Robert Morris athletics: Year in review

January 31 is usually a day of reflection and false promises. Yeah, you'll definitely get back to the gym this year. I'm sure you'll floss more. Maybe this is the year you start to save money. Definitely.

It's been a good great calendar year in Robert Morris athletics. Six of the school's 17 programs either won a conference championship or made the conference finals:

-Men's hockey won the 2014-15 AHC regular season championship. They're fresh off another Three Rivers Classic championship, defeating two nationally ranked opponents in the process. Since the start of the calendar year, they're are 23-9-2.

-Women's basketball won the NEC regular season championship but lost in the NEC championship game. They still finished the year with 17 wins. They're 6-5 this season.

-Softball won the NEC regular season championship.

-Women's soccer lost to Fairleigh Dickinson 1-0 in the NEC championship game.

-Volleyball won the NEC tournament and lost to Ohio State in the NCAA tournament.

-Men's basketball won the NEC tournament and a tournament game against North Florida.

Not a bad 2015.

I'd just like to take this post to share some memories from this past year, because it really was a fun one. Looking back on last year's team, the whole process of making a run through the NEC tournament into playing Duke was surreal. I feel very fortunate enough to have been able to cover that as a reporter, fan and alumni who really just loves the school, program and conference.

Nothing was better than finally breaking through and winning that NEC championship game in Brooklyn. After all the trial and tribulations, after all the heartbreak, that team was able to get it together and finally win the big one. There were a lot of worthy teams in my four years as a student, but all of those crushing losses made the moments when the clock hit zero even better.

I went to the NEC championship game, but as a fan, not a reporter. Say what you want about the professionalism of that moment, but at 21 and a senior, I felt like I deserved to just go crazy. I knew Robert Morris was going to win that game, and I knew I was going to storm that court.

The thing I'll always remember most was the atmosphere. St. Francis Brooklyn has never been to the NCAA tournament, and that crowd wanted it bad. That small arena probably had 500 more people than it can hold. It was the coolest safety hazard I've ever been in.

That 2014-15 team was tough. They weren't always tough, but they developed a toughness that makes people who have followed the program for a while proud. They never got discouraged, they rarely hung their heads after mistakes and they learned continuously. It was a treat to watch Lucky Jones, Marcquise Reed and Rodney Pryor play together all at once. It was even better knowing Andy Toole finally got that championship ring he deserved.

Storming the court was exhilarating, and a little funny. The RMU faithful were in the upper deck. With about three seconds left in the game, we tried to start making our way down to the court... except security blocked us off. Once the final shot missed, St. Francis fans were blocking our every move to try and get onto the court. I don't blame them, I've been there before too.

Everything that followed was great. From the net-cutting ceremony, to selection Sunday, to sweating out a great game against North Florida, to giving Duke everything they could handle as a 16 seed. What a year.

It's not like there should be no hope for 2016 either. The season hasn't started the way anyone would like, but the talent is there. Let's see how things in conference play go.

Finally, a sincere thank you to all of the fans and readers who have followed along in some capacity over the past year, whether it was through Twitter, Colonials Corner or now back where I belong at Chronicling the Colonials. I write about basketball because I think it's the best sport in the world, and I'm glad most of you seem to enjoy it.

Have a safe and happy New Year's.

--Chris Cappella
--@C_Cappella

Robert Morris lost, and what it means

Robert Morris ended a dreadful stretch of non-conference play by losing to Georgia 79-67 last night. It was a pretty tight game for about 31 minutes, with Georgia hitting some deep threes late to break away.

What the box score said:
-Robert Morris shot 3-24 from three last night. Three of twenty-four. That's 12.5 percent from three, in case anyone was wondering.

-Rodney Pryor: 8-20, 22 points, eight rebounds, four steals, one block and one assist.

-RMU's starting lineup: Stewart-McConnell-Still-Pryor-Giles

-Kavon Stewart had 14 points, four assists, four rebounds, two steals and just one turnover in 33 minutes of action. He shot 4-10 from the field and 6-7 from the line. As a team, Robert Morris went 20-30 from the charity stripe, which is pretty bad. But at least they got there!

-Two very telling stats: Robert Morris had just eight assists on 22 made baskets. Georgia had 23 assists on 31 made baskets. That's a team that was patient, moved the ball and got good looks because of it. The Bulldogs shot 54.4 percent from the field and held RMU to 37.9 percent. Tough to win that way.

-Besides, you know, actually scoring, the Colonials did a lot well. Georgia had just a 34-33 rebounding margin, but RMU had 14 offensive boards to their nine. RMU forced 15 turnovers while just committing 12. These are small positives to build on.

What we learned:
-Rodney Pryor was simply fantastic last night. He did shoot 0-7 from three, but it was the way he adjusted from those misses that was so impressive. He completely abandoned the three point shot, instead using a step back and ball screens to get enough space for his mid-range game. It'll be a shame if RMU doesn't take advantage of the year he's having.

-Most of the time, I'm not on the bandwagon that this team simply "doesn't care" or is "lazy". I just don't see it. They played hard last night. But there are still times where a lack of hustle kills them when it hurts the most.

With 12 seconds left in the half, Elijah Minnie hit a three to cut Georgia's lead to seven. Georgia inbounded the ball, took advantage of Robert Morris not hustling back and hit a three as the defense was scrambling. Isaiah Still even committed a foul on the shot, making it a four point play. Instead of being down seven at half, RMU was down 11. Big difference, and it all stemmed from a lack of hustle.

-I'm hoping someone on the beat asks this, because I would love to hear who the coaches and players think has been the best defensive player this year. Matty McConnell was extremely persistent at the top of the zone.

Offensively, I think everyone is just kind of waiting for McConnell to find another gear. He's been really nothing more than a spot-up three point shooter. For someone who averaged 31 points per game in the WPIAL last year, there's got to be more. RMU needs it.

-Steven Whitley played nine mostly-productive minutes. That's a perfect number for him. Off the top of my head, I can remember one bad offensive possession where he drove to the lane, bulled over a defender and committed a turnover, but he also hit a three, dished out an assist and didn't screw up on defense.

Whitley is getting better every game. The progress might be painfully slow at times, but it's clear it's happening. That can't be said for everyone.

-Andre Frederick: zero rebounds in 17 minutes. Come. On.

-Andy Toole had some fans in the stands last night:

I wonder if Ryan or Colin gets picked first overall in the 2033 NBA draft?

There's plenty more to add, but it will all get touched on before conference play starts Saturday.

--Chris Cappella
--@C_Cappella

Primer: Back in action

Robert Morris will be playing the University of Georgia tonight. Here are some things to know...

Robert Morris (2-10) at Georgia (6-3)
When: Tuesday, Dec. 29 at 7:00 p.m.
Where: Stegeman Coliseum; Athens, Georgia
KenPom: RMU 276, Georgia 57
KenPom Line: Georgia -14
How to follow: SEC Network on television, WatchESPN.com, ESPN Radio 970 AM
Storyline: Robert Morris ends a difficult season of conference play against an SEC opponent. Georgia, a year removed from an NCAA tournament birth, are winners of three straight.

Getting to know the Bulldogs: Happy holidays, Robert Morris is 2-10! This certainly hasn't been the fun, charming season anyone was hoping for following a tournament birth, but Robert Morris has an important game to play before kicking off NEC play Saturday.

Georgia: not great, but still a solid high-major team who is expected to roll Robert Morris but pay them a lump sum of money in the process. This is what we call a "buy" game folks, where the big school pays the small school for an ass kicking.

