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LOCATION: Fairfield, CT
CONFERENCE: Metro Atlantic Athletic (MAAC)
LAST SEASON: 12-15 (.444)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 7-11
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 2/3
NICKNAME: Stags
COLORS: Cardinal, Red & White
HOMECOURT: Alumni Hall (2,479)
COACH: Tim O'Toole (Fairfield '86)
record at school 12-15 (1 year)
career record 12-15 (1 year)
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ASSISTANTS: Jerry Hobbie (Fordham '85)
Matt Roe (Maryland '91)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 13-20-11-12-12
RPI (last 5 years) 181-75-227-175-159
1998-99 FINISH: Lost in conference first round.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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Fairfield's second-year coach Tim O'Toole learned what Catholic priests have been preaching for years: There had to be to a Good Friday in order for there to be an Easter Sunday. In other words, there are always dark days before the sunny days come. And while there is still work to be done, there figures to be sunshine in the forecast for O'Toole after an up-and-down 1998-99 season. O'Toole seems to be succeeding in building a team in his likeness (fiery and competitive). The problem last year was that the Stags were often too fiery, leading the nation in fouls committed. And when they got their chance to accept some charity, they often didn't (their .596 team free-throw percentage was fifth-worst in the country). Still, strides are being made and the future looks bright. Three starters, including tough inside customer Darren Phillip (who came within an eyelash of averaging a double-double last season) and sophomore long-distance shooting whiz Jermaine Clark (69 threes in 1998-99), are back. And O'Toole, who learned at the knee of Mike Krzyzewski and Jim Boeheim, has pieced together a top-notch recruiting class, led by two 6-5 swingmen in Syracuse transfer Sam Spann and Riverside Church AAU product Jeremy Logan. These still-young players figure to be ready for the 2000 MAC wars if they can survive the RPI-rich schedule that O'Toole has concocted. The schedule includes games against four former national champion (Connecticut, Kansas, UNLV and UCLA) and a game against 1999 NCAA Tournament invitee George Mason. All told, the Stags will play six NCAA Tournament teams. The most rugged stretch is the first three games of the season, all at tough places to win Kansas, UNLV and UCLA. "That will help us prepare for the quality opponents we'll face in the MAAC," O'Toole said. The non-league schedule figures to make the MAAC look like child's play by comparison. The inside-out combination of Phillip, a senior forward, and sophomore guard Clark will lead the Stags. Both earned conference honors last season.
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT C+ BENCH/DEPTH C+
FRONTCOURT C+ INTANGIBLES B+
Two things are givens here. Fairfield will struggle out of the blocks thanks to killer trips to Kansas, UNLV, UCLA and UConn, all before the ball drops in Times Square. And two, coach Tim O'Toole's team won't be seeded eighth in this year's MAAC Tournament, as it was in 1998-99. The reason? Senior inside scorer Darren Phillip is a returning first-team All-MAAC performer and sophomore Jermaine Clark is one of the MAAC's top young players. What's more, O'Toole will be able to sprinkle proven promising newcomers like Sam Spann and Jeremy Logan in with proven veterans like Boo Farrow, Leroy Robertston, Andy Buzbee and Chris Rivers. If Spann or Logan can make a strong immediate statement, then the Stags could battle for St. Peter's and Loyola (Md.) for third place in the MAAC behind only prohibitive league favorite Siena and probable second banana Iona. That's the best-case scenario. In the worst case, the Stags at least figure to move up a couple slots to fifth place in the MAAC pecking order. Either way, this is a program on the rise. |
