How will the team respond to McFadden calling it quits?

RMU received some unfortunate news earlier in the past week when they learned center Mike McFadden had quit the team. As some may recall, McFadden left the team last year but came back after a few games. McFadden has dealt with numerous injuries throughout his collegiate career.

Mike McFadden is no longer with RMU (p/c: Toledo 

Blade)

My thoughts on Mike’s game this year has been well documented on this blog and on-air. He is a very talented player but the expectations for him were raised and instead of getting better he seemed to plateau and fell in love a little too much with his jump shot. McFadden was averaging 7.8 points on 43 percent shooting and was third on the team in rebounds per game, grabbing 3.8.

I’m not fully convinced Mike is calling it a career. History has a tendency to repeat itself and it’d be foolish to totally throw out the notion that Mike gets the itch to play ball again, so we’ll see. Under the assumption that McFadden has called it a career, here are some of the impacts that can be seen:

-Growing thin on the frontcourt: Due to the likes of Keith Armstrong leaving, Lijah Thompson and Vaughn Morgan transferring, and McFadden quitting, there is relatively no depth in the frontcourt. This means Stephan Hawkins, Aaron Tate, and Jeremiah Worthem are going to have to play smart basketball and avoid foul trouble or it could put the team in a tight spot when it comes to rebounding.

-More minutes for Hawkins: Stephan Hawkins is certainly starting to play better and will have to continue to play at an elevated level. Even if McFadden were to return, Hawkins would likely remain the starter (sort of what we saw with Velton Jones and Anthony Myers-Pate last season). The thing I like most about Hawkins is he is starting to find his identity. He can hit that baseline jumper, rebound, and is doing well with his defensive positioning.

-More small ball: I’m always a big proponent of a smaller lineup because RMU’s guards are simply better than just about anyone else. A lineup that see’s Chuck Oliver at the three and Lucky Jones at the four will space the floor and has the potential to shoot the lights out. The biggest knock on Oliver has been his defense but as the season has gone on Chuck has come into his own on that side and can take over a game offensively. This obviously will thin out the bench even more (Worthem is the only one who can come off the bench and score in this situation) but I can live with it. The positives outweigh the negatives.

-Back to the basket: Offensively, McFadden was the only guy on the team who had a polished game working with his back to the basket. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Hawkins back anyone down before and Worthem is still raw in that aspect. RMU is going to have to get creative if they want to score points in the paint.

-Talking about practice: One of the more underrated aspects of McFadden (and Juanie Newton) leaving is practice. When the team wants to run 5v5 scrimmages in practice, the drop off in talent from the first to second unit is much larger. That’s not a slight to a walk on like Shaire Tolson-Ford, it’s just the truth. Everyone’s role on the team has gotten larger.

--Chris Cappella

--@C_Cappella

NEC Review/Look Ahead

Another wild weekend in the NEC has past, and for the second straight week it was the Robert Morris University Colonials who made maybe the biggest statement. Let's take a look at what happened, and what lies ahead for the 10 members on the NEC, as we get ever-closer to March.

First off, you can't start a review without the standings, so here you go, the up to the second NEC standings.

Last weekend, RMU defeated both Saint Francis PA (after blowing a 14 point lead) and went on the road an took down Mount St. Mary's. The two wins leave the Colonials as the only team left in the NEC that is unblemished in conference play, at 4-0. 

Lucky Jones and the Colonials are 4-0
in NEC play. (p/c Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)

St Francis Brooklyn and Bryant both went 2-0, keeping with in a game of RMU, and maintaining an all important top-4 spot. The Terriers beat CCSU and Sacred Heart, while the Bulldogs took down Sacred Heart and FDU.

Wagner split their two road games, beating St. Francis PA on the road Saturday, bouncing back from a loss at Mount (which was their first loss in NEC play).

FDU is a surprising two and two, beating LIU handily on the road Thursday, but the Knights aren't quite ready for the NEC elite, as Bryant handled them on Saturday.

