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LOCATION: Hamden, CT
CONFERENCE: Northeast (NEC)
LAST SEASON: 9-18 (.333)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 6-14 (10th)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 1/4
NICKNAME: Braves
COLORS: Blue & Gold
HOMECOURT: Burt Kahn Court (1,500)
COACH: Joe DeSantis (Fairfield '79)
record at school 18-61 (3 years)
career record 18-61 (3 years)
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ASSISTANTS: Tom Blake (Connecticut '78)
Steve Baker (Towson State '89)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 12-5-5-4-9
RPI (last 5 years) N/A-N/A-N/A-N/A-252
1998-99 FINISH: Did not qualify for postseason.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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Two things seemed certain in college basketball before the start of last season. First, Duke would be cutting down the nets as CBS cued the One Shining Moment music. And second, Quinnipiac was going to be the worst team in Division I. No. 314 out of 314 teams. Dead last. Road pizza. The pits. Chum. Neither happened. Duke, with a roster jam-packed with Mickey D's All-Americans, lost to Connecticut in the national title game. And Quinnipiac, a school of 5,500 students ranked in the top 10 liberal arts schools by U.S. News and World Report, ended the season at No. 252 in the RPI and only second-to-last in the NEC standings. In their first year as a full-fledged Division I program, the Braves won nine games matching their victory total of their two previous years combined (five in 1996-97, four in 1997-98). Part of Quinnipiac's fuel in 1998-99 was all the nasty things that preview yearbooks yes, including Blue Ribbon said about them. The Braves' best player, guard Nate Pondexter, kept all of the clippings in his dorm room and used them as a motivational tool. "We looked at every single book and magazine and they all said the same things about us," said Pondexter. "People said we were going to be No. 314, but it was my plan to prove them wrong." Mission accomplished, thanks to the patience and teaching provided by well-traveled head coach Joe DeSantis.
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT B BENCH/DEPTH C-
FRONTCOURT D INTANGIBLES C-
Quinnipiac coach Joe DeSantis will basically go with a three-guard lineup again, led by do-it-all Nate Pondexter (a small forward in name but a shooting guard by game). As a result, the Braves will push the ball at every opportunity with New York City product Jamar Fields at the controls and Pondexter and Jared Grasso filling the wings. When the Braves are forced to run half-court sets, they'll look to Pondexter or rugged Bill Romano as their primary scoring options. Their offensive output should be fine. But for the Braves to move up the NEC charts, they'll have to concentrate their efforts on playing more stout defense. They were last in the conference in scoring defense (76.6 ppg allowed) and steals (6.78 spg) as well as second-to-last in blocked shots (2.1 bpg). That's where JC import Alpha East comes in. If he can crack the starting lineup and Ivoree Stanley can stay healthy, then Quinnipiac's frontcourt rotation becomes significantly more athletic. That could spell even more victories and a move perhaps as high as sixth or seventh in the 12-team NEC. Not bad for a second-year D-I program. |
DeSantis is a former Fairfield guard who was the second pick of the Washington Bullets in 1979. He played professionally in Europe, coached at five colleges, served as a scout for the Pistons and even sold sneakers. In other words, DeSantis has been around. He knows talent when he sees it and he found a surefire D-I player in the left-handed Pondexter at little-known Hesser College in New Hampshire. Pondexter, a 6-4 senior swingman, was a first-team All-NEC selection and did everything but sell programs and sing the national anthem for Quinnipiac a year ago. Pondexter paced the Braves in scoring (14.4 ppg), rebounding (8.6 rpg), assists (142), steals (55) and blocks (17). The guard's lone weaknesses are his propensity to commit fouls (team-high seven disqualifications in 1998-99) and his three-point shooting (.189). He worked like the dickens this off-season to improve the latter. Pondexter is not the only promising player for Quinnipiac, which could move into the middle of the NEC pack this season. In addition to Pondexter, three other starters are back, led by 6-8, 250-pound sophomore forward/center Bill Romano (12.