RMU will hope to flip that script. To do so, they'll have to slow two guys: sophomore forward Yante Maten and junior point guard J.J. Frazier. Maten and Frazier lead the team in scoring with 15.9 and 15.2 points-per-game respectively. Maten has been especially impressive, not just scoring, but doing so efficiently. Listed at 6-foot-8, 240 pounds, he'll be a lot to handle.

The versatile Charles Mann is having a poor first few months to the year, but he's still someone RMU has to keep an eye on. Mann epitomizes what Georgia is all about offensively: versatility and aggressiveness. Mann can handle the ball and run an offense but profiles more as a small forward. He's not going to shoot a lot of threes (5 of 11 on the year) but wants to get to the rim and attack.

Georgia really only has two guys that can beat you from three. Frazier is 19-56 (39 percent) and shooting guard Kenny Gaines, third on the team in scoring at 13.8 points-per-game, is 23-52 (44 percent) from beyond the arc. No one else on the team has more than 19 attempts. It speaks volumes about how much the offense will run through the big men.

Georgia is a much better defensive team than they are offensive. They're holding opponents to 94.5-points-per-100-possession, the 26th-best defensive efficiency mark in the country. They don't force a lot of turnovers and they aren't the best rebounding team, but they will hound you until all of that Christmas dinner is worked off.

Matching up? It's hard to say RMU, especially at 2-10, matches up well with any high-major opponent. However, it would be foolish to discount the Colonials completely. I say this for a few reasons:

-History: Robert Morris has played a decent high-major school as their last non-conference game three years in a row. For reference, they were Clemson, Alabama and Arkansas dating back to the 2012-2013 season. In those three games, they've lost by seven, eight and five points, respectively. This is usually the time RMu starts to turn it on and play good opponents tougher. That shouldn't change tonight.

-Georgia's track record: Georgia is good, but not great. They've lost games to Chattanooga, Seton Hall and Kansas State. They survived tough games against High Point and Oakland. They're a solid basketball tam but this isn't a team primed to make a championship run.

-Styles: The Bulldogs are a big, slow basketball team. I don't mean literally slow (I haven't challenged any of their players to a foot race) but slow in tempo. They're not a team ready to run up and down the floor. They won't beat you with the three ball. They want to throw the ball inside and pound away.

In some cases, i think this will benefit RMU. Yes, defensively, handling their bigs will be a problem, but the 2-3 zone is a perfect way to make things difficult to get the ball inside. Dare some of these guys to shoot threes. On the other end, Robert Morris can count on shooting the three ball to carry them. This is a program that lives and dies by the three. That'll be the case again.

Easy? Hell no. Winnable? Time to get rolling.

--Chris Cappella
--@C_Cappella

Rodney Pryor has been great, but...

Robert Morris senior guard Rodney Pryor is averaging 21.8 points and 7.3 rebounds on 47.0 percent shooting from the floor. He was recently awarded NEC Player of the Week after averaging 21, 7 & 3 over a three game span. Unfortunately, Robert Morris was able to grab just one win during that stretch.

If there's one complaint about Pryor, it's the small dip in three point shooting. He's at 33.3 percent from beyond the stripe this season, a year after shooting 42.9 percent.

Even the dip in three point shooting shouldn't be a surprise, for a few reasons. As Pryor established himself as the premiere go-to scorer, teams were going to work more to challenge him on shots. There's a keen awareness when Pryor is moving without the ball to make sure he doesn't get a good look from deep. When he does have the ball, you'll see random defenders come for doubles or stay with him on the pick and roll.

Looking at the splits, I'm sure Pryor and the staff are encouraged with how his three point numbers are trending. Last year, Pryor's started catching fire from three in conference play, when the competition just wasn't as good. He shot 41.7 percent from three last year in NEC play. I would expect him to hit around a 40 percent mark again. Hell, in his last five games he's 15 of 38 from deep (39.4 percent).

The shooting numbers are great. For a guy to score the way he does, at his usage rate, on an offense that is otherwise super inefficient... it's impressive.

The scoring isn't even what's impressed me the most. How about his rebounding numbers? Finding a wing rebounder to replace Lucky Jones, the school all-time's leading rebounder, seemed like it was going to be a near impossible task. But guess what! Pryor has done exactly what Jones did, grabbing 18.4 percent of opponents misses. By comparison, Jones was 17.3 percent for the season.

Pryor has literally done it all. He has at least three assists and six rebounds in five of his last six games. If you look at KenPom's most frequently used lineups, Pryor has registered time at point guard, small forward and power forward. This is like taking Draymond Green and putting him on the Lakers.

And that's the overall, large looming point that everyone kinda knows but doesn't really say. Rodney Pryor has been great, but he needs some help from his fiends.

RMU has one other player (Elijah Minnie) averaging double figure scoring. No other player besides point guard Kavon Stewart and Pryor averages more than 1.6 assists per game. There isn't a 35 percent three point shooter on the team, which isn't awful, but becomes a problem without a true post presence or guard who can finish at the rim.

Seeing super duper stars in the NBA playing iso ball late in games can cloud the judgement of fans. Basketball is a team game. The myth that basketball is a game dominated by superstars might not be wrong, but it's never been the complete case. It's the same reason why Shane Gibson never was on a team with more than 14 wins at Sacred Heart while Jamal Olasewere was a conference player of the year.

So Pryor's been great. Outside of his weird habit to travel, there's nothing else you could really ask from the guy. Who wants to join him?

--Chris Cappella
--@C_Cappella

RMU needs toughness, intensity to outlast Duquesne

Robert Morris will travel down I-376 Saturday afternoon to take on rival Duquesne. The Colonials haven't lost to the Dukes since Dec. 12, 2009...

These are different times now. RMU might be the winners of the last five, but Duquesne is back on the map. Former LIU coach Jim Ferry seems to be done with the transition phase, having his team play prime "Ferry ball". They run, and run, and run some more, then kill you with the three ball. It's reflected in their 9-2 record.

KenPom has Duquesne favored by 12 points.

This is the most polished Duquesne team Robert Morris has probably seen in the Andy Toole era. To get a win, the Colonials are going to have to play with a toughness and intensity that we haven't watched for a full 40 minutes this season. All the little things will have to add up.

"Some of those loose balls, some of those 50/50 plays, I think we have to get some more of those. I think we are getting more but still not enough to my liking," Toole said after Thursday's two-point win over Lehigh.

This is a rivalry game. The fan base loves it, the players love it and it's just good for the city. With that being said, rivalry games take on a whole new intensity. You have to play your guts out and leave it all on the floor for a win. RMU has shown that in stretches, but not consistently, this season.

There's also a mental toughness that comes with rivalry games. The Colonials are working on that aspect, too.

"Part of the thing that we're trying to learn is how to stay even-keeled. If there's a possession or two that doesn't go well, you still have to go out and try and defend and execute the next possession. We have too much carryover from end to end ," Toole said.

"Usually stuff doesn't work perfectly and you just have to figure it out."

If RMU doesn't figure it out today, it'll be a tough L to take.

--Chris Cappella
--@C_Cappella

Toole looking for answers for wildly inconsistent Frederick

Andy Toole looks at Andre Frederick and doesn't know what to think.

Directly in front of him, Toole can clearly see Frederick is floundering. He sees a 19-year old kid unable to find his way in a sophomore campaign, struggling to truly handle the adversities of college basketball, the same adversities that most student-athletes embrace. He sees a 6’8 power forward that provides minimal production offensively, can’t rebound consistently and serves as a liability on the defensive end.

As Toole put it, he sees a player that, “doesn’t enjoy being fatigued.”

But in a far off, distant world, perhaps years down the line, Toole can see a different persona. Deep down, there’s a ‘Dre Frederick that could be one of the better players within the Northeast Conference. A strong, athletic big with good touch around the rim who could be left out on the floor longer than two or three minutes without his coach having an aneurysm.