Speaking of the defending champs, they won at CCSU Saturday avoiding an 0-4 start. That win is big for the banged up Blackbirds as they look to find their way.

St Francis PA, Sacred Heart, and Central Connecticut all went winless.

Got all that?

Oh yea, RMU freshman Jeremiah Worthem won his second Freshman of the Week award. I still think he's the front-runner for freshman of the year. Here's that story. Wayne Martin of St. Francis Brookyn is his biggest competition. 

What does it all mean? 

It can be understated just how big the Colonials win over Mount (and Braynt) was on Saturday. They now own a game lead on the conference through four games, three of which were on the road, and they beat two other "contenders" on their home court. 

Now RMU needs to make their move.

The Colonials will play four straight at the Sewall Center, two of which will be against other contenders (Wagner, Bryant). The game against Bryant is another showcase game in the conference/program, as the game will be on ESPNU.

The other two games are "easy wins" (if there is such a thing) against Sacred Heart and Central Connecticut, two teams that are a combine 1-7 in NEC play.

If RMU goes 4-0 on this home-stand, they will be 8-0 with eight games to go. They would own a win over Mount on the road, two wins over Bryant, and a home win over Wagner. They would have at least a two game lead on everyone in the conference accept maybe SFNY, who they play twice in the second half.

The conference wouldn't be wrapped up by any means, but RMU would have quite a strangle hold on the league. Even a three-and-one home-stand sets the Colonials up for a nice run. 

The biggest game has to be Wagner. The Colonials already have a road win over Bryant, so if they were to fall to the bulldogs, a season split would already have been achieved. RMU still has to travel to Staten Island to play Wagner in their home gym, so it's crucial RMU win their home matchup.

One other note, Wagner plays a much easier NEC schedule, playing Bryant only once (at home) and St. Francis Brooklyn just one (on the road). That's important, as RMU plays both twice, and plays CCSU and FDU just once. 

So now that you have all that, let's look at this weekend's games, starting with Thursday night.

Thursday January 23rd:

While Saturday is loaded with big time match-ups, Thursday is not. The top five teams all play the bottom five teams. LIU is at Bryant, Sacred Heart at RMU, CCSU at Wagner, Mount at SFPA, and St Francis Brooklyn at FDU.

The Knights likely have the best shot at an upset, and that would be big for RMU. So Colonials fans should pull for FDU. As for the rest of the slate, there probably won't be too many surprises. 

Saturday however, has some huge games.

Saturday January 25th:

The biggest game of the weekend will once again involve the RMU Colonials. This will be the third straight Saturday RMU plays in the game of the day.

As noted above, RMU really needs a win over Wagner, who is likely the biggest contender in terms if taking the number one seed away from RMU in the NEC tournament (Bryant and SFNY will have their say too). The Seahawks still get RMU at home (in the last game of the season) and have the easier schedule. 

Cannon vs Francis will be good stuff.
(p/c Rob Abruzzese)

The other big time match-up is the high powered Bryant offense hosting the stingy defense of St. Francis Brooklyn. Jalen Cannon against Alex Francis will be a great matchup. They're the two best forwards in the league, and there really isn't a guy who can get their name in that conversation at the moment.

Bryant really needs the win. They can't afford to drop a second home game to a team they will battle with for a top-4 spot, they already lost one to RMU. They still have road games at RMU, at Wagner,  at St Francis Brooklyn and at Mount left on the schedule. 

This is a must win for the Bulldogs.

As for the rest of the league, Sacred Heart travels to SFPA in a game that could go a long way to deciding who makes the NEC tournament. 

CCSU, who travels to Wagner two days before, will likely be looking for their first win in NEC play as they travel to FDU. 

The final game, Mount St. Mary's at LIU Brooklyn, could feature a final score of 7326574236578324 to 58678457685497. Neither team plays any D, both have GREAT point guards, so look for a shoot-out in Brooklyn.

Looking forward to some great games in week three of NEC play, we're almost to the halfway point. Look for a Sacred Heart/RMU preview tomorrow. 

