SB Nation - Sean Baptiste

Know Your (Temporary) Rival: Fairleigh Dickinson

Bill C. — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:30:13 -0000

More photos » by Bradley C Bower - AP

about 1 month ago: Fairleigh Dickinson guard Sean Baptiste, left, has his shot blocked by Villanova defenders Corey Stokes, center and Mouphtaou Yarou, right, in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Friday, Nov. 13, 2009, in Villanova, Pa. (AP Photo/Bradley C Bower)

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I'm not going to lie: I cannot possibly think of a better team for Missouri to be playing right now than FDU.

Fairleigh Dickinson: 1-9

	FDU	Opp
Points Per Minute	1.42	1.84
Points Per Possession (PPP)	0.85	1.10
Points Per Shot (PPS)	1.13	1.23
2-PT FG%	40.7%	47.0%
3-PT FG%	29.1%	37.5%
FT%	65.2%	71.2%
True Shooting %	46.9%	54.0%

	FDU	Opp
Assists/Gm	7.8	16.1
Steals/Gm	4.7	7.0
Turnovers/Gm	16.2	11.5
Ball Control Index (Assists + Steals) / TO	0.77	2.01

	FDU	Opp
Expected Offensive Rebounds	126	127
Offensive Rebounds	93	127
Difference	-33	+0

FDU's season thus far:

@Villanova 84, FDU 61 (L)
@Wichita State 80, FDU 64 (L)
@FDU 62, Central Michigan 53 (W)
O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic
@Eastern Kentucky 68, FDU 39 (L)
UTSA 75, FDU 61 (L)
UC-Irvine 75, FDU 54 (L)
@Houston Baptist 92, FDU 77 (L)
@Quinnipiac 73, FDU 52 (L)
Army 61, @FDU 40 (L)
@Lafayette 73, FDU 57 (L)

What Does Ken Pomeroy Have to Say?

FDU Offense vs MU Defense
	FDU Offense	MU Defense	Advantage
Efficiency	323	20	Um, MU
Effective FG%	328	50	Yeah
Turnover %	289	3	Ridiculous
Off. Reb. %	314	271	MU!
FTA/FGA	57	183	FDU
MU Offense vs FDU Defense
	MU Offense	FDU Defense	Advantage
Efficiency	32	260	Ouch
Effective FG%	44	215	Oof
Turnover %	90	324	Wow
Off. Reb. %	120	197	MU!
FTA/FGA	302	85	FDU

Where the Knights are solid

Well, they do get to the line fairly well. That's something, right? Especially against Mizzou? They're also a fairly (sorry, fairleigh) decent defensive rebounding team, which is also a good thing against Mizzou.

Where the Knights are less than solid

Everywhere else. God, this could be the worst BCI team Mizzou will ever play. Their 260th-ranked defense is actually impressive compared to their 323rd-ranked offense (FYI: there are 347 teams in D1 this year). They appear to be somewhat big and relatively physical...and horribly devoid in overall talent.

Player Stats

NCAA Basketball Stats

Player	*AdjGS/Gm**	GmSc/Min	Line
Sean Baptiste (6'3, 185, Sr.)	13.2	0.40	32.7 MPG, 15.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 2.4 TOPG
Alvin Mofunanya (6'8, 245, Sr.)	11.8	0.47	25.3 MPG, 10.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.9 BPG, 3.1 TOPG
Mike Scott (6'0, 180, Jr.)	9.3	0.26	35.8 MPG, 10.3 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.6 APG, 3.9 TOPG
Terence Grier (6'8, 180, Jr.)	7.5	0.24	31.5 MPG, 9.3 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 1.5 APG, 2.0 TOPG
Anaclet Mulumba (6'7, 220, So.)	6.7	0.29	22.8 MPG, 2.9 PPG, 3.8 RPG
Kamil Svrdlik (6'8, 235, Jr.)	3.4	0.16	21.2 MPG, 5.1 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.6 TOPG
Sam Fernley (6'0, 170, So.)	2.3	0.26	8.8 MPG, 1.7 PPG
Louis Larizza (5'7, 160, Fr.)	2.1	0.25	8.3 MPG, 2.6 PPG
John Galvin (6'8, 250, Jr.)	1.3	0.11	12.4 MPG, 2.6 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 1.4 TOPG
DeJuan Pursley (6'9, 215, Jr.)	0.5	0.03	14.7 MPG, 1.3 PPG, 2.9 RPG
Lawrence Brown (7'2, 205, Sr.)	0.3	0.09	3.2 MPG, 0.0 PPG

