Planning is a big part of an organization's success. Failure can sometimes be attributed to a lack of planning.
The Marist men's basketball didn't plan for some of the ills that befell the program in the offseason. How the Red Foxes are prepared to handle their early season problems could determine if the 2005-2006 season is successful or not.
Sophomore Ben Farmer is serving an academic suspension, and won't be back until mid-December at the earliest. His classmate Shae McNamara is recovering from an injury. Plus, Marist will need to find out how quickly players coming off redshirt seasons and newcomers to the program will blend with the incumbents.
Add that to a tough early schedule for the Red Foxes. Marist opens on the road against the Seton Hall Pirates of the perennially strong Big East Conference. Three games later, the Ohio University Bobcats from the other MAC - the Mid-American Conference - visit the James J. McCann Recreation Center. The Bobcats made the NCAA Field of 65 last year. Marist's eighth game of the season will have them on the road playing another Big East team, the St. John's Red Storm.
"The early part of the season is a challenge," said second-year Marist head coach Matt Brady. "Especially in light of the fact we have not had Shae McNamara yet. With the non-conference schedule and not having two huge parts of your team, we have some issues here."
Farmer and McNamara averaged 4.3 and 3.8 points per game, respectively, a year ago. Marist will need them to increase their output to improve on last year's 11-17 overall record, including 8-10 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Farmer started all 28 games for the Red Foxes. He became the only freshman in school history, and was the only rookie in the league to start every game last year.
Brady said the team will respond once the players have extensive time on the court together.
"This going to be a team that improves as the year goes on," he said. "I think by the end of the year ? if we're healthy and if the younger players come along ? we can be as good as anybody in the conference. But it's going to take a little while."
Brady thinks the predicted fourth-place finish for his Red Foxes in the MAAC preseason poll was accurate. Although the team has arguably the best backcourt in the conference in Jared Jordan and Will Whittington, Marist will not start any seniors. The team's new additions that will need to adjust to the Div. I level of play soon.
Redshirt guard Kaylen Gregory will fit right into the Marist's fast-paced style that had the team averaging 70 points points per game last year. Marko Vucajnk, also a redshirt and standing 6-11, will bring much needed height to the Red Foxes along with James Smith, a 7-foot transfer from Westchester Community College.
"Smith is a terrific talent, but he's far from a finished product," Brady said. "We're trying to bring him along as quickly as we can. We have to be patient with him. He has to learn a lot of things about how we want him to play."
Smith is recovering from knee surgery, but is ready to play now. He said adjusting to the change in academic demands from a junior college to a four-year school has been tough. His game will be a welcome addition as Brady said the Red Foxes need more offensive rebounding and shot blocking. But Smith expects to be more than a rebounder and shot blocker. Although he wasn't impressed with his offensive performance in a scrimmage against Army.
"I can shoot," he said. "I was just off that day. I had open shots, I just wasn't shooting well."
Redshirt sophomore forward Ryan Stilphen will be instrumental to the team's success. The 6-8 forward averaged nine points and just fewer than seven rebounds a game last year. He said he's looking forward to the Ohio University game, because he's from the Cleveland area, and has a lot of friends that attend the school.
Stilphen doesn't just want to beat Ohio for bragging rights. He sees the Bobcats as a model for success for smaller Div. I programs. He said if Ohio can do it, so can the Red Foxes.
"They might be one of the top 25-30 teams in the country," he said. "They're a mid-major school, and that's where we want our program to go."
The Marist men's basketball didn't plan for some of the ills that befell the program in the offseason. How the Red Foxes are prepared to handle their early season problems could determine if the 2005-2006 season is successful or not.
Sophomore Ben Farmer is serving an academic suspension, and won't be back until mid-December at the earliest. His classmate Shae McNamara is recovering from an injury. Plus, Marist will need to find out how quickly players coming off redshirt seasons and newcomers to the program will blend with the incumbents.
Add that to a tough early schedule for the Red Foxes. Marist opens on the road against the Seton Hall Pirates of the perennially strong Big East Conference. Three games later, the Ohio University Bobcats from the other MAC - the Mid-American Conference - visit the James J. McCann Recreation Center. The Bobcats made the NCAA Field of 65 last year. Marist's eighth game of the season will have them on the road playing another Big East team, the St. John's Red Storm.
"The early part of the season is a challenge," said second-year Marist head coach Matt Brady. "Especially in light of the fact we have not had Shae McNamara yet. With the non-conference schedule and not having two huge parts of your team, we have some issues here."
Farmer and McNamara averaged 4.3 and 3.8 points per game, respectively, a year ago. Marist will need them to increase their output to improve on last year's 11-17 overall record, including 8-10 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Farmer started all 28 games for the Red Foxes. He became the only freshman in school history, and was the only rookie in the league to start every game last year.
Brady said the team will respond once the players have extensive time on the court together.
"This going to be a team that improves as the year goes on," he said. "I think by the end of the year ? if we're healthy and if the younger players come along ? we can be as good as anybody in the conference. But it's going to take a little while."
Brady thinks the predicted fourth-place finish for his Red Foxes in the MAAC preseason poll was accurate. Although the team has arguably the best backcourt in the conference in Jared Jordan and Will Whittington, Marist will not start any seniors. The team's new additions that will need to adjust to the Div. I level of play soon.
Redshirt guard Kaylen Gregory will fit right into the Marist's fast-paced style that had the team averaging 70 points points per game last year. Marko Vucajnk, also a redshirt and standing 6-11, will bring much needed height to the Red Foxes along with James Smith, a 7-foot transfer from Westchester Community College.
"Smith is a terrific talent, but he's far from a finished product," Brady said. "We're trying to bring him along as quickly as we can. We have to be patient with him. He has to learn a lot of things about how we want him to play."
Smith is recovering from knee surgery, but is ready to play now. He said adjusting to the change in academic demands from a junior college to a four-year school has been tough. His game will be a welcome addition as Brady said the Red Foxes need more offensive rebounding and shot blocking. But Smith expects to be more than a rebounder and shot blocker. Although he wasn't impressed with his offensive performance in a scrimmage against Army.
"I can shoot," he said. "I was just off that day. I had open shots, I just wasn't shooting well."
Redshirt sophomore forward Ryan Stilphen will be instrumental to the team's success. The 6-8 forward averaged nine points and just fewer than seven rebounds a game last year. He said he's looking forward to the Ohio University game, because he's from the Cleveland area, and has a lot of friends that attend the school.
Stilphen doesn't just want to beat Ohio for bragging rights. He sees the Bobcats as a model for success for smaller Div. I programs. He said if Ohio can do it, so can the Red Foxes.
"They might be one of the top 25-30 teams in the country," he said. "They're a mid-major school, and that's where we want our program to go."
