Emotions Are Mixed as St. Francis Men's Basketball Cops Top Spot in NEC Preseason Poll

At the St. Francis Brooklyn Tip Off Reception Tuesday night, Terrier faithful young and old gathered to celebrate an honor of dubious merit, though clear significance: for the first time in program history, St. Francis Brooklyn was named the favorite to capture the Northeast Conference (NEC) men’s basketball championship in the annual coaches preseason poll.

Glenn Braica, Terrier head coach since 2010, joked about a statistic put out by the conference that its coaches have been wrong 23 out of the last 27 years. Irma Garcia, SFC Athletic Director, simply called the recognition “a jinx.” Other fans gathered at McMahon’s Public House, within spitting distance of Barclays Center, grumbled that the team—which many have supported for decades—hadn’t won a thing… yet.

Amid rampant skepticism lurked other emotions, including genuine pride and, perhaps, defiance, that THIS Terrier team, with experience (senior Jalen Cannon, voted to the NEC 2013-14 All-Conference team), potential (Chris Hooper, junior transfer from Oddessa Community College) and tenacity (senior Brent Jones, a 5-10 point guard with 432 assists in three years) will be the one to win a title for the first time in St. Francis’ 34-year NEC tenure.

And—perhaps—the Terriers, one of five NCAA Division 1 programs to never qualify, will advance to their first-ever NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

“The most important thing is the enthusiasm that comes from the college and their basketball program,” said Ray Nash, legendary head coach for Bishop Ford High School who led the Terrier’s to their last post-season berth in the 1963 N.I.T. where St. Francis dropped a heartbreaking 71-70 decision to the University of Miami. “What I want them to do is break my record as being the captain of the last team to make the post-season.”

Acknowledging that generations of Brooklyn basketball history are being kept alive at St. Francis, Nash added: “The other fact that Glenn Braica played for me at Bishop Ford—one of my players makes it that much more enjoyable that the St. Francis family hopefully will get to the NCAA this year.”

John Tully, Chairman of the St. Francis Board of Trustees, has been following Terrier basketball since 1963.

“They [SFC] have gotten very good again,“ said Mr. Tully, who came to the small Brooklyn Heights school just after Ray Nash’s heroics. “We’re very happy and optimistic with Coach Braica at the helm. He’s got players and he’s a great guy.”

For Matt Milk, class of 2014, the recognition of his former team’s ability was bittersweet.

“I’m pretty upset because I’m no longer on the team,” joked Milk, part of Glenn Braica’s first recruiting class at St. Francis. “It all looks so great that I’m jealous that I’m not still there.”

“Throughout the years we’ve toughed it out and we’ve always played above the curve, so I feel that we’ve earned this recognition.”

Perhaps the most visible SFC supporter is Dennis McDermott. At 6-6 McDermott towers over the crowd as he exhorts his beloved Terriers in their home court at the Generoso Pope PE Center. A 1974 graduate who is the program’s career leader in points, field goals and free throws, McDermott was inducted into the St. Francis Athletics Hall of Fame in 1987.

“It [the NEC top seed] is very important to us,” said McDermott, now Director of Alumni Relations for St. Francis. Stating that his school proudly represents New York City basketball, he added that “Brooklyn will be rocking and rolling” if the Terriers advance to the NCAAs.

There IS joy in Brooklyn Heights for this team that many have waited patiently to succeed. Then there’s Coach Braica, who—like all coaches—downplayed expectations.

“I know everyone’s excited about getting picked number one,” said Braica, addressing the crowd, “but I deal with reality. And the reality is... this is an underdog school, and we’re still underdogs because in the history of the Northeast Conference, the coaches have been wrong 85% of the time.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Northeast Conference