Meyer on Morris Link

Moon Township, Pa. – Nov. 5, 2013 - For now, they're simply referred to as "the new guys.''
 
Three of them are Robert Morris University freshmen. Three of them joined the Colonials from junior colleges.
 
Eventually, you'll become much more familiar with their names … freshmen Kavon Stewart, Jeremiah Worthem and Britton Lee and transfers Aaron Tate, Charles Oliver and Desjuan Newton.
 
In time each of them will begin to differentiate himself from the others in terms of talent and playing time and significance of his contributions to the team's fortunes.
 
Probably at least two of them will become "those guys.'' Maybe one will become "that guy.'' It's possible one of two of them could become known as "THE guy.''
 
For now, though, they're just "the new guys.''
 
But for how long? How much time must pass before they're no longer called "the new guys"?
 
Could be a while -- because even though "the new guys'' wear Robert Morris red, white and blue, they're still green.
 
They're still trying to master the practice drills. Still trying to learn the offense. And still really trying to grasp the defense, which at Robert Morris is paramount.
 
"Guaranteed, hands down, it's defense,'' senior Mike McFadden said. "We're a pretty good offensive team this year. Everybody can score. It's more the defense. I don't think the new guys understand how important it is to communicate on every situation because one little mess-up can mean an easy bucket for the other team. Hopefully, everybody will understand that communication is the key to winning a D-I basketball game.
 
"In high school or junior college, you don't really communicate as much. (At the Division I level), you have to execute all the time for the 35 seconds. There might be a split-second where you just don't say anything and that can be two points for the other team.''
 
The speed of the game is faster at this level, which means communicating is super important. And that, in turn, emphasizes the need for "the new guys'' to learn the defense.
 
"It's kind of hard to talk about stuff that you don't really know like the back of your hand,'' senior Anthony Myers-Pate said.
 
Newton, who arrived at Robert Morris from Central Arizona College, is no stranger to communication on the floor.
 
"At my junior college, we communicated, but the arenas weren't as big, so you could hear,'' he said. "But here we have to project our voices and do whatever we have to do to get our message across and become a better defensive team.''
 
So, again, how much time must pass before "the new guys'' aren't "the new guys'' anymore? How long before they "get it"?
 
"I don't know. Everyone's different,'' RMU coach Andrew Toole said. "It's really hard to say. I think one of the first things that guys have to do is realize they don't know a whole lot about what it takes to be successful at the Division I level. I think that's Step One. If you constantly think what you did in the past is going to get it done at this level, it's going to take you longer.
 
"If you come in with an open mind and say, 'OK, what these guys are telling me is what I need to do,' it could be a shorter process. Everybody has a learning curve, and some people understand stuff at different rates. Some of our new guys are really good about coming in and getting extra help with stuff they don't understand. Some of them aren't as good yet.
 
"What I told most of the guys is that if you did not like the minutes you played or the role you have sometimes you get what you deserve. And so look at how you're approaching every day at practice, look at the knowledge you have of what we're trying to do and what we're trying to execute and maybe try to figure out where you can act differently or where you can act accordingly.''
 
It would seem that players new to the program would enter it knowing that things will be much different and that they would come prepared for that.
 
"They do,'' Toole said, "until it gets hard. So, yes, they all know. You talk to them before practice. You talk to them as they're going through the recruiting process. You talk to them when they get on campus. Their definition of conditioning is different than my definition of conditioning. Their definition of intense is different than my definition of intense. Their definition of competition is different than my definition of competition.
 
"We ask all our recruits, 'Are you competitive?' They say, 'Oh, yes, coach, I hate to lose.' Well, how about 365 days a year? How about every practice drill? How about a ball-handling drill? That's competitive to me. How about a sprint? Those are some of the things that they don't quite grasp. Sometimes you have guys who learn the easy way -- maybe from other people's mistakes or from what other people tell them. Then you have those other people who have to learn the hard way. And unfortunately the hard way a lot of times is more difficult because you have situations where maybe you're not as successful as you want to be or your team's not as successful as you want it to be.''
 
