City of Basketball Love

Varun Kumar (@VRKumar8)
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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.

Dave Pauley has been associated with University of the Sciences basketball since 1982, spending 18 years as an assistant under longtime head coach Robert “Bobby” Morgan before taking over the Devils’ program in 2000. Over the last 16 years, he’s seen the program transition from NAIA into the NCAA, brought in a two-time Division II Player of the Year (Garret Kerr) and, led by Kerr, guided the team to its first NCAA Tournament appearance (and victory) in 2015.

Though USciences didn’t have quite that level of success last year, the first in the post-Kerr era, the Devils still had a solid season, going 17-12 overall with a 12-7 record in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC). But once again they’re hurt heavily by graduation, with leading scorer and rebounder Sho Da-Silva (20.4 ppg, 8.1 rpg), athletic guard Wes Kerr (14.2 ppg, 4.9 rpg) and point guard T-John Casiello (5.9 ppg, 3.6 apg) all departing, leaving Pauley with over 110 minutes per game to fill this fall.

He does return two juniors who have played an awful lot of minutes in their career; 6-2 guard Flo Da-Silva (8.2 ppg, 6.0 rpg), who could take over at point guard, and 6-8 forward Will Gregorits (16.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg), who looks primed to become the team’s featured scorer over his last two seasons. They’ll need a lot of otherwise-inexperienced players to step up, including senior Jon McGill, a Ridley grad who averaged 3.3 ppg in 13.7 mpg last season; sophomores Beni Toure (6-6), Brendan Crawford (6-7) and Tanner Kerr (6-4) -- the youngest of the Kerr brothers -- will all see their first significant minutes.

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

City of Basketball Love: You guys lost three big pieces in Sho Da-Silva, Wes Kerr and T-John Casiello to graduation, guys who played a big role in the program’s success. What did they mean to your team? What are you going to miss about them?

Dave Pauley: I just enjoyed being with them every day. They worked very hard, played very hard, they played together and they played for each other. They are doing very well post-graduation too. People always ask me how does your team look. I always tell them give me twenty years or so and then I’ll get back to you. For example, T-John is in the Victory Scholars Program in Ireland. He’s one of a select few playing in Ireland, at the Letterkenny Institute in Donegal. He’s playing for the team out there and also in a graduate business program studying international business, so we couldn’t be happier for him. He’s the second player we’ve had in that program. I believe we’re the only small program to have two kids selected for that program -- Pat Connaghan was the other, last year. We’ve been fortunate to have nice people chosen us and our school and I’m blessed to have known them. We’ve all done very well because of them.

CoBL: How has the offseason gone for your returning players who obviously have some big shoes to fill?

DP: We lost five seniors. The challenge will be for other people to step up. We have a core six players. When the students are ready, the teacher will appear.

CoBL: For the newcomers, will the freshman be seeing anytime in the rotation?

DP: I can’t say anything now. It will all shake out by late October, early November. We play a very challenging schedule starting in November, so it’s not going to be easy right off the bat. But still, they have to contribute every day, not just in games. That is for everybody. It’s been my belief for a long time that you contribute everyday, not just on game day. What you do every day is what makes you successful.

CoBL: Who are some of the new faces?

DP: We have three freshmen who are from some familiar spots. First is J.J. Melchior, from North Penn High School. Tom Gregorits, whose older brother Will Gregorits plays for us, and he comes from John Paul the Great in Northern Virginia. Devan Rodman is our third freshman from First Flight High School in Kill Devil Hills in North Carolina, where the Wright Brothers flew their plane. There’s some history for your readers.

CoBL: What do they bring to your team on the basketball court?

DP: They’ll be counted on everyday in practice and preparing for game situations. They will certainly provide us with depth, not just in practice but on gameday as well.

CoBL: You guys played in a ton of close games last year, with all but one of your losses from December through February being by six points or fewer. Did that leave maybe a sour taste in your mouth and change some of your preparations this offseason?

DP: It was honestly a very satisfying season for not just the players, but the coaching staff and the school as well. We’re number one in the NCAA Division II in retention and graduation rates. Of the fifteen guys on the team last year, thirteen made the dean’s list. That should speak volumes. I was really proud of the team. We went as far as we could and they were very tough. That’s what you always ask yourself. How far can this team go and how tough are they. Would we like to have a couple more wins and have some results reversed? Sure. In hindsight, they all competed very well in the classroom, they competed very well on the court. They represented the school well and they represented the team well.

CoBL: How have the guys that contributed to so much success on the court impacted your program?

