Image by Julia Malakie/Lowell Sun
11/11/2016
Lowell Sun
By Matt Langone
LOWELL -- For the first time since becoming a Division 1 program, the UMass Lowell men's basketball team has a supply of something that tends to be a valuable asset in the sport.
Height.
Perpetually undersized over the last three seasons, the 2016-17 River Hawks finally have a roster that can deviate from small ball. There are four players on UML's squad that are 6-foot-8 or taller. They are all freshmen or sophomores.
With this being the final year of UMass Lowell's mandatory four-year transition period to Division 1, the production and development of these big men will go a long way in determining UML's success when it finally becomes postseason eligible next year.
"We've got more size at a number of positions," said fourth-year head coach Pat Duquette. "And we have more depth. We feel like we have three freshmen who are as close to college-ready as you can be without playing a game. We have to get better defensively and rebounding, and I feel like we addressed that a little bit in the recruiting. In the offseason, we got a little bit bigger and a little bit stronger.
"The next part of our success is player development. We've got to help our guys get better each year if we want to continue to get better as a team."
The River Hawks will be tested right away, as they open the season on Friday at UMass (4 p.m.). Next Wednesday, they will play at No. 11 Indiana.
UMass Lowell is coming off an 11-18 (7-9 America East Conference) campaign, in which it allowed 82.
8 points per game and was outrebounded by an average margin of 37.4-32.7.
Big newcomers
The River Hawks brought in 6-foot-8 freshmen Stefan Borovac (Stoney Creek, Ontario) and Cameron Wolter (Fishers, Ind.). They return 6-foot-8 sophomore Dontavious Smith and 6-foot-10, 230-pound redshirt freshman Connor Bennett, a former Wilmington High standout who walked on halfway through last season.
All four could be key rotation players, especially since 6-foot-7 redshirt sophomore forward Josh Gantz will miss the entire season with a broken leg that he suffered when he landed awkwardly during a scrimmage last month. Gantz was one of two players -- the other being Jahad Thomas -- to start all 29 games for UML last season.
"It's all about heart," said Smith, who averaged 3.5 points and 3.3 rebounds in 11.4 minutes last year. "We're always going to be a smaller team, and we just have to play with heart. If we play with heart and play fearless, size doesn't make a difference."
The River Hawks graduated just two seniors and bring back four starters. Leading the way, is the preseason America East All-Conference selection Thomas. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound junior is a dynamic talent, who averaged 14.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and shot 58.6 percent from the floor in 2015-16.
"As tough of a competitor as I've been around," said Duquette of Thomas.
Sophomore point guard Isaac White was a pleasant surprise and a steady floor general as a freshman, averaging 11.5 points and shooting 42.7 percent from 3-point range. Junior sharpshooter Matt Harris (42.1 3-point percentage) can also space the floor.
But the player to keep an eye on may be 6-foot-3 sophomore guard Ryan Jones. The former New Mexico Gatorade Player of the Year bulked up from 163 pounds last season to 185 this season.
"Ryan is as committed to the game of basketball as any kid I've ever coached. In our postseason talks we discuss players' plans and what they need to do. Putting on some weight was one of the things we discussed with Ryan and he just took it and ran with it."
Duquette also likes what he has seen out of 6-foot-4 freshman guard Rinardo Perry (Washington, D.C.). Meanwhile, 6-foot-4 high-flying sophomore Logan Primerano and 6-foot-6 senior forward Tyler Livingston (Hudson, N.H.) are reliable contributors.
Livingston is UML's only senior. Everyone else will be back next year when the team starts playing for keeps.
"It's a really big year for us," said White. "We're still pretty young, so another year of valuable experience will help."