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LOCATION: Riverdale, NY
CONFERENCE: Metro Atlantic Athletic (MAAC)
LAST SEASON: 5-22 (.185)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 3-15 (10th)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 0/5
NICKNAME: Jaspers
COLORS: Kelly Green & White
HOMECOURT: Draddy Gymnasium (3,000)
COACH: Bobby Gonzalez (Buffalo State '86)
record at school First year
career record First year
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ASSISTANTS: Mike Malone (Loyola '94)
Chucky Martin (Monmouth '93)
Mike Bramucci (Ramapo '90)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 26-16-9-12-5
RPI (last 5 years) 45-98-235-168-291
1998-99 FINISH: Lost league tournament play-in game.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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It's hard to believe how this once-hot program has crashed and burned the past three seasons. Five years ago, the Jaspers were an at-large team in the Big Dance and actually won a first-round game. Earlier this decade, this program served as a launching pad for coach Steve Lappas to go to Villanova and Fran Fraschilla to St. John's for a time. But the successful run didn't continue under John Leonard, who was released from his contract with two years remaining last spring. How far did the Jaspers slip under Leonard? Last year, they won just five games and were smoked, 73-46, by Rider in the MAAC play-in game. In five short years, they had slipped from NCAA tournament sleeper into a complete coma, as their RPI dipped to among the 25 worst in the nation. Here to clean up the wreckage is the 35-year-old Bobby Gonzalez, a former recruiting whiz for Pete Gillen at Providence and Virginia. "We are fortunate to add such a bright, energetic and talented coach as Bobby Gonzalez," Manhattan athletic director Bob Byrnes said. "He had worked successfully at other great programs such as Virginia, Providence and Xavier. He is well-regarded in the New York City area and has a fine reputation for evaluating and recruiting impact players. Bobby Gonzalez brings the entire package. He's a great recruiter, a great communicator and knows the game inside-and-out." Gonzalez is a top-shelf salesman particularly in the Big Apple where he started his coaching career as an assistant coach at prep power Rice High School during the 1992-93 season and at Nicholas of Tolentine from 1988-1991. Those New York City ties have served him well as a recruiter, as he was able to attract Big Apple kids God Shammgod, Derrick Brown and Jamel Thomas to Providence as well as Majestic Mapp to Virginia. Now, he gets the opportunity to run his own program. And he's pumped.
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT C BENCH/DEPTH C
FRONTCOURT C INTANGIBLES C
Bobby Gonzalez was a great hire by the powers-that-be at Manhattan. At this level, it's all about recruiting like crazy and finding hidden gems. And no one is as tireless a worker as Gonzalez. His six-pack of recruits should all get their feet wet in 1998-99, because this was one bad basketball team last year the MAAC's gang that couldn't shoot straight (.420 FG%, .634 FT%). The result was the school's worst record in 13 years. Expect gradual progress we'fe talking baby steps, here this year under Gonzalez. Goal No.1 should be avoiding the MAAC basement. Then once Gonzalez has a chance to put together a few recruiting classes, the Japsers might be ready to start their ascent up the MAAC charts. Not this year, though. Best-case scenario: The Jaspers will move up a couple notches in the MAAC pecking order. Worst case: Another year like last year. Bet on somewhere in between. |
"I'm excited about coming back to the metropolitan area with an opportunity to run my own program," Gonzalez said. "I'm looking forward to working with an administration that is so committed to winning." This ship won't be righted in a day, athough Gonzalez has already made quite an impact with his energizer-bunny approach to recruiting. At the time he took over, Manhattan had one recruit in the fold (6-2 freshman guard Jerry Clark). In one month, Gonzalez pieced together a seven-player class which was rated among the top-70 recruiting hauls in the country by Hoop Scoop. The new Manhattan boss addressed his team's greatest need the need to find capable scorers in this year's class. How bad was the Jaspers' collective aim last year? In the Leonard-era ending loss to Rider, Manhattan shot 16 of 38 from the field and 10 of 19 from the charity stripe. Out of his recruits, Gonzalez likes three guys in particular: 6-6 freshman forward Jared Johnson of Cheshire (Ct.) Academy, 6-4 shooting guard; Aeneas Miiddleton of Worcester (Mass.) Academy; and 6-2 wing Justin Jackette (a William & Mary transfer). Johnson is a Bronx native and should be a tough customer inside at 240 pounds. Johnson averaged 17.0 points and 8.0 rebounds at Cheshire Academy last year. Prior to that, Johnson played at Salseian High School, where he averaged 17 points as a junior and a team-best 22 ppg as a senior. The 6-5, 190-pound Middleton, a Washington D.C. native, averaged 15.