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 13 assists, 17 steals). Romano won't earn any style points on his buckets. He is just a no-frills, hard-working guy who scored more than 2,000 points in his high school career. Romano has proved he can score at the D-I level and only figures to get better in time. The starting backcourt of 6-3 sophomore two-guard Jared Grasso (9.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 107 assists, 27 steals) and powerfully built 6-3 junior point man Jamar Fields (4.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 36 assists, 20 steals in 19 games) also returns. Grasso is a heady player, which shouldn't come as any surprise because his father is an assistant coach at Adelphi. DeSantis has said that Fields, a native of the Bronx, reminds him of former middleweight boxing champion Marvin Hagler in terms of his toughness and build. "He's a typical New York City guard who likes to create off the dribble and is more of a scorer than a shooter," DeSantis said of Fields, who struggled from behind both stripes (.167 3 PT, .580 FT) last season. If DeSantis needs any more perimeter pop, he will call on 6-5 freshman swingman Stevie Patrick, who averaged 18 points per game over his three years as a starter at Tabor Academy in Lynn, Mass. Patrick can shoot and is a proven winner, having helped his Tabor team win two Class B New England Prep School championships. DeSantis has recruited even more guard depth, but he won't be able to use it (6-1 guard Kareem Lee is a Drake transfer) until the 2000-2001 season. Rejoining Pondexter and Romano up front will be 6-6, 210-pound Ivoree Stanley, who has been slowed by foot problems and various other aches and pains, as well as 6-9 junior center Jason Rosato, 6-9 sophomore forward Ahmad Allahgholi, and 6-7 junior Bob McNeish. Stanley (7.2 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 13 assists, 22 steals) could give the Braves some much-needed muscle if he can stay healthy. He broke his foot as a sophomore and played in only nine games. And he was only able to play in 18 games in 1998-99. Rosato made great strides in 1998-99. After shooting a woeful 14 for 46 from the field as a freshman and scoring just 1.7 points per game, Rosato averaged 3.3 points and 2.8 rebounds and shot 50 percent from the floor as a serviceable reserve. Allahgholi (2.3 ppg, 1.1 rpg) and McNeish (2.0 ppg, 2.1 rpg) also made some decent contributions off the bench. Allahgholi, a 220-pound forward from Switzerland, is still adjusting to the American game. In other words, he is a typical European player who likes to play on the perimeter (although he struggled mightily with his stroke with a .333 field-goal percentage) and who doesn't like the rough stuff. McNeish is a guy DeSantis feels comfortable putting on the court 8-10 minutes per night, but no more than that. He is just a lunch-pail type of player who won't change the complexion of the game, but won't hurt the team either if he plays in small doses. Chris Stone, a 6-7 senior, is also back. A former walk-on who was eventually awarded a scholarship a couple years ago, Stone appeared in 17 games last season. His averages 0.7 points per game, 0.8 rebounds per game, 5.8 minutes per game were modest, but he is an extremely hard worker who makes a good practice player. None of the off-the-bench frontcourt returnees will win a 100-meter dash or block a whole heck of a lot of shots hence the fact that Pondexter, a natural two-guard, led the team in swats last year. DeSantis hopes the addition of 6-6 junior college transfer Alpha East will address his team's biggest Achilles heel, an overall lack of frontcourt athleticism, which played a role in the Braves allowing an NEC-high 76.6 points per game. East, a transfer from Cowley County (Kan.) Community College, was supposed to join the Braves last season, but a broken wrist slowed him. During his scholastic career, East led Greenfield High to the Massachusetts state final as a senior. He averaged 12 points and seven rebounds in 1997-98 at Cowley CC before breaking his wrist with seven games left in the season. Now 100 percent healthy, East is expected to add just what the doctor ordered namely some rugged interior defense and some inspired board work. "With his strength and athletic ability, Alpha will establish himself a strong inside presence, especially on the defensive end," said DeSantis.
 | The 19th edition of Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook is on sale now. To order, call 800-828-HOOP (4667), or visit their web site at
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