Bolting For Greener Pastures

[3manweave]

June 30th, 2021

Iona Recruiting Update

By Igor Olsayev
247sports.com Metro Atlantic Basketball Recruiting Analyst

It's been a whirlwind several months since Travis Greenleaf took the Iona job back in April, but he's been busy working not only the 2022 class, but the 2023 and 2024 classes as well. Today, he extended offers to 2022 forward Zach Mozley (Queens/Queens Academy), 2022 guard Myron Bridger (Queens/Bard), 2023 forward Isaiah Scott (Trenton, N.J./West), and 2024 guard Ty Martin (West Hartford, Conn./Weaver).

Both Mozley and Bridger are considered top-ten talents in state, and both of them play for schools in the Queens borough. Bridger, a 6-foot-1 four-star guard, already holds offers from Binghamton, Albany, Buffalo, Vermont, New Hampshire, St. John's, Seton Hall, Rutgers, Maryland, Temple, Penn State, and Fordham, with others expected to follow as the summer progresses. Mozley, a 6-foot-10 three-star forward, is more of a late bloomer -- Iona is only his fourth offer, joining Siena, Bryant, and St. Peter's.

Scott (c/o 2023) is a 6-foot-4 combo guard who shoots from the left side; and is being asked to carry the scoring load for his team, although his strength is facilitating and spot-up shooting. It's early for Martin (c/o 2024), but the 6-foot-1, 150-pound lead guard has been drawing interest from the major programs in the area -- Syracuse, Connecticut, Maryland, Seton Hall, Temple, and St. John's, to name a few. However, he only has one other offer, and that's from Rhode Island.

On the other hand, Scott has seen his stock rise in recent months, adding offers from Bryant, Rhode Island, Fordham, Seton Hall, Delaware, and Rider in addition to Iona. He's also reported interest from mid to high-majors such as VCU, Temple, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Pitt, Albany, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Connecticut.

[3manweave]

June 30th, 2021

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference 2021 Class Wrap-Up

By Igor Olsayev
247sports.com Metro Atlantic Basketball Recruiting Analyst

1. Quinnipiac (4)
Top Recruit -- F Reggie Tousley (Kensington, Md./Einstein) #247 OVR

2. Iona (3)
Top Recruit -- C Darius Grace (Richmond, Va./Meadowbrook) #463 OVR

3. Siena (3)
Top Recruit -- F Amon Smith (Saugerties, N.Y./Saugerties) NR

4. Fairfield (3)
Top Recruit -- C Travis Montgomery (Rye Brook, N.Y./Blind Brook) NR

5. Canisius (3)
Top Recruit -- F Gary Johnson (Dunkirk, N.Y./Dunkirk) NR

6. Monmouth (3)
Top Recruit -- F Drake Welch (Pen Argyl, Pa./Pen Argyl Area) NR

7. Niagara (2)
Top Recruit -- C Lionel King (Rutland, Vt./Mt. St. Joseph) #411 OVR

8. Marist (2)
Top Recruit -- C Jimmy Franklin (N. Clarendon, Vt./Mill River Union) NR

9. Rider (2)
Top Recruit -- C Chad Elliott (Pine Hill, N.J./Overbrook Reg'l) NR

10. Manhattan (1)
Top Recruit -- G Jeff Payne (Wilmington, Del./Mt. Pleasant) #194 OVR

11. St. Peter's (1)
Top Recruit -- G Walter Berkes (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) NR

[3manweave]

[Travis Greenleaf, working in his office on July 7th]

I finally listed the house that I've lived in for the past three years -- it was the first house that Melissa and I bought together, she was six months pregnant with Gracie when we closed on it. We moved in just a month before she was born, so it's the only house that our daughter has really known (besides her grandmother's house, where they're living now while she finds a new place).

The realtor that Melissa suggested told me that I should expect to get a tidy sum for selling it, given the way the market is going in this area. We didn't get the chance to do much updating to it, so I'm unsure about the equity that's been built up. We put 20% down when we bought it, so I'm hopeful that I can get enough back to put down on a new place up in New York. Maybe I can move out of the coaches' office and actually live in a real house with a real bed, instead of a cot. My back will thank me later.