* AdjGS = a take-off of the Game Score metric (definition here) accepted by a lot of basketball stat nerds. It redistributes a team's points based not only on points scored, but also by giving credit for assists, rebounds (offensive & defensive), steals, blocks, turnovers and fouls. It is a stat intended to determine who had the biggest overall impact on the game itself, instead of just how many balls a player put through a basket.

Sadly, this is a rather experienced team. Not really what you want to see when you're 1-9 and coming off of thumpings by the hands of Lafayette, Army, Quinnipiac, Houston Baptist, UC-Irvine, UTSA, and Eastern Kentucky.

Potentially the most interesting thing about FDU this year is their head coach, Gregory "Shoes" Vetrone. Andy Katz wrote about him when FDU hired him this summer.

Greg Vetrone was unofficially banished, sent away through a mutual understanding so UNLV could move on after violations emerged in the late 1990s.

Vetrone wasn't given any show-cause penalty. His violations were deemed secondary (mostly dealing with the recruitment of Lamar Odom in 1996-97) and focused on improper recruiting inducements and contact with Odom, including inadvertent phone calls and a manager that he said used his FedEx account to mail him gear.

So, Vetrone, known as "Shoes," was sent away to work with basketball grassroots guru Sonny Vaccaro and begin a 10-year climb back to relevance.

He finally got his shot to be a headline coaching performer again on Tuesday.

Fairleigh Dickinson athletic director David Langford gave Vetrone the team's interim coaching tag after he abruptly fired coach Tom Green, the coach who gave Vetrone his second chance at Division I when he hired him as an assistant last year. Green had been with the Knights for 26 years.

I guess I should also mention that FDU's got one player in particular who could have a good game against Mizzou: Alvin Mofunanya. He's averaging 11 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks per game, and he's got the size that has given Mizzou problems this season. Unfortunately for FDU, he and FIVE other Knights are averaging at least 1.4 turnovers per game, and of their eight players averaging double-digit minutes, only one (ONE!) has more assists than turnovers. They can't hold onto the ball, and it goes without saying that that is probably a bad thing for opponents in Mizzou Arena.

Keys to the Game

Show Up. Seriously, this is looking like the worst team that will play against Mizzou this year, sans Truman State. This will present a good bounce-back opportunity and give Mizzou a chance to feel good about itself again, which is probably a pretty good idea after their first upset loss to a mediocre mid-major in Mike Anderson's tenure.
Meet the Challenges. I mentioned yesterday that I would be monitoring players' progress in specific statistical categories. That starts tomorrow.
Block out. Mizzou has been outrebounded in terms of expected rebounds for three straight games now. They will win tomorrow regardless, but improvement on the boards starts immediately, and if they can't beat FDU in the expected rebounds category, the season starts to look a lot more iffy.

Prediction

Again, this is just what the doctor ordered. Anything less than a complete blowout is a giant red flag, but I assume a blowout is exactly what we will see. Expect another 30-1 type of run at some point. Mizzou 90, ~~Mostly~~ ~~Somewhat~~ Fairleigh Dickinson 48.