That Frederick has shown himself every so slightly in practice and games from time to time. Ironically, Frederick’s best game to date was last year against Duquesne, RMU’s opponent Saturday. He registered four blocks in 12 minutes in last year’s win.

For most of the past year and a half, once gameday hits, that Frederick has disappeared. The guy that misses easy offensive putbacks, gives up shots at the rim and doesn't always get back on defense continues to show.

Frederick is visibly frustrated about his play this season. Toole is visibly frustrated about it, too. What’s it going to take to get him back on the right track? Someone? Anybody?

“Chris, that’s like the question of my life,” Toole said in his postgame interview after Thursday’s win over Lehigh. “I think about that probably more than you would care to know, and I haven’t figured it out yet.”

A key fundamental in a successful coach is knowing the proper motivational strategies in order to get the very most out of specific player. You can see it at every level, from youth sports, to high school sports, to college and even at the professional level. It’s not always the same with everybody.

I remember it from high school. My junior football season at Malvern Prep, our offensive line had a couple week stretch where we were struggling to provide a consistent push off the ball, and it hurt our record. We were a good line with multiple Division I commits (not me, obviously), but out of the five of us, our o-line coach had to figure out what exactly it’d take to get us back to playing at our full potential. 

For some, including myself, it took reaming us out to really drive home the message. It required verbally destroying us to the point that we had no other choice but to go out and perform to the best of our ability, or at least, put that effort forward. It struck fear into our eyes, but it worked.

For others, that route isn’t the best option. It might take positive reinforcement and dishing out compliments and building up someone’s confidence from the very bottom.

With Frederick, Toole has tried both, and neither have proven to be effective. He even coined ‘Dre his own personal nickname.

“We’re just trying to figure out how to get it out of ‘Dre, whether it’s to pat him on the back or try to yell at him. We tried to give him an on-court persona where all we called him was ‘Snowcone’ for a while," Toole said. "We weren’t allowed to call him ‘Dre in practice. It was just Snowcone. I said like, ‘You’ll have this alter ego. You’ll come on the court and be flying around.’

“That didn’t work.”

Toole said there are days where Frederick will walk into practice and dominate. Like, Who are you? Where did you come from? Where is this guy and when will he show up in games?

“I think he’s constantly in a mode of trying to stay in his comfort zone or stay in his lane,” Toole said. “I’m trying to get him out of his comfort zone and so that’s where the rub happens.”

Frederick played relatively well on Nov. 18 against Bucknell. He posted 10 points and three rebounds on 5-of-7 from the floor. I’d take that from him every night. I think anyone would. Toole said he played really hard in stretches and showed some good signs and took a step in the right direction.

How about since? Not so much.

“To me, it’s all about effort with ‘Dre, and that’s what we try and tell him. We just want you to play hard, and then if you play hard, good things will happen to you,” Toole said. “And then if you can come rest, and go play hard again, and come rest, and then go play hard again, ultimately, good things will happen to you.

“Some of his best games, whether it was Bucknell or some of the games last year where you saw flashes, was just because he played hard.”

I thought, ‘Okay, maybe he’s not completely healthy.’ Frederick sports small bands on both of his knees, and sometimes looks in pain running up and down the court in transition. It turns out he has tendinitis.

“Yeah, so does everybody. I get sore when I get out of bed in the morning. It’s part of being a college basketball player,” Toole said. “But that can’t be what holds you back. That can’t be what stops you from trying to reach your potential or be what you can be. You’ve got to ice afterwards. Sorry. You’ve got to rehab a couple times a week. That’s part of life.

“Every Division I athlete ever has to go through that. If that’s going to be too much adversity for you to handle, then we’re going to be in trouble.”

When people start saying they’d welcome back Stephan Bennett and Leo Gomis, both of whom were in the Sewall Center bleachers watching the game last night, you know the frontcourt has issues. Who knows if Aaron Tate is going to play this year, and even if he does return, he could turn out to be a shell of his former self.

As impressive as he's been, the Colonials can’t rely solely on Billy Giles for the rest of year, especially deep into NEC play. So will the real Andre Frederick, please, please, please stand up?  

--Chris Mueller
--@cmuellerRMU

The Real City Game: Robert Morris at Duquesne

Robert Morris (2-9) vs. Duquesne (9-2)
When: December 19th, 2pm
Where: A.J. Palumbo Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
KenPom: RMU 282, Duquesne 136
KenPom Line: Duquesne -12
Link: A-10 Network, ESPN 970 AM (iHeartRadio APP)
Storyline: Robert Morris looks to build on their second win of the season as they head into Pittsburgh to take on local rival Duquesne. The Dukes --off to their best start in years at 9-2--will look to stop a five game losing streak to RMU. Andy Toole has never lost to the Dukes as the head coach at Robert Morris.

The crosstown rivals will renew their yearly matchup Saturday, and for the first time in awhile, the Dukes have a majority of the momentum heading into the contest. With that said, Toole's bunch will have a lot of confidence heading into the game, and this might be the spark Robert Morris needs to get it going with conference play right around the corner.

The Colonials won their second game of the season Thursday night over Lehigh. They had stretches of excellence, but also struggled at times. Staying locked in for a full 40 minutes still seems like the groups achilles heel.

Getting to know the Dukes: First off, let me say this. I don't like Duquesne. At all. Yuckkkkk. I haven't experienced a loss to them since my freshman year way back in 2009. I've loved every minute of this longggggg win streak. If that is going to remain the case, RMU is going to have to play their best game of the season, because the Dukes are playing some damn good ball.

The Dukes offense is lethal.
(Ken Pom)

They've won three in a row, and have started the season 9-2. They also have one of the top offensive attacks in college basketball. KenPom gives them the 5th best effective field goal percentage in the country. They are led by two splendid guards in Derrick Colter and Micah Mason. Mason is shooting 44 percent from three and is one of the most lethal shooters in the country. He's done a nice job expanding his game this season and has become a more well rounded scorer. He averages 16.5 in this his senior year. Colter is the man that runs the show. A gritty guard, he can fill it up, dish it out, and isn't afraid to take big shots. I mentioned I don't like the Dukes (Yuckkkkkk), but I love the way Colter plays. He leads the team with 18.5 points-per-game and still dishes out over four assists per-game.

I mentioned that RMU has won five straight against Duquesne. This senior class has never won a game vs RMU (or Pitt for that matter). They won't want to finish their career winless against their local rival's. That's a lot of pressure, but it also is a little extra motivation.

Keys to the game: Focus should not be an issue, nor should energy, in a big rivalry game like this for Robert Morris. A quick start would be beneficial for a young team who will still be down two men (don't expect to see Aaron Tate and Jordan Lester until the start of NEC play). It'll be fascinating to see what Toole does with his starting lineup. He's messed around with it a few times this year (including bringing Pryor off the bench last game).

The offense would benefit from Elijah Minnie picking up his scoring. The sophomore has been up-and-down for much of the year, and has only scored double digits once in the last four games. Robert Morris needs him to provide offense on a nightly basis. Minnie has the talent to be a force every single night, and I would expect him to come out aggressive.

As a team against Lehigh, RMU shot 9-20 from downtown (45 percent). That is much better than their 30 percent mark as a team for the season. This is an offense that relies heavily on the three point shot. They will need to make closer to 40 percent as a team if the offense is going to turn it around. Hopefully Thursday was a sign of things to come.

When it comes down to it we have a really good Duquesne offense going up against a Colonials defense that really struggles at times. Robert Morris is going to have to keep up, because I can't see them holding the Dukes to less than 75-80 points. Can Rodney Pryor score 30-plus? Can Minnie come up with a 25 point outing? Can one of the freshmen Matty McConnell or Isiah Still score in the high teens? Can Billy Giles control the paint and the glass (he's been excellent this season)?

