2017-18 Men's Basketball Prospectus-Guide.Indd
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
2017-18 Fairfield University Basketball 2017-18 Schedule Quick Facts Date Opponent Time UNIVERSITY INFORMATION November 3 University of Bridgeport (Exh)& 7:00 pm Location................................Fairfi eld, Conn. Founded..................................................1942 November 11 University of Pennsylvania 1:00 pm Enrollment.............................................3,300 November 14 Loyola University, Md. 7:00 pm President........................Dr. Mark R. Nemec Director of Athletics.......Paul Schlickmann November 18 at Purdue University 7:00 pm Senior Assoc. AD/SWA.........Alison Sexton November 24 vs. Jacksonville University^ 4:30 pm Assoc. AD/Facilities................Allen Gibson Senior Assoc. AD/Marketing...Zach Dayton November 25 vs. Gardner Webb University^ 2:30 pm Affi liation..........................NCAA Division I Conference..........................................MAAC November 26 at Wright State University^ 3:30 pm School Color............................Cardinal Red December 1 at Wagner University 7:00 pm Nickname...............................................Stags Home Court................Webster Bank Arena December 6 at University of Houston 7:00 pm CT On-Campus Home Court........Alumni Hall December 10 at LIU Brooklyn 3:30 pm PROGRAM HISTORY December 17 Old Dominion University& 1:00 pm First Season.......................................1948-49 First Varsity Season ...................... 1951-52 December 22 University of New Hampshire 7:00 pm First Division I Season.....................1964-65 December 28 Saint Peter’s University 7:00 pm MAAC Regular Season Title ..2/1986, 2011 MAAC Tourney Titles..3/1986, 1987, 1997 December 30 at Manhattan College 7:00 pm NCAA Appearances/Last...................3/1997 January 5 at Rider University 7:00 pm NIT Appearances/Last.......................6/2011 January 7 at Iona College 1:00 pm TEAM INFORMATION January 11 Manhattan College 7:00 pm 2016-17 Overall Record.........................16-15 2016-17 MAAC Record..........................11-9 January 13 at Marist College 7:00 pm 2016-17 MAAC Finish..............................5th January 20 Niagara University 1:00 pm COACHING STAFF January 23 Rider University 7:00 pm Head Coach..........................Sydney Johnson Alma Mater...............................Princeton ‘97 January 27 vs. Quinnipiac University! 1:00 pm Record at Fairfi eld...........90-108 (Six Years) January 29 Iona College 7:00 pm Overall Record................156-162 (10 Years) MAAC Record.......................................53-63 February 2 at Monmouth University 7:00 pm Best Time To Reach Coach......Contact SID February 5 Siena College 7:00 pm University General Phone....(203) 254-4000 February 10 at Niagara University 3:00 pm ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS Assoc. AD/Media Relations.........Jack Jones February 12 at Canisius College 7:00 pm Jones Offi ce...(203) 254-4116 February 15 Marist College 7:00 pm Jones Cell....(203) 650-5907 Jones Email....jjones@fairfi eld.edu February 17 Quinnipiac University 1:00 pm Asst. AD/Marketing/Comm...Drew Kingsley February 21 at Siena College 7:00 pm Multimedia Specialist...............Ivey Speignt Graduate Assistant................Ryan Moynihan February 24 Monmouth University 1:00 pm Mailing Address.......Walsh Athletic Center 1073 N. Benson Road Fairfi eld, CT 06824 & - Alumni Hall; ^ – Dayton, Ohio; * - MAAC Game; University Web Site..........www.fairfi eld.edu Athletics Web Site...www.fairfi eldstags.com ! - Nasaau Coliseum #0 Olivier Cadieux #1 Jerome Segura #2 Taj Benning #3 Tyler Nelson So. - 6-4 - 205 Sr. - 5-11 - 175 Fr., 6-3, 185 Sr. - 6-3 - 180 Montreal, Canada Houston, Texas Fair Lawn, N.J. Bradford, Mass. #4 Jared Harper #5Aidas Kavaliauskas #10 Th omas Nolan #11 Alonde LeGrand Sr. - 6-1 - 190 R-Fr., 6-1, 175 R-So. - 6-3 - 195 Fr., 6-5, 185 N. Hollywood, Calif. Kaunas, Lithuania Trumbull, Conn. Harlem, N.Y. #12 Kevin Senghore-Peterson #13 Jonathan Kasibabu #14 Matija Milin #15 Wassef Methnani Fr., 6-6, 220 So. - 6-8 - 240 So. - 6-9 - 215 Fr., 6-8, 208 Frolunda, Sweden Kinshasa, Dem. Rep of Congo Belgrade, Serbia Tunisia #23 Ferron Flavors Jr. #24 Jesus Cruz #30 Omar El-Sheikh #35 Aziz Sultan Essa So., 6-4, 180 Fr., 6-5, 210 Fr., 6-7, 195 Fr., 6-9, 250 Federal Way, Wash. Carolina, Puerto Rico Cairo, Egypt Kuwait City, Kuwait 2017-18 Roster No. Player Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Last School Hometown 0 Olivier Cadieux So. G/F 6-4 205 Brebeuf Jesuit Montreal, Canada 1 Jerome Segura Sr. G 5-11 175 Langham Creek Houston, Texas 2 Taj Benning Fr. G 6-3 185 Bergen Catholic Fair Lawn, N.J. 3 Tyler Nelson Sr. G 6-3 180 Central Catholic Bradford, Mass. 4 Jared Harper Jr. G 6-1 180 Suffi eld Academy Los Angeles, Calif. 