Phillip, a relentless rebounder at 6-6, led the league in rebounding with 9.9 per game and finished third in scoring with (16.7 ppg) while earning a spot on the All-MAAC first team. The three-year starter should be among the nation's top rebounders again after finishing 15th nationally last year. The 6-5 Clark had no trouble finding his range and led the conference with 69 three-point field goals. He led the team in scoring most of the season before finishing a close second to Phillip at 16.0 points per game. Clark's stellar rookie season didn't go unnoticed, as he won MAAC Rookie-of-the-Year honors as well as the MAAC's Long Distance Shooter Award. Four other regulars in O'Toole's rotation a year ago 6-foot junior Charles "Boo" Farrow, 6-6 senior Andy Buzbee, 6-7 junior Chris Rivers and 6-7 senior Sunday Eniojukan also return. Farrow (7.0 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 86 assists, 32 steals) made great strides as a sophomore. Farrow pushed his scoring average up from 4.7 as a freshman to 7.0 last season. His assist total was second-best on the team, trailing only the now-departed Kyle Commodore (111). Farrow will be handed the keys to O'Toole's offense and will combine with Clark to give the Stags the makings of a potent backcourt the next two seasons. O'Toole has other options in the backcourt, though. First, there's returnee Leroy Robertson, a 6-3 sophomore who missed all of last season with a broken ankle. Robertson averaged 5.7 points for the Stags in 1997-98. Two freshmen should also figure in the backcourt mix. One of them is 6-5 Jeremy Logan (Milford Academy, Milford, Conn.), who averaged 14.1 points and 9.3 rebounds last season. Before Milford Academy, Logan played at Salesian High School in New Rochelle, N.Y. A Bronx native, Logan cut his basketball teeth in the legendary Riverside Church AAU program, whose alums include brand-new Chicago Bulls Elton Brand and Ron Artest as well as O'Toole. The other backcourt shooting whiz is 6-1 freshman Mark Price. He didn't play last year, but he averaged 30.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists the year before at Riverside High School in Buffalo. Rounding out the backcourt will be seldom-used sophomores Joe Dreyer and Kyle Walsh. The 5-11 Dreyer (0.2 ppg, 0.3 rpg) appeared in just nine games last season. The 6-3 Walsh (0.9 ppg, 0.5 rpg, 6 assists, 10 steals) saw limited time in 19 games last season. Neither figures to get on the court much this season. Up front, Phillip is the man, but Fairfield will miss graduated forward Didier Boucard, who averaged 14.1 points and 8.8 rebounds in his senior season. O'Toole should be OK there, thanks to the return of seasoned guys like Buzbee (6.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg), 6-7 junior Chris Rivers (7.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg) and 6-7 senior Sunday Eniojukan (2.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg) as well as promising newcomers like Spann and 6-5 freshman Nick Delfico (Iona Prep/New Rochelle, N.Y.). The 6-6 Buzbee has been a starter and a reserve during his time at Fairfield, and has performed well in both roles. Buzbee started every game last season. He is not the world's greatest marksman, but he can step out and make the three-point shot (30 threes in 1998-99). That can help open things up inside for Phillip. Like Buzbee, Eniojukan will eat up some minutes at the four- and five spots. He is a lunch-pail type of player who oddly enough shot better guarded (.432 FG) than unguarded (.412 FT) last season. Rivers, who is as skinny as a Q-tip, gave the Stags instant offense off the bench last season. He was fifth on the team in scoring (7.0 ppg), making .477 of his field-goal tries last year. He will push for Boucard's vacant small-forward spot, along with Spann and Delfico. Spann, a sophomore comes gift-wrapped from one of O'Toole's former mentors, Boeheim. Although a gifted athlete, Spann wasn't a Big East-caliber player. He averaged just 0.5 points and 0.8 rebounds in his eight appearances for the Orangemen in 1997-98. Quickly realizing he didn't fit in at Syracuse, Spann transferred. Spann still has a chance to be a star at this level. The reason? He comes from great athletic stock. His cousin, Art Still, played defensive line for the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills. Another cousin, Valerie Still, plays in the WNBA. Because this team contains more mid-sizes than a busy Chevy dealer's lot, Delfico might be better-served by redshirting. Delfico, another Riverside Church AAU guy, averaged 16.0 points and 9.0 boards last year at Iona Prep.
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