes to eight men. In 2010-2011, nine players averaged more than 10 minutes-per-game. In that season Quinnipiac finished 2nd in the Northeast Conference including 22 wins (the second most by Moore in a single season at Quinnipiac). Giovanni McLean will be as good or better than advertised and will have his name floating around with Iona’s A.J. English for Player of the Year. Chaise Daniels will emerge as the next great Quinnipiac big and anchor a defense built on rebounding and blocking shots. The guard play of James Ford Jr. (defense and energy), Ayron Hutton (finesse and shooting) and Dimitri Floras (grit and toughness) will operate as a three-headed machine. And its frontcourt will pick up where it left off led by Chaise Daniels, Abdulai Bundu and Donovan Smith. And if it’s all put together and results in winning games late, you’re looking at a 20-plus win season for the second time in three years.
Door 2 (16-12, 10-10 MAAC and a 6th place finish)
Door Two seems to be about where the rest of the conference views the Bobcats. A team that will shine, play up to its competition, and steal a game or two that it has no business even being in, while also falling short against teams that should be wins. A 10-win MAAC campaign will result from inconsistency off the bench. Tom Moore has added depth this season that he hasn’t had in years past. If he can find a system that properly utilizes each player off the bench, 2015-2016 falls behind Door One. If not, it creeps its way behind Door Two. And at the end of the day, everything boils down to three or four games in March.
Door 3 (11-17, 7-13 MAAC and an 8th place finish)
The only way the 2015-2016 season falls behind Door Three is if there is a major injury or a glaring hole in the team that no one was able to recognize heading into the season. The men’s basketball team, barring any major injuries will never finish below eighth because it defends and rebounds too well.
