not sure if you knew caper mcclurkin missed the iona game also...
something about selling textbooks...
from nypost today:
BRADY, MARIST TRY TO EXTEND HONEYMOON
January 31, 2005 -- NOW comes the hard part for Matt Brady.
Marist's new coach hit Poughkeepsie with hype in April, and he met it in January when the Red Foxes (10-8, 8-2) won six straight games.
Then Friday dawned, and the first signs of adversity showed. In the afternoon, the team suspended starting center Will McClurkin, complete with his 14-point, eight-rebound average, for an indefinite period after he violated department and school policy.
At night, Iona rolled the resurgent Red Foxes 96-85 at the McCann Center, Marist's first home MAAC loss and a game that dropped them from first place in the league.
With McClurkin out and his team shaken, Brady takes his team on the road for six of its next seven, beginning tonight at St. Peter's. And the Red Foxes need another boost from a coach hired to specifically to bolster the program.
"His intensity struck me," Marist AD Tim Murray said. "We brought him in because we thought he could energize our program. He's done a great job of that so far."
Ex-coach Dave Magarity, who spent 18 years in the job, recruited talented players and possessed a basketball knowledge that drew respect from throughout the profession. But that knowledge failed to improve those players fast enough over the last two years, and last season's team looked lethargic and struggled to score en route to a 6-22 final mark.
So out went Magarity, who still lives in Poughkeepsie and works with the MAAC, and in came a man who wowed his players before he ran a workout.
A group of players, including guard Jared Jordan, met with the coaching candidates as they interviewed, and they all agreed Brady stood out from among the five finalists.
"As soon as he left the room, we all looked at each other, and knew that was the guy we wanted," said Jordan, who scored a career-high 32 points against Iona. "It wasn't even a question."
There have been no second thoughts, even when Brady tinkered with each player's shooting form. The man who as a St. Joseph's assistant molded NBA-ready jumpers for Jameer Nelson and Delonte West has pumped Marist's 3-point percentage from 32 a year ago to 43 this season.
Sophomore Will Whittington benefited most from the instruction, and he ranked third in the nation in the latest NCAA update at 52.3 percent from deep. He, Jordan and skilled freshman forward Ryan Stilphen will become key as Marist tests itself, and its rookie head coach, on the road.
"I've always had a concrete vision of how I wanted this team to play," Brady said. "And we're getting closer to that, and we need to keep going that way over the next few weeks."
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Manhattan will learn its "Bracket Buster Saturday" opponent late today. The Jaspers will play a road game against a non-conference foe on Saturday, Feb. 19. That team will visit Draddy Gym for a game early next season.