--@Kunkel5

--Lee Kunkel

Worthem wins NEC Rookie of the Week

For the second time this year, RMU freshman forward Jeremiah Worthem has won the Choice Hotels NEC Rookie of the Week. Coming off a 2-0 week, Worthem averaged 16.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, and shot 62.5 percent from the field.

It wasn't just about how much Worthem scored as opposed to when he did. His huge three point shot against St. Francis (PA) with three minutes remaining saved what could have been an ugly loss for the Colonials. At Mount, Worthem had a carer high 21 points in a game where Karvel Anderson really struggled to find his shot. RMU needed someone to step up and, like we've seen a few times this year, the freshman played like anything but.

Congrats to Jeremiah on his second Rookie of the Week award. 

--Chris Cappella

--@C_Cappella

RMCMB moves to 4-0, beats Mount 77-69

The Colonials picked up another huge win, going down to the Mount and grabbing an 8 point victory, moving the Colonials to 4-0 in the NEC, 9-10 overall.

The Mount, winners of two straight at home over St Francis Brooklyn and Wagner, were focused on slowing down the hot shooting Karvel Anderson. They did a solid job, holding him to 12 points, but forgot about RMU's freshman sensation Jeremiah Worthem.

Worthem, who played by far the best game of his RMU career, finished with 21 points and including some big buckets late, and ht a few free throws to help seal the win.

Lucky Jones also showed up BIG TIME, tallying a double-double scoring 16 points and 10 rebounds.

RMU's defense showed up, holding the best offensive team in the league to just 69 points.

Some thoughts:

Chuck Oliver had a nice spell in the first half when RMU was struggling, scoring and And 1 at the rim, knocking down a three, and then a no look pass to Aaron Tate for an easy dunk.

This was a "ballsy" win for RMU. They showed a lot of poise and grit that well serve them well moving forward.

The Mount color guy just called you out RMU. He called the Colonial Crazies and the Sewall Center a "morgue." Yikes. RMU has four straight at home. Hopefully the only thing "morgue-ish" will be teams coming to die at the Chuck. When Mount comes to the Chuck on the 15th of February, the Crazies need to be ROCKING. He was also the worse color guy ever, like EVER.

One other big note: Mike McFadden has quit the team according to the RMU radio guys. They made the announcement before Saturday's game. We will see if McFadden is done for good, he did this last year and came back, but if he is, it's a huge blow.

A lot more on this game/the weekend in the NEC to come...For now, awesome win. Let's run away with this thing over the next four games.

--Lee Kunkel
--@Kunkel5

Other thoughts: Great win for the guys. A hot start in conference play was exactly what the doctor ordered. I think RMU could probably finish 8-4 and win the conference.

The defense was very impressive from the Colonials. There was a possession in the first half where Mount airballed a long three, got the rebound, and was forced into another three that was airballed. The pressure the guards put on the ballhandlers at the wing was unbelievable and unlike what we saw versus St. Francis, Mount was unable to work the ball in the high post for most of the game. Even though RMU was down at half, I loved the way they played, they just missed a lot of good looks at the rim.

It's tough to hear McFadden has walked away from the team again. I think the hope is he will take some time off and return like he did last year. RMU could really use him for, at the very least, depth in the frontcourt.

Not a whole lot to ad that wasn't already said. Aaron Tate is playing some really good basketball which is awesome because his minutes are only going to go up. RMU was pretty money from the free throw line and you have to be when you don't shoot the three ball a lot. Also, loved the way both point guards broke the press.

--Chris Cappella
--@C_Cappella

RMU's box from ESPN.

What's Juanie Newton's status?

Something that garnered a little attention last night was the fact that transfer guard Juanie Newton was not dressed or with the team. In fact, he sat in the bleachers with the students. Newton started the season off as a pretty reliable contributor off the bench but for whatever reason has been deep in Toole's doghouse and has not seen the court. 

