Despite back-to-back disappointing seasons, optimism abounds in Silloway Gymnasium this winter, where the men’s basketball team is poised for a turnaround campaign. After finishing 6-17 and 7-16 the past two seasons and missing the postseason both years, the Cardinals are looking to reestablish themselves as one of the NESCAC’s premier programs.
Leading the charge is interim head coach Jay Johnson. Johnson took the reins from 11-year veteran coach Gerry McDowell, who, according to an August press release, left Wesleyan to pursue other opportunities.
According to co-captains Eric Winters ’08 and Nick Pelletier ’08, Johnson has already had a profound impact on the program.
“Coach Johnson has been an incredible, incredible coach for us,” Winters said. “He’s very close to all the guys on the team, [and] he works just as hard as we do; he’s here every night late and here every morning early. He’s the type of guy that you would want…being the captain of the ship.”
Pelletier agreed.
“He loves basketball, and everybody else on this team does,” he said. “But at the same time, in practice, he’s done being friends with us. He’s a coach, he’s a leader, and he’s expecting us to give 110 percent every time we step onto the floor. The enthusiasm is there, but at the same time, there’s that expectation that we’re going to be giving it our all the entire time.”
Johnson’s arrival marks a change of pace for a program that has repeatedly shown flashes of brilliance but has been unable to harness its apparent potential.
While the Cardinals finished with a winning record in seven of McDowell’s 11 seasons, only once did the squad finish with fewer than ten losses: the 1999-2000 season, when Wesleyan finished 13-9. In addition, the Cardinals went a combined 13-33 the past two seasons, including a 2-16 mark in NESCAC play. Despite the recent struggles, expectations are high for the upcoming season.
“This year, we have a new coach and…a new direction,” Pelletier said. “I think at this point we’re taking it practice by practice, game by game…I think our goal is to be the hardest-working team on the floor each night. Our goal is to get a home playoff game in the NESCAC [tournament], but [also] never to look beyond the game that’s right in front of us.”
Johnson echoed Pelletier’s sentiments.
“Our goals are on a day-to-day basis,” he said. “We’ve started our preparations for Friday’s game against Springfield, but our first priority is to get better today…[and] I think if you talk to each one of our guys, we’re all on the same page that the long-term goals don’t do anybody any good unless we’re concentrating right now on the present.”
The 2006-07 season can best be described with a mix of emotions.
While the Cardinals showed great promise early with an 11-point win at Williams and a strong showing in the Hampton Inn Classic at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, and an 11-point win at Williams, the team struggled to find any consistency, failing to win more than two consecutive games all season. The team’s two NESCAC wins were by a combined three points, and five of its losses—including an overtime loss to Bates—were by three points or fewer; a win against Bates would have sent the Cardinals into the NESCAC tournament.
Wesleyan also finished at the bottom of the NESCAC in two crucial categories, rebounds and free-throw with a -2.5 per game percentage (.619). Accordingly, Johnson has made improving these shortcomings a top priority.
“We’ve certainly spent a lot of time in practice on a lot of target areas, [and] those would be two that definitely were encompassed in our hard work,” he said.
Johnson noted that the poor results on the stat sheet were indicative of underlying problems.
“The rebounding statistic [-2.5 per game], for us, is going to come down to stops, because if we can get stops defensively, then there are more rebounding opportunities, and we’re going to have a better chance to secure those rebounds and get headed back the other way,” he said. “[As for] free throws, basically, this team didn’t get fouled enough last year on the offense, so we’re trying to create opportunities in which we can get our good shooters to the line.”
Wesleyan’s inside game was one of its strengths last season, with center Rob Kelly ’07 providing a dominant presence in the paint. Kelly finished second in the NESCAC with 18.8 points per game and also pulled down 8.6 rebounds and blocked 1.35 shots each game, good for third in the conference.
Pelletier, however, believes that a new offensive philosophy will help the Cardinals weather Kelly’s loss.
“Rob’s a great player, and his numbers definitely showed that,” Pelletier said. “[However,] we’re going to be more of a team this year, instead of just relying on that one person in Rob Kelly, and I think ultimately, although he gave us 20 points a night, it’s harder to stop five guys than it is to stop one guy. I think when we start playing the better teams, they’re going to have a tougher time stopping the five of us than they would have to stop one.”
Indeed, Wesleyan is putting more of an emphasis on playing a team-oriented game this season, according to Winters.
“I would say last year, we were a group of individuals,” he said. “This year, we’re a team; it’s a major difference. There’s no one player or one person that’s going to win games, and it’s not going to be even the five guys on the court. It’s going to be every single guy on the bench and on the floor working together as a team, and that’s the main difference. I don’t think we had that over the past couple of years, and I think that’s why we’ll be really good this year.”
There are currently two centers listed on Wesleyan’s roster, Gabe “the Gato” Gonzalez-Kreisberg ’09 and Neal Creeden ’11. However, Johnson is not limiting his options down low to these two players.
“I’m not locked into [Gonzalez-Kreisberg and Creeden] at the center position,” Johnson said. “We’re going to have a number of different rotations and combinations that you’re going to see out on the floor. Basically, what we’re trying to do is maximize our opportunity, first of all, to get stops [on the defensive end], and second of all, on the offensive end, to get scores.”
Johnson is the first men’s basketball interim head coach since Steve Pikiell, who went 5-18 during the 1995-96 season and did not return the following year.
Johnson, a 2003 graduate of Colby College, played for legendary head coach Dick Whitmore, whom he described as “a master of the ’four out, one in’ motion offense.” Johnson also noted that he hopes to bring the offense to Wesleyan this season.
“It’s an unscoutable offense,” Johnson said, “and it’s one that’s enjoyable to play in. I think you’ll see some flashes of that type of play from us. The biggest thing with that was just trying to take as much opportunity of our three-point looks as we possibly could….[But] to start to talk about a fast-paced offense, it all comes down to defensive principles and how efficient you’re being on the defensive end of the floor.”
Johnson stressed three areas the team needs to concentrate on, both on and off the court.
“We’re trying to build a team that [prides] itself on attitude, commitment, and class,” he said.
Wesleyan began game action with an intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals’ first official action begins today, when they take on Springfield College at home in the Inn at Middletown Tournament. Johnson noted that beating Springfield will not be easy; the Pride began practice on Oct. 15, while the NESCAC did not allow teams to begin winter practices this season until Nov. 1, the latest starting date in the nation.
A tournament title would give the Cardinals their first 2-0 start since the 2001-02 season. Regardless of the opening results, however, it is clear that a new chapter in the 106-year history of Wesleyan basketball is about to be written. With a new bench boss and new philosophy, the Cardinals appear poised for a turnaround season that will usher in a changing of the guard among the NESCAC’s elite.
“My time at Colby was certainly enjoyable,” Johnson said, “but I’m also looking to take a new step here at Wesleyan and try and get us headed in the right direction.”