RMU will have to get the answer "yes" to a few of those questions to have a chance, but I sure as hell won't count Andy Toole out against a program that he owns.

Prediction: RMU 83, Duquesne 81

--Lee Kunkel
--@Kunkel5

Recap: Back by unpopular demand

Robert Morris won a basketball game! A real, live basketball game against another collegiate basketball team in the 2015-16 season. That gives Robert Morris two wins on the season, opposed to the nine losses. But hey, a win's a win and there will probably be around 30-35 more of those coming when you factor in RMU's Final Four run.

Lehigh's best player, center Tim Kempton, was in a walking boot and was unable to play tonight. Unfortunate for the game of basketball, along with Lehigh who is now 1-8 and probably wanted to win, but good news for Robert Morris.

The game itself was a weird back and forth affair, mixed with lots of moments where it looked like Robert Morris might win by 20 followed by just as many where you wanted to get so blindly drunk nothing else mattered in the world.

RMU ended up winning 69-67. It wasn't pretty. In fact, Lehigh had the ball with a chance to win, but instead got called for a travel. More thoughts/analysis/nonsense below:

-My son, Kavon Stewart, played his best game of the season. By a lot. It was so fun to watch! He finished with a very respectable 11 points on 4-8 shooting, including 1-1 from three. Shortly after Lehigh tied the game, Stewart finished things with the game-winning bucket with 1:08 left. It was exactly the type of tough left-handed floater in traffic we're all hoping to see more.

The four turnovers were a little much, but none of them felt back breaking over the course of the game. I also thought he would have had more than four assists, just because it felt like every time he touched the ball he was leaving it by putting his teamates in good position.

-My stepson Billy Giles was also excellent tonight. Just another typical game for him: six points on 3-5 shooting. The two rebounds were a little low, but still an overall good job. His soft touch around the rim is very encouraging. I love the way he moves without the ball and finds soft spots in defenses.

Giles also added two blocks and two steals to the stat line.

-Rodney Pryor had the game high 20 points on 8-14 shooting. He was 2-6 from three. He also led the team in rebounds (six) and assists (five). So, pretty much, he's superman.

Not much to add about Pryor at this point. He's one of the better pure shooters this school has ever had, is an underrated rebounder and could really use a Robin to his Batman.

-I'm not going to lie, I seriously thought things kind of clicked for RMU defensively at one point. They were flying all around the zone. The closeouts were sharp and quick. It was like watching RMU teams of old.

Things, of course, did not end that way. RMU was up double digits a few times in this game and let Lehigh back in it with just lazy defense. These guys make running down the floor look like a marathon sometimes.

The end of game offense was equally as bad as the end of game defense, another big reason why RMU blew a 10 point lead to a 1-8 team without their best player at home. The final five minutes was full of 28 foot contested jump shots. At one point, Elijah Minnie attempted a 360 leg kick fadeaway, a la Dirk Nowitzki. He airballed.

-I am not a fan of Andre Frederick. His second half was better than his first, but things just are no fun when he's on the floor.

-Steven Whitley sighting! He didn't play bad at all today, dishing for two assists and constantly attacking the rim. He played his best game of the season. I've been hard on Whitley, but I do think there's been progression these past few games.

-With Kempton out, RMU didn't let Austin Price kill them, which is a step in the right direction. They also bottled up point guard Kahon Ross, who scored 14 points, but wasn't able to get his teammates as involved as he usually does.

I'm glad Robert Morris won. Winning is good. However, it doesn't mean there's a lot to work on. More on that over the next few days. Duquesne on Saturday!! That'll be fun (maybe).

--Chris Cappella
--@C_Cappella

Preview: Back home

Robert Morris (1-9) vs. Lehigh (1-7)
When: Thursday, Dec. 17 at 7 p.m.
Where: Charles L. Sewall Center, Moon Township, PA
KenPom: RMU 282, Lehigh 222
KenPom Line: RMU -1
Link: NECFrontRow.com, ESPN 970 AM (iHeartRadio APP)
Storyline: Robert Morris is playing in just their third home game of the season when they host the Lehigh Mountain Hawks. Lehigh came into the year with moderate expectations in the Patriot League, but have faltered mainly to a tough schedule, poor rebounding and bad defense. Hey, that sounds like RMU!

Getting to know the Mountain Hawks: If you take Robert Morris and move them to the Patriot League, you'll pretty much see their identical twins in Lehigh. In fact, I think the two teams were spearated at birth in a hospital mix-up, but I can't confirm that. Anyway, Lehigh was picked first in the Patriot League preseason poll, thanks in to a roster full of returning players and junior center Tim Kempton, the preseason player of the year.

It's been a tough go for Kempton early. He's still averaging a team-high 16.8 points-per-game, but he's only shooting 41.7 percent from the floor. Last year, he shot 50 percent from the floor. I would attribute at least some of his shooting troubles to playing really good teams teams like Syracuse, Yale, Virginia and Purdue.

Even with the low field goal percentages, Kempton is able to score because of his foul rate. His 8.0 fouls drawn per 40 minutes is the 17th best ratio in the country. This is bad news for Andre Frederick, who has struggled with foul trouble this season. As some may recall, in RMU's last home game against Oakland, the Colonials were forced to play Rodney Pryor and Isaiah Still at center because of Frederick's foul trouble. Frontcourt depth will again be pushed to the limit.

To pair with Kempton, Lehigh also has a really good backcourt duo made up of sophomore point guard Kahron Ross (10.5 ppg, 6.0 apg) and junior shooting guard Austin Price (12.5 ppg). Ross is your traditional mid-major point guard -- under 6-foot, quick hands defensively, 'meh' three point shooter and elite court vision.

Price is a good sized shooting guard. At 6-foot-4, he can shoot over most defenders and with authority. He's shooting 38.1 percent from beyond the arc this season. The Colonials cannot slack off of him in the zone, or he'll make them pay.

Jesse Chuku and Kyle Leufroy round out the starting five. Both guys are versatile forwards who are equally as dangerous from inside the paint as outside. Leufroy is a tough matchup at 6-foot-9.

It's extremely difficult to get a feel for Lehigh. Their only win on the season came Saturday, Dec. 5 against Rochester Michigan, a non-DI school. With that being said, did anyone expect them to beat Yale, Syracuse, Virginia, Purdue or even Columbia?

Things do get a little puzzling when you look at common opponents. The Mountain Hawks lost to Columbia by 27 and to St. Francis PA, an NEC team, 84-73. SFU was able to get to the line 26 times and shot 9-18 from three in that game.

That's a pretty solid blueprint to carry over. If RMU can get Kempton in foul trouble, that would be a plus, but Lehigh hasn't been able to slow anyone offensively. Teams have an effective field goal percentage of 53.1 percent, 279 in the country. When teams do miss, they're rebounding extremely well, collecting forty percent of their misses. That's almost dead last in the country. Seriously. It;s 350 in the country. There are only 351 DI teams. I looked it up if you don't believe me.

Rodney Pryor is going to get his, but who else will step up against Lehigh? This feels like a game Isaiah Still could have a big impact. He can bother Price in the zone with his length and athleticism and attack offensively.

It's going to have to be 40 minutes of team basketball. We've seen Robert Morris play well for 30 minutes, or 35 minutes, but not a full 40. This is as winnable a game as there is on their schedule. Even with little energy in the stands (students are off on winter break), RMU has to take pride in defending their home floor.

