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