BtB 2009-10 Northeast Conference Preview

Chris Dobbertean — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:00:28 -0000

Robert Morris was the final NEC team to qualify for the NCAA Tournament during the first decade of the 21st century, and like all of the others, they failed to register a win in the field of 64, falling to Michigan State in round one. Monmouth and Mount St. Mary's were the only team to register a tournament win in the decade, as they both won the Opening Round games, in 2005 and 2008 respectively.

The Colonials and Mountaineers will again be threats to claim the Northeast Conference's (probable) only bid, while Quinnipiac, who's never made the Tournament during their short time in Division I, are a serious threat to break down the door. However, the same fate undoubtedly awaits which ever team gets in, a low seed (though hopefully not a spot in the Opening Round) and yet another early exit.

Or is it? Perhaps this is the year when the bottom of the league finally gets its act together, boosting the league's RPI? Or it's the season where one of the contenders claims some major conference victims in the early weeks of the season? Such is life in one of the most disrespected D-I leagues...one spent daydreaming of the miraculous campaign that will finally bring national respect.

In membership news, the NEC adds one more team to the club of dreamers, as transitional D-I member Bryant plays a full league schedule. However, they still have a three-year wait for tournament eligibility.

Northeast Conference Standings

(updated 3.21.2009 at 12:16 AM EDT)

	Conf		Overall
	W	L	W	L
Robert Morris Colonials	15	3	24	11
Mount St. Mary's, Md. Mountaineers	12	6	19	14
Sacred Heart Pioneers	12	6	17	14
Long Island U. Blackbirds	12	6	16	14
Quinnipiac Bobcats	10	8	15	16
Wagner Seahawks	8	10	16	14
Cent. Connecticut St. Blue Devils	8	10	13	17
St. Francis, NY Terriers	7	11	10	20
Monmouth Hawks	6	12	8	23
Fairleigh Dickinson Knights	6	12	7	23
St. Francis, Pa. Red Flash	3	15	6	23

Now, here are my picks for 2009-10, presented in reverse order, starting with Bryant, as they are ineligible for the conference title.

Bryant (last NCAA: None) While Tim O'Shea's team was the Division II runner-up in 2005, they may have a hard time adjusting to life in D-I. For starters, they'll only play two non-league home games, against Columbia and Brown. The schedule also sees the Bulldogs heading down the road to Providence, where they'll join the Friars, Mercer, and Bucknell in a round-robin event. O'Shea has three starters back from last year's squad, including 6-5 F Cecil Gresham (13.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg).

St. Francis (PA) (last NCAA: 1991) Don Friday's Red Flash, who finished at the bottom of the league last season, only have two key contributors back from that team--6-6 swingman Devin Sweetney (16.3 ppg, 7.9 rpg) and 6-7 F Mislav Jukic (10.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg). Friday will need big contributions from his seven freshmen and 6-6 Santa Clara transfer Cedric Latimer to escape the basement. The non-conference schedule is road heavy, as the Red Flash visit Notre Dame, Ohio State, Drexel, Duquesne, and Akron.

Wagner (last NCAA: 2003) Mike Deane's Seahawks lost four starters from a season ago, who combined to averaged almost 48 points a contest. The only returning starter is 6-7 senior C Michael Orock, who only averaged around 3 points and 3 boards a game. Wagner's leading returning scorer? 5-10 G Chris Martin, who averaged 6.1 points a contest, while shooting better than 45% from 3-land. Needless to say, Deane will need to see a lot from the 7 freshmen on his roster. The Seahawks have to travel to BYU and Nevada for the Las Vegas Classic, where they'll play Jackson State, then Eastern Washington or Chicago State in the undercard for the main event.

