Previewing the Golden Knights

Not one losing season throughout the 21-year tenure of head coach Brian Beaury, an average of 22.3 victories and 10 NCAA Tournament appearances within the past 16 years provide a glimpse of the esteem that men’s basketball at The College of Saint Rose is held. Thus on one hand, the 2007-08 version of the Golden Knights will have plenty to live up to. On the other, the cast has every right to feel confident about its fate throughout the next six months.

Three starters are among nine returning letterwinners from last year’s 22-10 club, which went 15-7 in the Northeast-10 Conference, advanced to the league championship game, and subsequently won an opening round NCAA Tournament contest.

From a broad perspective, this team will have a familiar feel to it. It is a veteran squad with many interchangeable parts. Defense and rebounding will once again be staples, while perhaps the nation’s most dynamic small college point guard quarterbacks an offense that paced the NE-10 in assists (15.0) and was third in scoring offense a year ago (73.4). The Golden Knights also led the league in steals (9.1), were fourth in scoring defense (66.3), third in rebounding margin (+1.9) and finished 12-1 at home.

2006-07 in Review
Saint Rose is coming off yet another superlative campaign. The Golden Knights rattled off at least 19 wins for the 19th time throughout Brian Beaury’s tenure and made their third NCAA Tournament run within the past five seasons.

Saint Rose advanced to the NE-10 championship game by rallying from an 80-68 deficit with 1:20 remaining to upend host Pace University 82-81 in a league semifinal encounter. The Golden Knights eventually fell 71-61 in the title tilt at second-ranked Bentley, which entered the contest as one of only two undefeated teams in the nation.

Saint Rose once again upended Pace 87-71 a week later in a first-round NCAA Tournament contest, but saw its season come to a close with a 65-62 regional semifinal loss to Bryant. It was reminiscent of several setbacks during the season, as six of the club’s 10 defeats were by four or fewer points.

Letterwinners Lost (4)
The most prominent losses from a year ago are a pair of starters in forward Clayton Longmire and guard Mike DePaoli. Longmire, who is currently playing professionally in Germany, garnered third-team All-Conference accolades as a senior after averaging 13.5 points and a team-leading 6.8 rebounds. He also wound up second in the NE-10 with 1.7 blocks per-game. DePaoli, a four-year letterwinner who started regularly for the first time as a senior, averaged 6.6 points, but made his mark as an outstanding perimeter defender.

Also gone from 2006-07 are forward Michael Epperson, guard Courtney Johnson and forward Kevin Fowler. Epperson missed all of his final year of eligibility after suffering an injury in the preseason, while Johnson and Fowler had reserve roles.

Letterwinners Returning (9)
Among those returning are three senior starters in reigning NE-10 Player of the Year Steve Dagostino (Schenectady, NY/Guilderland), forward Shanty Robinson (Mount Vernon, NY/Mount Vernon) and wing Will Monica (Great Falls, VA/Langley).

Dagostino, who has been named a preseason first-team All-American by The Sporting News, is the quintessential point guard who defends, directs the offense, distributes the ball and is a scoring threat as well. Dagostino averaged 17.0 points, 4.8 assists and 2.0 steals as a junior and was the only player in the NE-10 to rank among the conference’s top-10 in all three categories. He also shot a league-leading 87.0 percent (140-for-161) from the foul line, 41.5 percent (76-for-183) from the arc, and was in double-figures scoring in 30 of the 31 games that he appeared in. Furthermore, he averaged 13.7 points and 5.9 assists over seven games while touring throughout Belgium and Holland with an NCAA I All-Star team last summer.

Robinson is a classic inside threat. He averaged 10.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals as a junior when he was in double-figures scoring on 18 occasions and recorded three “double-doubles”. Monica scored at a 9.2 ppg clip and knocked down 50 3-pointers on the year. He is the lone returnee who started all 32 contests in 2006-07.

Also back in the mix are three juniors and a trio of sophomores. The junior class is comprised of forward Evan Lane (Sharon Springs, NY/Sharon Springs), guard/forward Josh Pelletier (Troy, NY/LaSalle Institute) and guard Tom Behrens (Nanuet, NY/Pearl River). The latter is not expected to dress this year after suffering an injury in the preseason. Meanwhile, the sophomore contingent is made up of forward Malcolm Williams (Schenectady, NY/Schenectady) and guards Cody Daigle (Stillwater, NY/Stillwater) and Jermaine Clark (Perth Amboy, NJ/Perth Amboy).

Another strong inside player who should see more playing time this year, Lane produced 4.2 points and an impressive 4.7 rebounds in just 12.7 minutes off the bench last season. Clark developed nicely as the club’s “sixth man” as a freshman. He contributed 8.8 points and shot 42.1 percent (53-for-126) from the arc, the league’s fifth best mark, throughout 20 minutes of playing time. Clark is being counted upon to assume a starting role this season, with Williams expected to be one of the first players called off the bench. Williams has turned heads throughout the preseason and appears poised for a breakout campaign. He contributed 2.1 points and 1.9 rebounds in limited action during 23 games.

