Senior guard returns from finger injury
Things have been great for Matt Brady lately.
The first-year coach of the Marist College men's basketball team has guided the Red Foxes to a first-place showing in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, drawing interview requests from New York City-area papers that rarely even devote a sentence to the Red Foxes.
Marist is also riding a six-game winning streak, the Red Foxes' longest span of victories since winning eight consecutive games at the outset of the 1998-99 season.
But believe it or not, things could even get better for Brady and the Red Foxes when they host rival Iona tonight at the James J. McCann Recreation Center. That's because they'll be getting one of their key players back from an injury, just in time for a brutal stretch where Marist will play six of its next eight games on the road.
Senior guard Brandon Ellerbee, who suffered an injury to his right pinkie against St. Bonaventure Nov. 23, is ready to return to action and is eager to check into a game for the first time in nine weeks.
''I just can't wait to get back out there,'' Ellerbee said after practice Thursday, ''and play with those guys again.''
Will wear splint
Ellerbee, who's wearing a splint on his right pinkie, has practiced with the team for the past week. He started practicing with the Red Foxes for the first time last Thursday since sustaining the injury. He even dressed for Saturday night's game against Loyola (Md.) and participated in pre-game warmups, just so he could slowly regain the feeling of what it's like to be on the court.
''I am going to go hard for the time I'm out there,'' Ellerbee said. ''I don't expect to play 20 minutes. I'm just trying to get back into it and work myself back into the lineup.''
When Ellerbee went down with the injury, it gave Will Whittington the opportunity to step into the starting lineup. And the sophomore sharpshooter hasn't let up since. He's the Red Foxes' leading scorer at 17.3 points per game and his name has been among the nation's best from three-point range all season.
But there are some things that just couldn't be replaced when it came to filling the hole left by Ellerbee -- like senior leadership and defensive tenacity.
''He'll help us out tremendously,'' Whittington said. ''Just him being there, seeing him on the court with us is going to raise our spirits a little bit. And he's been there, he's done things. He's been in big ball games. I think it's going to take him a little bit to get back into it.
''But once he does, he's going to back to where he was.''
And although it will likely take a while for Ellerbee to regain his form, Brady is just glad to have the 5-foot-10, 194-pound Plano, Texas native back.
''I think he certainly adds a weapon to our team, especially on the defensive side,'' Brady said. ''I do think that Brandon is a nice offensive player, but he gives us a toughness defensively that we haven't had. We are clearly adding a defensive guy, a defensive stopper, on the perimeter. And hopefully, the ball will go in quickly for him and he won't feel rusty. It's hard not to be.''
Finding minutes for Ellerbee won't be easy, which says something considering he was a starter. With the Red Foxes easily playing their best ball in years, Brady is somewhat hesitant to juggle his rotation.
''That's the challenge for my staff and I,'' Brady said. ''He has to take minutes from somebody else who has already helped us get to this position. It's kind of a Catch-22. I really want him back because I think he adds to the team leadership. He adds a lot to the team on defense and he's another guy who can make threes. He's a senior, which is a big deal.
''I don't think there's any down side to having him, other than somebody is going to lose some minutes. And really what I hope happens is four guys lose a few minutes, not one guy lose a bunch.''
Ellerbee doesn't want that, either. He simply wants to fit in again, something he admits has been eating at him for the last few weeks while the Red Foxes have rattled off their best winning streak in more than half a decade.
''That's scaring me right now,'' he said. ''But everyone keeps telling me just keep your head up and there's no way I can hurt us. So I really might not go out there and be the offensive scorer, but I definitely can help on defense.''
Notes: The home team has emerged victorious in the last four meetings between the two teams. ... Iona is 1-9 on the road this season. ... The Gaels have won three of their last four games.
Things have been great for Matt Brady lately.
The first-year coach of the Marist College men's basketball team has guided the Red Foxes to a first-place showing in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, drawing interview requests from New York City-area papers that rarely even devote a sentence to the Red Foxes.
Marist is also riding a six-game winning streak, the Red Foxes' longest span of victories since winning eight consecutive games at the outset of the 1998-99 season.
But believe it or not, things could even get better for Brady and the Red Foxes when they host rival Iona tonight at the James J. McCann Recreation Center. That's because they'll be getting one of their key players back from an injury, just in time for a brutal stretch where Marist will play six of its next eight games on the road.
Senior guard Brandon Ellerbee, who suffered an injury to his right pinkie against St. Bonaventure Nov. 23, is ready to return to action and is eager to check into a game for the first time in nine weeks.
''I just can't wait to get back out there,'' Ellerbee said after practice Thursday, ''and play with those guys again.''
Will wear splint
Ellerbee, who's wearing a splint on his right pinkie, has practiced with the team for the past week. He started practicing with the Red Foxes for the first time last Thursday since sustaining the injury. He even dressed for Saturday night's game against Loyola (Md.) and participated in pre-game warmups, just so he could slowly regain the feeling of what it's like to be on the court.
''I am going to go hard for the time I'm out there,'' Ellerbee said. ''I don't expect to play 20 minutes. I'm just trying to get back into it and work myself back into the lineup.''
When Ellerbee went down with the injury, it gave Will Whittington the opportunity to step into the starting lineup. And the sophomore sharpshooter hasn't let up since. He's the Red Foxes' leading scorer at 17.3 points per game and his name has been among the nation's best from three-point range all season.
But there are some things that just couldn't be replaced when it came to filling the hole left by Ellerbee -- like senior leadership and defensive tenacity.
''He'll help us out tremendously,'' Whittington said. ''Just him being there, seeing him on the court with us is going to raise our spirits a little bit. And he's been there, he's done things. He's been in big ball games. I think it's going to take him a little bit to get back into it.
''But once he does, he's going to back to where he was.''
And although it will likely take a while for Ellerbee to regain his form, Brady is just glad to have the 5-foot-10, 194-pound Plano, Texas native back.
''I think he certainly adds a weapon to our team, especially on the defensive side,'' Brady said. ''I do think that Brandon is a nice offensive player, but he gives us a toughness defensively that we haven't had. We are clearly adding a defensive guy, a defensive stopper, on the perimeter. And hopefully, the ball will go in quickly for him and he won't feel rusty. It's hard not to be.''
Finding minutes for Ellerbee won't be easy, which says something considering he was a starter. With the Red Foxes easily playing their best ball in years, Brady is somewhat hesitant to juggle his rotation.
''That's the challenge for my staff and I,'' Brady said. ''He has to take minutes from somebody else who has already helped us get to this position. It's kind of a Catch-22. I really want him back because I think he adds to the team leadership. He adds a lot to the team on defense and he's another guy who can make threes. He's a senior, which is a big deal.
''I don't think there's any down side to having him, other than somebody is going to lose some minutes. And really what I hope happens is four guys lose a few minutes, not one guy lose a bunch.''
Ellerbee doesn't want that, either. He simply wants to fit in again, something he admits has been eating at him for the last few weeks while the Red Foxes have rattled off their best winning streak in more than half a decade.
''That's scaring me right now,'' he said. ''But everyone keeps telling me just keep your head up and there's no way I can hurt us. So I really might not go out there and be the offensive scorer, but I definitely can help on defense.''
Notes: The home team has emerged victorious in the last four meetings between the two teams. ... Iona is 1-9 on the road this season. ... The Gaels have won three of their last four games.