Fairleigh Dickinson (last NCAA: 2005) After two disappointing seasons, FDU dismissed longtime coach Tom Green over the summer and replaced him with assistant Greg Vetrone. Last year's starting point guard Cameron Tyler graduated, but his backcourt-mate 6-3 SG Sean Baptiste, the team's leading scorer (16.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg) returns. 6-0 JC transfer Mike Scott will move into Tyler's slot, and if he can perform well, the Knights may move up the standings. That's because FDU has some talent inside: 6-8 Alvin Mofunanya (9 ppg, 5.5 rpg), 6-8 Kamil Svrdlik (6.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg), and 6-9 C DeJuan Pursley, who averaged 5.3 points and nearly 4 boards a game when he was last healthy in 2007-08. The Knights open their season at Villanova and travel to Wichita State for the CBE Classic. They'll also visit Eastern Kentucky for one of that event's "subregionals," where they'll also take on UT-San Antonio, and UC Irvine.

St. Francis (NY) (last NCAA: None) The Terriers have hope after a 10-win season, as four starters return, led by 6-2 junior G Ricky Cadell (15.3 ppg, 40% from 3) and fellow sharpshooter 6-6 Serbian soph Stefan Perunicic (10.8 ppg, 38.8% from 3), with another 3-point specialist 6-5 swingman Kayode Ayeni (13.3 ppg, 38.8% from 3) coming back from a knee injury. The frontcourt is an issue, as 6-7 F/C Nigel Byam and 6-7 F Herman Wrice didn't even combine to average 10 points and 9 boards last season. 6-9 JC transfer Alexander Harrington should push them immediately. The Terriers travel to Boston College, Syracuse, and UMass this season.

Monmouth (last NCAA: 2006) The Hawks will welcome Isiah Thomas' FIU team and Seton Hall to their new arena to open the season. The new building will see a Monmouth team that returns all five starters from a disappointing 8-23 club. 6-3 Rutgers transfer Justin Sofman becomes eligible this season, and coach Dave Calloway hopes his arrival will help out an offense that returns only one double figure scorer, 6-8 sophomore F/C Travis Taylor (12.4 ppg, 5.8 rpg).

Sacred Heart (last NCAA: None) The Pioneers were the highest scoring in the NEC last season, but they may not put as many points on the board in 2008-09, as two of last year's four leading scorers Joey Henley (15.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg) and Ryon Howard (10.7 ppg, 6.5 rpg) have moved on. F Corey Hassan and G Chauncey Hardy are back, however, and they both averaged around 11 points a contest. If guards Ryan Lithe (7.9 ppg) and Shane Gibson (8.1 ppg off the bench) can pick up their production, SHU will be in good shape offensively. The frontcourt is a weak spot, and 6-9 Turkish junior Mehmet Sahan, 7-0 British senior Liam Potter, and 6-9 redshirt freshman Nick Greenbacher will see plenty of minutes. The Pioneers will participate in the Connecticut 6, where they'll play Yale. Visits to Xavier and Penn State are also on tap this season.

Central Connecticut State (last NCAA: 2007) Howie Dickenman's team should be able to improve on last year's 8 NEC wins, thanks to the return of four starters. 6-0 junior PG Shemik Thompson (16.5 ppg, 5.8 apg) is among the best the league, and 6-3 sophomore Robby Ptacek should certainly improve on the 10 ppg he averaged last season. 6-6 junior Ken Horton--a threat for league honors and the team's leading scorer, averaging 16.5 ppg--is back to lead in the frontcourt, where he'll be joined by 6-5 David Simmons (6.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg) and 6-6 freshman Joseph Efese. The Blue Devils have a unique scheduling situation where they play Independent Savannah State three times: home, away, and at a tournament at the Citadel.

Long Island (last NCAA: 1997) While the Blackbirds lost two starters, after the late offseason departure of 6-8 Lithuanian Aurimas Adomaitis, LIU should still contend in this league because of the talent that's still in place. The Blackbirds are led by the backcourt trioof 6-1 senior Jaytornah Wisseh (15.2 ppg, 4.4 apg), one of the top players in the entire conference, 6-3 junior Kyle Johnson (13.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg), and 6-1 junior David Hicks (8.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg). 6-7 Julian Boyd was a key bench player last season, averaging 10.5 points and 6+ boards, but he'll be even more valuable now that Adomaitis is gone. However, 6-10 JC transfer Milos Nikolic should make an immediate impact inside. The Blackbirds visit St. John's this season, and they'll also travel to Chattanooga for a holiday tournament featuring Morgan State and Eastern Kentucky.