--Chris Cappella
--@C_Cappella

Kavon Stewart know he has to play better

Robert Morris point guard Kavon Stewart is averaging 5.2 points and 3.9 assists in ten games this season. Stewart is also shooting just 26.2 percent from the floor, 21.4 percent from three and is 17-34 (50.0 percent) from the free throw line. He has a turnover rate of 26.7 percent, which is a little too high for my liking.

Stewart knows he has to play better. He said as much during media availability before Monday's game:

"For myself, I don't think I've been playing well at all. I've got to do a better job," he said. "I'm a junior now, I shouldn't think about whether I should do something or whether I shouldn't. I just need to go out there and play consistent."

It's not easy for everyone to own up to their mistakes, but Stewart has never been one to shy away from being critical of himself.

Overthinking and wavering confidence has always been a problem with Stewart. When someone starts playing bad, it's easy to get into that "here we go again mindset". I'm not there, so I can't ask, but I think Stewart would admit that it happens.

His confidence can almost directly be correlated to the free throw line. When things are going well, #3 is attacking, getting to the line and finishing at the rim and at the charity stripe. There are no stats to back this up, it's just the eye test.

"I've been in the gym more than normal because I know how important it is to get to the free throw line, and when I do get there, to make those free throws," he said.

The shooting numbers are concerning. Stewart has never been a good shooter, but as the usage rate goes up year after year, the shooting numbers have gotten worse. As a freshman, he shot 41.4 percent from the floor -- not a great mark, but respectable. Since then, he's dipped to 34.1 from the floor as a sophomore and now 26.2 percent through ten games this season.

We speak about transitions for a lot of different players: Pryor transitioning as "the man", Minnie transitioning to a key secondary scorer, McConnell and Still to the college game, but we don't talk about Stewart enough in this sense.

Last year's team was probably perfect for him. He had a go-to outside scorer (Pryor), a swiss army knife senior (Lucky Jones) and another player that excelled at getting to the rim (Marcquise Reed). He could run the offense, and more times than not, get bailed out by them when he needed help.

That hasn't been the case this season. There's Pryor, and then what? Stewart is transitioning from the guy who "just runs the offense" to "running the offense and being a scorer and being the best perimeter defender on the team. When you struggle putting the ball in the hoop, and probably lose a lot of confidence in the process, that job becomes a lot tougher.

Peak Stewart has arrived in stretches. RMU's second half run at Columbia happened not just because Pryor makes any decent look he gets, but also because Stewart was attacking the rim and finishing. The finishing thing has been especially difficult -- he's shot just 37.0 percent at the rim, a team low according to hoop-math.com.

Finishing at the rim is a different conversation for a different time, because this is a team epidemic, not just a Stewart one. However, it's pretty apparent that things aren't going to get better until he finishes at the rim.

Also, the free throws. YGTMYFT. It's the name of Future's new mixtape, I think. You Gotta Make Your Free Throws. You just have to. Especially for someone who lives at the free throw line (Stewart is second on the team in free throw attempts).

Things will get better in conference play. I know we keep saying this for everyone, but it's just the truth.

When it comes to the junior point guard, it just comes down to playing with confidence. When he's in-control, things will look a hell of a lot different. I don't want to sound like a broken record, but if you want to see what he's capable of, go back to last year's NEC semifinal game against Bryant when he carried the team with a near triple-double. RMU played their best at the end of the season because he was efficient and had a remarkable assist-to-turnover ratio.

"Rodney can score, but he's going to need some other help. I think when I play at a high level, the team does," he said.

--Chris Cappella
--@C_Cappella

Recap: Close but no cigar

Robert Morris lost to Columbia 78-71. It was a good, close game decided by some three pointers and fee throws. Definitely closer than the seven points the final shows. 1-9 is very, very frustrating but not the end of the world. Columbia: good at the sport of college basketball. Can shoot the three well. I'll continue to try and find the right words below:

-First, the ending: Robert Morris played a pretty solid second half on the road against a top-100 team who has an outside chance to win the Ivy. If this would have ended as a blowout, I would not have been surprised.

But alas, there was a chance. A VERY good chance, actually. Robert Morris was down 74-71 with about 29 seconds left, then got a steal! Pryor pulled up from three but missed strong. Columbia made some free throws, RMU missed some threes, and that's all she wrote.

-Stop me if you've heard this before: the Colonials had to overcome a first half deficit. They were down by 13 at one point but cut it to ten by half. Fighting out of a double-digit deficit every game is pretty tough, I imagine.

"It's the same story every game," Toole said in his postgame interview. "We just kind of conserve, conserve, conserve."

So, yes, RMU has to start playing a full 40 minutes. We're a third of the way through the season now. There are no more excuses. Start to adjust, or just continue losing.

-The box score won't show it, but this was a much better defensive effort, especially in the second half. Some late free throws padded it, but RMU was able to consistently hold Columbia, one of the country's most efficient offenses, to three and four minute spells without scoring.

RMU's biggest defensive brain fart came at a pretty awful time. Down 64-61 with 1:45 left, Columbia's Maodo Lo was able to drain a three to go up six. It wasn't the knockout blow, but it was a huge punch to the gut.

Lo's three pointer brings up a much larger point. Coming into the game, Lo has taken 78 three pointers to 58 field goals this season. Clearly, he is a three point shooter. So what happens in this game? He gets off 15 threes, connecting on eight of them. This is a troubling trend. You can't let a three point shooter get 15 shots off. You just can't. His 26 points cost this team a win.

Columbia as a team: 13-30 from three. That's what they do, folks, and RMU did little to slow it.

-Rodney Pryor: still good at basketball. 27 points on 8-16 shooting. He went 10-11 from the line. He led the team with eight rebounds. He had two assists. It's hard to do much more than that. I love how Pryor was aggressive and switched up his offensive game. He went back to his bread and butter a little more, which is that mid-range game. He got to the tin and took more fee throws because of it. It didn't show in the win/loss column, but more performances like that should get RMU some wins.

-Isaiah Still might have been a little gun shy this afternoon. Against Oakland, he shot a combined 3-17 from the floor and 5-10 from the line. Today, he went 2-6 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. To build off of that, Still missed a three with 15:27 left in the game and then didn't shoot until there was 37 seconds remaining.

That's going to be the thing to watch with some of these young guys. Confidence is a fragile thing, and it wavers easily, especially for young players. RMU needed Still's aggression going to the basket and crashing the boards. I'm sure that's something that will be corrected.

-Billy Giles continues to be the best big man on the floor at all times. 14 points and four boards in 26 minutes. Always in the right place at the right time.

-Weird game for Elijah Minnie. 11 points on 5-14 shooting, including 1-9 from three. It should be pointed out (and it was by color man Jim Duzyk) that he probably should get credit with 14 points on 2-10 shooting from three. Regardless, it's not the overarching point. When Minnie isn't feeling it from three, there has to be some sort of adjustment. I'm not sure what it is, because he doesn't have a back to the basket game and only sometimes can beat defenders off the dribble, but there has to be another gear. This is a moment where I'm glad I'm not a coach. I'd like to the coach of a good team, like North Carolina instead.

-Daily "please come back soon Aaron Tate" post. Andre Frederick continues his wild regression, posting a minus 13 in nine minutes. He had zero points, one board, one block, two fouls and a turnover. He just doesn't get "it" defensively.

-My son Kavon Stewart was pretty awful for the first 28 minutes of the game and excellent the last 12. RMU made their second half run on the heels of Stewart getting to the rim, finishing with confidence and letting Pryor do his thing.

Of course, Pryor is the only one who has proven he can play a complete 40 minutes. Other guys go on spurts of awesomeness followed by turnovers and fouls and missed shots and laziness and... well, you get the point. Win number two won't come until there's a full 40 from a majority of the team.

A not-so-very-good Lehigh team enters the Chuck on Thursday. I like the chances, but we'll talk about that more later this week. That's all for now.