[3manweave]

July 30th, 2021

Preseason #1 in MAAC

On Thursday, defending MAAC champion Iona was tabbed by the league's coaches as the top team in the MAAC. Despite just two returning starters, they earned nine first-place votes, followed by two votes for St. Peter's; who despite a 13-18 record from a year ago, return all five starters from a team that in thirteen of their eighteen losses, lost by less than five points. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own team, so unanimous preseason picks are not possible.

Monmouth, led by preseason Coach of the Year pick King Rice, was voted in third. Marist, Siena, and Fairfield comprised the rest of the top-half of the league. Niagara, Quinnipiac, Canisius, Rider, and Manhattan brought up the rear.

The coaches also voted on preseason all-league teams, with ten of the league's eleven teams landing at least one player on one of the three teams (only Niagara did not represent on the preseason selections).

FIRST TEAM
G Sheridan Hanson Fairfield 6-2 207 SR
G Oliver Dye Monmouth 6-5 175 SR
F Daniel Patton Quinnipiac 6-7 205 JR
C Allen Kelly Siena 6-9 240 SO
C Todd Mitchell St. Peter's 6-10 250 SR

SECOND TEAM
G Derek Krieger Quinnipiac 5-10 165 JR
G Evan Brackbill Siena 6-2 175 SR
G Tony Peacock Manhattan 6-5 220 SR
F Wayne Dench St. Peter's 6-6 220 SR
C Rupert Hayes Rider 6-8 250 SR

THIRD TEAM
G Luke Bennett Canisius 6-5 200 SR
G Logan Shoemaker St. Peter's 6-4 200 SO
F Josh Arnold Marist 6-6 220 SR
F Sam Dely Monmouth 6-8 260 SO
C Trent Crosland Iona 6-8 255 JR

PRESEASON COACH OF THE YEAR: King Rice, Monmouth
PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Sheridan Hanson, Fairfield
PRESEASON FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Jeff Payne, Manhattan

[3manweave]

August 20th, 2021

Iona Recruiting Update

By Igor Olsayev
247sports.com Metro Atlantic Basketball Recruiting Analyst

Iona head coach Travis Greenleaf has secured his first commitment of the 2022 class, as three-star center Nick Hunter (New Rochelle, N.Y./Salesian) has given his verbal commitment to the Gaels program. It's an excellent start to the class for Greenleaf, as Hunter is the 257th-ranked player (#40 center) in the entire country for the class, and is listed as a three-star with offers from the entire MAAC plus a few other mid-majors such as Buffalo, Albany, St. John's, VCU, New Hampshire, and Vermont.

Hunter may be a native of the same town that Iona's campus resides, but he's always had a soft spot for the program -- his uncle, Ronald, played for the Gaels in the 1980's. Hunter recently visited unofficially on August 14th, and had a chance to speak with the entire coaching staff, including his main recruiter in assistant Ricky Johns and Greenleaf.

"I had an awesome time on the visit," he said. "I went ahead and decided to shut it down and play for Iona. I'm really excited for my family to come see me play a lot, and they'll get to do that a lot more if I stay close to home."

It's just the first commitment of the class, as Greenleaf could have up to five scholarships to fill for the 2022-2023 season. He's already extended 2022 offers to four-star guard and Seton Hall commitment Myron Bridger (Queens/Bard), three-star forward Zach Mozley (Queens/Queens Academy), three-star center and Iowa State commitment Carson Craig (Oneida, N.Y./Oneida), three-star guard Marcus Parks (Roslyn Heights, N.Y./Roslyn), three-star off-guard Sean Friedland (Yonkers, N.Y./Hastings), and Rochester native DeMarcus Tipple (Edison HS), a three-star lead guard.

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[Travis Greenleaf, working in his office on September 2nd]

Received some bad news re: the sale of my Kansas City house. As it turns out, the appraisal came back about $25,000 too low, and the prospective buyers have decided to back out of the deal. It's a shame, because it's a young family with a baby on the way, much like how Melissa and myself were when we bought the home. The letter they sent hoping to have their offer accepted was incredibly heartfelt, and was the real reason why I picked them over the other offer, even though that offer was a bit more (It was a single, older man).

