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LOCATION: New Britain, CT
CONFERENCE: Northeast (NEC)
LAST SEASON: 19-13 (.594)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 11-9 (4th)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 1/4
NICKNAME: Blue Devils
COLORS: Blue & White
HOMECOURT: Detrick Gymnasium (4,500)
COACH: Howard Dickenman (Central Conn. St. '69)
record at school 31-54 (3 years)
career record 31-54 (3 years)
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ASSISTANTS: Steve Pikiell (Connecticut '90)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 8-13-8-4-19
RPI (last 5 years) 264-218-264-295-180
1998-99 FINISH: Lost in conference title game.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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Last season, Central Connecticut State's Blue Devils (19-13) were the second-most improved team in Division I, behind only 1999 Final Four team Ohio State. The Blue Devils added 15 more victories to their record from a measly four in 1997-98. Word of this amazing turnaround in the Nutmeg State never really got out. It turns out there was a slightly larger men's hoops tale in this state of 100-plus I-95 exits the more compelling saga of the eventual 1999 national champion UConn Huskies. Central Connecticut State's head coach, Howie Dickenman, had a reason to be proud of his Blue Devils as well as UConn's victory over Duke. Dickenman began his college coaching career as an assistant at Connecticut in 1982, when UConn was still light years away from being a household name. Thanks in part to the 10-year recruiting efforts of Dickenman, the Huskies have become one of the teams that have been on the tip of Dick Vitale's ever-flapping tongue throughout the 1990s. But after a decade as one of Jim Calhoun's right-hand men, Dickenman elected to return to his alma mater in hopes of building his own success story. Dickenman was a two-time team captain of the Blue Devils in the late 1960s and the first player in CCSU's history to score more than 1,000 points and grab at least 1,000 rebounds. Under Dickenman, the Blue Devils have moved from a conference which made no sense for them to be in (Mid-Continent Conference) to the much more practical NEC, giving Dickenman the ability to recruit along the Eastern Seaboard. And after a couple years of single-digit victory totals, Dickenman thinks he has turned things around in New Britain.
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT B BENCH/DEPTH C+
FRONTCOURT B INTANGIBLES C
Central Connecticut State doesn't like a one-hit wonder. CCSU coach Howie Dickenman has four starters back from last year's 19-victory squad, including one of the NEC's best guards in Rick Mickens (13.8 ppg) and one of its best posts in the enormous Corsley Edwards (12.7 ppg). What's more, Dickenman also welcomes back smooth small forward Dean Walker (10.9 ppg) and key reserves Victor Payne (5.2 ppg) and Bryan Finley (4.3 ppg). The only questions appear to be at the point, where neither returnee Tomas Brookins or new recruit Kofi Mensah provide much scoring pop, and at Charron Watson's vacant power-forward spot where Fairfield transfer John Tice must score in double figures. Tice seems more than capable after averaging 12.9 points in his final season with the Stags. If Tice does score 12-to 15 points per night and the point guard partnership of Brookins and Mensah holds its own, then CCSU will battle Mount St. Marys and Maryland-Baltimore County for NEC supremacy. |
He's probably right. Last year, the Blue Devils capped their amazing turnaround by making a run all the way to the NEC title game before losing to Mount St. Marys. This year, the team's leading scorer, Charron Watson, is gone, but the four other starters are back and the Blue Devils should be right in the race for No. 1 in the NEC along with Mount St. Marys and 1999 regular-season champ Maryland-Baltimore County. Senior guard Ray Mickens (13.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 111 assists, 90 steals) is one of three starters returning who averaged double figures in scoring. Mickens, 6-4, the first player to sign with Dickenman at Central Connecticut State out of nearby Newington (Conn.) High School, is a self-made hoops star. Since he has arrived at CCSU, he has worked diligently to round out his game, first improving his dribble-drive skills between his freshman and sophomore years, then making serious strides in terms of his rebounding and defensive skills the last year or so. Now, in a league with more tough guards than a state prison, Mickens, or "Slick Rick" as some of his teammates call him, is one of the NEC's premier players. His running mate in the backcourt will once again be 6-2 senior Tomas Brookins (4.6 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 87 assists, 34 steals). Brookins came in from Gennessee (Batvia, N.Y.) Community College last season and started all 