When Toole was asked postgame about Newton's status he said it was "unclear" and he is still with the team. Newton also responded to some questions of his availability on twitter, stating he has not left the team:

Those who followed the team last year may remember a sort of similar situation with Mike McFadden, where he was not with the team for two games but came back. Of course, the reasons for leaving were different. Mike was struggling with injuries and didn't want to keep tearing down his body while Newton's is playing time related.

Before the game I was told pretty much exactly what Newton tweeted; he left the team but there is a chance he could return. It's unfortunate this situation has progressed  to where it is. I love Juanie's game-- he can hit some shots from behind the arc and brings a ton of energy. The problem is, where is the energy being focused? Toole has proven he will not play guys if they don't want to play defense.

If Juanie does come back to the team, it'll be interesting to see in what capacity. 

--Chris Cappella

--@C_Cappella

A Familiar Foe: Robert Morris at The Mount

Robert Morris (8-10, 3-0) at Mount St. Mary's (6-10, 2-1)
When: Saturday, January 18th, 2pm
Where: Knott Arena, Emmitsburg, Maryland
KenPom: RMU 172, Mount 220
Storyline: It's a quick turnaround for both RMU and Mount as both are coming off big win's Thursday night, but have an even bigger game Saturday with first place on the line.
Link: NEC Front Row

Storyline (continued): The story line section in our lead in is not near big enough to get the who picture painted. RMU will head to Maryland flying high, but last time RMU was flying high, and Mount was in their path, the Mountaineers sent the Colonials packing in the NEC semifinals.

I won't spend too much time on that game last March, mainly because I'll start crying, but it certainly will be in the back of Karvel Anderson, Mike McFadden, Ant Myers Pate, and Lucky Jones (along with the other Colonial Vets) head on Saturday.

Norfleet does it all for the Mount
(p/c MSM).

As for the meaning of this particular game, it's huge. If RMU wins they will be 4-0, a game up on the whole conference, with wins on the road over Bryant and MSM. That would be a HUGE leg up on the league, with four straight games at home upcoming.

A loss, and RMU will slip back with the rest of the pack, including Mount, at 3-1.

Getting to Know the Mount: I really cant wait to watch Karvel battle Mount's star guard Julian Norfleet. 

He's a stud.

For the season, he's averaging 20.7 points-per-game, 5.6 assists-per-game and he just carved up Wagner's defense like it was nothing. Him and Anderson look like the front runners to battle it out for NEC player of the year.

This will be the NEC equivalent to Lebron vs KD. It should be a fun matchup.

As a team, Mount is a highly entertaining group to watch. They score a ton, but don't really stop anyone.

A lot of that is due to their injuries, which have killed their depth and took a lot of the bite out of their "havoc" system.

Mont is great on offense,
but not so good on D.
(KenPom)

The D is allowing 114.3 points-per-100 possessions, that's the second worse in the NEC ahead of only LIU (who is GOD awful). That mark ranks 329th in all of college basketball according to KenPom.

Offensively though, they're as potent as anyone in the league. They score 109.8 points-per-100 possessions, that's the best adjusted offense in the league (RMU is second at just over 107).

Not only is Norfleet a big time weapon, but Rashad Whack -a George Mason transfer who killed RMU in the NEC tournament- is averaging 16.5 points-per-game and Sam Prescott is starting to find his stroke, making Mount that much more dangerous.

All-in-all, both RMU and Mount are REALLY good on offense, but have their struggles on the defensive side.

Colonial Keys: For RMU, it's pretty simple. Attack, attack, attack on offense. Do just enough on defense. If RMU can hold Mount under 80 points, they have a good shot at winning. If not, it will be difficult to out-gun the Mount in their home building.

On offense, RMU must handle the Mount's pressure. They aren't as potent on D this year because of those injuries, but they still get after you. RMU really struggled with the pressure in the NEC tournament last year. If the Colonials break it, they will get a lot of open looks.

This is a huge game for Kavon Stewart and Jeremiah Worthem, as both will get their first look at havoc.

Worthem triggers the ball in, and Stewart is the point guard, so he will obviously have a lot of responsibility in breaking the press. This will be a great test for the two freshman.

