Meyer On Morris Link

Moon Township, Pa. – It was late Monday morning. Robert Morris coach Andrew Toole was busy in his office when a visitor stopped by to chat.
 
The visitor wondered if Toole had thought about what a difference a week makes. That at the same time the previous Monday, Toole was getting his top-seeded Colonials ready to play Mount St. Mary's a night later in the Northeast Conference championship game for the right to play in the NCAA Tournament.
 
That on this Monday he was occupied with getting his eighth-seeded team prepared to play St. John's, a No. 1 seed, in the National Invitation Tournament.
 
Toole regarded his visitor in silence for a second or two.
 
"It had not occurred to me until you brought it up, but you're absolutely right,'' Toole said. "That's what I think is so incredible about the whole season. Each and every week we've had talks about where the team's going, where the team's headed, and it just kind of shows how fragile this whole thing is. That's why it's so important to try to be at your best every day, regardless of what situation you're in. Last week we were trying to be at our best in a conference championship game. This week we're trying to be at our best in an NIT first-round game. It's not 100 percent where we want to be, but it's a lot better off than a lot of other people are.''
 
No question about that.
 
But do the players know that?
 
Used to be a show on television called "That Was The Week That Was.'' Or, as it was known informally, "TW3," and was hosted by David Frost.
 
The show, not surprisingly, covered stuff that happened during the previous week.
 
Thing is, in the Colonials' case, this is the week that is. Have the players turned the page on that tough loss to Mount St. Mary's? Have they stopped thinking about what might have been? Have they begun to think about the task, and opportunity, ahead?
 
Have they turned the page?
 
"To be honest with you, hopefully they will,'' Toole said. "We've practiced, but there are still some residual effects of last Tuesday. I hope that Sunday night at 8:30 when we found out who our opponent is, we realized that there's something else out there, that our mentality started to change. Hopefully with school being back in session, guys can get back into their regular routine, have practice and kind of build some excitement heading into the game.''
 
The game is tonight at St. John's at 7:00 p.m. and will be televised live on ESPNU. That's when we'll begin sensing if the Colonials have indeed shrugged off that millstone loss to Mount St. Mary's and are focused on playing the Red Storm.
 
St. John's, 20-12 overall, finished 10-8 and in a three-way tie for third place in the Big East this season. The Red Storm came very close to landing an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, so perhaps their players' mindset isn't the best, either.
 
"It's disappointing of course to not be in the NCAA Tournament, but we have to have short-term memory,'' leading scorer D'Angelo Harrison said. "We're glad we got the No. 1 seed so that we can play at home, and we're going to try and win out. It's all home games for us, so that's a big advantage and we're looking forward to it. Robert Morris beat Kentucky last year and won their league this year. They're well-coached and are going to be a tough team to play. We have to come ready to play. We'll be ready."
 
"Our team is looking forward to participating in the NIT because it gives us the opportunity to extend our season and play more games,'' St. John's coach Steve Lavin said. "Robert Morris is a conference champion that is no stranger to postseason success. They play an aggressive zone defense. They shoot the ball well. We know we have a challenge. Any time you play a team that has won a conference championship, they have established a culture of winning. As a result, we have to be on our A-game if we expect to have success in this tournament."
 
This is the Red Storm's 29th appearance in the postseason NIT, which some long-time college basketball fans know at one point was the postseason college tournament. St. John's has five NIT championships. One would think the Colonials consider playing St. John's something a bit special.
 
"I think any game you get to play at this time of year is something special,'' Toole said. "St. John's is a storied program in college basketball. They're New York City's team. Those things excite me personally. They excite our staff, I know that. (Assistant coach Michael Byrnes) goes back to the Chris Mullin, Walter Barry days (at St. John's in the mid-1980s). I go back to Felipe Lopez, Zendon Hamilton (mid-90s). I think it's something that should excite our guys. It's another great program in college basketball and another great opportunity for us to go and (make) our mark and expand the knowledge of what people know about Robert Morris University.''
 
Toole and his staff have tried to assuage some of the sting of the Mount St. Mary's loss.
 
"We talked a lot about turning the page,'' Toole said. "The message we've discussed with them is, as disappointed as you feel the only way to try and change that feeling is to go out and compete and play and represent yourself the way you believe you're capable. We understand we did not play our best game (last Tuesday night). But we have an opportunity to make that better. We have an opportunity to change that feeling. The last time we were on the court, it didn't work out well.
 
"Let's try and do it differently so that we don't have that same feeling. We've talked about some of the things we accomplished this year that a lot of other people haven't had the opportunity to accomplish. As disappointing as it is to lose the game that we lost, that doesn't take away from the other accomplishments that we've had. The way the system works is that your year is that 40-minute game. That shouldn't define our entire season, but unfortunately that's the way the system is, and that's the way our guys felt last Tuesday, that they were worthless.
 
"I don't think that's the way you should feel knowing all the things that they accomplished and handled from an adversity standpoint to put themselves in that position. That's the frustrating thing, to convey that to them and have them understand that. You're devastated, but you also have to be able to look at the big picture, going 14-2 in the NEC and winning back-to-back regular-season championships, being one of 31 regular-season champions (that played) in a conference championship game.''
 
And now getting to play in the NIT for a second straight season and third time in seven years.
 
The Colonials (21-13) have experience playing against more highly regarded opponents. You'll recall this season they played at Kentucky, Oklahoma State and Alabama. All those teams, as well as St. John's, present problems for Robert Morris, of course.
 
"There are two things,'' Toole said. "Bigger, stronger, faster is No. 1. Some of the things that take you little effort when you're playing (more equal) opponents are more difficult against high-major teams, whether it's rebounding the basketball, executing your offense, catching the ball on the wing. Maybe if you're a little bit late on a rotation or a closeout, these guys can really punch that gap and hurt you, whereas (against more equal opponents) maybe you're athletic enough to keep another guy in front of you. That's one of the things.
 
"A bigger thing that happens sometimes is guys end up worrying about themselves because they're not as comfortable on the floor. They worry about what their guy is doing. They worry more about themselves versus worrying about the team, and not in a selfish way. In a survival-type way. Like, 'I don't want this guy to dunk on me. I don't want this guy to embarrass me. I got to stay close to him because he's a McDonald's All-American. He's this or he's that.' As opposed to doing the things you would normally do in basketball. I think teams that have success in games like this play the same way against their high-major opponent as they do against any other opponent in terms of jumping to the ball, not getting sped up, not trying to do too much. They just play their games.''
 
As free-wheeling Florida Gulf Coast did against Georgetown in the NCAA Tournament last season, for example.
 
"Right,'' Toole said. "They're throwing lobs. They're sprinting down the floor. They didn't go, 'Oh, my This is Georgetown, and I have to stand next to Otto Porter.' You know, he's a good player. You're a good player. Let's go play. That's the mentality you gain. You know, some guys have it and some guys get it through experience. Last year's team was very good at that whether we played Xavier (a two-point loss), whether we played Arkansas (a five-point loss), Kentucky (a two-point win). We did the things that we would normally do against everybody on our schedule, being in the gap, jumping to the ball, not forgetting to do some of those things because of the name on the front of the jersey of our opponent.''
 
Last season in the NIT, that name on the front of the opponents' jersey was "Kentucky.'' This season, it's "St. John's.''
 
Let's go play!

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