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| Junior Randall Stallworth (Toms River, N.J.) scored a career-high 28 points in the last game of his sophomore season. |
Skyhawks Picked Fourth In Preseason Coaches' Poll
South Easton, Mass. - Following an 18-14 campaign and a trip to the conference tournament semifinals, Head Coach Dave McLaughlin's charges have been picked fourth in a preseason poll of the Northeast-10 Conference's 15 head coaches it was announced recently.
Bentley (223), the four-time defending conference champion, was picked first and received 13 first-place votes. Merrimack (203), who was picked second, got one of the first place votes and Stonehill (170) received the other. Assumption, a 24-11 team from a season ago, was picked third. Following Stonehill in a tie for fifth were St. Anselm and St. Rose (146).
When you return eight of your top nine scorers - including your top three - from a team that won 18 games and advanced to the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament Semifinals, optimism and excitement are just few words people could use to describe their thoughts on the 2008-09 Stonehill College men's basketball team.
Back are seniors Matt Hall (Springfield, Mass.), Colin Scanlon (Centreville, Va.) and Nick Smith (Colonia, N.J.) as well as juniors A.J. Rudowitz (Monroe Township, N.J.) and Randall Stallworth (Toms River, N.J.), a group that made 156 out of a possible 160 starts a season ago.
In addition, key glue guys in seniors Nikola Stevanovic (Belgrade, Serbia), Kevin Wilkins (New Windsor, N.Y.) along with rising sophomores Mike Kernan (Medford, N.J.) and Dan Heppert (Richmond, Va.) all return to a team that has averaged more than 20 wins a season over the past three campaigns.
Hall, who returned from a knee injury that curtailed his sophomore season, averaged a team-high 13.6 points per game while shooting 47 percent from the floor. A versatile wing that has the ability to shoot the three-pointer or drive strong to the hole and finish, Hall led the Skyhawks in scoring ten times a season ago. His willingness to crash down and help Stonehill on the glass is evidenced by the 4.2 boards he averaged and his two double-doubles, one of which came in the Northeast-10 Tournament.
Stevanovic, a deadly three-point marksman and Wilkins, who saw his minutes increase as the season went on, will both vie for additional time on the wing. Joining them in a battle for playing time will be 6-foot-5 freshman Patrick Lee (Fayetteville, N.Y.). An excellent rebounder with long limbs, Lee could see time at any of several spots on the floor.
Smith has already established himself as one of the great scorers in school history, eclipsing the 1,000-point barrier during a junior campaign that saw him average 13.4 points a night while making 74 three-pointers, good for third most in the Conference. In fact his 188 career triples rank third on the school's all-time list. Smith had three double-doubles last year, including a 20-point, 12-rebound performance in the overtime win against St. Michael's. He reached double figures 25 times and had seven games where he had 20 points or more.
Scanlon serves as the do-it-all player for the Skyhawks and his totals (5.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 72 assists and 34 steals) from a season ago might indicate he might be one of the best in the Northeast-10. In one contest he had career-highs of 17 points, 15 rebounds and chipped in with five assists, two steals and two blocks. If his last game of the 2007-08 season is any indication, 2008-09 should be a banner campaign for Scanlon. He had nine points, six rebounds and seven assists in the loss at Bentley.
Another player looking to build off of an excellent performance against the Falcons is Stallworth. Everything seemed to come together for him as he engineered one of the great performances in a single half in recent memory. Already an outstanding distributor, Stallworth dropped in a career-high 28 points - all in the second half - during a furious rally that fell short. With 280 assists in 60 career contests, he is on pace to become the school's all-time leader. His scoring average stayed the same from his freshman year but he was much more efficient from the field, raising his shooting percentage by four-tenths of a point. He had 12 double figure scoring games including three double-doubles.
Stonehill brought in a pair of highly-touted freshmen to compete for time in the backcourt in 6-foot-5 Sean Lowry (Butler, Pa.) and 6-foot-1 Andre Tongo (Acton, Mass.). Lowry who spent a year at Naval Academy Preparatory School, will be able to look over opposing defenders and find open players because of his height. Tongo meanwhile, comes in as a heralded local product who was Dual-County League MVP as a senior. A physical guard with the ability to get to the rim, Tongo has the skills to be an excellent defender.
Rudowitz, meanwhile, returns for his junior campaign primed for another standout season after posting averages of 12.0 points, 5.7 rebounds while shooting 53 percent from the field. With high-scoring teams throughout the Northeast-10, Rudowitz's ability to rebound and block shots (team-high 30 swats) helped Stonehill finish sixth in the conference in scoring defense. He led the team with 25 double-digit scoring efforts and should crack the 1,000 point barrier at some point this season.
Sophomores Heppert and Kernan were able to work their way into a crowded lineup a season ago and that should only help them earn more minutes this season. Heppert, who was bothered by a hand injury for a good portion of the season, showed tremendous athletic promise in his time on the court, while Kernan blossomed into an effective scorer and rebounder in his inaugural campaign. After seeing action in all 32 games a season ago, and averaging 5.3 points and 5.4 rebounds, Kernan will add an extra body along the frontline. As is the case with most of the Stonehill interior players, they all have the ability to shoot the ball from 15-to-18 feet and sometimes beyond. Kernan, is no exception, after shooting 50 percent from the field and 37 percent from behind the three-point line.
A fresh face to the program that has those attributes as well is transfer Sean Costigan (Portland, Maine). A former Black Bear at the University of Maine, Costigan saw action in 21 contests making one start a season ago in Orono. At 6-foot-7, Costigan should be able to pose matchup trouble for opponents with effective inside-outside game.
With more than 85 percent of their offense from a season ago returning and a talented recruiting class now on campus, Stonehill looks to have the right mix of maturity and youthful exuberance to make a run at a Northeast-10 title and a return to the NCAA Tournament.