The coaches in the Northeast Conference are of the opinion that Mount St. Mary's will not repeat as league champions.
The Mountaineers were picked to finish fifth In a poll of NEC men's basketball coaches released Tuesday. The low ranking is likely because MSM's top three players over the past two years — Julian Norfleet, Rashad Whack and Sam Prescott — all graduated, and the Mount will have to rely on former role players as well as unknown quantities in Chris Martin and Andrew Smeathers, who transferred in from Marshall and Butler, respectively.
"Our history tells us that the last time we had two unproven transfers and we had a bunch of other guys that nobody knew anything about, that we ended up being pretty good," said MSM coach Jamion Christian during NEC Social Media Day, held Tuesday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
He was referring to the 2012-13 season, his first at the Mount, when transfers Whack and Prescott helped the Mountaineers reach the NEC title game. Last year, the Mount won the conference championship and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the fourth time after being picked sixth in the NEC's preseason poll.
Christian expected the success, just not necessarily so soon.
"We came in here two years ago and looked at the great talent that was in the NEC the first two years. ... we really started planning for year three and four," Christian said.
Well, it's year three. And Christian will be guiding his Mountaineers for the first time without Norfleet, Whack and Prescott, who combined to account for more than 60 percent of the team's scoring at 46 points per game.
Junior Taylor Danaher, also in Brooklyn for Social Media Day, said the trio will be missed but that those still with the program can continue the team's success.
"Those guys did a ton for us offensively and defensively and off the court, just leading us in practice every day," the 7-foot junior said. "I think we did a great job preparing me as well as the younger guys for this year. I think we have a group of guys who understand and know what their roles are and [will] step into and fill their shoes."
The Mountaineers are 34-31 during Christian's tenure. They've been at their best at the end of the season, going 11-5 in February and 7-2 in March since he took over.
Christian, who signed an extension in September that puts him under contract through the 2018-19 season, appears to be doing what he set out to do when he returned to his alma mater.
"We're building this the right way. We didn't think we were going to get there as fast as we did. We hoped to, and we were able to get there," he said. "But we wanted to build it through culture. We wanted to build it through kids with the right kind of character. We've been able to do that.
"Staying here at the Mount has been a great choice for me. I wanted to build this thing into something special. That's what we all signed up here to do. That's what the kids who signed with us committed to do. We're just very excited about the future."
Reach staff writer Bob Blubaugh at 410-857-7895 or bob.blubaugh@carrollcountytimes.com.
NEC Poll
The predicted order of finish in the Northeast Conference, as voted by NEC coaches:
St Francis Brooklyn
Central Connecticut State
Robert Morris
St. Francis (Pa.)
Mount St. Mary's
Bryant
Wagner
LIU Brooklyn
Fairleigh Dickinson
Sacred Heart