5 Aidas Kavaliauskas Fr. G 6-1 175 SPIRE Academy Kaunas, Lithuania 10 Th omas Nolan R-So. G 6-3 195 Fairfi eld Prep Trumbull, Conn. 11 Alonde LeGrand Fr. G 6-5 185 Berkshire Harlem, N.Y. 12 Kevin Senghore-Peterson Fr. F 6-6 220 Myerscough Coll. Frolunda, Sweden 13 Jonathan Kasibabu Jr. F 6-8 240 Westtown (Pa.) Kinshasa, Dem. Rep. of Congo 14 Matija Milin Jr. F 6-9 215 Sports Gymnasium Belgrade, Serbia 15 Wassef Methnani Fr. F 6-8 208 Th e Knox School Kairrouan , Tunisia 23 Ferron Flavors Jr. So. G 6-4 180 Stone Mountain CC Federal Way, Wash. 24 Jesus Cruz Fr. G 6-5 210 Loomis Chaff ee Carolina, Puerto Rico 30 Omar El-Sheik Fr. F 6-7 195 Th e Knox School Cairo, Egypt 35 Aziz Sultan Essa Fr. F 6-9 250 Brewster Academy Kuwait City, Kuwait Head Coach: Sydney Johnson (Princeton ’97) Assistant Coaches: Mitch Buonaguro (Boston College ’75), Tom Parrotta (Fordham ’88) Tyson Wheeler (Rhode Island ’98) Director of Basketball Operations: Steven Elmore (Princeton ’12) Assistant Director of Basketball Operations: Andrew Leone (Fairfi eld ’17) 2017-18 Season Outlook Sixteen student-athletes. Nine diff erent countries. Eight newcomers. One common goal. It’s all a numbers game for the 2017-18 Fairfi eld University men’s basketball. While the most important number may be the team’s win total, Head Coach Sydney Johnson will try to work the aforementioned numbers into a success story by the beginning of March. With student-athletes hailing from nine diff erent countries, the Stags have one of the most diverse roster in college basketball as Johnson and his staff reached out around the world to comprise this year’s team. Eight of Fairfi eld’s 16-man roster will be donning a Stags uniform for the fi rst time this year. But regardless of which label you choose - newcomer or veteran, foreign or domestic – the collective 16 players all share the same goal – winning a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) championship and earning a berth to the NCAA tournament. Since Johnson’s arrival, the Stags have collected berths to the CIT Postseason Tour- nament on four occasions including last year’s appearance. Th at experience and success could translate into what Johnson hopes will be a fi ft h postseason invitation in 2017-18. Th e Stags have a trio of seniors who will serve as the cornerstone of Johnson’s plans, namely Tyler Nelson, Jerome Segura, and Jared Harper. Th is trio has led a resurgence of Fairfi eld basketball over the last two seasons, combining to win 35 games during that stretch. Nelson and Segura should hold two of the team’s starting fi ve positions with Segura setting up the off ense and Nelson fi nishing it off . Segura should move into the program’s assist leader list this season, needing just under 30 passes to crack that top 10. He dished off 122 assists in 2016-17, just one season removed from handing off 160 assists in his sopho- more year. While Segura is creating the plays, Nelson is most likely going to fi nish off the sets. Th e guard comes back for his senior season as the top returning scorer in the MAAC, net- ting 19.5 points per game a year ago. For these reasons, the MAAC head coaches selected Nelson as the 2017-18 MAAC Preseason Player of the Year. Harper reestablished himself within the program last season aft er missing nearly his entire sophomore campaign due to injury. Th e guard worked his way into 12 games last season as he regained his role as a reserve. His ability to handle the ball along with his ability to shoot from distance could help Harper garner more playing time in the 2017-18 campaign. Fairfi eld’s junior class reaffi rmed its place in the plans of Coach Johnson, establish- ing themselves not only among their teammates but also within the conference. Jonathan Kasibabu, who hails from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Matija Milin, a native of Serbia, did not fall victim to any sophomore slump. Kasibabu ended the year as one of the top fi ve shot blockers in the MAAC, averag- ing 1.4 per game, and represents the top returning rebounder on the Fairfi eld roster with 4.9 caroms per contest. Milin registered 8.3 points per game last season which makes him the team’s runner-up to Nelson in terms of returning scorers for the Stags. Th e forward nearly had a clean split between games as a starter and as a reserve a year ago, averaging 9.9 points when in the fi rst fi ve and 6.1 points when coming off the bench. Th e underclassmen start with the return of sophomores Olivier Cadieux, Th omas 2017-18 Season Outlook Nolan, and Aidas Kavaliauskas along with the addition of Ferron Flavors Jr. Cadieux and Nolan both were used throughout the 2016-17 season, mainly as reserves. Nolan did earn one start during the year which he translated into a career-best 11 points at Monmouth and led the guard to a 2.0 scoring average.