How will Kavon Stewart handle his first look
at "HAVOC?" (p/c RMU).

In my opinion, I think this is the toughest matchup for RMU in the NEC. Mount exploits a lot of RMU's weaknesses, like pressuring full court, attacking the rim with their guards, and pushing the pace.

This years RMU team is better equipped to handle some of that, and the new zone wrinkle is something Mount hasn't seen from RMU is years past, but there is no doubt this will be a difficult game.

The Colonials also got ahead of the eight ball by winning at Bryant, so winning this game would be gravy. They have four straight home games coming up, and if they get through this whole stretch 7-1, even 6-2, they will be set up nicely for a second half run.

--@Kunkel5
--Lee Kunkel

Survive, move on.

Jeremiah Worthem stepped up as RMU
survived 73-68 (p/c Josh Verlin).

It wasn't pretty, but RMU survived and stayed perfect in NEC play with a comeback win over St Francis PA, 73-68.

With Mount St Mary's win over Wagner, RMU is in sole possession of first place, and remain the only undefeated team in the league at 3-0, (8-10 overall).

The Colonials were rolling along, as Karvel Anderson hit a step back three with the buzzer sounding to send the team into the break with a 12 point lead, 38-26.

RMU traded baskets at the start of the second half, but the defense did not look good, allowing easy high post entries and wide open threes.

The Red Flash took advantage, and the Colonials went cold. A 14 point lead, turned into an 11 point deficit.

Ben Millaud-Meunier (17 points, 5-8 from three) and Malik Harmon (21 points, 8-11 overall) started knocking down threes, and Earl Brown (11 points, 7 rebounds) did damage on the post, and it appeared RMU was about to lose maybe the ugliest game in the Toole era.

Sr. G Karvel Anderson: "We were slow on some of our rotations. They have shooters all around the perimeter, & we just had to stay urgent."
— RMU Men's Basketball (@RMUMBasketball) January 17, 2014

Then RMU woke up, and showed some fight, something that Toole will love seeing, despite the collapse.

Anderson hit a three, Jeremiah Worthem chipped in with the biggest shot of his RMU career, knocking down another three to get RMU within one, and then Ant Myers-Pate hit a long two to give the Colonials the lead.

A few clutch free throws by Anderson and Worthem, and RMU survived.

Anderson fished with 22 points on 7-14 shooting, Worthem finished with 10 points and four rebounds, and Myers-Pate four points and four assists.

Luck Jones, who hit a couple big shots including a corner three as RMU made their comeback, finished with 12 points and six rebounds.

Thoughts:

First off: Whewwwww. That was close. Nice win, but shouldn't have been that close. With that said, what heart to not fall down and stay down. The team got punched in the face, multiple times, and got back up and won the fight. 3-0 is 3-0.

Second: Awesome crowd. The Crazies were loud, I could here you guys through the NEC Front Row stream, and I truly think it helped the team comeback. After Worthem splashed that three, it was the loudest that building has been since that UK game. Well done students, keep up the good work. Next weeks home games are MASSIVE vs Sacred Heart/Wagner. Especially that game Saturday.

Lucky: I'd like to thank all the fans that came out tonight. I don't think we win without them coming out
— Chris Cappella (@C_Cappella) January 17, 2014

Loudest the Sewall Center has been since the Kentucky game...not a bad showing. #RMU
— Andrew Chiappazzi (@achiappazzi) January 17, 2014

Third: RMU put it into coast mode, and it almost cost them. In this zone, the team needs to be active, once they started playing with less energy out of the half, SFPA had easy looks all over the court. Credit to them, they hit some deep threes, but RMU needs to maintain that active energy for a complete 40 if this zone is going to work.

More to come later....Nice win. Huge game at the Mount on Saturday, 2pm tip NEC Front Row.

Lucky Jones said Jeremiah Worthem is the best freshman in the NEC. Heaped a lot of praise on him. #RMU
— Craig Meyer (@CraigMeyerPG) January 17, 2014

--Lee Kunkel
--@Kunkel5