Since they're needing a place to live and can't put any more down to lower the LTV, I offered to rent it to them at a discount in a rent-to-own agreement for one year, provided the house remained in good condition and they did not have any pets for the duration of the lease.

It's going to suck paying two mortgages in the future, but I'm happy that I can still get some use out of the house if I have to keep it for a bit longer. I just hope it doesn't prevent me from buying something up here...

[3manweave]

September 25th, 2021

Iona Recruiting Update

By Igor Olsayev
247sports.com Metro Atlantic Basketball Recruiting Analyst

It's been a huge week on the recruiting trail for Iona head coach Travis Greenleaf and staff, as they've secured the verbal commitments of three more players for the upcoming class, and they are all familiar names -- Queens Academy forward Zach Mozley, guard DeMarcus Tipple of Rochester, and Yonkers guard Sean Friedland all committed to the Gaels program in the past few days.

All three commitments come on the heels of in-home visits with the players, with Greenleaf criss-crossing the state with his assistants to meet with those three, and a handful of others, such as Iowa State commitment Carson Craig.

The class is now up to four commitments per 247sports.com, and Mozley also received a nice bump in our rankings -- he's now the 25th-ranked power forward in the country, and gained a fourth star while checking in as the 96th-best prospect overall.

In addition, Friedland went from being an unranked player to the #302 prospect in the class, getting a three-star ranking. Center Nick Hunter remained as the 257th ranked player on that list, with Tipple checking in as the 353rd-ranked prospect on the list.

Other Iona 2022 targets on the updated list are newly-minted four-star guard Marcus Parks, who is the 121st-ranked player on the list, along with guard Julian Daniels (219), Craig (221), forward Jonathan Orchard (458), and forward Avery Nolan (465). All of them now hold offers from the Iona program, with one scholarship still available for the 2022 class.

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[Marcus Parks, a week after Travis Greenleaf's in-home visit on September 25th]

I'm just ready for this process to be over. I've had coaches from all over the place in my house, and they all say the same thing -- we'll take care of you, you'll have access to all kinds of resources academically, you can play early, yada, yada, yada. But one coach stood out over the rest -- Coach Greenleaf and Coach Johns from Iona.

They took the time to talk to my parents. Coach Greenleaf talked to my brother and sister individually, and wanted to get to know them as well. He was there for several hours, and by the end of the visit, I wanted to commit, but my mom told me to sleep on it for a couple of days, let other schools make their pitch, and then make my decision.

Here we are, a week later. I've had some big names roll through my house in the last few days, but that visit still stands out. I told my parents that I was ready to make the call and stay close to home to play for Iona. I'm tight with Zach (Mozley), and he committed to Iona recently. We talked about playing together if we had the chance, and the opportunity has presented itself.

"Hello, coach? I have some news, good news for you..."

[3manweave]

October 2nd, 2021

2021-2022 Season Outlook

On April 26th, Travis Greenleaf was hired as the 15th head coach in Iona basketball history, replacing the retired Rick Pitino, and it's been a pretty eventful six months since -- he's close to wrapping up a five-man recruiting class that will likely rank amongst the nation's top 30 or so classes, headlined by two four-star NYC-area commitments in forward Zach Mozley (Queens Academy) and guard Marcus Parks (Roslyn Heights).

All five of his signees are in-state, which can be at least partly attributed to assistant Jeff Neubauer, the former Fordham head coach who is quite familiar with the New York recruiting scene, both in NYC and up/outstate.

"Working with Jeff has been a godsend," said Greenleaf, who hired Neubauer after long-time Pitino assistant and NYC-area fixture Tom Abatemarco, 72, stepped down just days after Pitino's announcement. "He brings a wealth of experience as a head coach at several different stops, and his knowledge of the coaches in this area is invaluable when it comes to speaking with coaches in this area."