Robert Morris (last NCAA: 2009) The defending champions should contend again, especially because of their defense, but they'll have to begin life without last season's leading scorer, Jeremy Chappell. That means the returning backcourt players, 5-11 senior Jimmy Langhurst (9.9 ppg), 6-3 junior Gary Wallace (5.9 ppg), and 6-4 senior Mezie Nwigwe (6.5 ppg), will have to up their scoring. 6-8 seniors Rob Robinson (11.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg) and Dallas Green (6.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg) anchor the frontcourt. The Colonials travel to Syracuse for the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, and they'll also visit Albany for one of that tournament's "subregionals," where they'll also play Detroit and Alcorn State. Trips to Duquesne and Penn State also appear on the schedule.

Quinnipiac (last NCAA: None) The Bobcats are a serious threat for their first ever tournament appearance because of the amount of talent they have returning from last season's squad that claimed 10 NEC wins. Tom Moore has a loaded backcourt for his third campaign, as starters James Fedeline, a 6-4 senior who averaged 17.6 ppg last year, and 6-0 soph James Johnson, a point guard who scored almost 10 a game while dishing out at little more than 4 assists a contest. 6-3 senior reserve Jeremy Baker averaged 10 points a game himself last season, while Evann Baker, who averaged almost 11 points a game back in 2007-08, returns from a knee injury. 6-7 junior Justin Rutty (14.8 ppg, 9.8 rpg) is a true frontcourt force, and he'll be joined by 6-6 Rhode Island transfer Jonathan Cruz and 6-7 frosh Jamee Jackson this campaign. The Bobcats will face Hartford in the Connecticut 6 Classic, and visit UMass and Cruz's former school.

Mount St. Mary's (last NCAA: 2008) Milan Brown only returns three starters from last year's NEC runners-up, but they are his three leading scorers. 5-9 senior Jeremy Goode (14.9 ppg, 4.1 apg) is the team's heart and soul, while 6-3 junior Jean Cajou (12.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg) is another major offensive threat. In the frontcourt, 6-5 senior Kelly Biedler (10.9 ppg, 6.9 rpg) will get more help this year, thanks to the emergence of 6-7 reserve Shawn Atupem (9.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg) and the arrival of 6-9 Croatian C Kristijan Krajina. 6-4 senior swingman Will Holland, who averaged nearly 5 points a contest last year, is another player who could contribute more. The Mountaineers open their season at Oklahoma; travel to American, Boston U, Georgetown, Old Dominion, and Pitt; and host Loyola (MD), Niagara, and Vermont.

The Mountaineers will appear as Northeast Conference champions in my 2009-10 Final Preseason Bracket, which I will release on November 9.

To wrap up this preview, here is my preseason All-NEC team, featuring the best returning players from last season.

Preseason All-NEC Team

Player of the Year: Jeremy Goode, 5-9 G, Sr. (Mount St. Mary's)

Remainder of the Team
Sean Baptiste, 6-3 G, Sr. (Fairleigh Dickinson)
Ken Horton, 6-6 F, Jr. (Central Connecticut State)
Justin Rutty, 6-7 F, Jr. (Quinnipiac)
Jaytornah Wisseh, 6-1 G, Sr. (Long Island)

Poll

Who is your pick to win the Northeast Conference this season? (Note that Bryant does not appear as they are ineligible for the postseason.)