DP: The last two seasons they’ve big footprints, the guys have left a big legacy. Everybody has made me happy- some by coming into my office and some by leaving my office. The certainly left an imprint. The word everybody uses is culture, and they certainly contributed to that. Recruiting is a challenge here, because of our high academic standards. All are science or health science majors. Some of the majors are six year doctorate positions, so we have to find gets who are the right fit academically. Plus we don’t offer full scholarships, so that’s an additional challenge we face every year.

CoBL: Has recruiting changed at all for you the last two years?

DP: I’ve been here for a long time, and the recruiting’s been the same thing every year. Is there a fit? Does the kid want to do what we offer here academically? Is he willing to balance the books and basketball and understand that academics is always the priority here first? The recruiting for me is a challenge every year. It’s no different. Can you find the right kid and right fit?

CoBL: Has anyone stepped up this offseason as a leader?

DP: Both of our returning starters from last years teams will play a big role. Flo Da-Silva, from Bishop Eustace will be our point guard and Will Gregorits will be our center. Both are juniors and have played substantial minutes throughout their careers, from the time they stepped on campus. Those two and couple other players from last year make up the core. But as I look at the team, we have to do it together. We have to play hard and play like we’re not just rearranging the deck chairs of the Titanic.

CoBL: This is the first time in three years that you’re not playing a Division I team in either the regular season or as an exhibition. Were you in contact with any D-I programs this year to get them on the schedule?

DP: When we play D-I teams, it’s just sometimes things that just work out. For example, the Drexel game was a perfect storm because they had lost a game for some reason, so it was a last minute thing. We don’t really seek out Division I teams for either regular season or exhibition games. It would be nice, but I go either way with that. It’s nice to play those teams, but what do you get out of it sometimes? A lot of times when a D-II team plays a D-I team, you get beat up a bit and it’s a longer recovery time for your next few games.

Nobody is coming here because we play D-I teams. That’s not something that’s a recurring thing we pitch. Our November schedule will be very very challenging. We will play a number of teams out of conference that will be nationally ranked in the preseason in Division 2. We also have very challenging conference games which we start in November. The train leaves pretty early for us in November.

CoBL: Is there any game on the schedule you’re really looking forward to? Or is it just a one game at a time approach?

DP: Each game improves your resume. Each game tells you where you’re at, how much improvement you need to make, what refinements you need to make as a group. We don’t make any game bigger than it is. I always try to avoid peaks and valleys. We just try to give our best team effort each game.

CoBL: What are some of your expectations for this upcoming season?

DP: I don’t really put it in terms of numbers but it’s always about how far we can take this particular team this year. The target really changes year to year even though you have returning players. Then I always ask myself if we are tough enough this year to last a whole season. I really hope we’re injury free rather than just worrying about wins and losses. I also hope we’re playing our best basketball in March. That’s our goal. We want to be better players and better team by March. It’s a process, it’s a journey.

CoBL: You hired former Archbishop Carroll standout Jordan Ingram as an assistant coach --

DP: We’re very excited to have Jordan on the staff. I think it’s a nice entry into college coaching. I’ve been very blessed to have been able to move my assistants on to other college coaching positions. Mike McCready was with me last year. He’s now with Lehigh as their Video Coordinator. As I look back, I’ve had several coaches that have gone on to become head coaches at other institutions. I had Ted Rawlings with us for two years, he’s now the operations guy at George Mason. [Former La Salle and Penn assistant] Harris Adler worked for me, he’s also a graduate here. He’s now the associate head coach at Auburn. I guess I do a good job of teaching them what not to do. So I’m very proud of that personally and very proud of them for what they’ve been able to do. Jordan will certainly follow in their footsteps. He played in the Catholic League, had a nice career at FDU. He had a good experience with Barney [Hughes] at Rosemont. He’s a good role model and teaches at a charter school in South Philly. There’s a lot to like there and he’s hit the ground running. We’re fortunate to him too, since all of my assistants are part time.

CoBL: You’re entering your 35th year at the same school, after spending the first 18 as an assistant, and last 16 as a head coach. Do you still find yourself enjoying coaching?

DP: I’m blessed because I work at just an outstanding institution where the graduates, really walk out of here and are independent and have a professional degree behind them. They are really well prepared for life. They’re really well prepared to make a living. They can stand on their own feet, can communicate well, have a certain degree that’s in demand. As we know that people are getting older and living longer and growing older, health science becomes more important. We spend a trillion dollars a year on health care. So our graduates are well prepared. That’s why I’ve stayed here for a long time. I’ve never had a kid either as an assistant or as a head coach that didn’t have a job or graduate school placement at graduation. If they wear that cap and gown, they’re set. That is the end line here.