2011-12 Schedule / Results Overall Record: 26-11 / Northeast Conference Record: 13-5 Third Place in the NEC / Seventh Straight Winning Season NOVEMBER (4-2) 11 RIDER W, 83-57 2012 NEC Tournament Runner-Up / 2012 CIT Quarterfinalist 15 @ Saint Peter’s W, 69-52 19 @ Penn # L, 60-66 Top Story - Led by second-year head coach Andrew Toole, the Robert Morris University men’s 22 @ James Madison # W, 82-77 basketball team posted an overall record of 26-11 (.703) in 2011-12, including a mark of 13-5 (.722) 25 vs. La Salle # W, 51-44 in the Northeast Conference that was good enough to finish third in the league standings. The 27 @ No. 16 Pittsburgh # L, 71-81 DECEMBER (6-2) Colonials advanced to their fourth straight NEC Tournament championship game before falling 1 FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON * W, 66-54 @ No. 1 seed LIU Brooklyn (3/7/12), 90-73. Despite falling short of its third NCAA Tournament ap- 3 MONMOUTH * W, 69-51 pearance in the last four years, RMU accepted a bid to the 2012 CollegeInsider.com Postseason 6 @ Duquesne W, 64-60 Tournament, the program’s fourth postseason appearance in the last five years. In the CIT, Robert 8 CLEVELAND STATE L, 58-62 17 LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE W, 72-64 Morris advanced to the quarterfinals thanks to road wins @ Indiana State (3/13/12) and Toledo 20 HAMPTON W, 64-54 (3/17/12) before suffering a 67-61 loss @ Fairfield (3/21/12). Redshirt junior guard Velton Jones 22 @ Youngstown State W, 59-56 was named to the 2012 All-NEC First Team and led the Colonials in scoring (16.0 ppg), assists (167) 29 @ Memphis L, 47-64 and steals (68), while freshman forward Lucky Jones earned spots on both the 2012 All-NEC JANUARY (6-3) 2 @ Ohio W, 70-67 Rookie Team and the 2012 CollegeInsider.com Freshman All-America Team. In his first year at 5 @ Bryant * W, 84-53 Robert Morris, Lucky Jones averaged 8.5 points and a team-high 6.1 rebounds per contest. In ad- 7 @ Central Connecticut State * L, 53-68 dition to earning a spot on the 2012 All-NEC First Team, Velton Jones joined redshirt sophomore 12 QUINNIPIAC * L, 76-78 guard Coron Williams as members of the 2012 All-NEC Tournament Team. Williams averaged 10.8 14 SACRED HEART * W, 70-67 19 @ Fairleigh Dickinson * W, 67-55 points per game for the Colonials in 2011-12, converting 87 three-pointers, the second highest 21 @ Monmouth * (OT) W, 81-73 single-season total in school history. Both Williams and redshirt junior forward Russell Johnson 26 LIU BROOKLYN * W, 75-66 have opportunities to join the RMU 1,000-point club next season, as Johnson is 131 points shy of 28 ST. FRANCIS (N.Y.) * L, 68-81 becoming the 21st member of the club, while Williams needs 365 points to eclipse 1,000 career FEBRUARY (6-2) 2 @ Wagner * L, 69-80 points. 4 @ Mount St. Mary’s * W, 67-62 RMU vs. the NEC Under Toole 8 @ Saint Francis (Pa.) * W, 78-74 What’s Next - Already in the midst of its golden Overall Record ..................................... 25-11 (.694) 11 SAINT FRANCIS (Pa.) * W, 70-56 era in program history thanks to seven straight At Home .................................................. 14-4 (.778) 16 BRYANT * W, 69-40 On The Road ........................................... 11-7 (.611) 18 CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE * W, 68-60 winning seasons, the 2011-12 Robert Morris ros- 23 @ Sacred Heart * W, 55-53 ter featured just one senior and returns the bulk NEC Tournament .................................... 4-2 (.667) Largest Victory ........... vs. Bryant (3/2/11), 91-38 25 @ Quinnipiac * L, 69-73 of its production next year. RMU’s only senior in MARCH (4-2) Largest Defeat ............... vs. CCSU (2/5/11), 58-80 1 No. 6 MONMOUTH $ W, 87-68 2011-12 was forward Lawrence Bridges, who av- 4 @ No. 2 Wagner $ W, 71-64 eraged 3.9 points and 3.5 rebounds per game while shooting 55.3 percent (105-for-190) from the 7 @ No. 1 LIU Brooklyn $ L, 73-90 field in 65 career games. The Colonials return four starters and nine letterwinners in 2012-13, 13 @ Indiana State % W, 67-60 highlighted by guards Velton Jones and Coron Williams and forwards Russell Johnson and Lucky 17 @ Toledo % W, 69-51 21 @ Fairfield % L, 61-67 Jones. In all, Robert Morris returns an astounding 92.2 percent (2,334-of-2,532) of its scoring, 86.2 percent (1,150-of-1,323) of its rebounding and 88.8 percent (443-of-498) of its assists. Since # The Philly Hoop Group Classic (Philadelphia, Pa.) the