City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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(Ed. Note: This story is part of our 2016-17 college season preview, six weeks of coverage that will span everything from Division I through Division III, junior college and more. To access our entire college of preseason content, check out our Season Preview Hub.)

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Earlier this offseason, CoBL spoke with each of the Division I coaches in the area for a Q&A session, and now we’re expanding it to include the various Division II programs in the CoBL coverage region.

With the first full-time D-II and D-III practices beginning on Oct. 15, we’ll be using the next few weeks to sit down with the area’s D-II head coaches and see where they’re at as they prepare for the 2016-17 season.

In 15 years at East Stroudsburg, Jeff Wilson has continued the tradition that has the Warriors consistently one of the strongest D-II programs in the Northeast, with an Elite 8 run in 2014 capping off a stretch of four NCAA Tournament appearances in five years. But despite winning 40 games over the last two seasons, losses in the PSAC semifinals (2015) and quarterfinals (2016) have left Wilson and his program home watching March Madness instead of making it happen.

Despite the graduations of All-PSAC first teamer Jamal Nwaniemeka (12.4 ppg) and second teamer Will Brown (11.6 ppg), a pair of 1,000-point scorers, as well as three other seniors -- Wes Cherry (5.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg), Sultan Aminu (3.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg) and Dajon Todmann (1.7 ppg, 1.6 rpg) -- there’s no reason that Wilson’s 2016-17 squad can’t break the streak and get back into the postseason.

Leading scorer Rasheed Moore (13.1 ppg, 7.1 rpg) is back, as is fellow forward Steve Harris (9.5 ppg, 8.3 rpg), and there’s an explosive perimeter group around them. Sophomore Kitt Walls (7.7 ppg, 5.4 apg) was the leading assist-getter in the PSAC last year as a freshman, despite the fact that he was slated to start the season behind Jakwan Jones before the Imhotep grad tore his ACL in the preseason. Jones is now back and healthy for his redshirt sophomore season, meaning Wilson has two starting-level point guards in the backcourt to run the show.

Look for a big scoring boost to come from senior Quindell Brice, a senior in his second year with the program after two seasons at Harcum. Brice was fourth on the team in scoring last year at 9.6 ppg, but he did that despite averaging just under 15 minutes per contest. Sophomore Nick Giordano (6.3 ppg), plus 6-7 Rider transfer Josh Williams and freshmen Brett Foster (Ridley, Pa.) and Montrel Morgan (York, Pa.) will provide additional punch.

Here are the (copy-edited) highlights of our conversation with Wilson:

City of Basketball Love: For most programs, coming off a 21-win season, they’re going to be feeling pretty good about yourself. But this is a program with a legacy, NCAA Tournament runs and all that. So what is the feeling, coming off last year?

Jeff Wilson: Well, we’re happy with the success that we had, but we didn’t win anything. And I think the guys that are back as seniors, that have been through the program, we ended up third in the PSAC East, we lost in the quarterfinals of the PSAC Tournament and because of the automatic qualifiers we got knocked out of the NCAAs. So the guys that are seniors, in particular Rasheed Moore, Steve Harris, Quindell Brice, those three guys are obviously looking for more out of their senior years, and are coming in with obviously the understanding off it’s good to win games, but you’ve got to win them at the right time as well.

We hit a couple of spots last year, once in the playoffs against West Chester, the other we hit a spot where we had a couple of injuries -- Rasheed Moore was one of them -- where we lost two of three games that enabled us to drop to third in the East. I think the thought process is obviously it’s good to win games, but you’re looking to win championships, whatever that is -- PSAC East, PSAC CHampionships or get into the NCAAs, and every night out you have to be good. Sometimes 21 wins would get you an East championship or a PSAC championship or an NCAA berth but last year wasn’t good enough because of the quality of teams that we have in the league.

CoBL: You graduated Jamal and Will, and I know those guys put up some big numbers in their time there, but beyond the statistics, what did they mean to the program?

