2011-2012 Fairfield Stags Basketball Preview

Fairfield Stags - Metro Atlantic

2010-11: 25-8, 13-5

2010-11 postseason: NIT

Coach: Sydney Johnson (First year at Fairfield, 66-53 overall)

New coach Sydney Johnson has stepped into a great situation at Fairfield. This is a Stags team that has a ton of talent and plenty of depth. Guard Derek Needham is the star of this team and the 5-11 junior is ready for another huge season. Last year he led Fairfield with 14.1 points and 4.5 assists per game. Unfortunately, Needham is not a true point guard and his knack for turning the ball over is a problem. Moving him off the ball more often this season is a main priority. However, on or off the ball, Needham can and will score a ton of points.

Who’s Out:

Unlike fellow MAAC favorites Iona, the Stags have a few key pieces that are leaving. Yorel Hawkins has been around forever and averaged 10.1 points and 5.4 rebounds during his senior season. Losing fellow forward Warren Edney does not help either. Edney rarely played too many minutes, but he was a very productive player when he was in the game. Greg Nero is also gone, but the forward has battled with injuries throughout much of his career and only appeared in eight games last season. He was a good player when healthy, but he has not been fully healthy for quite some time. The only loss on the perimeter is Lyndon Jordan, who averaged just over a dozen minutes per game last season.

Who’s In:

The losses can easily be made up with the newcomers. Rakim Sanders, a transfer from Boston College, is the key piece to the puzzle. Sanders is a 6-5 forward who started all 23 games in which he appeared two years ago for the Eagles. He is a good outside shooter and has enough girth to play the four spot at times. This is a Princeton offense now and having a 6-5 power forward who can shoot is not a bad thing in many situations. Another transfer, Desmond Wade from Houston, will see a ton of playing time. The 5-8 junior dished out 4.8 assists per game two years ago with the Cougars and could step right into the starting point guard role, allowing Needham to move off of the ball. Keegan Hyland, Adam Jones and Vincent Van Nes round out the group of newcomers. Jones and Van Nes are both big players who will battle for playing time off of the bench. Van Nes is a seven-footer who has a ton of length and can block some shots, while Jones is the more polished player who may have to spend quite a bit of time on the floor depending on match-ups.

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Who to Watch:

The backcourt has a lot of options beyond Neeham and Wade. Jamel Fields showed promise during his freshman campaign and should battle it out with Wade for minutes at the point. He did start 11 games last season and that experience will help whether he starts or not. Maurice Barrow was a regular starter last season and the 6-5 wing will add some much, much needed rebounding to the perimeter when the diminutive Wade and Needham are on the floor at the same time. Colin Nickerson started 18 games in 2010-2011 and will likely come in off of the bench most of this season. He is not a great shooter or a prolific scorer, but he is a tough player who can do some dirty work. The return of Sean Crawford provides Coach Johnson will more weapons than he will know what to do with. Crawford was a starter by the end of the 2009-2010 campaign, but missed last season with an injury. Crawford proved to be a prolific scorer during that stretch and if he can regain that form, Crawford will be a superb scoring option off of the bench.

Final Projection:

The big question is whether or not Sanders can be an effective power forward. Ideally that would be the case. He can rebound well enough and the Stags have a ton of talent on the perimeter that deserves to be on the floor. If Sanders needs to be a small forward at times, that is fine, but if he has to all the time, the frontcourt is in trouble and will have to rely heavily on newcomers like Jones. Keith Matthews is only 6-5 as well, so he would not help out too much at the power forward spot. The one thing the frontcourt is sure about is Ryan Olander. The 7-0 senior has developed into a great big man who can compete with just about anybody in the paint. He averaged 10.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks last season. His senior season should be his best yet and there are few players in the MAAC that can stop him. This may be a small team at times, but with Olander under the basket, it does help even things out a little bit. This group is extremely talented and will compete with Iona for the top spot in the conference. The loser of the conference tournament could even be in the mix for an at-large bid, but Coach Johnson has a lot of options and a lot of difference combination of players that he can use pending on the situation. If he can use those players properly, this will be a tough team for anybody to beat.

Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA

Projected Starting Five:

Desmond Wade, Junior, Guard, DNP last season
Derek Needham, Junior, Guard, 14.1 points per game
Maurice Barrow, Sophomore, Forward, 6.2 points per game
Rakim Sanders, Senior, Forward, DNP last season
Ryan Olander, Senior, Center, 10.4 points per game

By Joel Welser courtesy of www.CollegeSportsMadness.com
CollegeSports-fans.com Senior Basketball Writer

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