Three-star center Nick Hunter (New Rochelle/Salesian HS) also played in the shadow of Iona's campus, with lead guards Sean Friedland (Yonkers/Hastings HS) and DeMarcus Tipple (Rochester/Edison HS) set to join the program as well.

In addition, he was able to hold together Rick Pitino's recruiting efforts, keeping three-star forwards Jeremiah Meyer and Lucas Taylor in the fold, and eventually securing the commitment and LOI of Darius Grace, a two-star center from Richmond, Va. These eight aforementioned players should serve as the backbone of Greenleaf's squads for the next three to four years going forward.

In the meantime, Greenleaf will figure to lean pretty heavily on an upperclass-laden squad; led by senior guards and returning starters Danny Chambers and Kevin Weaver. Senior Skyler Ellis and junior guard Jordan Bartlett also return, along with junior Fletcher Owens, who played in fourteen games a year ago.

The entire frontcourt will need to be replaced, however. The biggest loss was 2020-21 MAAC Player of the Year Luke Price, who led the conference in scoring at just over twenty points per game, and was a top-five rebounder and shot-blocker from the center position. Price started all thirty-two games, along with guard Myles Curtis. Wing player DeJuan Dickey started thirty of the team's thirty-two contests a season ago, with senior Doug Peacock starting the other two.

"I was pretty upfront with the team at the outset of practice, telling them that guys who started last year aren't necessarily going to be the same guys this year," he said. "Early on in the season, we just want to get a feel of who plays well together and in what roles."

He also has a decent inside rotation, as junior Trent Crosland should get the first crack at trying to fill Price's shoes. He was one of the most efficient players scoring-wise in the entire country last season, averaging 10.1 points per game in just over eleven minutes per contest off the bench. Fellow junior John Gregory and Peacock are also back to provide depth, and freshmen bigs Darius Grace, Lucas Taylor, and Jeremiah Meyer were all cited by Greenleaf as having the potential to play key roles this upcoming season.

Iona will begin play on Saturday, November 13th in the 2K Classic, as Greenleaf's debut will be against the Louisville Cardinals in the first round of that tournament. It's not a terribly daunting non-con slate, with trips to Rutgers and Temple being the only real non-conference true road game tests. Their home schedule in the non-conference includes Ivy League schools Brown (November 25th) and Cornell (December 13th), and then a home date with the Naval Academy just after Christmas on the 27th of December before MAAC play begins the following week at Quinnipiac.

Their non-conference road slate also includes trips to Central Connecticut (December 2nd), Coppin State (December 9th), Bryant (November 22nd), Boston University (December 16th), and Holy Cross (December 20th).

[3manweave]

Both teams got off to a blistering start, with the Gaels shooting 63% from the field (15/24), while the 12th-ranked Cardinals were 64% (18/28) as it was a one-point game at the half with the Cardinals up 50-49. It was a back-and-forth contest, with the lead changing hands a whopping twenty-three times before the intermission.

However, Louisville's depth began to wear down the Gaels in the second half, as they fell behind early in the half on their way to dropping an 84-69 decision in new coach Travis Greenleaf's sideline debut. Louisville began the half on an 11-2 run to increase their lead to double digits at the under-16 timeout.

Iona also went cold to begin the second half, hitting just one of their first seven shots out of the locker room, which was the key to the Gaels falling behind and being unable to recover.

"Shots that we had going in the first half were just not finding the mark," said Greenleaf on the court after the game. "That's the way the ball goes sometimes, but credit to Louisville and their defensive effort...they met the moment and kept us off the board in the early going of the second half."

Junior Trent Crosland led Iona with fourteen points and seven boards, while senior Skyler Ellis reached double figures with ten. The next closest were forwards Jeremiah Meyer and John Gregory, who scored eight each. Wayne Warren and Josh Godwin each tallied nineteen for the Cardinals, with Christian Blackmon scoring a dozen, and Calvis Goodwin in double digits with eleven.

With the loss, the team has more than a week off before they travel to Providence to face the Bryant Bulldogs on their home floor, with the tip-off taking place at 6:30 PM on November 22nd, which is a Monday. The game will not be televised, but will instead be broadcast on the Iona Student Sports Network.