--Chris Cappella
--@C_Cappella

Robert Morris at Columbia

Robert Morris (1-8) at Columbia (7-5)
When: Monday December 14th at 2pm EST
Where: Francis S. Levien Gymnasium, New York, New York
KenPom: RMU 284, Columbia 120
KenPom Line: Columbia -13
Link: Ivy League Network 
Storyline: Robert Morris looks to get their season on track as they head to NYC to take on the Columbia Lions. The Colonials have had their moments, but inconsistencies, injuries, and youth have cost them time and time again. The Colonials --1-8 on the season-- have their hands full against a very good Columbia team that is expected to contend in a very tough Ivy League.

Getting to Know Columbia: The Lions are off to a solid start this season. They come into the game ranked 120 by KenPom, and boast one of the better offenses in college basketball scoring 109.4 points-per-100 possessions. That is really really good (41st in the country). They do everything well on that end. The Lions are shooting 38 percent from three, only turn it over 16 percent of the time, and do a great jib of getting to the line. This will be one of the toughest test's of the season for the RMU defense.

KenPom would tell you the
Lions can fill it up. (KenPom)

With all that said, they aren't so good on the other end. KenPom ranks the 240th is defense, and they tend to go through stretches where they really struggle to get stops.

Like most great offensive attacks, they are very balanced. Four players are averaging double figures in scoring, led by 6-3 senior guard Maodo Lo at 15.3 points-per-game.

6-7 forward Alex Rosenberg could be the biggest hand full for the RMU frontline. They have struggled against good big men with Aaron Tate out injured (he's expected to miss this game, but could be back soon). Rosenberg is averaging 14.5 points-per-game and 4.1 boards. Can the Colonials keep the Lions to one possession on the offensive glass? They better hope against this good of an offense.

Colonial Keys: RMU played one of their best games of the season against Oakland, but ran out of gas late in the second half. With Tate out, Elijah Minnie out (sick) and Jordan Lester having to leave the game before halftime (sick) it was too tall a task against a really good Oakland team.

This team has had a lot of bad fortune so far, and that has contributed to the rough start. With that said, excuses don't take away the losses, and they are starting to mount. The long break for finals could not have came at a better time. Minnie and Lester should be good to go, Rodney Pryor and others got a nice rest after some heavy minute games, and their seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel for Tate.

Can Stewart and Minnie get
the offense going? (Times Online)

Coach Andy Toole was encouraged by what he saw for stretch of the Oakland game, and now hopes that can be sustained "I hope we can bottle some of the fight we had tonight and extend that all the way through a game," Toole said after the game.

As mentioned above, the Lions have struggled defensively, and that may be exactly what RMU needs to get the O out of neutral. KenPom ranks the Colonials 299 offensively so far this season. That is.....really bad. (Here is some detail on what can bring these numbers up) What is even more worrisome? Pryor has been excellent for most of the season. He just isn't getting the help needed. Minnie, Matty McConnell, Isiah Still will be relied upon to open the offense up.

One other thing to watch....Billy Giles. He's been excellent so far this season and is really coming into his own. Hopefully he can keep up the good work down low.

Into the numbers: RMU's defense

The other day, I took a look at RMU's offensive identity and how tempo and spacing plays a role in that. This time around, I want to talk a little more about defense.

First, a history lesson. When it comes to defensive efficiency, aka points per possession, Robert Morris has been right around the NCAA average almost every year in the Toole era. In fact, they've ranked in the top 175 in defensive efficiency every year Toole's been coach except for 2014, and that team went 19-12 overall, 14-2 in conference play and won an NIT game against St. John's. I think that turned out okay.

I look at points-per-possession instead of points-per-game because I find it a more true measure of defense. A team that averages 70 possessions is more likely to score more points than a team that averages 60 possessions. Catch my drift?

Robert Morris has not been a good defensive team so far this season. I know this not just by stats, but by my eyes watching (and re-watching, and re-watching again) film. Always trust your eyes.

Robert Morris is giving up 104.4 points per 100 possessions, according to KenPom. The nation average is at 102.0. RMU ranks 237 overall in defensive efficiency, which would be their worst mark since 2007 when Mark Schmidt was coach.

There are a lot of simple ways to improve this. RMU turns the ball over at a high rate. Turnovers are more likely to lead to easy buckets. In fact, if you look at the guys with some of RMU's highest turnover numbers, they're guards. Kavon Stewart, Jordan Lester and Steven Whitley have three of the four highest turnover percentages on the team. When your primarily ball handlers are turning the ball over so much, that's just not good. Crazy analysis, I know.

Rebounding is another problem. Teams are getting longer possessions because they're rebounding their misses. More specifically, they're rebounding 34.5 percent of their misses, an unbelievably high rate. That's like for every 14 shots, teams get five offensive rebounds. Yikes.

So those are the "easy" things to fix. Get a little tougher inside, collapse the glass a little more and just get a few more rebounds. Easier said than done, of course.

Then, you get to the things that maybe stats can't quantify, or at least don't fully explain. According to beat writer Chris Mueller, Toole said in their last game, Oakland had 69 possessions. In 60 possessions RMU had set defenses, Oakland scored just 55 points. That's .91 points-per-possessions. Anything under one point per possession is good! Good job! In nine transition possessions, Oakland scored 18 points. Two points-per-possession. Very, very bad.

That goes back, a little, to the turnover problem. Teams are more likely to score off of turnovers. Usually after a turnover, there's an odd number rush or the defense just isn't in good position to defend.

There's also the issue of effort and inconsistencies. I can remember moments in games where RMU gave up buckets just because everyone didn't run back hard enough. That's not a coincidence, either. teams see that on film and know they can run, knowing the Colonials are prone to falling asleep at times. Experience doesn't matter in situations like those. I'm sure that's been pointed out several times in film.

When we speak about inconsistency, you can really point to a lot of the young guys. There's been a lot of sagging off of shooters when the ball gets inside the paint. The Oakland game is a perfect example. Max Hooper, one of the best three point shooters in the country, took 17 three's in that game. 17! These quotes from Toole after the game sum up a lot of the problems.

"Hooper, who was 8-for-17 in 29 minutes, probably could have taken 117 three's and look exactly the same from number one to number 117. He shoots the same shot each and every time, He was 6-for-12 from three. That's his reputation." 

And then a few minutes later...

"Coming into the game, he had taken 49 shots, and 49 of them were threes. Leaving the game, he took 17 more tonight, so 66, I was a political science major. So 66 three's and 66 shots on the season, so it's a little disappointing he gets up 17, to be honest.

"In the last couple years, playing a shooter like that, I'm not sure he would get six three's off because that would be a point of pride and contention in our locker room," Toole said.  

That quote said a lot to me. Toole is not only praising Hooper, but you could tell he was a little upset with him getting of 17 three's. In set defenses, it's not really an effort thing. The team just has to play more aware.

So will it get better? The easy, and probably obvious answer, is yes. I probably could have, and maybe did, write this exact same article. Last year, Robert Morris gave up just 98.8 points-per-100-possessions in NEC play. The year before that 99.5, second best in the conference. The year before that, 98.7, best in the conference. See the trend?

Obviously, playing competition similar to size and skill will be helpful. The drop off from Max Hooper to, say, Ben Millaud-Meunier, is noticeable. Is that what you want to hang your hat on at this point of the season? Just banking on guys in the NEC being worse than the competition you've already faced?

I like to think not.

The reality is, though, things will just get better with time. Forward Aaron Tate, who is rehabbing a leg injury, will clean up a lot of the rebounding issues. In the meantime, maybe Elijah Minnie plays a little more center to take advantage of his rebounding.

