Can BC Deacons Repeat Last Season's Success?

By Bloomfield College student, Andre Green

After a championship season in which the Deacons, led by two-time All-American Gage Daye, won the 2011 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) and East Regional and advanced to the NCAA Division II Final Eight, the Deacons begin the 2012 campaign on November 11 against Merrimack College at the Bentley University tournament in Waltham, MA.

Despite losing Daye and the team’s other top scorer, Ryan Rodriques, to graduation, BC head coach Gerald Holmes, who was named Division II Coach of the Year last season, said he expects the team to advance even further this year.

“In order for us to have similar success [to last year] we will need increased scoring from Kevin Udo and our two senior captains, Ahmad Harris and Matt Wafula,” he said.

In the September issue of Sporting News Magazine, Harris was named an honorable mention selection to the 2011-12 men’s basketball pre-season team.

The Deacons’ coaches added that the team is well aware that after last season’s success, they’ll be a major target for other teams this time around.  He said it's something the team’s freshmen will have to get used to.

“We will be taking every team’s best shot because we won the region last year and we will be in the top 10 of the region this year,” said Deacons' assistant coach Malcolm Lash. “It’s important for the freshmen to learn and grow up fast.”

Coaches and team veterans also said they were anxious to see how the rookies will adjust to the pace of college basketball.

“We have a lot of young, true freshmen,” Harris said. “It is very important for myself, the other two captains and the (veterans) to set that example and keep the intensity and expectations of the program high, because the bar has been set high.”

Last season was the third time the Deacons advanced to the NCAA tournament since becoming a Division II member nine years ago.  It was also the first time the team had advanced that far in five years. Regional underdogs, the Deacons were only seeded seventh out of eight teams but triumphed nonetheless, becoming the first CACC school to win an East Regional basketball championship.

Harris said the team is determined to go all the way this time.

“The blueprint to success has been mapped out. We know exactly what it takes to be Conference Champs and East Regional champs, but we want to be National Champs,” he said. “We, as a team, must remain focused, humble, and continue to work hard.  That all starts with the veterans.”