JW: They gave us a lot of leadership, those guys were captains. You lose two 1,000-point scorers on the wing, so the numbers kind of speak for themselves, but other than that, the big thing that was a leadership and obviously the understanding of the program. Will, because of injuries, was here six years, he graduated with an undergraduate and graduate degree, so he had been around the program for six years and almost teach the young guys that were in the program how to do things and those types of things. So that’s invaluable, and then when Jamal stepped on campus from his time at Rider, he started every game. You’re losing a lot of experience, a lot of guys that had leadership abilities and those type of things that are outside the numbers. Somebody else has to pick up that slack, that leadership, and obviously the way those guys contributed from a numbers standpoint...we obviously need somebody who can pick up that slack too and lead us offensively.

CoBL: And you do have plenty of guys coming back with experience. Based on early workouts and such, is there anyone in particular who you’ve seen start to take that mantle?

JW: Well, we have an interesting team this year. We have nine returners and we have seven new guys. So it’s more new guys than we’ve probably had in the program in the last probably six or seven years, so we are going to be relying on some new guys, but when you talk about the guys who are returning, Rasheed Moore is a 3-time all-conference player, he’s very focused on his senior year, I think he came off of a very good summer, he’s probably in maybe the best shape that he’s been in since he’s been form in a strength standpoint, a conditioning standpoint, and looking to have a really good senior year for us and take on that leadership.

Steve Harris, another senior, at the ‘5’ spot, Steve was close to a double-double guy last year and he’s come in in good shape and ready to go. And then the guy that probably is going to make the biggest jump for us is another senior, Quindell Brice. Quindell played about 15 minutes per game last year and scored about nine points per game, he’s a guy that really knows how to score the basketball. He’s looking great right now, he came in in great shape, looking to take some of that leadership and obviously he senses the opportunity that he has with both Will and Jamal gone from the wing spot, Quindell’s a 2/3 combo that’s looking to probably double that 14 or 15 minutes that he played last year. So he’s been really focused, he’s probably the verbal leader on the team right now, which is a great thing that he’s taken that leadership role on, losing those two guys, so I’m looking for a really big year from him.

And then the fourth guy to throw in that mix is Kitt Najee Walls. He’s looking really good, he’s come back better physically, he’s starting to become more emotional and vocal and leader, which is obviously at that spot, something that’s very important. And he’s looked good in our workouts. So probably like a lot of programs, your veterans are going to be the guys who show the young guys how to do things, and those four guys have stood out at this point.

CoBL: Walls wasn’t supposed to be the starting point guard as a freshman, then obviously Jakwan gets hurt and he’s put in that position and leads the conference in assists. So how is that point guard battle going to shape up this year -- how is Jakwan’s health and how are you handling that role?

JW: Well, it is going to be a battle. Jakwan is back healthy, he had ACL surgery last year, he’s back, he’s playing without a brace. He looks good, he doesn’t look like he’s lost anything from a quickness standpoint. The good thing for Jakwan sitting out a year, sometimes when you sit on the sidelines and have to watch, it makes you appreciate and understand more, but he was also battle to work physically on his body. He’s probably added 10 pounds of muscle, he looks great physically, he’s another guy that’s being very vocal right now and talking the young guys through things. He’s look good. Now we haven’t done anything physically, no competing against each other, but from a skills standpoint, from a strength standpoint, I’m really happy with where Jakwan is, and the knee is 100 percent, I would say. So he’s looked good, and then we have Brett Foster who came in, that’s another guy who can play. That’s going to be a war, the good thing for us is we play 10, 11 guys per night, you need a lot of depth. That’s a position where last year we were very thin, this year it’s going to be one of our stronger positions from a depth standpoint.

CoBL: Mentioning Brett, there’s also Nick Giordano, who came on strong at the end of last year, you have some other freshmen; how do you see the backcourt roles developing?