Toole played Rodney Pryor and Isaiah Still at center against Oakland. Yes, the circumstances were unfavorable, but maybe he's just going to take the best rebounders, stick them in the middle of the zone from time to time, and just hope that that helps cut possessions.

Guys like Lester, Still, McConnell, etc. will also get better in the 2-3 zone, a defense they've never played before. It takes time to learn defense.

Robert Morris has always been able to hang their hats on defense. As long as Toole is the man in charge, it's just a matter of "when", not "if" these problems get corrected.

--Chris Cappella
--@C_Cappella

Friday podcast: Karvel Anderson

Friday pod time! Chris catches up with former RMU legend Karvel Anderson, the 2014 NEC Player of the Year and the best shooter to ever dawn a Colonials uniform.

Karvel is in Italy now. We chat about life overseas, the pressures of professional basketball and his time at RMU. It's cool to hear Karvel talk about how much he loved being a Colonial. He's hyper-competitive, a trait that all the greats have and something that Toole has said teams since maybe lack a little.

The podcast is overall worth a listen. Karvel is also learning the triangle offense, so maybe Phil Jackson can give him a call.

You can listen to the podcast by clicking here.

--Chris Cappella
--@C_Cappella

Lack of mental toughness, consistency hurting Colonials

Several factors can be attributed to Robert Morris’ unexpected 1-8 start to the 2015 season.

There’s the blaring consistently inconsistent play, and the constant defensive breakdowns. There’s been head-scratching moments from older players that you’d think are well beyond those kind of mistakes.

The potential has been clearly visible in all nine of the Colonials’ outings thus far. We’ve seen Elijah Minnie go for 29 points on 11 of 18 shooting as a power forward. We’ve seen Isaiah Still average 29 minutes per game, second on the team, as a freshman and steadily improve. We’ve seen Rodney Pryor explode in second halves and develop into a top-tier scorer within the Northeast Conference. He’s already broken the 30-point scoring margin as of last weekend. Billy Giles has been an early-season success story, too.

Though potential is only potential if nothing amounts from it.

Let’s not completely jump to conclusions. This is a really young team, and it’s going to take time.  But with NEC play nearing its tip-off, the clock is starting to tick. After nine games and 35-plus practices, at this point, progression should be at least slightly visible.

“I’d like to attribute it to some new guys finding their way, but I think after practices and summer workouts and all the things we’ve gone through. Yeah, this is different,” Toole said after the Bucknell game on Nov. 18. “But those new guys never want to be new guys on offense. Everybody remembers how to shoot. Everybody remembers how to break their man down or go one-on-one. But then on the defensive side of the floor, ‘Coach, I’m just a young guy.

“If you want the responsibility and you want the floor time, then you’ve got to show accountability on both ends of the floor.”

Still has shown that accountability, as seen by his court time. Minnie has flashed the accountability in year two. Matty McConnell and Jordan Lester are working their way to that point, as well.

You develop that accountability in practice. It translates to the game.  

“It’s about getting in the gym and getting extra shots. Finishing at full speed.  Footwork catches at full speed,” Toole said. “Shooting on the move at full speed so that when you get in those games and you’re a little bit fatigued, you can still step up and make shots.”

Andre Frederick hasn’t. Steven Whitley hasn’t, reflected in his 1.6 scoring average in 11.9 minutes per game. Whitley was talked about just as much as Still in the preseason,  but has progressed at a much slower pace. Kavon Stewart, at times, has played erratically and it has resulted in costly mistakes.

Stewart’s role is too vital to the success of this team. The Colonials need him to lead, especially by example.

“It’s not always the new guys that are breaking down,” Toole said after the Bucknell game. “I think we cut it to six, and Kavon had a big breakdown that goes for a three-point play that is just a backbreaker. Just getting a little undisciplined, a little overanxious and not being detailed.”

Then he adds a line that could not only describe Stewart, but most Colonials at most times.,

“Just kind of flying around and hoping for the best,” he said.

The athletic ability is there. Without question, this team is as athletic, if not more, than any of the top contenders in the NEC. It comes down to developing a mental toughness that will keep the them from spiraling out of games. It’s a state of mind that won’t let Oakland escape a nine-point deficit with 4:07 left in the first half to lead by one at halftime. It’s the same state of mind that won’t let Oakland continue shoot relatively open looks to exit the Sewall Center with a blowout. Things started snowballing offensively, and the Colonials couldn’t recover. They let Oakland guard Khalil Felder go a nine-point run by himself.

“A couple of them were just blowing it down the floor and hanging their heads about what just happened on offense,” Toole said. “Now [Felder] is running down your back and getting into the lane and creating stuff. That’s a mental toughness thing I think we’ve got to get better at.”

“You have to get used to playing that hard for that long. We’ve got some guys that really, really emptied their tank….You’ve got to be capable mentally and physically to come on the floor and do that same exact thing in the second half.”

The mental aspect is just as important as the physical one. Aaron Tate’s absence has hurt them in that capacity. He leads by example and is as even keeled as they come. It needs to come from Pryor, and Stewart, and Minnie; which can transcend to McConnell, Still, Lester and Whitley.

The Colonials have four games left until NEC play, including a big matchup with a cross-town opponent in Duquesne on December 19.

We’ll see when the progression kicks in.

--Chris Mueller
--@cmuellerRMU

Game of tempo? RMU looking for right fit

There's 1-8, then there's Robert Morris being 1-8, then there's the way Robert Morris is 1-8. These are all distinguishable things.

No one blinks when Mississippi Valley State starts a season 1-8. In fact, 1-8 would be an improvement on their last two seasons. MVSU is not expected to be all that good at the sport of college basketball. That goes for a handful of other teams out there.

When Robert Morris goes 1-8 to start a season, some eyebrows are raised. Even last years rollercoaster team, albeit more talented (but seemingly full of more problems) finished the non-conference season 4-8. When RMU is 1-8, there are probably some questions like "What is going on in Moon Township?" followed by "don't count them out until NEC play". All of that is fair.

The most concerning aspect is how the Colonials have gotten to that point. Turnovers galore? Poor free throw percentages? Lack of aggressiveness? RMU seems to be making the same mistakes game in and game out. Yes, this is a young team, and yes, they have played a difficult schedule, but at some point there has to be some sort of improvement.

Obviously, the coaching staff can't go out on the floor and play the game for the guys. With that being said, I think this year more than any previous, head coach Andy Toole is struggling to find the right rotations.

There are a lot of factors that even go into that. Injuries play a part. Aaron Tate was able to go for game one and has missed the rest since. Matty McConnell missed a few games with an injured shoulder. Elijah Minnie missed Saturday with an illness, and Jordan Lester couldn't go in the second half of the game with an illness too, Toole said postgame.

It's hard for the staff to get guys comfortable like that. Having a role and knowing when it's expected to be used is important. This was discussed at length with Lucky Jones coming of the bench last season.

Even with all of this, there seems to be a harder time for finding defined roles. Saturday, with all the injuries and illnesses and foul trouble, was a microcosm of that. Toole pointed to a Kahlil Felder 9-0 run to end Saturday's first half as an example.

"I think maybe I've got to manage those three minutes a little but better, those four minutes a little bit better. Maybe I should say, 'hey I know that we've done well making some shots and running some early offense but maybe we want to manage that so we can go into half with a five or a six point lead,'" he said.  "I'll look at it and see if I can do a better job there."

The rotations are settling in. Fredrick and McConnell come first off the bench. Lester comes in shortly after. Maybe Steven Whitley plays. We'll see how these things change when (if) Aaron Tate gets back. While I don't think there's a longevity with running a short bench, it might be necessary given the talent level.

