2008 Woodie Awards
Sideline Report: A look into the MBB crystal ball
Mike Barrett
Issue date: 3/15/07 Section: Sports
This year, Sacred Heart experienced something new. Its men basketball team made it to the NEC Championship game. And both were left just seconds short of winning the NEC title.
With the rest of the country focused on which teams will make their NCAA tournament bracket a successful one, the Pioneers are looking to what will help them capture that elusive NEC title and enjoy the national spotlight of March Madness.
On the men's side, the Pioneers have an excellent shot of becoming the team to beat in the NEC.
With only two seniors graduating, albeit two very important seniors, the men have the talent needed to fill the void left by Jarrid Frye and Tavio Hobson.
The load of carrying the team back to the NEC title game will fall on the shoulders of Joey Henley, who has another year of eligibility, soon to be senior Drew Shubik, and current freshman Chauncey Hardy.
Henley will continue to be the main inside threat for the Pioneers while Shubik will play his role of being one of the more versatile players they have.
As for Hardy, he will have to step into the role that will mix what Hobson and Frye have maintained. He needs to be able to run the offense as efficiently and be a main scoring threat.
The Pioneers also have sharpshooters Luke Granato and Ryan Litke back to add range to their high-powered offense. Litke is entering just his sophomore season and already is second on the team in three-point shooting.
Not to be forgotten is junior Ryon Howard who went down with a season-ending injury just two games into the season. Howard can be a lock down defender, capable of playing both forward spots and knocking down shots from anywhere on the court.
Two other wildcards for the Pioneers will be Corey Hassan and Josh Marshall, both of which sat out the 2006-2007 season. Hassan previously played at Boston University and was a standout as a freshman.
Combine that with junior Brice Brooks off the bench and the Pioneers are in great shape to overtake Central Connecticut atop the NEC.
So enjoy the best of what college basketball has to offer now, because in a little less than a year, the Pioneer's will return to the court to capture the title that escaped them this season.
It will be interesting to see what the future holds.
With the rest of the country focused on which teams will make their NCAA tournament bracket a successful one, the Pioneers are looking to what will help them capture that elusive NEC title and enjoy the national spotlight of March Madness.
On the men's side, the Pioneers have an excellent shot of becoming the team to beat in the NEC.
With only two seniors graduating, albeit two very important seniors, the men have the talent needed to fill the void left by Jarrid Frye and Tavio Hobson.
The load of carrying the team back to the NEC title game will fall on the shoulders of Joey Henley, who has another year of eligibility, soon to be senior Drew Shubik, and current freshman Chauncey Hardy.
Henley will continue to be the main inside threat for the Pioneers while Shubik will play his role of being one of the more versatile players they have.
As for Hardy, he will have to step into the role that will mix what Hobson and Frye have maintained. He needs to be able to run the offense as efficiently and be a main scoring threat.
The Pioneers also have sharpshooters Luke Granato and Ryan Litke back to add range to their high-powered offense. Litke is entering just his sophomore season and already is second on the team in three-point shooting.
Not to be forgotten is junior Ryon Howard who went down with a season-ending injury just two games into the season. Howard can be a lock down defender, capable of playing both forward spots and knocking down shots from anywhere on the court.
Two other wildcards for the Pioneers will be Corey Hassan and Josh Marshall, both of which sat out the 2006-2007 season. Hassan previously played at Boston University and was a standout as a freshman.
Combine that with junior Brice Brooks off the bench and the Pioneers are in great shape to overtake Central Connecticut atop the NEC.
So enjoy the best of what college basketball has to offer now, because in a little less than a year, the Pioneer's will return to the court to capture the title that escaped them this season.
It will be interesting to see what the future holds.
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