beginning of the 2005-06 campaign, RMU has compiled an overall record of 149-81 (.648) * NEC game; $ NEC Tournament; % CIT during its seven consecutive winning seasons. Robert Morris Usual Starters ... # P Name Pts. Reb. G/GS Hometown Quick Fact 34 F Russell Johnson (6-6, 180, R-Jr.) 8.5 5.7 31/28 Chester, Pa. Enters 2012-13 campaign 131 pts shy of RMU 1,000-point club 24 F Lawrence Bridges (6-5, 225, Sr.) 3.8 3.8 37/34 Detroit, Mich. RMU 33-12 (.733) in two years with Bridges in starting lineup 1 F Mike McFadden (6-8, 220, So.) 8.4 4.3 27/26 Newark, N.J. Career-high 20 points and seven rebounds @ Fairfield (3/21/12) 2 G Velton Jones (6-0, 170, R-Jr.) 16.0 2.8 37/36 Philadelphia, Pa. Owns single-season (207) & career (397) records for free throws 3 G Coron Williams (6-2, 170, R-So.) 10.8 2.6 37/37 Midlothian, Va. Shot 53.7% (22-for-41) from beyond arc last six games of season Robert Morris Off The Bench ... # P Name Pts. Reb. G/GS Hometown Quick Fact 22 F Lucky Jones (6-5, 195, Fr.) 8.5 6.1 35/9 Newark, N.J. Named to 2012 CollegeInsider.com Freshman All-America Team 11 C Lijah Thompson (6-7, 215, Jr.) 7.3 4.2 32/14 Philadelphia, Pa. Paced Robert Morris in blocks (33), owns 62 career rejections 5 G Anthony Myers (5-11, 170, So.) 6.2 2.6 37/1 Washington, D.C. Ranked third in the NEC in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.82) 35 F Keith Armstrong (6-7, 230, Fr.) 2.0 1.9 31/0 Raleigh, N.C. Shot 47.4% from the field in averaging 10.2 minutes per game 21 G Brandon Herman (6-1, 190, Fr.) 1.8 1.0 30/0 Chattanooga, Tenn. Tied career-high @ Wagner (2/2/12) with 11 points off bench Head Coach Andrew Toole Second Season - Penn ’03 When it came time for Robert Morris University Director of Athletics The Toole File Craig Coleman, M.D., to name a new head coach for the men’s basketball program, he didn’t have to look far. Birthdate: Sept. 11, 1980 Andrew Toole was introduced as the eighth head coach in the 36-year Hometown: Red Bank, N.J. Division I history at a press conference at the Charles L. Sewall Center May Age: 31 Alma Mater / Year: Penn / 2003 11, 2010, and the 2011-12 campaign was his second season as head coach Degree: Bachelor of Arts (Political Science) of the Colonials. He owns an overall record of 44-25 (.638). High School: Christian Brothers Academy Anyone familiar with the success RMU has had in recent seasons should be familiar with Toole. Named as former head coach Mike Rice’s top assistant in 2007-08, Toole spent the 2008-09 and 2009- COLLEGIATE COACHING EXPERIENCE: 10 seasons as Associate Head Coach at Robert Morris. Robert Morris University; Moon Township, Pa. In his first season at the helm in 2010-11, Toole continued RMU’s recent run of success, leading the - Head Coach (2010- ) Colonials to an overall record of 18-14 (.563), including a mark of the 12-6 (.667) in the Northeast Con- Robert Morris University; Moon Township, Pa. ference. Robert Morris advanced to its third straight NEC Tournament championship game, falling shy - Associate Head Coach (2008-10) of earning its third consecutive title before falling in overtime @ LIU Brooklyn (3/9/11), 85-82. Robert Morris University; Moon Township, Pa. - Assistant Coach (2007-08) Despite a roster that featured just one senior for the second straight year, Toole led the Colonials to Lafayette College; Easton, Pa. an overall record of 26-11 (.703) in 2011-12, including a mark of 13-5 (.722) in the NEC that helped Robert - Assistant Coach (2006-07) Morris earn the No. 3 seed in the 2012 NEC Tournament. RMU advanced to its fourth straight NEC Tour- nament championship game before suffering a 90-73 setback @ LIU Brooklyn (3/7/12). PLAYING EXPERIENCE: The Colonials accepted a bid to the 2012 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) despite University of Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, Pa. falling short of their third NCAA Tournament appearance in the last four years and advanced to the - Guard (2000-03) quarterfinals thanks to road victories @ Indiana State and @ Toledo. The win over the Sycamores in the Elon University; Elon, N.C. first round of the 2012 CIT marked RMU’s first victory in a national postseason tournament since 1983. - Guard (1998-2000) Toole is at the helm of an RMU program that has experienced unprecedented success over the last Christian Brothers Academy; Lincroft, N.J. five years. The Colonials own NEC records for victories over the span of three, four and five years.