December 14, 2009
Friars face new challenges
Power forward Derrick Williams will be asked to carry the offensive load for the Friars.
Click Here for photos from St. Anthony Practice.
By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director
JERSEY CITY – Legendary coach Bob Hurley has seen a lot during his career at St. Anthony. But with the season opener less than a week away, even Hurley would have a hard time recalling a Friar squad with this much uncertainty
With two of St. Anthony’s three hyped transfers from a year ago – Devon Collier and Ashton Pankey – out of the lineup for the foreseeable future, most of Hurley’s preseason plans have undergone significant changes.
“We’re back in the exact same scenario as last year, playing with the guys who are here,” Hurley said. “You can’t plug two guys into the lineup, not have them and not suffer so we’re going through an adjustment period again.
“Over the summer we thought we had a set lineup. It’s something we have to adjust to.”
Hurley hopes that the Maryland-bound Pankey will be able to return by early January as he recovers from a stress fracture in his left leg. Collier, who is committed to Oregon State University, is ineligible until midway through the season.
When on the court, the 6-foot-8 Collier and 6-foot-7 Pankey give St. Anthony one of the country’s premier front courts. But with them sidelined, the Friars will rely heavily on Derrick Williams, the third of their D1 forwards, to pick up the slack.
“It’s more pressure,” Williams said. “But I can get through it.”
Williams, who is heading to the University of Richmond next season, will start at center for St. Anthony. The 6-foot-7 Williams has dropped 20 pounds since arriving as mid-season transfer and appears poised for a breakthrough year after diversifying his game during the off-season.
“I think he’s physically changed himself,” Hurley said. “He’s lost some weight. He was a low post player, he’s able to move his game around now. He can step out away from the basket and shoot it. He can put it on the floor. He can bring the ball up the court if he has to. He can guard somebody away from the basket.”
Now at 245 pounds, Williams has used his wide frame and strength to thrive against taller or more athletic opponents in the paint. After sitting out the first 13 games due to transfer regulations, Williams averaged 6.8 points and 5.7 rebounds in 16 games for the Friars.
Besides for his improved physical conditioning and skills, Williams feels that he’ll be stronger mentally as he enters his second season under Hurley’s demanding system.
“Having a couple of games under my belt is really good,” Williams said. “I know Coach Hurley’s coaching style now so I can adjust easily.”
“I think he’s learned a lot of things since he’s come into school,” Hurley said. “He’s a great student. I think he picks things up because he does very well in school.”
Another source of comfort for Williams will be the presence of guard Elijah Carter. The St. Bonaventure-bound Carter, led the team in assists a year ago, but will play more a shooting guard role this season. The 6-foot-1 Carter is unafraid to attack the rim, but also has shooting range from beyond the arc.
While Williams and Carter can safely be penciled into the starting lineup, the other three spots are up in the air.
Juniors Tyquan Goodlett and Jordan Quck are battling it out for the point guard spot. At small forward there’s a three-player competition between senior Dytrel Bracey, junior Lucious Jones and sophomore Rashad Andrews.
Junior Tyuan Williams and sophomore Jerome Frink will be asked to fill the massive void at power forward caused by the absence Collier and Pankey.
Sharp-shooting guard Matt Rista, one of the few players with varsity experience, will also see plenty of time off the bench for St. Anthony.
While Hurley is pleased with the depth of his squad, the lack of experience and size are a concern.
“We have had to slow down the learning curve a little bit it isn’t as steep as we thought it’d be,” said Hurley. “We’ve had to slow down what we’re giving the kids, but you can’t slow down too much.”
These young Friars will immediately be tested with a challenging schedule that features three teams in that are amongst the nation’s top 10 teams. St. Anthony will also square off with Plainfield, a team that defeated the Friars last season, on December 20 as well as St. Peter’s Prep in January.
It’s a daunting task for a Friar team that graduated four players who are now playing in college from last season’s 24-5 squad. However, Hurley is confident this trial by fire will pay off come March when they will likely have to face teams like St. Patrick’s and Paterson Catholic in the state tournament.
“When the state tournament starts I think we’ll be ready because we have really challenged ourselves against good teams.” Hurley said.