What I want to look at is finding an identity. What is RMU's identity? In many ways, that can be tied to tempo. Last year, Robert Morris was a pretty quick team. We know this not just by watching, but by numbers.

KenPom has a stat called adjusted tempo. Without getting too technical, adjusted tempo factors in projected possessions per game a team would have if they faced a team of like-minded tempo. Through nine games, RMU is slightly above the division I average. Last years team was the same way, then slowed down in conference play. The offense benefited greatly, posting the most efficient offense in the NEC.

What tempo does this team want to play? What's the identity? I think the staff is still trying to figure that out. Traditionally, Andy Toole teams are a little slower than the D-I average. In fact, some of his most efficient offenses have been the slowest ones.

I go back to that quote, that top one where Toole says "maybe we want to manage that so we can go into half with a five or six point lead". I read that as "let's slow things down at the end of the half, use the shot clock, pray for some stops and feel good about ourselves in the locker room".

But clearly, there's a struggle to that. There was a point where Rodney Pryor and Isaiah Still were taking turns anchoring the zone. And you know what? It was kind of awesome. Obviously, that wouldn't happen with a healthy Elijah Minnie or Tate, or if Frederick wasn't in foul trouble OR if Billy Giles just needed a breather. It took incredible circumstances, but it may be the beginning of something.

For better or worse, I wouldn't be surprised to see this team embrace some smaller lineups that sprint up and down the floor. I say this for a few reasons.

1) Everyone thinks they're a three point shooter. Minnie and Giles, the team's most consistent bigs, aren't shy about shooting the three ball. On Saturday, there were a few three-on-one opportunities that resulted in three point shots. If this team is going to continue to shoot the three ball at such a high rate, maybe it's best to just embrace that as the identity and run with it.

2) Building off of that, it's just not in this team to grind things out and get to the foul line. This isn't a team that runs through its bigs on the block. They got the benefit of several whistles Saturday, which was super encouraging, but that's been out of the norm. Plus, outside of Pryor, anyone who has proven they can get to the line doesn't hit free throws anyway.

I'm not sure if small ball and airing it out is the best way to go, but it's intriguing enough to see how it plays out, especially with Minnie anchoring the zone. His size and shot blocking prowess is a great commodity. It could help him get some higher percentage looks, draw some fouls and maybe run a little more pick and roll as the only true "big" in a Stewart-McConnell-Still-Pryor set. Someone has to take the pressure off of Pryor, and Minnie looks like he's going to have to be the guy.

Of course, none of this works without improved defense, but this is just the beginning. More on that later.

--Chris Cappella
--@C_Cappella

Monday with Mueller: Five observations

Robert Morris fell to Oakland 92-74 Friday night. Staff writer Chris Mueller had five observations from that game! Pretty cool, right? Here's what he saw, with quotes.

WHEN THINGS WENT SOUTH

Robert Morris played some of its best basketball of the season until there were about four minutes left in the first half.

The Colonials were balling. Matty McConnell connected on two of his first three shots. Rodney Pryor was commanding the offense effectively. Billy Giles broke out of the gate with some monster offensive possessions early. Forced turnovers were resulting to buckets in transition....... AND THEY EVEN SAW SOME FREE THROW ATTEMPTS!

But then, for some reason, it all came to a screeching halt. Oakland erased a nine-point deficit with four minutes left in the first half to take a 40-39 lead into intermission. It carried over to the second half, the Colonials couldn’t recover. 

"I think we got a little bit ahead of ourselves offensively. We took a couple quick shots. Some out of character shots. Some turnovers in that stretch. That translated to the defensive side," head coach Andy Toole said. "A couple of them were blowing down the floor and hanging their heads about what just happened on offense.”

He also took blame for Oakland’s late first-half run. The Robert Morris tempo may have been too fast. He also may not have had the best situational lineup on the floor. 

“I think I’ve got to manage those four minutes a little bit better,” he said. “Maybe I should’ve said, ‘We’ve done well and making some shots and getting some early offense, but maybe we want to manage this so we can go into the half with a five or six point lead.’”

Regardless, there’s still a sense of accountability the players need to take when shit hits the fan. The coaches can put them in positions to succeed. But it ultimately falls on them to step up and do it. 

IT’S A MINDSET

Robert Morris is a 1-8 team playing primarily underclassmen. The losing has to be getting to these guys. You could tell by the looks on their faces as soon as the problems started amounting. 

The energy stopped. They went from a team playing with passion and excitement to a team looking toward the next guy to step up. Rodney Pryor couldn’t do it all himself. He finished with 35 points on 12 of 23 shooting with Oakland completely keying on him. 

“[Kay] Felter went on a 9-0 run by himself. A couple of them were blowing down the floor and hanging their heads about what just happened on offense,” Toole said. “Now, he’s running down your back and getting into the lane and creating stuff. That’s a mental toughness thing I think we’ve got to get better at.”

HOOPER CAN HOOP

Oakland's Max Hooper finished with 24 points off the bench on 8 of 17 shooting. This is the same guy that shot 6 of 12 against Robert Morris in the NIT with St. Johns two years back.

Robert Morris had to have keyed him in the defensive game plan. Yet, a majority of his shot attempts came on open looks when players failed to rotate over. 

Toole made a comparison out of Hooper that some of his players can take with them.  

“Hooper, who was 8-for-17 in 29 minutes, probably could have taken 117 three’s and look exactly the same from number one to number 117. He shoots the same shot each and every time. He was the 6 for 12 from 3. That’s his reputation.

“There’s guys on our team that have reputations as a shooter. You’ve got to shoot the same shot every time, have the same footwork every time and be in the condition to be able to get those shots and make them at a high rate.”

Matty McConnell and Isaiah Still finished a combined 5 of 23 from the floor and 3 of 14 from three-point range. 

GILES STILL HOT 

Billy Giles was one of the lone bright spots on the night for Robert Morris. He posted his third double-digit scoring effort in four games, and finished with 16 points and 10 boards in 31 minutes. 

Elijah Minnie was sick and didn’t dress, and Aaron Tate continued to nurse a lower body injury. The coaching staff prepared in the coming days for Giles to start. 

He took full advantage of the opportunity.

A few weeks back, Toole told me that Giles was the type of player that needed to get a feel for the situation around him....whether it was a drill-to-drill, practice-to-practice or game-to-game basis. Once he went through something a few times, he got his feet underneath him and comfortability began to kick in.

Then he'd really fly. 

Over the last six games, we’ve seen that from him. Saturday afternoon was another step, if not leap, in the right direction.

“He’s really putting in the work in practice where he’s going at that game speed that we talk about all the time. You can see him becoming more comfortable and more confident from where he has the ability to score from.”

SHOTS WEREN’T FALLING

Robert Morris saw its shooting percentage drop from 44 percent in the first half to 30 in the second half. The Colonials shot 6 of 26 from downtown, and 18 of 32 from the charity stripe. 

With an undermanned roster, fatigue could’ve been a factor. But now nine games into the season, how long is it going to take before this team can last a consistent 40 minutes?

“You have to get used to playing that hard for that long,” Toole said. “We had guys that really emptied their tank in the first 18 minutes of the half. Well now, you’ve got to be capable mentally and physicaly to come on the floor and do that same exact thing again in the second half. 

“I think if you’re not making shots, it gets difficult.”

In years prior, it’s been way worse in terms of injuries and players leaving the team.The crazy eight weren’t this fatigued late in games. Obviously, Toole runs a crazy conditioning program that I definitely couldn’t partake in. (haha) 

Why are they so tired? 

Maybe it’s because they’re riding those hoverboards around campus all the time and not walking anymore. Kidding….But really, it’s going to be important in NEC play to last late in games. 

This team hasn’t shown an ability to do that. 

--Chris Mueller

--@cmuellerRMU