The men’s college basketball season wasn’t supposed to have such a rugged start for the Peacocks of St. Peter’s University.
The preseason prognosticators all figured that the Peacocks would be a highly competitive team this season, right in the thick of things in the always rough-and-tumble world of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
But the season began with four losses, two of which were frustrating last-second setbacks to Hartford and MAAC rival Niagara. No good team starts off a year with an 0-4 record.
However, head coach John Dunne, remarkably in his ninth season already at Harvard on the Boulevard, didn’t want to get caught up in the slow start.
“I think for us, we just didn’t want to get caught up in the storm,” said Dunne, who guided the Peacocks to the 2011 MAAC title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. “We didn’t want them to get caught up in the record. We just focused on the next test. Even when we were 0-4, we sold that idea to the guys. They had to keep going forward.”
After the fourth loss, going forward meant a trip to Piscataway and the always tough Rutgers Athletic Center to face the Scarlet Knights, who were preparing for their first go-round in the Big Ten Conference.
It’s not an easy place to play for any Rutgers opponent, never mind a winless team that seemed to be reeling.
“At the time, I thought all we had to do was make some shots,” Dunne said.
Sure, easy enough. After all, the object of the game of basketball is to put the huge orange globe through the small orange metal rim. Yes, you need to make shots if you hope to win. No basketball team on any level has ever won without scoring at least one basket. Even with as good as St. Anthony plays defense on the high school level, the Friars do have to score every now and then.
“I knew that we had some pretty good shooters,” Dunne said. “They just weren’t making shots. So facing Rutgers at that point was huge for us.”
Winning was even more huge.
The Peacocks went to Rutgers and smoked the Scarlet Knights by 18 points, taking a 68-50 decision. Who knows if it was an indication how bad Rutgers is or how good the Peacocks were does not matter. It was a win for a team in dire need of one.
“Even at the higher level, if we lose, we’re 0-5,” Dunne said. “That was definitely a big boost for us. It got us going and gave us some confidence.”
So much so that the Peacocks managed to win eight of their next 12 games.
“I think we’re playing with so much confidence, at such a high level, even when we lose,” said Dunne, whose team suffered a tough 68-63 loss to Manhattan at Draddy Gym Wednesday night. “I think the win against Rutgers gave us a big boost against Princeton [a 60-46 win].”
In fact, prior to the loss Wednesday, the Peacocks had reeled off four straight wins against Fairleigh Dickinson, Cornell, Quinnipiac and Marist.
The Peacocks were without senior guard Desi Washington for a stretch, missing eight games with a knee injury. But Washington is back and averaging 15.1 points per game.
“He just needed to get his legs under him again after being out for so long,” Dunne said. “He’s feeling pretty good now.”
Another key is senior forward Marvin Dominque, who is averaging 14.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per contest. Dominique, a transfer from Fordham, is one of the best all-around talents in the MAAC and could play in any conference in the land.
“If you want to win, you have to win with high level talented guys,” Dunne said. “If you look at our league, the teams that win have a couple of guys who can play at high level. Our timing was good with Marv. He wanted to stay local after Fordham. He’s been a blessing for our program.”
Sophomore Trevis Wyche, the St. Peter’s Prep product, has blended in nicely as the team’s point guard.
“I think Trev had a little bit of a slow start, but he’s really played well the last four or five games,” said Dunne of Wyche, who is averaging nearly seven points and four assists per game. “He’s been really solid. When he plays well, our team usually plays well.”
Senior forward Tyler Gaskins is averaging 10 points per game. He led the Peacocks with 20 in the loss to Manhattan.
Freshman forward Rodney Hawkins has made a sudden impact, averaging close to eight points and three rebounds per contest. Sophomore center Quadir Welton had five points early against Manhattan, then ran into foul trouble and eventually fouled out. Junior forward Elias Desport, a native of Sweden, adds strength and tenacity upfront.
Needless to say, this is a team that can contend in the MAAC this season. There are no longer days of MAAC teams circling the trip to Yanitelli Center as an easy win. The Peacocks are for real, with shooters (38 percent from 3-point range), scorers, size, quickness. You name it.
“I definitely think we can compete,” Dunne said. “But we can’t be satisfied with four straight wins. We have to continue to grow in certain areas. Right now, we’re in the top three in the league in defense. I like that. We have low turnovers. I like that. If we continue to do those things, then we have the talent to make some noise. We need to stay healthy.”
The Peacocks also have to stay hungry. There isn’t a lot of room for error, as four straight losses to start the year and four straight wins lately can prove. Thus, you have the Peacocks’ current record at 8-8. They’re in the hunt. That’s better than most years.
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com
You can also read Jim’s blog at www.jimhaguesports.blogspot.com.
This week, read about Jim’s take on the Baseball Hall of Fame balloting.