Pelletier sat out the final three-fourths of last season with an injury and thus has some catching up to do. Daigle is a walk-on who saw limited time in his rookie year. He’ll once again have a reserve role.

Newcomers (6)
This year’s recruiting class is comprised of two transfers and four freshmen. The two transfers both arrive from local institutions. Junior guard J.G. Braga (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Guilherme Dumont Villares) comes out of Division I Siena, while forward Zach Bye (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glenville) played at Hudson Valley CC last season. Braga saw limited time in his two years at Siena, but he has a feel for the game and excels in the open court. He could figure prominently into the backcourt rotation. Bye is an athletic player who could see time up front after averaging a “double-double” at HVCC in 2006-07.

Braga played in 16 games throughout his two years at Siena and has played for several club teams in his native Brazil. Bye twice pulled down a school record 20 rebounds and wound up averaging 10.5 points and 11.5 rebounds for the Vikings.

The freshmen quartet is made up of three guards and a forward. Ben Johnson (Pictou County, Nova Scotia/St. David Catholic), Rob Gutierrez (Brooklyn, NY/John Adams) and Dallas Jones (Selkirk, NY/Catholic Central) are the newest backcourt members, while Sheldon Griffin (Lititz, PA/Warwick) plays at a forward spot.

Johnson is a superior perimeter defender who averaged 26.7 points, 6.3 assists and 2.3 steals as a senior at Northumberland High School in New Brunswick in 2005-06. He then moved on last year to St. David Catholic in Waterloo, Ontario where he did not participate in basketball.

Gutierrez was named an All-Queens All-Star as a senior at John Adams after averaging 15.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 2006-07, while Jones was a Big Ten All-Star and a second team All-City pick at Catholic Central where he graduated from in 2006. Finally, Griffin was named to the Section 1 All-Star team and the Section I All-Defensive team of the Lancaster/Lebanon League last winter.

Schedule
Saint Rose will encounter 22 NE-10 contests with home and home series versus Le Moyne, American International, Southern New Hampshire, Pace, Franklin Pierce, Southern Connecticut State, Saint Michael’s and Saint Anselm. The Golden Knights will also host Stonehill, Bryant and Assumption and will travel to Merrimack, UMass Lowell and Bentley.

The non-league schedule is comprised of three home dates and an appearance at the C.W. Post Classic. League rival Merrimack will head to Albany for a “non-conference” meeting, while Holy Family and the University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras will also visit the Daniel P. Nolan Gymnasium. A highlight will be the team’s third trip in four years to the Carrier Dome where the Golden Knights will square off with Division I Syracuse in an exhibition game on Sunday, November 4.

The 2007-08 campaign is set to get underway on Saturday, November 17 when Merrimack arrives in the Capital Region. NE-10 action gets rolling on Tuesday, November 20 when upstate rival Le Moyne comes to town.

Three clubs on the schedule garnered NCAA Tournament invitations last year. Among those is defending conference champion Bentley who rattled off 32 consecutive victories, before falling in a national semifinal game.

Quoting Head Coach Brian Beaury
“I’m looking forward to this year. (Steve) Dagostino spent the summer working on his game while playing in Europe with the East Coast All-Stars as the only Division II participant on a club comprised of players from major Division I programs such as Maryland, Rutgers, Texas A&M and Virginia. (Jermaine) Clark, (Will) Monica, (Shanty) Robinson and (Evan) Lane are all big parts of what we do. They all bring something different to the table. Thus, we have a veteran group that knows how to win in addition to some solid newcomers. I think we should have a very good basketball team and hopefully we’ll be ready for action in the always very competitive NE-10.”

Summation
The current rendition of the Golden Knights has a lot going for itself. The club has depth, experience, a quality defense and one of the nation’s most exciting point guards at its disposal. There is also a solid inside presence in the form of Robinson, Lane and Williams. Monica is a dangerous shooter from the perimeter, while Clark simply knows how to score.

Bye and Braga have the potential to contribute from the get-go as do the other four newcomers.

The challenges come via the schedule, the absence of two key components from last year’s squad and the lack of size in the paint, as Lane at 6-8 is the only player on the roster who is listed above 6-5. Longmire’s impact inside and DePaoli’s perimeter defense are two ingredients that will need to be negated, thus someone must grasp an expanded role.

Additionally, only five games in the loss column separated second through tenth place in the NE-10 and so any hiccup during the season could alter the playoff picture. There is also little room for error as five of the Golden Knights’ seven league losses were decided by an average of 3.4 points. Furthermore, four of the eight clubs out of the region that garnered NCAA Tournament bids hailed from the NE-10.

Several pundits have faith that this could be a special year on Western Avenue. Division II Bulletin has the Golden Knights ranked #14 in the preseason, while The Sporting News mentions Saint Rose as a team that could potentially break through into the national rankings at some point. Those forecasts may be a bit optimistic at this juncture, but there is no doubt that when all is said and done, the Golden Knights should once again be in their usual place near the top of the NE-10 standings by the time late February rolls around.