Fortunately for "the new guys'', they have resources to use to help with the transition to Division I basketball.
 
Newton, for example, can lean on his high school background. He graduated from Seattle's Garfield High School, noted for its diversity and nurturing environment. Yes, Garfield has produced great athletes -- former major league baseball player Billy North and National Basketball Association players Tony Wroten and Brandon Roy -- but it's also home to Irvine Robbins of ice cream fame, noted blues and jazz singer Ernestine Anderson, chess grandmaster Yasser Seirawan, music legend Jimi Hendrix and famed music producer Quincy Jones.
 
"You don't want to let a guy like that down,'' Newton said.
 
So Newton can draw strength and inspiration from Garfield's alumni.
 
In addition, Newton and all the other "new guys'' can get help from "the old guys'' -- the upperclassmen.
 
"Karvel's been like a mentor to me,'' Newton said.
 
That would be senior Karvel Anderson, who just a year ago was a "new guy'' himself. He came to the Colonials after two years of basketball spread over two different junior colleges.
 
Anderson can score -- he led the Colonials with an average of 12.5 points per game last season -- and he can empathize.
 
"It's very difficult being a newcomer at any program, but especially here at RMU because it's so intense," Anderson said. " The way we practice, the way we play and what you have to learn is so intense. Our offensive formula. Our defensive formula. I haven't seen many places that do things the way we do here. So having to come in and learn this stuff right away and then being thrown into the fire is something difficult for a newcomer.''
 
Anderson, however, successfully navigated the "newcomer'' phase -- with help.
 
"What I always speak about when I praise this program and university is that it's a very cohesive type of place,'' Anderson said. "As soon as I got here, on my (official) visit, it was like a brotherhood. It was like a family. When I came here on my visit, in open gym Velton (Jones) was trying to find me shots right off the bat. I hadn't even signed to come here yet. It's a very tight-knit family here. I credit Toole for that.''
 
That's something Newton grasped when he made his visit to RMU in May. It just so happened that when he made his visit, Toole's contract extension was announced, and Newton sat in on the media conference.
 
"You could tell how much respect he had,'' Newton said.
 
"This is a very secure place,'' Anderson said, "and I think that's why people love being here. That's why people play so hard for this program because you know you're playing for your brothers. You're not just teammates or friends. It's people you consider family.''
 
Which makes it easy to mentor the new guys.
 
"I know I mention his name a lot, but Velton did the same thing with me,'' Anderson said. "I see somebody like Juanie (Newton) or Chuck (Oliver) or Aaron (Tate), who have that potential, but their feet are still kind of wet. They're still new. The juco relationship also helps. Juco is a different lifestyle than elsewhere. I know what they're going through and what they've been through. But with everybody on the team I try to be somebody anybody can talk to or go to because I feel like throughout my life I've experienced a lot of different things. Maybe I can help other people get through them.''
 
Anderson seems to have a special affinity for Newton.
 
"We have similar backgrounds,'' Newton said.
 
"I liked Juanie when I first saw him,'' Anderson said. "The way he plays attracted me at first. I'm a guy who loves playing hard and people who show their emotions. That's the first thing you see out of Juanie regardless of his skillset and his leaping ability. His heart is the first thing that attracted me. That kind of pulled me in. I like that he really loves the game. He is appreciative of the opportunity he's getting. I know that he really wants to be here. He wants to do anything that he can to help. I have a really good relationship with him.''
 
That's among the things that made Anderson anticipate his senior season a lot.
 
"I really did look forward to coming back this season,'' he said. "One of the biggest reasons was because throughout my collegiate career I had never played at one place twice. I've never had that second year at a place. It was kind of weird for me -- like I'm coming back to the place I just left. That was a new experience for me right there.
 
"Coming back and being someone who was considered to be a leader was a big challenge for me. I'm a captain (over) somebody like (junior) Lucky Jones who's been here longer than I have and who knows more than I do. That's another challenge for me. I was optimistic about coming back. I think I look forward to this year more than I did last year.''
 
It's quite likely that next year this year's "new guys'' will say the same thing. 
 
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