Meyer on Morris Link

Moon Township, Pa. – The non-conference odyssey is over. Finally.
 
"It's definitely been a grind,'' Robert Morris coach Andrew Toole said.
 
The Colonials played 11 of their 15 nonconference games on the road -- more road games than any other team in the Northeast Conference.
 
They played games in eight states -- Alabama, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania (twice, although not back-to-back), Ohio (twice, although again not back-to-back) and Michigan (twice, although yet again not back-to-back).
 
They were one of just five NEC teams that passed the "no-click test'' concerning schedules. The "no-click test'' can be done on the schedules of Division I teams on ESPN.com. If a team played a game against a non-Division I school, one can't click on that opponent to discover who it is. Five NEC teams had "no-clicks'' on their schedules, including "no-click'' leader Fairleigh Dickinson (two).
 
RMU's three home games after the season opener at home Nov. 9 occurred after spans of 12, 15 and 11 days, and when they finally play another home game Jan. 16, they'll have gone 27 days without having played in the Charles L. Sewall Center.
 
Brutal.
 
"We were on the road for an entire week (Nov. 11-17) when we played at Lafayette, Eastern Michigan and Kentucky,'' Toole said. "By the end of that week, I don't think any of the dudes wanted to see each other anymore. It's definitely something that's been different for us. It's something we've had to try and manage, whether it's been practices, whether it's been how we travel to try and be able to give them some breaks, give them some times to just clear their brains. A lot of stuff's been thrown at them that they've had to handle. Changing lineups, difficult opponents, travel, difficulty in travel, adjusting to Division I basketball, scouting, et cetera, et cetera, and it's been hard.''
 
The odyssey ended perhaps fittingly when the Colonials returned home from Alabama earlier this week a day later than expected. Delayed and canceled flights forced them to spend a night in Atlanta before they finally returned to campus.
 
Now, however, their lives might acquire some normalcy. That is, perhaps in a rather harsh twist of scheduling fate, after they begin their NEC schedule with two more road games.
 
The Colonials (5-10) play at Sacred Heart (3-12) tonight before playing at Bryant (8-7) Saturday afternoon.
 
Even though these are road games, they do afford the Colonials the opportunity to get into a regular practice/game routine.
 
"I hope we can get into a routine and a rhythm where we know Sunday's our off day and Monday we're going to really go at it hard in order to get better (and) implement some of the stuff we're going to need to get better at for that week," Toole said. "Then on Tuesday and Wednesday we'll really prepare (to play Thursday) and Friday prepare for Saturday's game. We'll gear it up for those game days and give it our best shot.''
 
In the preseason coaches poll, Wagner (6-7) was picked to finish first in what could be a wide-open NEC, with the Colonials tying Bryant for second. LIU-Brooklyn (5-8) was picked fourth. The top four teams earn first-round home games in the NEC Tournament.
 
Since that poll, LIU-Brooklyn has lost standout Julian Boyd for the season because of a recurring knee injury. Central Connecticut State (4-9 and picked for fifth) has lost prolific scorer Matthew Hunter for the season because of academic troubles.
 
"All along I've talked about there being a lot of teams with the ability to win the league, and I think through the non-conference schedule that's maybe become even more true," Toole said. "I really think there are a lot of teams that can beat each other. There are a lot of teams that have shown, at times, the ability to play very well, and then there are teams in our league that have gone out another night and not played well, us being one of those teams. So I really do believe that there are a lot of teams that can get hot and stay healthy and be the champion of our league.''
 
Sacred Heart, which played only three non-conference home games and lost them all, is led by first-year head coach Anthony Latina, who seemed the heir-apparent during much of his eight-season stint as an assistant under NEC veteran Dave Bike. Bike decided to retire after last season -- his 35th at Sacred Heart.
 
The Pioneers have five players averaging in double figures, although top scorer Evan Kelley (14.1 points per game) could miss Thursday's game because of a separated shoulder. Freshman De'Von Barnett, a 6'4'' guard, has been a bright spot with his average of 10 points per game.
 