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game as Worcester (Mass.) Academy advanced to a semifinal in the New England Prep School Athetic Conference championship. Middleton was also recruited by Notre Dame, Duquesne, Fordham and Hartford. "Aeneas is a spectacular athlete, a real high-flyer who will be perfect for our up-tempo style," Gonzalez said. "He's a great student and a great kid. HeĦs got the whole package." As does Jackette, who will sit out this season as a transfer from William & Mary. He averaged 12.1 points and 2.3 rebounds per game for the Tribe in 1998-99, including a career-high 30 against American University on Feb. 25, 1999. The word on Jackette, who prepped at Iona Prep, is that he was under-recruited in high school and appears to have Big East-level talent. So why choose Manhattan? Jackette's father, Richard, played for the Japsers from 1967-69. "I'm thrilled to add Justin to our basketball family," Gonzalez said. "He is a player who has already proven that he can play at the NCAA Division I level. It's important to have another outstanding New York player join us."' While Jackette will have to sit out this year, Gonzalez expects Middleton and Johnson to compete for immediate time with the five returning starters from last season. The returning starting backcourt is 5-11 senior point man Phil "Boo' Lane and 6-5 sophomore Noah Coughlin. Neither Lane (6.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 112 assists, 24 steals) nor Coughlin (6.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 46 assists, 19 steals) is a scoring whiz, which is why Gonzalez has recruited over top of them and will have open auditions at both spots. Lane, who sported nearly a 1:1 assist-to-turnover ratio (112 assists, 103 turnovers), will battle JUCO import Michael "Spud' Johnson from McCook (Neb.) Junior College for the right to run the team. Johnson was a two-year starter at McCook JC and averaged 14 points and eight assists last season. Perhaps more important, Johnson can stroke the three-ball (41 percent from three-point range last year) and is a winner (McCook was 51-11 over the past two years). A New Orleans native, Johnson looks like a good get for Gonzalez. After all, he was being recruited by UNC-Charlotte, Hawaii and Miami (Ohio). "Spud is an extremely quick, complete point guard who comes from a winning program," Gonzalez said. "He will fit in nicely with the other athletes we have brought in." The question is who will play opposite the two nickname-bearing point guards. Coughlin was the starter at the shooting guard, but he'll have to hold off 6-1 sophomore returnee Mars Mellish and Middleton for the starting nod. All three could see time though in Gonzalez's up-tempo system. Mellish owns the best name in the college ranks (it sounds like a Dr. Seuss character) and his game isn't half-bad either. Last year, he appeared in all 27 games and was third on the team in scoring (9.1 ppg). Mellish can hit the three-pointer (49 of 138, .355) and will see time as one of the first guards off the bench or as a starter. Middleton is a superior athlete to both Coughlin and Mellish and is much taller (6-5), so it will be interesting to monitor that battle. Yet another new face, 6-2 freshman Jerry Clark (Leonard's final recruit) is also in the backcourt mix. Clark helped New Hope-Solebury (Pa.) to a 27-4 mark last season, which included a win over Bob Hurley's St. Anthony's (N.J.) bunch. At the small forward, Gonzalez faces the same "something old vs. some new" debate. Does he play freshman Bruce Seals right away or go with 1998 starter Durelle Brown. The guess here is that Brown will start and Seals will serve as his understudy. After all, Brown, a 6-7 junior, was Manhattan's second leading scorer (13.9 ppg) and rebounder (5.7 rpg) last year. Brown doesn't stray out into three-world often (only eight three-pointers attempted in 1998-99), instead doing most of his damage with mid-range jumpers and drives to the basket. That's what allows him to shoot such a high percentage from the field (.552 FG last year). He needs to improve his work at the charity stripe, though. Brown shot just .655 from the line last year. The 6-5, 210-pound Seals is yet another interesting newcomer. Another Gonzalez signee, Seals averaged 10.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 1.3 assists at Winchendon (Mass.) Prep School last year. Prior to his prep school days, Seals played for three seasons at Ashland (Mass.) High School, where he piled up more than 2,000 career points and was a three-time Boston Globe All-Scholastic Team selection. Seals was getting recruiting nibbles from Pitt, Boston College and UMass, so he's a good snag for Gonzalez. One other plus is Seals' gene pool. His father, Bruce, played pro ball for the Utah Stars of the ABA and with Seattle SuperSonics (from 1975-78). "Bruce was probably one of the most underrated players left in the country," said Gonzalez about this spring signee. "He is an outstanding offensive player with great scoring ability." The four-spot will be manned by 6-9 senior Ken Kavanaugh and the aforementioned prize freshman Jared Johnson. Bet on Kavanaugh (14.5 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 64 assists, 34 steals, 12 blocks) getting the starting nod here with Johnson as his apprentice. After all, Kavanaugh led the Jaspers in both scoring and rebounding last season. Another option is to play Kavanaugh and Johnson together (Kavanaugh at the five and Johnson at the four-man), because neither of Manhattan's returning centers are the second coming of Shaq. Last year's starter in the middle, 6-8 senior Phil Murray, is back. Murray averaged 4.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and recorded 13 blocked shots. He's a serviceable center, at best. The other returning five-man is 6-7 senior Badou Kane from Dakar, Senegal. Kane (0.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg) appeared in just three games last season (totaling nine minutes), so expect Kavanaugh and Johnson (both natural power forwards) to be pressed into duty, at times, in hopes of plugging the hole at center.
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