By Paul Gotham
Maybe it’s a case of a player feeling the urgency of his college career coming to a close. Or something that was bound to happen. Maybe it’s cabin fever.
Whatever it is, Josiah Heath enjoyed a career last month.
The 6-9 Canisius forward, who has never averaged more than 4.5 points or six rebounds per game in an individual season, registered a double-double for February netting 15.2 points and grabbing 10.6 rebounds per game in his last month of regular season play as a Golden Griffin.
“It’s unbelievable,” Canisius head coach Jim Baron said after Friday’s 72-65 victory over Fairfield. “Did he play himself into an all-league player? His numbers are incredible. He’s got to be one of the top rebounders in the league. Who’s played better than him at the post?”
Heath scored a team-high 18 in the win shooting 8 of 13 from the floor in his final regular season appearance at the Koessler Athletic Center.
“It was emotional,” Heath said. “I’ve been thinking about it all day and all week. It would be my last game at the Koessler. It’s a big deal. My team kept me calm, kept me relaxed and got me the ball in the spots that I needed to produce.”
The double-double was the sixth of his career. Four occurred in the last month.
“We know (Iona’s, David) Laury has been player of the year and all this other stuff, but I think Josiah has really, really stepped up,” Baron noted. “Look at his numbers…He’s a perfect example of a guy that developed.”
Heath started the month with a 17-rebound, nine-point performance against Marist. He netted 11 with 12 boards at Manhattan. He followed with a career-high 20 on 8 of 11 shooting from the floor and 4 of 5 from the free throw line against Rider.
“I love him in the post, and I’ve told him that,” Baron stated. “He has an uncanny strength for post players. The other thing is he gets to the free throw line by being physical and being aggressive.”
Heath scored 15 with 10 boards in a 69-55 triumph over St. Peter’s. He tallied 16 and had 14 rebounds in a 65-63 road win at Quinnipiac – the nation’s leader in team rebound margin at 12.
Heath’s surge arrived right on time for Canisius. Just when the inexperienced Griffs were starting to gather momentum, fellow post player Phil Valenti (10.6 ppg/ 4.9 rpg) went to the sideline with an ankle injury during the final game in January.
“When a guy like Phil goes down, it’s tough on the team,” Heath said. “He has a lot of energy, a lot of points, a lot of production. When he went down, guys had to step up. I started looking for my shot a little more, and my team got the ball a little more to me in better spots. We’ve all been rallying together and playing hard and letting things happen.”
Jermaine Crumpton also hasn’t played because of injury since February 8. Despite the limited roster, the Griffs (16-13/11-9 MAAC) have won four of five to clinch a five seed in the upcoming MAAC tournament.
But it’s not so much what Heath has done as how he has done it.
Once he was limited to second-chance opportunities in the paint or points in the post. He was a big body who could grab a rebound and finish in traffic. Rarely did Canisius use him as a first option on offense.
Friday night he opened the scoring when Jamal Reynolds found him on the baseline for a catch and shoot jumper. Heath released the shot without any hesitation, a rhythm jumper. Later in the half he flashed to the high post and nailed a jumper from the free throw line. His jump hook in and around the lane is close to automatic.
“He played behind (Chris) Manhertz,” Baron stated. “He played behind (his brother) Jordan. For the last two years, he’s played behind good players. Now it’s his turn.”
Canisius opens the MAAC tournament against Monmouth on Saturday. The Hawks swept the regular season series. A 2:30 pm tip off is scheduled at the Times-Union Center.
The Griffs finished with a winning record in MAAC for the third consecutive season – a first in school history.
“This was one of the most unbelievable years for me as a coach,” Baron said. “I told the kids ‘no one, in my opinion since I’ve been here, believe that we could be in this position that we’re in right now but us.’ But that team in the room. We graduated four great players. We only got two seniors on this team We got a lot of young guys. We’ve got a lot of newcomers. Boy our kids really gravitated to stepping up and doing what we asked them to do. I applaud them. I applaud the players, my staff.”
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