Robert Morris center Mike McFadden, who missed the Alabama game because of a knee problem, is likely to play at Sacred Heart.
 
"It's something he's just going to have to continue to monitor, and I think (the knee) will get stronger,'' Toole said.
 
The Colonials spent much of their time during the first two months of the season trying to blend six new players into their system. Two of those new players, Desjuan Newton and especially Britton Lee, haven't played all that much, which makes getting them "with the program'' that much more difficult.
 
It would seem after 15 games -- almost halfway through the 31-game regular season schedule -- that the new guys really shouldn't be new guys any longer.
 
"They shouldn't be,'' Toole said. "Some of them still are, and that's because they haven't understood or embraced certain things well enough. With 15 games and especially some of our opponents and some of the situations we've been in, I would think some of them would be further along in their understanding of what we're trying to accomplish.''
 
Minutes played in games are indicative of how well, or how poorly, players perform during practices.
 
"That's where you build the trust -- in practice,'' Toole said. "We try and put the guys out there who we believe are going to do the right thing as much as possible. They don't always do it, and no one always does it. Basketball is a game of mistakes. But we have to say, 'OK, we're putting you on the floor and we're going to call this play. We're going to call this defense and you're going to have a really good chance of being in the right spot or doing the right thing.' That's the trust that's built in practice. That's the trust that's built while watching film. That's the trust that's built each and every day going over scouting report and things like that.''
 
It's also true that some players' game minutes have been limited because the Colonials switched to playing primarily a zone defense a month ago.
 
"It sometimes comes down to a numbers game,'' Toole said. "Now that we've played more zone, some of our starters have been able to play more minutes and our rotations have changed a little bit. In the past, it used to be after three and-a-half or four minutes guys would be subbing themselves out. Well, now Lucky (Jones) or Karvel (Anderson) or Mike or even Jeremiah (Worthem) at times can be out there for a five-minute stretch because they're able to understand how to be out there and be effective.''
 
Toole switched to a 2-3 zone because teams early in the season shredded RMU's man-to-man defense. Seven of the first nine opponents scored at least 81 points against the Colonials. In the past six games, only two opponents scored more than 80 points against Robert Morris.
 
So will Toole continue to use the zone as his primary defensive tactic?
 
"I think we're going to see how it goes,'' he said. "There are certain teams in our league that it's probably not smart to play zone against. There are certain teams that we probably should mix it up. We want to be able to be effective defensively, and if switching defenses at times is going to help us that's probably what we should do.''
 
How is the Colonials' man-to-man defense coming along?
 
Toole appeared a bit discomfited when asked that.
 
"We've practiced it to an extent where we ask our 'man' to work against our offense because we're obviously going to see man situations,'' he said. "I think if certain lineups are out there and if they're willing to go and compete, I think our man can be effective. It's probably going to have be something that's done in spurts.''
 
Toole isn't satisfied with where his team is at this point. No coach in the country is. But …
 
"We're in the ballpark,'' Toole said. "I think there are two or three (games) in our first 15 games that I would love to have back and have the opportunity to do again.''
 
Alabama is one of those. The Colonials held nine-point leads in the first half against the vulnerable Crimson Tide, led by three points at halftime and had a good opportunity to cut their deficit to two points late in the game before falling, 64-56.
 
"Unfortunately, you don't get second chances,'' Toole said. "I think our team's in a pretty decent place, even though they've gone through a difficult stretch, and I think they understand that right now is when we have to start playing our best basketball.''
 
The Colonials last season won the NEC regular-season championship and seemed headed for their fifth consecutive NEC Tournament championship game because they had home-court advantage throughout the tourney. However, they lost to Mount St. Mary's in the semifinals and could only watch as the Mountaineers played at and lost to LIU-Brooklyn in the title tilt.
 
"I feel a lot of people in the NEC don't have confidence in us because of the pieces we lost,'' Lucky Jones said, referring to Velton Jones and Russell Johnson, two standout seniors last season. "But every year is a new year, and when we step on the court we're hungry for more. You just have to go out there and give it all you got.''
 
"If we can do that,'' Toole said, "we can really do positive things with the year.''

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