Coaching Prospect: Dave Leitao

Over the next 10 days WVOF will preview the coaching candidates who could possibly be the next hed coach of the Fairfield Stags. Today is Dave Leitao.

Experience: Head Coach at DePaul,Northeastern and Virginia.
Assistant Coach at UCONN during their national championship run

Awards: 2006-07 ACC Coach of the Year
2007 NABC District 5 Coach of the Year

Positives: He has experience. His first year at Virginia he only had 7 scholarship players but was able to defeat UNC and surprised everybody as they finished in seventh. He also has won a share of the ACC Regular Season title which shows that he has the ability to defeat the top teams.

Negatives: His intense coaching style. By all accounts that is what he is known for but according to the Bleacher Report this intense style could be scaring away recruits. This would be intresting for the existing players because while Cooley was intense, he was also fair.

Just Make it Right

They need to make things right. And for the last two games, things have not been quite right for the Fairfield University women’s basketball team. The Stags dropped their second straight contest as they were defeated by Siena to drop their MAAC record to 10-6 and 17-10 overall currently tied with the Saints for fifth in the conference. “[The result was] a little disappointed. Obviously it’s against Siena. It would’ve been great to have a win,” senior forward Joelle Nawrocki said.

It should’ve been a cheerful night for Nawrocki and her fellow senior Kelly Romano as they stepped on to the hardwood for the last time in the regular season as Stags. “That was awesome,” Nawrocki said. “I felt like I had a lot of support around me.” The Unionville native became a prominent piece of the Stag’s puzzle in the last couple of years after only playing 93 minutes and scoring just 18 points in her first two seasons. Her fellow classmate Kelly Romano also shares an important role for the Stags even though it might not be displayed on any box score. She can be seen on the sidelines as the vocal leader for the squad and remains the definition of a team captain. She says she wants to be remembered “just as a hard worker, a team player. Basically just a Fairfield player.”

They entered the program in head coach Joe Frager’s first year with Fairfield and he shares a special connection with his two upperclassmen. “I think those two kids epitomized the way we want our kids to conduct ourselves,” he said. “Because of the type of the people they are, the way they were raised, and the quality of education they received here at Fairfield University, they are going to go on to do outstanding things.”

But things weren’t all perfect on their senior night. “It was nice- brought back some memories. I wish we could have closed it out with a win,” Romano said. The Stags have still failed to show that they can beat a team in the ‘upper class’ in the MAAC as they have not defeated an above .500 squad this season. “Maybe [those thoughts] creep into their heads a little bit. It’s our job as a staff when those thoughts start to creep in those thoughts kind of punch them right back out,” Frager said.

The squad is now 0-2 against Siena and if the season were to end today they would oppose them in the first round match up. However Frager believes that won’t lead to a negative mindset come tournament time. “I would hope as competitors it doesn’t lead to concern,” he said. “If you’ve been beaten twice if you are a competitor you want a chance to make it right. I never use the word revenge but as an athlete you want to set things right.”

Frager thinks his team has the heart to fight through this tough stretch of games and succeed in the playoffs based on their determination and effort. “I’m sure our kids are going to bust their butts to try and make this right,” he said.

Although they have more home wins than any other team in the conference, they still have yet to win a game in the Webster Bank Arena, the very place that will decide their fate in the MAAC tournament. “I think our guys got kind of a comfort level playing at Alumni but we’ve had three times down here we got to get it right,” he said. “When the lights go out and the board goes off and the red spotlight comes on, it’s an exciting thing but it can also make you a little tense a little tight.”

The women’s basketball team aren’t the only ones who have lost out at the experience of winning at the 9,000 seat venue: the fans have too. And they are not the only people who need to make things right: the students have to also.

During the interview, Frager dropped his head and sighed with a pause before answering the question. There seemed to be a sense of desire and dejection in his tone. He said:
“
this is a direct request, plea from me that some of the students get out and support the women’s team. Our men are having a phenomenal season and we support them 100 percent. We would like to see some of the same support for the women because they’re really busting their butts. We love Coach Cooley, we love the guys and we know the students love them, we just almost want them to show a little love for our women too.”

Joe Miko and Mike Evanovich added to 12 Hour Show

Joe Miko who scored the first two points in the varisty history of Fairfield University and Mike Evanovich who was last year's MAAC Sixth Man of the Year will be guests in the WVOF 12 Hour Show which will premiere on Thursday February 24th.

Rider Preview

Well, this weekend is one of the bigger weekends in recent memory for Stags fans. It starts Friday at 9 against the Iona Gaels. The team everyone is talking about. The Gaels are struggling of late. They have lost their last three games (all in MAAC play). However the Gaels only lost these three games by a combined seven points. Even though the Gaels are struggling many believe they stand as the biggest threat to knock off the Stags in the MAAC tournament. Then the Rider Broncs come to town on Sunday. Another dangerous opponent, and although we defeated them in Jersey earlier in the year, they are a tough team with a high powered and dangerous offense.

February 4th VS Iona- We start with the epic tale of two teams that play completely opposite styles. The Gaels come into this game averaging a MAAC leading 79 points per contest, while the Stags are giving up a MAAC best 55 points per game. Iona is lead by two dominant play makers. It all starts with junior PG Scott Machado. Machado LEADS THE NATION in assists per game with 7.8, and also puts up 14.1 ppg. Machado has caught my eye since his freshman year. He plays very similar to Needham. He is quick and tough and has the ability to make plays by himself with or without the ball. This season, he has as complete an arsenal as any mid-major point guard in the country. His main target is Junior College transfer Michael Glover. Glover has literally taken the MAAC by storm. He has been a complete game changer for the Gaels. Glover, originally a Seton Hall recruit, has put up eye popping numbers, averaging 19.1 ppg, and 10.7 rpg! Glover, against big East power Syracuse dropped 25 points and had 16 rebounds. However, in losses at Canisius and at home against Rider he only averaged 8.5 ppg and 11.5 rpg. At the beginning of the season, he seemed unstoppable. However, teams are learning to control Glover, and if you can control Glover you can control the Gaels. Lucky for first year head coach Tim Cluess, the offensive options don't stop. You have red-shirt sophomore sharpshooter Kyle Smyth who is averaging 11.6 ppg and a team leading 55 three pointers. Right behind Smyth is junior Jermel Jenkins who is putting up 10.1 points per contest and has 48 threes on the year. Slasher Rashon Dwight is averaging 7.4 ppg, and big man Alejo Rodriguez is putting up 6 points per contest along with 6.2 caroms per game. Not to be left out of the mix, freshman Sean Armand leads the team nailing 40.6 percent of his three point shots. Yea, this team can flat out score. What they cannot do is play defense. The Gaels are giving up 71.4 ppg which is 7th in the MAAC, and over their last 5 games they have only scored more than 80 points once, three of these games were loses.

Prediction- This is a very very hard game to predict. Iona is absolutely desperate for a win as they do not want to fall into 5th place in the MAAC standings. This is a team that has MAAC championship expectations. So the question is which Iona team shows up? The one that shocked Richmond on the road, or the one that lost to lowly Bryant? Hmmm, I expect the Gaels to give the Stags everything they have. However, I think the Stags offense will steal the show in this one.
Stags 74 Gaels 70

X Factor- Maurice Barrow. It is a lot to ask for a freshman to guard and all-MAAC player like Glover. However, if there is one frosh that can do it, his name is Maurice Barrow. Expect him to slow down Glover. However, he will pick up some fouls and Glover will pick up some points. That is where Keith Matthews comes in and steps up as well. I think the Stags hold Glover to 14 points and 12 rebounds, resulting in a victory. Another X Factor will be the Stags offense. Something tells me Iona will be hitting their shots,and the pressure will be on Needham and the offense. I am feeling a big game from Derek Needham and Yorel Hawkins. The Stags will show tonight that their offense can step up when needed, as they win a game that comes down to the final two minutes.

Judgement Week

Well, this weekend is one of the bigger weekends in recent memory for Stags fans. It starts Friday at 9 against the Iona Gaels. The team everyone is talking about. The Gaels are struggling of late. They have lost their last three games (all in MAAC play). However the Gaels only lost these three games by a combined seven points. Even though the Gaels are struggling many believe they stand as the biggest threat to knock off the Stags in the MAAC tournament. Then the Rider Broncs come to town on Sunday. Another dangerous opponent, and although we defeated them in Jersey earlier in the year, they are a tough team with a high powered and dangerous offense.

February 4th VS Iona- We start with the epic tale of two teams that play completely opposite styles. The Gaels come into this game averaging a MAAC leading 79 points per contest, while the Stags are giving up a MAAC best 55 points per game. Iona is lead by two dominant play makers. It all starts with junior PG Scott Machado. Machado LEADS THE NATION in assists per game with 7.8, and also puts up 14.1 ppg. Machado has caught my eye since his freshman year. He plays very similar to Needham. He is quick and tough and has the ability to make plays by himself with or without the ball. This season, he has as complete an arsenal as any mid-major point guard in the country. His main target is Junior College transfer Michael Glover. Glover has literally taken the MAAC by storm. He has been a complete game changer for the Gaels. Glover, originally a Seton Hall recruit, has put up eye popping numbers, averaging 19.1 ppg, and 10.7 rpg! Glover, against big East power Syracuse dropped 25 points and had 16 rebounds. However, in losses at Canisius and at home against Rider he only averaged 8.5 ppg and 11.5 rpg. At the beginning of the season, he seemed unstoppable. However, teams are learning to control Glover, and if you can control Glover you can control the Gaels. Lucky for first year head coach Tim Cluess, the offensive options don't stop. You have red-shirt sophomore sharpshooter Kyle Smyth who is averaging 11.6 ppg and a team leading 55 three pointers. Right behind Smyth is junior Jermel Jenkins who is putting up 10.1 points per contest and has 48 threes on the year. Slasher Rashon Dwight is averaging 7.4 ppg, and big man Alejo Rodriguez is putting up 6 points per contest along with 6.2 caroms per game. Not to be left out of the mix, freshman Sean Armand leads the team nailing 40.6 percent of his three point shots. Yea, this team can flat out score. What they cannot do is play defense. The Gaels are giving up 71.4 ppg which is 7th in the MAAC, and over their last 5 games they have only scored more than 80 points once, three of these games were loses.

Prediction- This is a very very hard game to predict. Iona is absolutely desperate for a win as they do not want to fall into 5th place in the MAAC standings. This is a team that has MAAC championship expectations. So the question is which Iona team shows up? The one that shocked Richmond on the road, or the one that lost to lowly Bryant? Hmmm, I expect the Gaels to give the Stags everything they have. However, I think the Stags offense will steal the show in this one.
Stags 74 Gaels 70

X Factor- Maurice Barrow. It is a lot to ask for a freshman to guard and all-MAAC player like Glover. However, if there is one frosh that can do it, his name is Maurice Barrow. Expect him to slow down Glover. However, he will pick up some fouls and Glover will pick up some points. That is where Keith Matthews comes in and steps up as well. I think the Stags hold Glover to 14 points and 12 rebounds, resulting in a victory. Another X Factor will be the Stags offense. Something tells me Iona will be hitting their shots,and the pressure will be on Needham and the offense. I am feeling a big game from Derek Needham and Yorel Hawkins. The Stags will show tonight that their offense can step up when needed, as they win a game that comes down to the final two minutes.

Weekend Preview

The Stags are off to a hot 15-4 start that included an 8-1 record in MAAC play. On Friday the stags embark on a 4 game home stand. Today we preview the first two of the stags next four opponents.

Stags next two opponents:

Friday January 28th vs Manhattan Jaspers- For a team looking to make there first NCAA tournament appearance in 14 years, this is a MUST win for the Stags. Manhattan is having one of their worst years (if not the worst) in recent memory. However, they are not a team to overlook. They played a solid Georgia team to a three point loss back in late November, but since then they have really been bad. Of their nine MAAC games so far, they have one win over a struggling Niagara squad, and only three of their 8 loses were decided by 10 points or less. Ouch. However, this is a young team that is going to be playing with a purpose on Friday night. Their freshman point guard Michael Alvarado is putting up 10.6 PPG, and 3 APG, while sophomore swing-man George Beamon is quietly the seventh leading scorer in the MAAC at 15 PPG. This team does have some offensive firepower, and something to prove. However, they are very young and that offense will likely be neutralized by Fairfield's stifling defense.

Prediction: Stags: 68 Jaspers:53
Stags struggle to find their grove early on, but settle down over a pesky Manhattan squad in a game that is not as close as the score indicates. The Jaspers just do not have the man power to hang with the stags for forty minutes.

X Factor: Ryan Olander will be the X factor in this one along with the stags depth on the bench. Look for an Olander double double Friday night. I also see a big game out of Colin Nickerson in this contest. Manhattan's guards will struggle with his athleticism.

Sunday January 31st vs Canisius Golden Griffins- Ahhhhh could we be looking at the classic trap game!? Not with this years Stags team. With the huge game against Iona looming five days after this match-up some may think trap game. Think again. Canisius is a team that Fairfield has quietly dominated over the past three years. However, it seems as if every time these teams play it is close. I do not think anyone will forget when the Stags held a twenty-one point lead at the half in MAAC quarterfinals last year only to see it evaporate in the second half. Luckily, we had Derek Needham and he put up a career high 29 in that victory. Now to recent memory. The stags played against a very scrappy and athletic Griffins team in Buffalo and gutted out a 67-60 victory. Two days later, the same Canisius squad stunned Iona in Buffalo on a Gabby Belardo layup with 4 seconds left on the clock to seal the 75-73 victory, and this senior laden squad may be finding there stride. Senior Elton Frazier and sophomore point guard Belardo lead the Golden Griffins averaging 11.3 PPG. Seniors Greg Logins and Julius Coles are both averaging double figures in scoring this year, and rounding out the starting five is scrappy senior Robert Goldsberry. This is a team that has underachieved so far this year. They have 4 senior starters have all gotten pretty significant playing time since their freshman year, and this is NOT a team one wants to see in the MAAC tournament. I honestly see the Golden Griffins making a run in March, as there is simply to much talent and experience on this team not too.

Prediction: Stags 67 Golden Griffins 59

This game will be your typical Fairfield-Canisius match up where no one in the stands will be able to breath easy until the final whistle. Although Canisius is athletic enough and experienced enough to beat the Stags, I just do not think they are quite at the level of the stags just yet. This is a game that the Stags should win with their high expectations. However, LOOK OUT for this Golden Griffins team in March. I would not be surprised if this team sneaks themselves to the MAAC championship game.

X factor: In this match up, I think your X factor is Derek Needham. Balardo has filled the point guard position well for the Golden Griffins after the graduation of their all-MAAC point guard Frank Turner. However, Needham is the better PG. If the Griffs contain Needham and shut down Olander, they can win this game. But Needham has proven this year time and time again that he is a clutch performer. I think he puts up 20 points and 6 assists to lead the stags past a solid Golden Griffins squad.

Stay tuned as next week we preview two highly anticipated games as the Stags host the second place Iona Gaels on Friday February 4th at 9 PM, a game that will be televised on ESPN U. Two days later on Sunday February 6th, the Stags host the Rider Broncs at 3:30 PM. All games will be held at the Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard!

We're Number 1!

With the West Virginia Mountaneers giving up 65 points to #19 Georgetown, the Fairfield University women's basketball team is in a TIE with West Virginia for the best defense in the nation at 48.0 points per game.

On This Date in Stag History

January 26th 2009- The Fairfield Stags were defeated by the Manhattan Jaspers 65-60. But the big news happened after the game when Stags captain Jon Han was involved in an altercation with an assistant and was then suspended from the team indefintely. He would not play in another game for the Stags but still finished among the 1,000 point scorers.

Well, if you think about it this could have been the turning point of the Stags program. Cooley was not very successful in his first few years, but after suspending Han he gave off the impression to everyone that no one is better than the team. Out goes Han in comes Needham and the rest is history

MAAC MidSeason Review

The MAAC Blog has done their mid season storyline segment. I was surprised that they hardly mentioned Fairfield except they have Cooley as their Coach of the Year and they do have Derek Needham as one of the top 10 players of the league (even though they spelled his name wrong).

There is no mention of how they expect the Stags to fair in the second half of the season and they do not really mention how great Iona has done.

The coach of the year would be very difficult to choose right now. Yes, Cooley has done a GREAT job this year with the absence of Nero and Hawkins and Edney still trying to become what they once were. Even with the struggles of Needham and the at times pathetic offensive displays of shooting the ball anywhere on the court. With all that stacked against him, he has found a way to win and make a defense that is currently the second best in the nation.

With all that said Iona has also done a great job, but things have come much easier to them.. It will be interesting to see how things will go on February 4th.

Stags Athletes to Take Part in a Talent Show

The Fairfield Stags will host their first ever Stag Athletic Talent show on Saturday, January 29th at 7PM at Alumni Hall. The event is sponsored by the Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) and all proceeds from 50/50 raffles, concessions, and collection throughout the evening will be donated to the Grace Evanko Fund, a second grader from the Fairfield area who is battling an inoperable brain tumor. The event is free and open to the University community and public.

Grace and her family enjoyed spending time with members of SAAC at the women’s basketball game against Niagara University on January 23. "It was a great opportunity to meet Grace and her family, get to know them, as well as support the women’s basketball team,” said SAAC co-president, and women’s lacrosse player Kelley Brady.

More student-athletes will have the chance to meet Grace and her family as well this Saturday night as all 20 varsity programs will be putting on an act, or helping with set-up and concessions.

The student-athletes will have five minutes to show the crowd their talent. "It will be an exciting event for the teams to show their creative side in a fun competition. The event is another way for the student-athletes to come together as a group, instead of 20 different teams,” said Senior Associate Director of Athletics and SAAC Advisor Alison Sexton.

Each team will perform in front of a panel of guest judges including head men’s basketball coach Ed Cooley, as well as former FUSA president Hutchinson Williams. Items to be raffled include MAAC apparel, Harlem Globetrotter tickets, digital camera picture frame and much more! So come out to Alumni Hall this Saturday, January 29 at 7 pm to support the Stags and a great cause.

This is an absolutely terrific story, I did watch the video of her father speaking about the event and he seems like a great guy. This event will be a segment on the next episode of Stags Country. But this is a great chance to see the Stags perform at Alumni, in a different way then they are used to but for an even better cause.

Most of the pieces I have heard are dance numbers but I have also heard rumors that there will be a circus act and Keith Matthews will display his ball dribbliing abilities.

Derek Needham wins Co-Player of the Week

Derek Needham has been chosen as the MAAC Player of the Week for the first time this season. Needham averaged 18.3 points and five assists per game in helping the Stags post wins at Rider, at Canisius, and at Niagara. He started the week by shooting 58 percent from the field which resulted in 27 points in the victory against the Broncs. Six of his seven field goals in that game came from behind the three-point line. He followed up with 19 points against Canisius, hitting four of six three pointers and six of 12 shots overall. He finished the week with nine points, highlighted by a critical three-point shot that halted a Niagara comeback bid late in the second half.

Maurice Barrow wins Rookie of the Week

Stags forward Maurice Barrow won his second MAAC Rookie of the Week award. Barrow started his week with a double-double against Rider, registering 11 points and 13 rebounds in 37 minutes of work. He came back with four points and five caroms in the Canisius decision, but surpassed those totals with 14 points and nine rebounds against Niagara. For the week, Barrow shot 50 percent from the floor and 78 percent from the line. The freshman averaged 9.7 points and nine rebounds per game.

Barrow assisted the Stags to a 3-0 record, with all the wins coming on the road.

Women's Defense is Number 2

The second best defensive team in the entire nation doesn’t reside in Storrs or compete in any of the typical “power” conferences, instead they play their home games right here at Alumni Hall. Even though the Fairfield University women’s basketball team might not get the national attention on the news, or enjoy the hype that bigger schools do, they have a chance to end the year as the national champions in scoring defense, currently only less than a point behind West Virginia for the top spot.

Fourth year head coach Joe Frager was aware that the main focus on the team had to be defense, “we knew going into this season that we weren’t going to be the type of team that was capable of scoring 75, 80, 85 points on a regular basis, so we knew we were needed to try to keep teams down,” he said.

Achieving this success doesn’t happen overnight. It takes months of sweat on the practice court and hours in the film room. The process to make this unit a defensive rock started before they played in a game. “Most of the preseason what we do is we work on fundamentals, we work on guarding different screening actions, how we’re going to guard ball screens, how we’re going to guard staggered screens,” Frager said. “Once the season starts it’s just basically scouting report defense [and] breaking down a whole bunch of film.”

That method of breaking down film is more than watching tapes. Assistant Coach Laura Scinto heads the staff that she says that spends about 6-8 hours watching each game, which could be as many as 4-5 contests, and then cutting each team into 15 minute segments for the players. When the squad suits up for practice they will focus 20-45 on defense depending on what scheme the offense runs. All that time helps implant what Scinto says is that the most important part of Fairfield’s defensive system is “attention to detail.”

But as good as the Stags have been in recent years, this season they have a chance to make national attention, at least on the defensive side. They have held six opponents to under 50 points and have done so without the talent of big-time players, Frager says that their defense is based on more character, “to try and get a team to play that way you’re constantly preaching: communication, trust, and pride.”

Since being named the second head coach in school history he has led the team to an average of twenty wins a year including the program’s first ever postseason victory just a season ago. Frager believes that the most important aspect of a defensive team is their constancy, “that’s always something I’ve always believed in all the years that I’ve coached. You can have off nights shooting the ball, but there’s no excuse to really have an off night defensively.”

Frager’s defense system has been the focal point of his Hall of Fame career. Before coming to Fairfield he led the Southern Connecticut State Owls to a Division II National Championship, which earned him National Coach of the Year honors.

He also has already won the statistical defensive national championship with the Owls, “I guess it was the way I was raised. Going back to when I was very very young it’s something my dad tried to instill in me and every coach that I ever played for, and the coaches that I even to this day look towards,” he said. “I’ve always admired the way Coach Knight used to coach at Indiana defensively, I have a lot of admiration for the way Coach Izzo coaches at Michigan State, so those are the types of coaches that we’ve tried to pattern ourselves after.” That pattern led Frager to being inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame last year.

While some good teams might be based on a top defensive system, if they want to grab national attention or gain fan support, offense still remains more popular. “It’s hard to recruit blue chip players by saying we’re going to defend, we’re going to defend, we’re going to defend. The elite players, the top 100 players want to know what their going to do offensively.”

However, Frager believes that the more successful squads are deeper than just being able to score. “If you look at the teams that constantly have always advanced and done well they are not only gifted offensively but their capable of getting some stops as well.” While the old cliché states that ‘offense puts people in the seats’, Frager, Scinto and the Stags only care about another overused motto, ‘defense wins championships.’

Watch LIVE as MAAC Announces it Proposal for Section

Watch live as the MAAC announces its plans for an exhibit at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. today at Noon

Women's Basketball falls to 3-3

The Fairfield University women’s basketball team is the second best defensive unit in the nation allowing only 48.4 points per game. That’s only 0.1 PPG behind West Virginia for the national top spot and nearly an entire point better than #2 UCONN! “It has to be a consistent force,” coach Frager said. “More often than not is has been. The kids have done a tremendous job trying to do what we’ve asked.” The squad has held nine opponents to 50 points or fewer in their first 16 games and excluding an 89 point struggle against Hofstra, the Stags limit foes to 45.7 per contest.

However, as enticing as all those defensive statistics sound they have not translated into wins of late. Fairfield dropped their third straight game on Sunday to fall to 3-3 in MAAC play and 10-6 overall. “It’s really hard to take it in,” junior Desiree Pina said. “especially because it’s our third straight loss. It’s frustrating.”

That record would suggest mediocrity. While the Stags are lighting up the defensive side of the court, through the last three games their offense has been dim. In those contests they are shooting 35 percent from the floor including going 15 for 69 from behind the arc, barely good for a 22 percentage. “There’s definitely concerns. As must as we’ve struggled scoring it in terms of shooting the ball, I think we’ve turned the ball over an uncharacteristic amount,” Frager said. “We’re talking about the unforced turnovers where the mistake is simply ours where we’re either dribbling the ball off our toe, forcing the pass that’s not there. Sometimes when you struggle shooting the ball a little bit you try to start forcing things on offense and I think that’s where we’re at right now.”

The advantage of playing an 18 game schedule is that it affords a team to improve during each game. For that reason, this slide might have some benefits for the Stags. As a young team, the inexperienced players have a chance to get the offense spark needed in close games. “We have to learn from this. We have to come into the gym on Tuesday and be very positive,” Frager said. Over the road trip the team saw contributions from freshmen who have not been afforded that opportunity. Alexys Vazquez and Katie Cizynski saw more playing time, with Cizynksi scoring a career high 12 points and grabbed a personal best 6 rebounds in only 14 minutes, which almost ignited a 12 point comeback on Sunday.

The Stags know if their offense gets that one hot streak, combined with their offense prowess it can help propel a team to the championship. “In MAAC play there’s not a heck of a lot that separates the teams so there’s not a big margin for error,” the head coach said.

They are now in fifth place in the conference with 12 games yet to play. Last year they were in ninth through 10 games. But they found that magic and found themselves playing for the crown. This year they hope to find that same magical spark, and Frager saw some of it in the Manhattan game, “I thought the effort to get back in the game when we were down twelve was outstanding. I thought we showed tremendous heart.”

33 percent of the MAAC season is in the books, and with a few breaks and easy layups the Stags could believably be 5-1 or even 6-0. “If you looked at the schedule ahead of time, you would probably think we’d be anywhere from 2 to 4 wins at this point, I think we have a shot to be 5-1 and we put ourselves in that position so it’s a little bit frustrating,” Frager said. “3-3 is certainly not the end of the world.”

“What I noticed about our team is that when we’re down we never give up. You could see that last year when we went on that nine game winning streak, but also we’ve been down a lot of time and we’ve always continued to fight back,” Pina said. “We just need to keep a lot of optimism.”
The Stags will try to get back to their winning ways this weekend as they welcome Canisius and Niagara to campus. The Stags swept these two teams on the road and Frager knows how important these games are, “We need to win our home games,” he said. A couple of wins and going over .500 can really add a sense of confidence to this young team.

Happy Birthday: Maurice Barrow

Happy birthday to the Stags forward who turns 18 today.

On this Date in Stag History:

January 15th 1975: The Stags defeated the Georgetown Hoyas at home 76-65. Coming into that game Fairfield was 3-5 overall while the Hoyas were 5-2.

Man how times have changed.

Loyola 66 Fairfield 65

The Fairfield University men's basketball team (12-4, 5-1 MAAC) ended their 11 game winning streak as they were edged by the Loyola Greyhounds (7-9, 3-3 MAAC). Click for a complete recap and boxscore.

The Least You Should Know:
-This is the first loss for the Stags since late November when they were defeated by St.Joseph at the Webster Bank Arena. Speaking of streaks, this is the first time they lost at Loyola since 1998. They previously had a 13 game winning streak on the road against the Greyhounds.

-This is by far the most points that they allowed to a MAAC team and the most points given up since November 15th when they lost to Rutgers. This is the second most allowed in any game on the season.

-Ryan Olander sat after he picked up his fourth foul, he only played 28 minutes on the game. When he went on the bench Justin Drummond went on a tear and scored 7 points.

-The Stags did have a chance at the end of the game but Ryan Olander could not hit the three pointer, and the Greyhounds followed with a dunk off the inbounds (even though it might have been a 5 second violation)

This was a bad game all over. The defense really struggled as Loyola seemed to be able to score at will, and they did hit alot of clutch threes when they needed it the most. Without Olander, the Stags seemed very thin and Loyola took advantage and really killed the Stags in the paint and all over on offense.

The key stat is of course: 8-19. That is what the entire team did at the free throw line. It was really embarrasing to say the least. They were getting better at the line in recent games but obviously not here. Needham, Edney, and Hawkins who are the team's best free throw shooters went a combined 4-12 from the line. Inexcusable as those three players should be your leaders that step up in crunch time, but Fairfield seemed to be lacking leaders down the stretch.

Before the game the team watched the match between Buster Douglass and Mike Tyson and the coaches explained that they could become like Mike Tyson and just settle to be good, or they could stay hungry. Obviously, they got knocked out.

Player of the Game: Derek Needham with a team high 14 points (4-7 from 3) and 4 assists.

Up Next: The Stags travel to Rider to play the Broncs on Monday 1/17 at 7 PM.

Loyola 54 Fairfield 52

The Fairfield University women's basketball team (10-5, 3-2 MAAC) was edged by the Loyola Greyhounds (7-9, 4-1 MAAC). Click for a complete recap and boxscore.

The Least You Should Know:
-The shooting of the Stags continue to struggle as they went only 4-15 from behind the arc and could not hit a lay up throughout the game, but especially during crunch time as they missed many close baskets today.

-Taryn Johnson had a game high 19 points but only had 5 rebounds. Once again Brittany MacFarlane picked up the slack pulling down 12 boards (the only one in the game to have double digit rebounds)

-Fairfield did do a good job at staying in the game as they did not lead at any point from 17 minutes on and trailed as much as 9 points. They missed 2 layups that would have tied the game and also could no get a rebound.

Ugly loss to say the least. The defense of the Stags really struggled as the Greyhounds seemed to be able to score at will. Maybe it was because of their size as we were all ready for their lack of size to finally bite them at the end of the game. They were giving up easy layups and really gave up multiple runs that I have not seen this year. Plenty of time their defense tried to make them lose this game.

The shooting really needs to get better. They only shot 4-10 from the free throw line which is not going to get it done in the Division 1 level. Johnson who seemed to have turned the corner from the charity stripe only went 1-4 and seems to have taken a step back once again. Inside players such as Vetra and MacFarlane went a combined 3-17 from the floor while Linney went 2-6 from three.

I have heard that ESPN U made us look real bad during the telecast. We deserved it to be honest. You have to be able to hit a lay up and free throws at this level.

Player of the Game: Taryn Johnson for her 19 points and 9-18 from the floor. Even though she did miss some layups which should have given her more points.

Up Next: The Stags return home to play Manhattan on 1/16 starting at 1:00.

Greg Nero has a Lasting Impact

When a student is recruited to play at the collegiate level, they hope to give the school everything that they want: a good character, a clutch performer, and a legendary hero. For five years, Fairfield Stags fans had the pleasure to watch an athlete who gave his program everything that they could hope for. He only stood 6 foot 7 weighing 215 pounds but his contribution for the team far exceeded his duty to perform on the court. His true image to the Stags will be shown as his extreme dedication off the court.

When Greg Nero first donned the #44 Fairfield jersey, he began his collegiate career with the fastest start in Stag history. He led the team scoring in each of his first 6 games, the first Fairfield rookie ever to do so. The streak was highlighted by a performance against the state benchmark UCONN Huskies in Hartford. That game is by most fans considered his most memorable moment. The early success wasn't a surprise for Nero. He came to the Stags after a successful career in Red Hook, New York when he led his team to four Section 9 championships after comiling a 92-8 overall record.

He continued his freshmen success ending the year 6th among MAAC rookies in scoring. He was also one block shy of the team lead and second in free throws.

2007 was a new year for Nero and he was gaining some conference attention. His sophomore year was the first time in his career he was named to an all-MAAC team and his season was one of the most consistent among the squad. Along with Jon Han, they were the only Stags to score a point in every game on the season. He played in 2 less games than his rookie campaign but managed to raise his rebound average by a board a game.

The effects of 2008, would change his entire career and his life. The forward set career bests in almost every offensive category scoring over 13 points per game. He would never dip below double figures at any point in 2008, and tallied 10+ points in 20 of the 28 games that he competed in. Midway through the year he seemed a step slower. He missed a few games for a back injury he sustained throughout the year, but he was able to return for the MAAC tournament.

The game was against Manhattan. After participating in the first tournament win he ever experienced as a Stag, he was unable to recall even playing in it. The Stags entered the first round match-up limping to the finish line. They lost Jon Han afetr the guard left the team, and their future star forward Anthony Johnson was battling for his life with a blood clot on his lung. However, Nero did not want to be another Stag victim. Playing through a case of mono and back pain, he led Fairfield to their first playoff victory in years. However, after that game he did no remember playing in it. He went to the hospital after the contest but was able to return the next day against eventual champion, Siena.

The next summer was filled with hope. Fans were preparing for the return of all the players who fell last season, which included a healthy Greg Nero. However, his desire of playing that year would fall short. Unable to move from his bedside for nearly a year, his basketball play would not be the only aspect on his mind. Instead now he was fighting for his life. He did not have the strength to arise from his bed, nevermind fighting for a loose board. He didn't have the short term memory to recollect a movie he just watched, nevermind memorizing a playbook, or the focus to have a conversation, nevermind playing a complete 40 minutes. Instead he would watch the team or listen to the games on the radio not even able to pick up a basketball.

Until a time when he felt healthy enough to attend a Stag's game. He sat on the bench looking at his teammates when a ball rolled his way. After he picked up the ball he said that it was the first time he touched a basketball in months.

He tried to make a comeback. Risking a relapse he fought to play as a fifth year senior. His teammates raved that during practice it looked like he did not miss a beat. When he first jogged on to the court in the exhibition game against the University of Bridgeport, it was a feel good moment for all. The few fans in attendance gave him the applause that he deserved. From where he was to where he was at that point on the court of the now Webster Bank Arena, a place where he must have felt at home, gave even more hope to one of the most promising years in history. He would play in 8 games in the regular season.

It feel appropiate that his final game for the Stags would come in front of his home crowd on campus at Alumni Hall. It gave his fans a final time to cheer on an athlete that was one of the most dedicated athletes ever to roam the Fairfield campus. He would end his Fairfield career with 945 points, 463 rebounds, 96 assists, and 80 blocks. If he were to finish the year there is no doubt he would have reached his milestones such as 1,000 points scored. He would have his name forever etched on the banner at Alumni Hall. He would be remembered forever. However, he does not need that accomplishment for his character to be remembered. He was one of the most personable and nicest athletes on the team who literally gave the team 110 percent, his entire body.

Whatever he decides to do after he graduates, all he has to remember is that he has changed the character of the Fairfield University basketball program.

Nero NOT Returning

According to the Poughkeepsie Journal, Greg Nero has left the team for health reasons. He says that he does plan to attend school in the spring semester and that his goal from now on is to graduate, he is six credits away from doing so. Nero's last game came at Alumni Hall against Howard. He was averaging over 5 points and 3 rebounds a game.

Men: 3rd in Defense

In the updated NCAA statistics, the Fairfield University men's basketball team is ranked as number 3 in scoring defense only allowing 53.9 points per game. Stephen F. Austin leads the nation in the category nearly a point and a half better than the Stags. Austin has played in 2 less games which could be why they have allowed 200 fewer points than the Stags. Fairfield remains one of the only teams in the nation NOT to allow 70 points or more.

It is interesting stat because of the very weak strength of schedule that the team has had. If the Stags actually played Florida, the ranking will defintely decrease. The big test will come when the squad competes against Iona and Rider. With their over powering offense, the Stags defensive system will have it's biggest test.

Women: #2 in Defense

The Fairfield University women's basketball team, have improved to a number 2 ranking in the national scoring defense category, according to the updated stats. The only team that ranks higher than the Stags are West Virginia, and Fairfield is nearly 1 point better than UCONN. The closest other MAAC team is Manhattan who comes into the week at number 6. Fairfield is also in the top 25 in 3 point shooting defense at number 22.

With only the MAAC left to play, I would not be surprised if the Stags stay in the top 10 or even in the top 5 by the end of the year.

They do have to play Marist twice which should raise that average, and the loss to Siena might have put the Stags back down to Earth. They just blew out an Iona team who made the WNIT three out of the last four years and they have been winning with ease. The Siena game was needed to show the team that they did come into the year at number four and they are still not all the way there.

Joe Frager is known for his defense. Everywhere he has been, his top priority has always been his defense, even when he won a national title with Southern Connecticut, a place where he also had the best defense in the country. If anyone can establish a defensive presence for Fairfield, it's going to be him.

Stags #22 in Mid Major Poll

In the most recent edition of the College Insider Mid Major Poll, the Fairfield Stags were ranked number 22 with 112 points. The closest MAAC team was Iona who recieved 39 points. The previous week, the Stags failed to rank in the top 25 after starting the year number 10.

Maurice Barrow wins MAAC Rookie of the Week

Fairfield forward Maurice Barrow was named the MAAC Rookie of the week, for the first time in his career. He registered his first career double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds, as he helped the Stags post a 3-0 record against MAAC teams last week. The freshman averaged 8.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Barrow shot 50 percent from the floor (10 of 20) and recorded six assists in the three games.

Siena 54 Fairfield 46

The Fairfield University women's basketball team (10-4, 3-1 MAAC) ended their six game winning streak losing to the Siena Saints (6,8 4-0 MAAC) on the road. Click for a complete recap and boxscore.

The Least You Should Know:
-The Stag's six game winning streak came to an end, while the Saints improved theirs to five straight.

-The Stags did not got many breaks in this game and Joe Frager said they had "two to three mental lapses" on defense in the first half and the team has not played in a game like this. He admitted that the squad made some silly mistake and were "panicky"

-Brittany MacFarlane was the lone standout and she recorded a double-double including a career high 13 rebounds.

-Desiree Pina shot 2-11 from the floor and 0-3 from behind the arc. Katelyn Linney was 4-16 and 3-14 from three while Joelle Nawrocki was 1-4 from long distance. The team total was 6-29 from three.

I agree with Frager, this was really one of the first times that the team played in a game that was not a blow out. They had to learn how to control the ball in a way that they were able to get an open shot. The team did not take advantage of their offense as it seemed everybody had an off day. The game would have been out of control if MacFarlane did not step up when Taryn Johnson was on the bench with foul trouble. Siena does deserve credit as they kept their composure and actually made their free throws.

Player of the Game: Brittany MacFarlane really showed something today.

Up Next: The Stags travel to Loyola on 1/14 at 4:30.

Fairfield 70 St. Peters 43

The Fairfield University men's basketball team (12-3, 5-0 MAAC) won their 11th straight game blowing out the St. Peters Peacocks (8-8, 3-2 MAAC) at the Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard. Click for a full recap and boxscore.

The Least You Should Know:
-Fairfield has won 11 straight games the longest since the 1961-1962 season when the Stags pulled off 13 consecitive victories. It is the eighth longest streak in the nation.

-The Stags are now ranked second in the nation in scoring defense.

-The Peacocks have lost 12 straight games against the Stags and have never beaten Ed Cooley. Despite starting both Ryan Bacon and Wesley Jenkins who were both injured earlier in the week.

-St.Peters was the second to last team to allow 70 points to an opponent. (The Stags have still not allowed that many). Fairfield could have scored more if they kept the pedal to the metal.

-Derek Needham led all scorers with 16 points going to the free throw line 10 times which accounted for half of his points. Ryan Olander recorded his third double double with 15 points and pulling down a game high 12 rebounds.

This was a great game. It is obvious that the team is improving with every game. The defense was spectacular but the Peacocks did miss a lot of easy put backs and close layups. Every time that the Peacocks thought about going through the hole they clogges up the middle and the team was quick recording 8 steals and 7 blocks.

Ryan Olander was a beast on the boards. He made it look easy in this game and got a lot of key rebounds. He would reach for the long rebound and was able to power through to get the close tips. He also DID NOT MISS a shot going 7-7 from the floor and even 1-1 from behind the arc. He had a perfect game and only committed two fouls early in the second half. This was the best that I have ever seen him, he just seemed to play with confidence.

Despite going only 4-12 from the floor and 0-4 from three, Derek Needham looked like last year's version. That was the immediate feeling. He had a 2 to 1 assist to turnover ratio. But what made you the happiest was the way he drove to the hoop and either pulled up for a fading layup or rose above everyone to get a near easy layup. The shots just did not go in. Simple as that. If he continues with the way he played today, his numbers will improve.
Player of the Game: Derek Needham and Ryan Olander. Arguably the best they have both been this year.

Up Next: The Stags will go for 12 in a row as they travel to Loyola University on 1/14.

Marist Scouting Report

Marist enters tonight’s game with a 3-12 overall record and a 2-1 MAAC mark. All three of the team’s wins have come at the McCann Center, sporting a 3-3 mark on its
home court. The Red Foxes own a 0-7 mark in away games and a 0-2 slate in netual games.

The Red Foxes certainly know how to get to the free throw line, averaging better than 20 attempts per game. In their three wins this season, the Red Foxes averaged 35
free throw attempts, as compared to just 15 by the opposition. In the team’s 11 losses, Marist averaged 20 free throw attempts while the opponents averaged 28 charity tosses per game. R.J. Hall brought a streak of 30 consecutive free throws made into the Princeton game.

R.J. Hall dipped below double figures after the Princeton game, but still is the team’s leading scorer at 9.9 points per outing. Candon Rusin is next in line with 9.6points every forty minutes, followed by Sam Prescott’s 8.9 scoring average. Prescott and Rusin account for 61 of the team’s 82 three-point field goals, led by Prescott’s 34 longrange jumpers. Jay Bowie is the team’s top rebounder among starters with 4.5 caroms per contest.

Nawrocki is 'Rockin'

Joelle Nawrocki, who played all but 3 minutes of the game at Niagara, is shooting a team-best 50.0 percent from the floor.

Over the last two games she is 12-24 from the floor, for 30 points, to raise her scoring average to 8.0 a game for the year - 24th in the MAAC.

She has scored in double figures five times this season - four of those coming in the last six games. Against Niagara she handed out a career-high six assists and a positive assist-to-turnover ratio. Nawrocki is also 8th in the conference in assists with 2.3 per game.

Historic Night For Linney

Katelyn Linney scored a game high 27 points against Niagara helping the Stags to their fifth straight win. In the process she reached the 500 points mark and became just the seventh member of the Fairfield basketball program to reach 100 made threes.

Katelyn Linney has connected 35 times from behind the arc this season and now has 102 career makes from downtown. There are only seven players in Fairfield history that have connected 100 or more times from behind the arc, led by the 209 makes of Holli Tapley (1997-2001).

Katelyn Linney is 24th in the country in three-point field goal percentage and is 39th nationally in three pointers made per game.

For the season she is shooting .467 from behind the arc (35-75) and .450 from the floor. The rest of the team combined have 25, Joelle Nawrocki is second on the team with 11.

Fairfield 68 Niagara 38

The Fairfield University women's basketball team (9-3, 2-0 MAAC) won their fifth straight decision as they defeated the Niagara Purple Eagles (1-12, 0-2 MAAC). Click for a complete recap and boxscore.

The Least You Should Know:
- Katelyn Linney had 27 points as she went 5-7 from behind the arc and 10-14 from the floor.

- The team used three runs to take control of the game. The squad had seperate runs of 19-0, 13-0, and finally 14-0 to conclude the game.

- They entered the game third in the nation in scorind defense and their average will decrease after the game.

- They have swept the Western New York portion of their schedule for the second consecutive year.

It was a good effort for the Stags but this could have been the only opponent in the world they could have beaten by 30 points while only shooting 41 percent in the first half and having 6 shots blocked. This stat is gradually improving as their offense is finally waking up. The one concern you have is Pina was only .333 from the floor. When she gets going the offense should be pretty good. Hopefully this is not a down year for the junior.
Player of the Game: Katelyn Linney who had 27 points and only missed 4 shots.

Up Next:
The Stags will return home to face the Gaels of Iona College on 1/8 starting at 1 PM at Alumni Hall.

Pina is Heating Up

Desiree Pina has scored 67 of her 99 points in the last five games, raising her per game average from 5.3 a game to 9.0 a game. Over the last five outings, in which she is averaging 13.4 points per game, Pina has scored in double figures four times. She scored a career-high 24 points against St. Francis (NY), with a 7-14 effort from the field.

She is coming off a day where she struggled from the floor but was 6-9 at the line on Sunday, with her last free throw being the 100th make of her career

She has scored in double figures in each of the last three games and four of the last five, averaging 13.4 points per game in the stretch.

Pina has raised her season average to 9.0 PPG and is now shooting .257 from the floor while nearly doubling her 3 point percentage while shooting .156.

It will take a long time for her numbers to approach where we all thought that she would be when the season ends. However, it is no surprise that while she has been heating up the Stags are on a four game winning streak.