Central Connecticut State

0 votes

Fairleigh Dickinson

1 votes

Long Island

1 votes

Monmouth

1 votes

Mount St. Mary's

1 votes

Quinnipiac

0 votes

Robert Morris

0 votes

Sacred Heart

0 votes

St. Francis (NY)

0 votes

St. Francis (PA)

0 votes

Wagner

1 votes

5 votes | Poll has closed

Tenacious D: The secret to the Cougs' early success

Grady. — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:00:07 -0000

Apply Murphy's Law to the first half of yesterday's basketball game against Fairleigh Dickinson.

Everything that could go wrong for WSU, did.

FDU's zone defense was slowing the normally dominant Aron Baynes. The Cougars had 14 points in the first ten minutes, and were on the way to shooting 39.3% from the field. They hit only one of seven three-point attempts. Klay Thompson was shooting - he just wasn't connecting, going 1 for 6 with only a lay-in to his credit. The officiating took "let 'em play" quite literally, calling only two fouls on the visiting Knights.

And yet, after all that, the Cougars had an 11 point lead. They were in control the whole half, and ultimately the entire game.

Holding the other guys to fifteen first-half points will do that for you.

How is it, that the 2008 version of the Cougars - a team that boasts ten players that hadn't yet played a second of NCAA basketball - could come out hardly missing a beat defensively from last year's Sweet Sixteen squad?

Let's break it down:

Team Defense: Can a team that lost one of the best defensive players in the nation still stifle the opposition? Well, when your system is so solid that all you have to do is find the parts to fit it - yes. And that's exactly what Tony did - bringing in a recruiting class that meshes so well with the defensive mindset of Bennett Ball. Hard nosed man-to-man defense, with the occasional double team on the low post to make sure the Knights' inside game didn't get going. The Cougars have done about as good a job as anyone at making sure perimeter shots are contested. FDU's best player statistically, Sean Baptiste, finished with a 3 for 13 evening. FDU shot 21.6% for the game.

Taylor Rochestie: Running the point isn't the only thing Taylor does well. His on-ball defense of Cameron Tyler was superb - especially when Tyler would attempt to isolate against Rochestie and drive for a basket as the shot clock wound down. The most athletic guard on the FDU team was shut down by one of the most athletic in the Pac-10.Tyler finished 1 of 8 from the floor.

Aron Baynes: The slimmed down Baynes is so far everything we could've hoped for. He's more mobile. He avoids silly fouls and keeps his hands straight up. His footwork appears to be improved from last season.

One of my favorite things about Baynes is how he works so hard in the off-season to improve himself, even when he's already a great player. That, and the new mustache.

Daven Harmeling: I'll reassess this when Baylor and Gonzaga come to town, but against these undersized mid-major opponents, Harmeling is a good fit defensively at power forward. He was able to help Baynes on the double-team and looks like he has found a nice role for himself - one that doesn't involve being the sixth man.

Block Party: Ivory Clark would be proud. Klay Thompson adds, to steal from Jay Bilas, "tremendous length". He had 3 blocks last night, including one of those healthy Greg Oden type blocks where he tipped it right to himself. DeAngelo Casto has lived up to his billing, with six blocks so far on the year. Even Abe Lodwick (remember, he could do this in high school too) swatted a shot away. Opponents miss 100% of the shots that don't make it to the basket.

Nikola Koprivica: I've been gushing a lot about the kid from Sport Grammar School lately, but it's for good reason. Not only has he already upped his three-point percentage from 14% to 57% this year, his knee looks good enough to make him a force defensively. Last year, when Tony lined him up against Jerryd Bayless, we knew the ball coach had faith in his abilities. Hopefully Koprivica works hard and improves even more as the season rolls along. He could be our best chance at finding someone comparable defensively to Kyle Weaver. A tough thing to find, indeed.

Now, the tricky part: Can the Cougs keep this up against BCS conference opponents? Well, we won't know for sure until the later rounds of the Legends Classic.

Perhaps the more interesting question is: can they give up less points per game than the football team?

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And now, to debut my new favorite postgame feature: Win probability [and other fun stuff] chart!

Stats by StatSheet.com