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Philly products O'Brien, Krmpotich making impact at Colgate

12/10/2015, 1:15pm EST
By Ari Rosenfeld

Sean O'Brien (above) had a career-best outing in Colgate's loss to Syracuse this weekend. (Photo: Dave Kibbe/Colgate Athletics)

Ari Rosenfeld (@realA_rosenfeld)
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When Colgate head coach Matt Langel inserted Sean O’Brien into his starting lineup for the Raiders’ December 5th matchup with TCU, he was certainly well aware of the sophomore guard’s struggles from the field.

After a freshman season in which he shot 23.8 percent from the field and 21.9 percent from beyond the arc, the Penn Charter product entered the TCU game still posting just 29.6 percent and 28.5 percent shooting splits.

While O’Brien didn’t respond to the new role immediately, going scoreless in a blowout loss to the Horned Frogs, he had a breakout performance in his second consecutive start. This time it was against Syracuse, another road test for the Raiders, and O’Brien set a new career high with 16 points on 6-for-12 shooting, including four three-pointers.

“I don’t know if it’s the best game in total that he’s played, but I was really proud of him and happy for him that some of those balls finally went in,” Langel said after the 78-51 loss. “He’s been shooting much better in practice than he has in the games, so I think hopefully that the ball going through the hoop against a team like Syracuse… hopefully that’s a step in his progression.”

The start against Syracuse was just the third of the season for O’Brien, as he also heard his name called by the PA announcer prior to Colgate’s November tilt against Albany.

The only notable statistic that one would point to as the reason for the lineup change would be O’Brien’s nearly 4:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. As Langel explained, however, it’s predominantly his intangibles that earned O’Brien his new role.

“We’ve got a lot of guys who have earned opportunity and Sean is every bit at the top of that list,” Langel said. “He embodies a lot of our principles, a lot of our standards, so he’s earned that opportunity to go out there and do a good job. He’s a reliable guy and a trustworthy guy who gives everything he has, so that’s why he’s out there.”

Langel lauded O’Brien as the hardest worker in the Colgate program. While it was obviously frustrating for such work not to translate into on-court success, O’Brien’s dedication to his craft never wavered.

“If you continuously work on something, you’re gonna be successful eventually, and I think that’s partially the way I was raised,” he said. “One good game where I shot pretty well is not going to make me stop working at all. I’m going to work even harder and hopefully I can continue to shoot pretty well.”

O’Brien has seen his minutes double this season for the 2-6 Raiders, playing 17 minutes per game after seeing an average of just 8 minutes of action last year.

Colgate lost four starters to graduation after last year, including three perimeter players who each played more than 30 minutes per game, opening the door for O’Brien to step into a larger role during his sophomore campaign.

Things have started to click for him of late, as O’Brien posted his first career double-digit scoring performance just three games prior to his Carrier Dome performance, scoring 12 points in a road victory over UMBC.

“I’m feeling a lot more comfortable, and I think a lot comes from the coaches just having more confidence in me this year,” he said. “Having a really old team last year certainly was hard just because I didn’t get a lot of time, but it helped me tremendously just seeing what it takes at this level.

“I think this year I’m playing way more confident because of the experience I had last year.”

Another addition to the Raiders’ starting five was freshman forward Dave Krmpotich, a LaSalle College HS product who earned his first career start against Syracuse.

Krmpotich scored the first points of the game, but went on to struggle from the field en route to a 2-for-8 performance; he finished with seven points, four rebounds, and a blocked shot, displaying the same motor and competitive streak that Explorers fans grew accustomed to during his high school days.

“He’s an active guy, he knows how to play, he’s a good basketball player,” Langel said of his young forward. “You saw what you saw from him in Philadelphia when you watched him play high school basketball: he’s an active guy, he’s a competitive guy, he’s got some good skills, some good athleticism. He’s gonna have to be a big part of what we’re doing moving forward.”

Krmpotich has performed admirably in the early part of his college career, posting per-game averages of 6.9 points and 3.0 rebounds, shooting nearly 49 percent from the field and scoring in double figures twice.

After his hot start, Krmpotich was not shy in admitting how proud he was to earn a starting role in such a high-profile matchup.

“It’s huge for me, especially in a gym like this, the Carrier Dome, against a big-time team like Syracuse,” he said. “I think it’s a testament to me working hard and it’s really meant a lot to me. I’ve been looking forward to this game for a while, and being able to start in it was just pretty special.”

Regardless of whether former AAU teammates O’Brien and Krmpotich remain in the starting lineup, expect them both to be a large part of the Raiders’ quest to make a surprise splash in the always-competitive Patriot League.


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