In the days leading up to the start of the 2018-19 men's basketball season, the Atlantic10.com will profile two teams a day, leading up to tip-off on Tuesday, Nov. 6. Today's previews, written by Patrick Stevens, includes Massachusetts and VCU.
MASSACHUSETTS
Schedule | Roster | Coach McCall on A-10 Live at Media Day (ESPN+)
Matt McCall figured there would be some departures when he took over as the men’s basketball coach at Massachusetts in 2017. And candidly, he figured Luwane Pipkins could be headed elsewhere after a strong freshman season.
Pipkins not only remained, he blossomed into one of the Atlantic 10’s most prolific scorers as a sophomore. Now, he’s in position to lead a bounceback season for the Minutemen.
“To see where we were, me and him in our relationship and to where he was as a student-athlete at UMass, to now, it is pretty remarkable,” McCall said. “I knew how competitive he was. I knew how tough he was. I knew how important winning was to him. Did I think he was going to go out and lead the A-10 in scoring? No. But as practices and games went on, nothing he did surprised me.”
Given how short-handed Massachusetts was last season, Pipkins’ numbers are even more impressive. In addition to averaging 21.2 points, he shot 43.0 percent from the floor and 42.6 percent from 3-point range.
With a deeper rotation around him, Pipkins could be even more efficient --- a frightful thought for the rest of the league.
“Pipkins at UMass, I’ll book it right now, he’s going to have a 50-point game this year,” Saint Joseph’s coach Phil Martelli said.
A look at the Minutemen:
Coach: Matt McCall, second season at Massachusetts, 13-20 at Massachusetts and 61-38 in three seasons overall
Last year: The Minutemen went 13-20 overall and 5-13 in the Atlantic 10, finishing 13th in the conference. After defeating La Salle in the first round of the conference tournament, their season ended with an 80-75 loss to George Mason.
They’ll miss: Three of the seven Minutemen who started at least 13 games have departed. C.J. Anderson (10.6 points per game) had a team-high 165 assists and also led the team in minutes played. He leaves the biggest hole, but Massachusetts must also replace Malik Hines (9.0 ppg, 6.1 rpg) and Rayshawn Miller (5.0 ppg, 1.6 rpg)
Impact returners: After opting to remain in Amherst after the coaching change more than a year ago, the 5-11 Luwane Pipkins proceeded to average 21.2 points and earn All-Conference Second Team honors. He’s among the early favorites for Atlantic 10 player of the year.
He’ll be joined in the backcourt by 6-4 sophomore Carl Pierre (12.4 ppg, 2.2 rpg), who entered the starting lineup for good just before Christmas last year and reached double figures in all but three of Massachusetts’ 20 games against A-10 foes.
There’s also 6-11 senior center Rashaan Holloway (9.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg), who is back to man the middle.
Newbies of note: Memphis transfer Keon Clergeot, a 6-1 redshirt sophomore, is now eligible after sitting out last season. He adds to the Minutemen’s strength --- the backcourt --- and could emerge as Massachusetts’ top defender.
“I’ve been very pleased and proud of where Keon has gotten himself to,” McCall said. “He’s ready to get out there.”
Clergeot is one of four transfers who could be part of the rotation after sitting out last season, a group that includes 6-4 guard Curtis Cobb (Fairfield), 6-4 guard Kieran Hayward (Louisiana State) and 6-6 forward Jonathan Laurent (Rutgers).
Reasons to be optimistic:
For starters, Massachusetts has players. The Minutemen were leaning primarily on six players at the end of last season, though McCall usually managed to stretch his rotation to eight.
It helps that they’re good players, enough to fuel hopes of a rapid rise in the Atlantic 10 among UMass fans. This year will be about establishing the Minutemen as a conference contender.
“First and foremost, we haven’t done anything,” McCall said. “We finished 13th out of 14 teams last year. Yes, we were in a lot of games. Yes, a lot of games were close. But at the end of the day, we didn’t win those. Had we finished middle of the pack last year, maybe we should’ve been picked higher this year. But we have to prove that we belong as one of the best teams in this league.”
The best way for the Minutemen to do it is through their backcourt. Pipkins and Pierre played a lot of minutes with each other last season, and if they both made offseason improvements, it will make Massachusetts a difficult foe for anyone in the A-10.
“I think we’re going to rely an enormous amount on Carl and Luwane from a leadership standpoint,” McCall said. “With eight new guys, eight guys that didn’t play last year, we’re going to have to rely on the guys that did.”
X factor: The Minutemen will get a midseason boost when graduate transfer Djery Baptiste arrives after the fall semester. The 6-10 Baptiste averaged 2.4 points for Vanderbilt over the last two seasons and will have a season and a half of eligibility at Massachusetts.
“They know Djery can help us win, and they’ll be excited when he gets here,” McCall said. “He is a very, very mature kid. He’s been through a lot as a player. He’s played in high, high level games. He’s a smart basketball player. He has high IQ. As far as our system and our style, there won’t be any issues there.”
Circle the date(s): Massachusetts takes three trips in December that should provide a decent barometer --- Providence (Dec. 7), Temple (Dec. 12) and Georgia (Dec. 30).
Bottom line: Massachusetts is poised to make a leap in the standings. Whether it’s just in the middle of the A-10 or closer to the top of the league will depend on how quickly the Minutemen’s transfers shake off the rust.