32 games. He's a steady point guard, but needs to provide a little more offense. Brookins made one three-pointer (in a measly 10 attempts) in 752 minutes last year. Splitting time with Brookins at the point will be 5-11, 170-pound JC import Kofi Mensah (College of Eastern Utah). A native of Toronto, Mensah averaged 8.0 points, 5.0 assists and 2.0 steals at College of Eastern Utah, where he was also voted to the 1998-99 Scenic Western Athletic Conference All-Defensive team. "Kofi adds speed and quickness to our club," Dickenman said. "He's a true penetrator who takes pride in defending opposing point guards." The addition of Mensah will allow 6-3 senior Bryan Finley to shift over to his more natural two-guard position, where he'll back up Mickens. Finley (4.3 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 63 assists, 18 steals) was a diamond in the rough Dickenman added to the CCSU roster just before the start of school last fall. Dickenman thought he needed a little more perimeter pop and signed Finley out of the College of the Canyon (San Clarita, Calif.) in late August, 1998. Dickenman was glad he did. Finley, the team's most reliable deep ball shooter (.350 from three-point range), saw significant minutes (14.6 per night in 1998-99) at both the point guard- and shooting-guard spots a year ago. Dickenman was so happy with the 11th hour addition of Finley that he's done it again. In late August, he announced the signing of 6-3, 190-pound freshman guard Damian Battles (Avon HS/Brockton, Mass.). Battles takes the roster spot vacated by 6-1 junior Richard Ijeh, who decided to transfer to Assumption (Mass.) College for his final two seasons. Like he did in the case of Finley last year, Dickenman thinks that he's gotten himself a sleeper in Battles. "He's a combination-type guard with a terrific upside," Dickenman said. "He's extremely athletic and averaged about 28 points per game, but was under-exposed at a small (high school) program." Another incoming freshman, 6-1 Shaaron Sinvilcin (Trinity Catholic HS/Stamford, Conn.), rounds out the guard rotation. One publication rated Sinvilcin second in Connecticut among guards in the high school class of 1999 behind only Marcus Cox, a UConn signee. He'll battle Finley for minutes as Mickens' caddie. Even without last year's top scorer Watson, the starting forward spots seem to be in capable hands. That's because 6-5 junior small forward Dean Walker (10.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 75 assists, 45 steals) has turned out to be an even more popular Canadian import than Molson. A Toronto native whose nickname is "Dee-Smooth," Walker's greatest gift is his versatility. He has played both guard spots and the small-forward position since choosing the Blue Devils over Boston College, Marquette, Canisius and Niagara a couple years ago. His scoring numbers should elevate into the mid- to low teens this season. Filling the other starting forward spot will be 6-5 Fairfield transfer John Tice. The addition of Tice, a junior, gives CCSU the makings of one of the NEC's strongest starting frontcourts. That's because in a league that is not blessed with the world's best low-post operators, the Blue Devils' 6-9, 270-pound sophomore Corsley Edwards (13.7 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 16 assists, 53 blocked shots) is a load once he plants his ample backside down low. The left-handed Edwards is a threat to post a double-double almost every night and combines with Mickens to give Dickenman a lethal inside-outside combo. Depth at the forward spots will be provided by a pair of foreign imports, 6-4 senior Victor Payne from Barbados and 6-6 junior Harvey Van Stein from Holland. Payne (5.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg) will be the first big man off the bench. He's one of the working-class types who sets more more screens than a multiplex theater and only takes makeable shots, as evidenced by his team-best .576 field-goal percentage and his zero three-point field-goal attempts. Though undersized (6-4, 210), Payne will play 15-20 minutes per night and will give maximum effort, particularly on the glass. Van Stein (1.3 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 16 assists, 15 blocked shots) won't get his number called nearly as much as Payne. Van Stein averaged 9.5 minutes per night in 27 games. Two other viable options to gobble up minutes at the two power positions for CCSU are junior bangers Jeremy Bergh (6-10, 230) and Jason Smith (6-9, 235). Neither is the second coming of Karl Malone, but Bergh (3.0 ppg, 0.9 rpg), in particular, can give Edwards an occasional rest without hurting his team. Smith (0.4 ppg, 0.5 rpg) is more of a practice player. If he appears in games, then Edwards is either in foul trouble or it's garbage time. Smith played in 14 games a year ago, averaging just 2.4 minutes of action.
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