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LOCATION: Durham, NH
CONFERENCE: America East
LAST SEASON: 4-23 (.148)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 2-16 (10th)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 4/1
NICKNAME: Wildcats
COLORS: Blue & White
HOMECOURT: Whittemore Center (7,200)
COACH: Phil Rowe (Plymouth State '74)
record at school Chad O'Connell (Springfield '94)
career record Stephen Curran (Merrimack '92)
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ASSISTANTS: Darryl Hilliard (UMaine-Farmington '88)
RECORD AT SCHOOL 1st year
CAREER RECORD 180-149 (13 years)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 19-6-7-10-4
RPI (last 5 years) 77-277-237-231-298
1998-99 FINISH: Lost in conference first round.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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New Hampshire won't win many trophies in 1999, but first-year coach Phil Rowe may have already locked up an unofficial early-season award. The ceremony would go something like this: "Our final presentation of the evening is for the Toughest Coaching Job in Division I. The honor goes to Phil Rowe, University of New Hampshire." Rowe takes over for Jeff Jackson, who left the program one step ahead of the ax, and became an assistant at Vanderbilt. Jackson's three-year stint was miserable. It culminated with last year's four victories and the subsequent offseason defections of four starters shooting guards Carmen Marciarello (11.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg) and Andy Cavo (11.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg), point guard Will Chavis (9.6 ppg, 3.9 apg), and power forward Ethan Cole (12.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg) and reserve point guard Drew Dawson (1.9 ppg). In his three years, Jackson constantly turned over the roster, adding eight new players before his second and third seasons. That led to player uneasiness, which eventually became player unhappiness, which ultimately resulted in last year's 23 losses by an average of more than 16 points per game and attendance figures of fewer than 1,000 fans for all but one home game. "Realistically, what you do is imagine yourself starting a program from scratch and building it with the guys who have decided to stay," Rowe said. "Is there a timeline I have? No. But I know we'll play hard every possession."
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT F BENCH/DEPTH F
FRONTCOURT D INTANGIBLES F
At first glance, New Hampshire looks to be in trouble this season. Given a second look, the Wildcats look just as bad. If first-year coach Phil Rowe was an impatient man, he couldn't be in a worse situation. Fortunately for his sanity, he realizes what lies ahead plenty of losing. The good news is that Rowe had the house cleaned before he even moved in, so he can immediately implement his own ideas without hurting any feelings. Rowe wants to run. He wants to press. He wants to get after opponents defensively. He also doesn't have the depth or the athletes to do that. And he knows that. "These people have an experience that no one else in the country probably has to come in and show other people they can perform," Rowe said. "I'm not going to prejudge any of them. It gives people that haven't had opportunities a chance to step forward. We'll see who that is because I don't know." Marcelle Williams is the player Rowe will build around initially. Williams will handle the ball much of the time and his talents best fit the style Rowe likes. That means that returnees Rob Marquardt, Jeff Senulis, and Austin Ganly will have to adjust quickly. If they do, the Wildcats might win five games. If they don't, look out. "We've got to find guys that are willing to be different, willing to make their own mark and setting a foundation for others to follow. That's not easy to do these days," Rowe said. "We need guys that are willing to take their lumps and grow." This group of Wildcats will take plenty of lumps. They are almost assured a second-straight last-place finish and come this time next year, Rowe could still have the toughest coaching task in America. |
Rowe has only one returning starter in junior center Rob Marquardt, who didn't even average five points a game last season. Just six other players are back and they combined to average only 12.3 points per game. Rowe has had some recent success turning a program around. In his first season at nearby Division II Keene State, Rowe went 2-22. The next two seasons the Owls were a combined 41-16 and played in the postseason both years. Rowe also has some America East experience, serving as an assistant at Boston University under Bob Brown from 1990-93. But success and experience are something his players know nothing about. The Wildcats have no seniors and the three juniors have tasted an America East victory a total of eight times. The 6-11 Marquardt (4.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 32 blocked shots) is the only starter back, but he isn't even the top returning scorer. That distinction belongs to 6-8 sophomore Jeff Senulis, who played in every game and averaged 5.8 points. Together, Marquardt and Senulis form the foundation of the frontcourt. Marquardt isn't much of an offensive player, but he can be a rugged defender. His 1.3 blocked shots per game ranked third best in the conference. Senulis is a good shooter for a big man, making 29 of 74 three-point shots a year ago. He should be a double-figure scorer with the additional minutes. The other forward will probably be 6-7 sophomore Assane Faye, who took a while to develop as a redshirt freshman last year. Faye (2.3 ppg, 1.0 rpg) played just 5.7 minutes in 23 games. He was about to move into the starting lineup for the America East Tournament before a burn accident pushed him back to the sideline. Still raw offensively, Faye's athleticism is a defensive asset. Six-foot-four sophomore Chris Brown (0.6 ppg, 0.6 rpg) saw minimal duty in eight games last year and is not an impact player. Rowe will turn over the point guard duties to 5-10 freshman guard Marcelle Williams, who averaged 18 points and six assists last year at Teaneck (N.J.) HS. Rowe wants to run and press. Williams will have to be the lead pony in that show. Williams is not as quick as Chavis, the man he replaces, but he may be the Wildcats' only source of speed in the backcourt. That's because the rest of the group is mainly shooters. Lanky 6-6 sophomore Austin Ganly (3.0 ppg, 1.1 rpg) is the most athletic of the wing guards. Most of his limited contributions a year ago came via the jump shot. He hit 17 of his 38 three-pointers but made only 10 other field goals. Rowe's up-tempo system should allow Ganly to better demonstrate his running and jumping talent. It will also force him to play more defense. "Our personnel may not dictate that we will be the strongest pressing team, but we are trying to set a philosophy that will attract students to want to play in it," Rowe said. "We want to create problems for opponents and create scoring opportunities that way." Six-foot-two junior Colin Donahue (0.6 ppg, 0.6 rpg, 19 games) has seen spotty minutes in his first two seasons. If he can help the Wildcats anywhere it will be from the perimeter, although he hasn't played enough to prove as much, going one for eight from behind the arc last year. Another 6-2 junior, Brett LeFlem, has even less to offer. He has scored just three points in 11 games over his two years. A more likely candidate to get minutes is local product Matt Yeaton from Bishop Brady High School in Concord, N.H. Yeaton, a 6-2 freshman, is a decent outside shooter and ball handler. He averaged 25 points, eight assists and five rebounds as a senior. Six-foot-one freshman guard Ruben Bush (Suffield Academy/Springfield, Mass.) is the only other new player brought in by Rowe. Rowe recruited Bush at Keene State and continued the pursuit upon landing in Durham. Bush is quick and athletic and fits perfectly into Rowe's defensive-oriented scheme, but his inability to shoot make him a borderline Division I player. How much he plays will come down to how much of an offensive liability Bush turns out to be.
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