Marist Basketball 2008-09 Season Outlook

After an 18-14 (11-7) finish and semifinal loss to Rider in the MAAC tournament of the 2007-2008 season, the Marist Red Foxes went through many changes in the offseason.

It all started with the graduation of four impact seniors in Ryan Stilphen, Ben Farmer, Wilfred “Spongy” Benjamin, and Shae McNamara.  Then four-year head coach Matt Brady left the team for more money down at James Madison, which led to the transferring of MAAC Co-Rookie of the Year Jay Gavin (to VCU) and fellow freshman Jeremiah Bowmann.

With most of Coach Brady’s incoming recruits opting to follow him to James Madison, this left the Red Foxes with a bare cupboard and scrambling to find a head coach. 

In comes the hiring of Coach Jose “Chuck” Martin.  In his coaching career, Martin made assistant coaching stops at Drexel, Manhattan, St. John’s, and most recently, the national champion runner-up Memphis.

Coach Martin didn’t waste any time hitting the recruiting trail.  He put together a coaching staff and used his NYC recruiting ties to bring in five solid recruits in the late spring signing period.  G/F Dorvell Carter, G R.J. Hall, F/C Alex Vouyoukas, and G Javon Parris should all get their chances at major minutes this season.

(Martin also recruited Boston College transfer Daye Kaba, who should impact the Red Foxes greatly when he is eligible at the start of the '09-'10 season)

Now that we know what we’re dealing with, time for the predictions.  The Foxes this season will rely heavily on returning Jr. point guard David Devezin (9.7 ppg, 4.3 apg) to lead this young group of players.  Coach Martin is relying on the freshmen to step in and play big minutes, as well as the sophomore big men to help them adjust while also polishing their own games.

With a fairly tough Out of Conference (OOC) schedule highlighted by games against Rutgers, Cleveland St., St. John’s, and Memphis, I can see Marist realistically winning around four or five of those games.  As for the MAAC schedule, I see Marist getting about 7-8 wins.

Now I know that these predications seem low, but I am sort of thinking on the negative side or “low-balling” team wins for now.  The truth is that Marist could and should shock some people this year. I just think it all depends on the learning curve for incoming players.

If the team can adjust and gain some team chemistry on the court sooner rather than later, then you could definitely see those win totals go up, as well as Marist being a legit threat for an upset come MAAC tournament time.

Although the MAAC coaches will most likely pick Marist in the bottom three for preseason polls, I see the Foxes finishing more around fifth or sixth at seasons end.

Prediction

12-18 (4-8 OOC) (8-10 MAAC)

Projected Starting Lineup

PG David Devezin 6'0"

SG Javon Parris 6'4"

SF Dorvell Carter 6'6"

PF Ryan Schneider 6'7"

C Korey Bauer 6'9"

Key Reserves

R.J. Hall 5'10"

Lawrence Williams 6'7"

Alex Vouyoukas 6'9"

The key for Marist fans is to keep support up for the team and attend games regularly.  The McCann Center is arguably the biggest weapon the team has when the student section and stands are full.

The games will be exciting and possibly disappointing at the same time this season, but don’t fret. It won’t last long as the future looks bright for the young Red Foxes.