VCU
Schedule | Roster | Coach Rhoades on A-10 Live at Media Day (ESPN+)
If there was one thing VCU could count on throughout its rise from a consistent winner to an NCAA tournament regular, it was defense.
Entering the 2017-18 season, the Rams had ranked in the top 50 in KenPom.com’s defensive efficiency rankings in six consecutive seasons. It had made the top 100 for 10 years in a row.
Then came a thud: No. 156, a function of a roster that both dealt with injuries and had gradually moved away from the program’s “Havoc” identity for a couple years under Will Wade before former Rams assistant Mike Rhoades returned to Richmond.
“I knew we were going to be different,” Rhoades said. “No matter what it was going to be different with a new coach. We had so many new faces and probably a lot of them had not had the demands that I put on them on the defensive side of the ball. That stuff doesn’t happen overnight. Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom sometimes on the defensive side to realize ‘I have to get better at it than I am now.’”
The message was delivered clearly, so expect VCU to get back to its usual stingy brand of defense sooner rather than later
“I think so. I hope so. This offseason we spent so much time on it,” Rhoades said. “I think it was more culture than anything, getting back to playing that way and playing fast. Offensively we scored the basketball, but we still wanted to create the culture of defense in the full court and the half court.”
A look at the Rams:
Coach: Mike Rhoades, second season at VCU, 18-15 at VCU and 262-143 in 14 seasons overall
Last year: The Rams went 18-15 overall and 9-9 in the Atlantic 10, earning the No. 8 seed in the league tournament. After dispatching Dayton in its first game, VCU fell 76-67 to top-seeded Rhode Island and did not play in the postseason for the first time since 2006.
They’ll miss: The big departure is first team all-conference pick Justin Tillman (18.9 points per game, 9.9 rebounds per game), who led the conference in rebounding and shot 55.7 percent from the floor.
VCU also graduated guard Johnny Williams (9.3 ppg, 5.5 assists per game), and graduate transfer Khris Lane (6.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg) also departs.
Impact returners: The Rams bring back five players who averaged at least 4.5 points, including three starters. There’s some familiar faces for Rhoades to work with.
The most notable of the bunch is 6-5 junior De’Riante Jenkins (12.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg), who is positioned to emerge VCU’s centerpiece. He landed on the third team of the preseason all-conference team.
“We’re going to expect a lot out of DJ,” Rhoades said. “We thought he had a great season and he’s 10 or 15 pounds stronger from last year and he still has 15 more to add, but he’s come a long way. I think with his approach and how hard he works, he lives in the gym. It’s a great example. He’s one of our leaders, and his voice is the one that’s heard the most out there.”
Newbies of note: Whenever he’s ready to contribute, 6-2 guard Marcus Evans (19.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg at Rice in 2016-17) is bound to have an impact. However, he is working his way back from surgery on both of his Achilles’ tendons and might not play until later in the season.
Two newcomers reached double figures in the Rams’ exhibition game on Oct. 30, including 6-4 freshman KeShawn Curry and 6-8 sophomore Corey Douglas, a junior college transfer.
One of VCU’s roster additions is a familiar face --- 6-10 senior Michael Gilmore, who has gone from VCU to Miami to Florida Gulf Coast and now back to VCU during a circuitous college career. He averaged 6.6 points and 5.6 rebounds last year at Florida Gulf Coast.
Reasons to be optimistic:
Jenkins is the latest in a long line of strong, tough VCU wings, but he’s hardly the only tested player in the rotation.
The Rams also bring back 6-6 junior Issac Vann, who averaged 9.8 points and 3.8 rebounds. The Maine transfer established himself as a starter early in conference play.
“He’s one of the older guys now and he’s done a great job leading and being a great teammate,” Rhoades said. “Marcos Santos-Silva, we’re going to ask him to do a lot in place of Justin Tillman, but he plays super-hard.”
The 6-7 Santos-Silva (3.1 ppg, 3.0 rpg) averaged only 9.8 minutes as a freshman, but shot 53.5 percent from the floor and ranked second on the team in blocked shots.
He’ll be part of a rotation that should have more options this season. Other returnees who contributed regularly last year are 6-4 junior Malik Crowfield (5.8 ppg), 6-5 junior Mike’L Simms (5.7 ppg) and 6-8 sophomore Sean Mobley (4.5 ppg).
“Last year, we had those injuries that really hurt us,” Rhoades said. “I think we have a lot of new faces that are going to add to our depth for sure.”
X factor: It has everything to do with how quickly Evans can make an impact as he recovers from his injury and shakes off the rust from not playing last year. Evans, who played his first two seasons for Rhoades at Rice, was cleared to run and jump in mid-October.
“He gives us a competitive edge,” Rhoades said. “He’s a dynamic guard and he can make shots. That definitely helps, especially with our style of play. That gives us another offensive player with the ball that can make plays.”
Circle the date(s): How about the whole month of December, which features six games against credible NCAA tournament contenders. The highlight is a two-game swing to Texas (Dec. 5) to face former Rams coach Shaka Smart and the Longhorns. Then on Dec. 9, VCU heads up Interstate 64 to visit defending ACC champion Virginia.
Bottom line: After a rare season on Broad Street that ended before Selection Sunday, the Rams should be back to their usual feisty selves. Expect defense to be a strength as VCU tries to begin a new NCAA tournament streak.
Patrick Stevens is a freelance writer working in the Washington, D.C. area. A former sports reporter for the Washington Times, he has been a contributor to Atlantic10.com for the past four years. Follow him on Twitter at @D1scourse.