JW: Brett’s learning, he has a lot of natural ability that is going to allow him to compete for playing time. So a lot of that’s going to be depending on how he learns, but we really like his skill level, we like his ability to compete, and at this point that’s the only thing we’ve seen. These workouts now are just trying to give guys the fundamental base, so how guys are going to compete, how guys are going to learn, that’s going to dictate a lot. A lot of  the comments that I’m going to make are going to be more about the veterans because they’re more of a known commodity.

Nick, on our roster, he’s the best shooter that we have. And last year he came on very strong at the end of the year, he was starting to chip into some minutes at the guard spot, I think he played a bit over 10 minutes per game> I think he’s definitely ready for more of an increased role this year; anybody that cans hoot like that is going to find their way on the floor. He’s come back better physically, he’s I think in a position where he sees there’s a great opportunity with Will and Jamal having graduated, next to Quindell, and he’s really pushing the envelope. He’s gotten better physically; strength was an issue for him last year, it’s not going to be nearly the issue that it was a year ago. I’m looking for Nick to take a big step up for us.

CoBL: Are there any players we haven’t mentioned yet that are going to factor into the rotation?

JW: We moved Steven Stoney -- and we’ve gotten good production out of those hybrid, 3/4 combos, and we moved him into a little bit more of an undersized ‘4’ and the reason for it is, he’s a tough kid. And he played sparingly at the guard spot for us last year, and we brought in some guards that I think are very talented, so we kind of got back to moving, he’s about 6-4, 215, he’s going to be very good in the way we play. He’s probably one of our better defenders, so in our pressure situation, our full-court stuff, and even in the half-court, with him being able to stretch the floor, I think he’s going to have a good year for us. I’ve been very happy with Steven and his ability to come in, compete, accept a different role, mesh the work that he got and the skills that he was able to develop at the guard spot. So I think he’s going to be a tough cover because of how hard he plays, how tough is he; he’s a little undersized, so some of the teams that are a little bit bigger, I know one of the things they’re going to try is try to exploit him inside, but his toughness I think is going to make him a difficult cover and I think he’ll be able to survive it. He’s been a very pleasant surprise for us.

CoBL: Based on what you do know about the newcomers and what you know about what you have coming back, what have you identified as the biggest focal point from a team standpoint from the five or six weeks of practice?

JW: I like the talent of the young guys. Josh Williams, a transfer in from Rider, he’s very long, he can play a lot of different spots. He’s 6-7, about 205 pounds, he can play anywhere from the ‘2’ guard ot the ‘4’ spot and we’ve been experimenting with him playing multiple positions. He’s a guy that gives us a lot of versatility with his length; from a length standpoint he’s probably the longest guy we have on our team, so if we are playing him on the perimeter, which we’re still looking at his overall skill level, he’s going to be a tough matchup up there if he can do that.

Kobi Nwandu, he’s 6-6, about 205 pounds, we’re looking to play him at both the ‘2’ and the ‘3’ spot, he’s going to give us a lot of that same versatility. Love his aggressiveness, love how he attacks the rim; I think in transition and in our pressure, he’s going to have an impact on us right away.

Montrel Morgan, another young man from York, he picks things up very well, he’s a very quick learner. Like his overall skill level; he actually shoots the ball a lot better than i thought he did coming out of high school. He must have spent a lot of time working on it this summer because h e’s really shooting the ball well for us right now. Those three guys have been very surprising from a skill standpoint because of their versatility, I like the versatility of all of them.

CoBL: Anything else you’d like to add?

JW: I’m looking forward to this group. It’s a little bit different because we do have nine returners and we have seven new guys. But the one thing that I really enjoyed about this group if they’ve been very receptive to learning, they’ve been very receptive to working hard, whether it’s in the weight room with our strength guys, the opportunity we’ve had on the floor with them. And they’ve been very quick learners. So I’m looking forward to Oct. 15 and putting everybody out on the floor together and turning them loose a little bit, see who can really compete. I think this team has a lot of the qualities that can make us good as the year goes on and those young guys catch up.