By Ronak Patel
NEW ROCHELLE, NY -– To say Iona Gaels men’s basketball coach Tim Cluess was surprised to have sophomore point guard Tavon Sledge available this year would be akin to saying that the Kris Humpheries-Kim Kardashian marriage had legs.
“We weren’t planning on using him and never had him practice with the guys that were playing,” Cluess said. “He was always on the second unit and kind of watching.
“We got the waiver on it and you’re always hopeful but never know if you’re going to get it or not.”
It was the kind of news Iona’s basketball team could rejoice in since they are still dealing with the tragic loss of promising forward Michael Haynes, who was shot and killed in his native Chicago last summer.
The NCAA granted a hardship waiver for Sledge, allowing him to play immediately. Sledge transferred to Iona from Iowa St. to be near his dad, who’s dealing with an illness. The Spring Hill, NY native was a star high school player at Half Hollow Hills West High School where he was ranked 79th best player in the country by Hoopscoop.com.
“I was expecting to sit out and I got the waiver so late,” Slege said. “Once I got it, it was a big sigh of relief.”
Sledge, a 5-foot-9 firecracker type player, has started 11 games this season for the Gaels, including the last 10, who are 8-6 overall and 2-1 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
He’s averaging 6.7 points a game, 3.1 assists and 4.4 rebounds a game. Not bad for a player who as his coach mentioned wasn’t practicing with the main players on the team, which includes star guards in senior Lamont Jones (22.2 points) and junior Sean Armand (18.9 points), prior to the season beginning.
“I’m getting really comfortable, starting to learn what guys do on the court,” Sledge said. “It’s my job as a point guard to learn that.
“Coach allows me to play through the mistakes I’m making now, it keeps building confidence in my game — I know what I can and can’t do.”
Sledge, who will have three years (counting this year) to play at Iona, mentions there is no added pressure to playing in front of family and friends. Rather, it’s comforting.
“I can go home whenever I want to see them and they can see me play,” Sledge said. “Knowing that I’m close and can help them when I can, that’s a big thing for me.”
The point guard had his pick of colleges when looking to transfer, but with his style of play and Cluess’s go-go system, it was a perfect marriage.
“They were recruiting me before I went to Iowa St., and I knew their offense was my actual game,” Sledge said. “I didn’t think any other school fit more perfectly than Iona.”
In the last 10 games Sledge has started, Iona is 6-4 and averaging 81 points a game. Despite not being the main ball-handler – Jones is — Sledge has dished out five assists twice, scored in double-figures four times and has a knack for finding the rebound despite his diminutive size. He snared a season-high eight rebounds in a 100-72 victory over Norfolk St. earlier in the season.
“I think he is working his tail off and has a ton of energy,” Cluess said. “Obviously, understanding everything we do offensively and defensively is not easy but he makes up for it with his effort.”
There have been a few moments during games where Cluess has pulled Sledge aside, offered him encouragement and even benched him a couple of spots where he’s struggled.
“You have to be able to think quickly and make the smart play quickly,” Sledge said of playing in Cluess’s system. “Coach preaches us to keep going, he wants us to push it and if the set breaks down, keep penetrating and find the open shot for your teammate.”
It helps Sledge to have two of the better scoring guards on his side in Jones and Armand. The pair has buried teams with scoring onslaughts already this season, including a combined 47 points in an early season win over Liberty, 43 points in an impressive 81-78 overtime victory over Georgia on the road and 50 combined in the recent 92-73 victory over St. Bonaventure.
“It makes my job easier and all I have to do push it up and get them open shots,” Sledge said. “As a point guard, it will further my assists.”
Cluess added Sledge’s presence has freed up Jones to other spots on the court, reliving him of full-time ball-handling duties.
“Sledge has played a big part in (Jones’s) offensive output,” Cluess said. “We have been able to use him in different spots, with or without the ball, coming off the screens, and off the bounce. It’s because of Sledge.”
With talented big man sophomore David Laury, a Lamar State transfer, finally eligible, Iona has now has a full cast of talent at their disposal to compete once again in the MAAC. Through his first five games, four of them starts, Laury is averaging 17.4 points and 10.4 rebounds a game.
“David is athletic and put up points in bunches,” Sledge said. “Once we get him going, we potentially could be a force to be reckoned with in the conference.”
Laury may nab the headlines, but the run of good news began with a Sledge-hammer surprise.
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