As we are just a few days removed from what was a very entertaining season for the Robert Morris University Colonials men's basketball team.
The offseason is already off to a fast start as teams across the country change coaches, lose players via graduation and transfers, and the rumor mill is hot.
The Colonials, like last season, will endure a pretty big change in roster, but this offseason has the potential endure even bigger changes, as a potential seven new faces could find their way to onto the Colonials roster by the start of the 2014-2015 season next November.
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Anderson won't be back, will Toole?
(Matt Freed, Post-Gazette) |
Let's start with what we know:
Karvel Anderson and
Ant Myers Pate have exhausted their eligibility and the seniors will graduate. This was known all season, but we can't forget that
Mike McFadden, who stepped away from the team with knee issues, is also graduating and that will open up another scholarship.
The Colonials still had an extra scholarship that was not filled coming into this season when
Lijah Thompson left RMU in the school in the mid-summer.
If you're keeping track, that's four scholarship openings (there are currently two commits, but more on that in a bit).
The Andy Toole factor:
The next big question, and one that could dictate where the program goes as a whole, is the head coaching situation.
Obviously, everyone who knows anything about RMU basketball, knows that
Andy Toole is one of the best coaches in college basketball.
He's young, only 33 years of age, and already has a 90-49 overall record, and a 54-17 in the NEC. He has wins over Kentucky, St John's, two regular season titles, and has won 22 or more games in three straight years after winning 18 his first season.
His resume is as strong as any at the low-major level, and the only thing missing is an appearance in the NCAA tournament.
While he probably won't get any serious looks from "BCS" level schools like Wake Forest or Boston College (though I personally think he's more then ready) other mid-major jobs will come calling.
Many national columnist have already connected his name to the Manhattan opening after
Steve Masiello took the job at
USF. They have rescinded that offer and it's not clear if Masiello will return to Manhattan.
He likely won't leave for a rebuilding job if it's in a one bid league. In the NEC, he has one of the best programs that should be set to contend for another league title, so it would need to be at least an A-10 level job at the minimum if there is a lot of work to do.
Toole will also likely want to stay in his recruiting zone (the Northeast). He knows the area well, has a ton of ties here, so don't expect him to leave for a job out west or down south.
Toole will certainly have options, and his future will dictate what this team looks like.
Current openings to track: Manhattan, Marshall (You can find a complete list of openings
here)
Possible Transfers:
Coming into this season, the offseason outlook looked pretty straight forward. Three seniors were leaving, the team got two early commits, and Andy Toole would have one or two openings to play with.
Then all hell broke loose in mid-January.
Juanie Newton is probably gone. He walked away from the team at the start of NEC play, and is expected to transfer. He's from Seattle, and just never seemed to fit in at RMU.
Jeremiah Worthem and
Britton Lee were both suspended in January for an incident on campus. The freshmen were suspended from the university--not just the basketball program--until January of 2015. That would mean if they were to return, they wouldn't even be able to practice again until January 12th after missing a whole year of action, and could only play in about 14 games.
Worthem, who was on pace to win/contend for the freshman of the year award in the NEC, has already tweeted about leaving the program and joining
Quadir Welton --his high school teammate at MCS in Philadelphia-- at St. Peter's.
He would have to sit out the year.
There hasn't been much word on Lee, but I personally would be surprised if he elected to comeback to RMU.
Expect all three to leave the program, opening up another three scholarships. If they do all leave, that would open up seven new spots, with only two currently filled.
What's left on the roster?
While every other player on the roster has the right to transfer as the ones mentioned above, it isn't openly expected for any other players of the remaining "crazy eight"
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Jones will lead the Colonials in 2014-2015.
(Matt Freed, Post-Gazette) |
Lucky Jones,
Chuck Oliver, and
David Appolon will all be seniors. Jones will be the star of the team, and will be a trendy pick for preseason NEC player of the year. Oliver and Appolon will have the opportunity to start from day one, but both have a lot to work on this offseason.
Appolon is a great defender, but needs to continue to develop on the offensive end. Oliver needs to become more consistent, and work on his defense.
Stephan Hawkins and
Aaron Tate will both be juniors, and should benefit from a lot of learning experiences this season. Both could start, but will certainly get a lot of minutes.
Hawkins could be a star, and is a solid offseason and few added post moves from being a great all around big man. Tate will once again be a high energy guy, and could become one of the more versatile defenders on the team.
Kavon Stewart should be the starting point guard next year. He will be a sophomore, but he is one to track as a possible transfer candidate should Toole leave.
The soon-to-be sophomore has three years of eligibility left, and has shown he has the potential to be a great mid-major point guard.
He is lightning fast/quick, and has superior vision.
Stewart is so good at scoring at the rim with his left, and could become unguardable if he develops a right hand, and works on his jump shot.
He also needs to improve his free throw shooting, but the team is in good hands with Kavon at the helm.
Recruiting:
This could go so many ways.
Toole currently has two commits, and two openings, but there could be three more openings to come, and if Andy leaves, there could be more.
The potential new coach would also likely loose both commits, so there are a lot of moving parts when it comes to filling the roster.
For now, Toole is the head coach. He's recruiting as the RMU head coach, and until that officially changes, he will continue to recruit players to Moon Township.
The two commits that have signed their national letter of intent to attend RMU starting next fall are 6-8 power forward
Andre Frederick and 6-1 point guard
Jafar Kinsey.
Kinsey Verbal Commits Profile
Frederick Profile
Toole will look to fill the remaining spots with a mix of older JUCO players who have collegiate experience, and a blend of current high school seniors.
Two local names to keep an eye on,
Elijah Minnie from the state champs Lincoln Park, and former local high school star
Nolan Cressler who is transferring from Cornell (he will likely go high-major though).
The Schedule:
According to our man Andrew Chiappazzi over at Colonials Corner, Robert Morris has already secured six non-conference home games. Last season the team only had four.
Per Colonials Corner, the basketball 2014-15 schedule
Home:
Lafayette (return game for trip this year)
Delaware (return game for trip this year)
Youngstown State (return game for trip this year)
Oakland University (return game for trip this year)
Buffalo (part of 4 game series. RMU gets next 2 at home)
Duquesne (annual game)
Road:
at Toledo (return game for hosting this year)
The NEC will also return to an 18 game conference schedule, meaning every opponent will pay each other twice, once at home, once on the road.
So there you have it, a complete guide to the offseason that awaits the men's basketball program. A lot of these questions will be answered within the next two to three weeks, and CTC will have updates and thoughts on everything that happens.
With all that said DON'T GO ANDY!!!
--Lee Kunkel
--@Kunkel5
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