Like Iona, the Jaspers have spent the last two seasons rebuilding. Coach Barry Rohrssen has done a solid job with recruiting, but hasn’t nailed transfers like Willard did at Iona. Rohrssen is bringing in one recruit.
Center Djibril Coulibaly was supposed to be a Jasper last season, but could not get a visa to come over to America from Africa in time for the 2007-08 season. Coulibaly can help the Jaspers tremendously. He was the 50th best center in his recruiting class, and the Jaspers are weak down low.
Laurence Jolicoeur was Manhattan’s center last season, but he needs to become a more powerful presence down low instead of a want-to-be shooter. Assuming that Jolicouer has not hit the weight room, Coulibaly will see immediate minutes as a freshman.
Although the Jaspers did not lose any key seniors, Rashad Green transferred to the University of San Francisco after his freshman season. Green was a key aspect to Manhattan’s offense, and showed signs of potential. The Jaspers and their fans will certainly miss Green, who averaged 7.8 points and 5 boards per contest.
Senior Devon Austin will need to step up his game in his final season with the Jaspers. He showed tremendous potential in his first two seasons, but stopped looking for his shot last season. This may have been as a result of not having room on the perimeter, provided by having a big man attract defenders down low, in which case Austin will benefit from Coulibaly. Despite not shooting as much, Austin managed to score 11.6 points per game. The small forward also grabbed 4.2 rebounds per game.
Junior Antoine Pearson will be the point-guard for the third year in a row now. Pearson led the Jaspers in scoring last year, averaging 12.2 points per game. Pearson is good at penetrating the defense, opening the ability for a kick-out or for a drive to the basket.
Like Austin, Pearson will need to take advantage of his scoring ability. In most games last season, Pearson did not begin looking for the basket until the second half. The Jaspers can really benefit from a combined offensive effort from Austin and Pearson.
Chris Smith, younger brother of the Nuggets’ J.R. Smith, will start his sophomore season at shooting-guard. Smith joined the Jaspers towards the end of conference play last season, and averaged 10 points per game as a freshman.
The Jaspers definitely have potential to be an offensive threat in the MAAC, if Rohrssen lets the team run. Last season, Manhattan was able to compete with running teams like Siena by running with them. In fact, Manhattan beat Siena 72-71 by running. Rohrssen says that Coulibaly runs the floor well, so maybe he will let the team play a fast-paced game.
Manhattan has a large bench of players who can all step up big on any given night. Guards Darryl Crawford and Patrick Bouli provide a lot of energy, on both the offensive and defensive sides, off the bench.
Nick Walsh, who hit 51 percent of his three-point attempts, will provide quick scores for Manhattan, when needed. Big men Brandon Adams and Jolicouer can come off the bench to give Andrew Gabriel and Coulibaly a rest.
11 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete