By Paul Casey Gotham
Coaches always preach the value of remaining focused on the task at hand. The Siena Saints have no other choice.
While others may squabble over petty issues like playing time and number of shots, the Saints are forced into a single awareness of purpose.
The problem lies not in minutes on the court. The Siena Saints get plenty of that.
In the matter of finding able bodies to wear uniforms? There is the challenge.
What once looked like a promising season, has become one of survival for Mitch Buonaguro and his Saints.
Injuries, NCAA rulings and one defection have left the second-year coach with barely more than a six-man rotation.
“You’re playing with dynamite every game,” Buonaguro said when asked about his thin roster. “We have been fortunate that we have not had another major injury.”
Another is the operative word.
Siena’s roster woes started innocently enough.
Davis Martens had hip surgery in late August to repair a labrum tear. Two weeks later on September 13th, Buonaguro announced the junior forward would miss the season.
On that same day, the NCAA restricted the eligibility of Lionel Gomis (Dakar, Senegal/Blair Academy) and Imoh Silas (Lagos, Nigeria/Holderness School). The two freshmen have spent the season in academic residence.
The situation became dire on November ninth when Siena announced that its starting point guard, Rakeem Brookins, would sit out the season to recover from bulging and herniated disks in his back.
Then, on December 15th, freshman Davonte Beard shared his plans to transfer because of homesickness. Meanwhile, sophomore Trenity Burdine, who was projected as a part of the regular rotation, has not played this season due to a foot injury.
That leaves Siena with a rotation of OD Anosike, Kyle Downey, Evan Hymes, Brandon Walters, Owen Wignot and Rob Poole.
Wignot has not been without his own physical struggles. Six minutes into the season opener against Navy he injured his head. He returned after sitting out five games, but has not played to his fullest until the last week.
Siena Six sounds catchy. Just don’t expect the players and staff to say it with a smile. At least not for the time being.
“It’s hard coaching a team with only seven guys,” Buonaguro continued. “There is very little margin for error.”
Marcus Hopper plays sparingly. The coaching staff is bringing the freshman along slowly. He has appeared in 18 of Siena’s 25 games logging 73 total minutes.
Walk-ons Conner Fenlon and Steven Cruz serve the purpose of helping the team scrimmage during practices. They occasionally get late-game minutes.
After five years serving as an assistant in the Siena program, Buonaguro has led the Saints to a 24-32 mark. The native of Queens, N.Y. has been on the bench for more than 1,000 college basketball games. Included in those were his time spent as an assistant to Rollie Massimino at Villanova where he helped the Wildcats to the 1985 national championship.
Despite the decades of experience, Buonaguro is left to worry on a nightly basis about the status of his current roster.
“You go into a game, and you look at it and you say: What if Anosike gets fouls? What if we have another injury?”
Three Saints rank in the top 30 nationally for minutes played.
Hymes has logged 40 minutes in 13 of Siena’s last 15 games. His 37.2 mpg rank 13th in the nation and second on the team to Downey (37.6).
“We’re kind of used to it,” Downey said of the thin roster. “We can run for days.”
Siena has adapted to their situation on the defensive end. Limited mostly to zone defense the Saints have responded with a disciplined approach. Their 13.8 fouls per game rank third in the nation with only Mississippi St. (13.6) and Wisconsin (13.5)getting whistled for fewer infractions.
“It’s the ultimate teacher,” Downey explained. “If you play bad defense and reach in, you’re going to go sit on the bench, and the scoreboard is going to run up pretty quickly because we don’t have that many guys. We are just taught to plays hand up and to chest ’em.”
The Saints put that mindset to use as they stemmed a four-game losing streak defeating Canisius over the weekend.
“They are very in tune with those six guys, what they do as individuals, what they do as a team,” said Canisius coach Tom Parrotta. “Everybody is in their role.”
With the win, Siena (6-9) remains tied for sixth in the conference. The top six in the MAAC get a bye in the first round of the upcoming conference tournament.
The unusual situation has provided opportunities. Anosike and Hymes have taken advantage of the increased playing time. Anosike leads the nation with 13 rebounds a game. The junior forward’s 19 double-doubles also rank tops in the country.
Hymes planned to spend the season playing behind Brookins. Instead the 5’8″ guard seems destined for the MAAC all-rookie team and a chance to earn Rookie-of-the-Year honors.
Four regular season games remain. Then the Saints compete in the MAAC tournament. Beyond that? The Saints will adapt. They have been doing just that for an entire season.
Nicely done, Paul. Enjoyed the read.
TSUJ!!!!!! Great to see you on the Pine!
I once coached a girls’ JV team with only seven; so I can fully appreciate what the Saints’ coaches and players are going through. One plus in my situation; the girls got so much playing time that they naturally got better. We got killed in the first half of the season and in our re-matches our opponents jumped out to their usual big lead, but when they went to the bench I was already at mine – LOL – and we gained a momentum they couldn’t re-gain. The same kids who went 1-8 in the first half of the season went 7-2 in the second half. Maybe Siena will experience a similar outcome. Like Downey said, they can run all day! Great human interest story, disguised as a sports article.