The Patrick Callahan Story: Starting from Zero

[SteveVictory]

Maybe Patrick Callahan really was good at this coaching thing. Maybe Grandma Rose was saying extra prayers for the Stonehill Skyhawks from her new heavenly luxury box. Or maybe Virginia Tech was just looking ahead to playing No. 4 Gonzaga the following week.

Whatever the case, hoops fans who tuned in to ACC Network’s late-night broadcast on November 30 saw another Stonehill stunner. Guard Tim Strong went off for 21 points. Backcourt mate Anton Monroe added 14 more. The Skyhawks led for 36 of 40 minutes and doused Virginia Tech 78-64. First, the Big Ten. Now, the ACC.

Giant-killers!

Forget that Virginia Tech beat Stonehill 30-14 in the paint, Patrick’s team won for the fourth time in a row. Strong’s dunk from the foul line ended up No. 7 on ESPN’s Plays of the Day. That’s not zero prestige basketball, that’s for sure …

[SteveVictory]

Merkert Gymnasium had an extra buzz for Stonehill’s next game. Students were starting to take notice of the basketball team’s early success. The Merk only held about 1,500 spectators, but there weren’t many empty seats when Lafayette rolled into town for a Saturday showdown.

Patrick Callahan’s team did not disappoint, running the Leopards out of the gym, 92-76. After a sluggish start, the Skyhawks caught fire to improve to 5-1. Five players reached double-figures, the balanced scoring led by Will Lucas with 14. Charlie “Crabby” King added 13 points in 19 minutes off the bench, hitting a trio of three-pointers. Was Patrick starting to like this guy?

This felt like the conference championship season Callahan had coached at St. Thomas Academy (1A high school in North Carolina) the year before, which ended in the state final four. Stonehill AD Jack Doherty had said a few months earlier he only wanted his new coach NOT to finish last in the conference. Could this team actually WIN the dang conference?

[SteveVictory]

OK, so maybe Virginia Tech isn’t that hot after all. The Hokies got drilled by top-five Gonzaga 86-56 in a primetime ESPN game a week after the Stonehill stunner.

Patrick didn’t care. From a prestige point-of-view, a win over an ACC team, even a bottom feeder, was still something to savor. Stonehill’s NET ranking: now 102!

Recruiting updates: Center prospect Brandon Dove continued to sit on the scholarship offer, unfazed by Stonehill’s recent run of success. Patrick, meanwhile, started moving in on shooting guard Isaih Denson from Rhode Island just in case Dove up and flew away.

He spent a pretty penny to go watch Denson play live, trying to move the needle as a fallback option. Patrick liked what he saw. The kid could play.

[SteveVictory]

While Stonehill moved to 6-1 with a 76-71 win over scrappy Niagara, the Skyhawks still didn’t have the best record in the Northeast Conference during the first week of December. That belonged to St. Francis (PA), which improved to 7-0 by topping Lindenwood. Red Flash guard Jacob Ahern scored 31 points in that victory, improving his season average to 20.9 ppg. Patrick watched highlights. Ahern was the real deal and would be a handful in conference play.

Meanwhile, Stonehill shooting guard Anton Monroe earned a season-high 25 in the Skyhawks triumph over Niagara. Will Lucas added 17, swishing three trifectas. Charlie King, alas, got himself back in Patrick’s doghouse, mouthing off at practice the day before the game and committing four turnovers during the contest. He played just six minutes and didn’t score.

If there was a bigger concern, point guard Tim Strong – one of the Skyhawks’ steadiest contributors – finished with a big goose egg in the points column (with four turnovers) in 30 minutes. His worst effort by far. Turns out, he was trying to play through an injury. “Sorry, coach, for letting you down.”

“Hey, you just focus on healing up. We need you.”

[SteveVictory]

All good things must come to an end, and Stonehill’s win streak ended at six games. Patrick hated that the streak was busted by an in-state opponent, Boston University, in their own gym.

The game was never really close. The Terriers dominated the paint and the boards en route to an 81-73 triumph, silencing the Merkert crazies. Boston led by as many as 21 points before Stonehill subs got the final margin under double figures. Blah.

St. Francis won again to improve to 8-0.

[SteveVictory]

Stonehill sailed through the rest of the non-conference schedule in fairly impressive fashion. The Skyhawks and their hotshot new coach Patrick Callahan got a nice writeup from the Boston Globe after dispatching of Bryant, a former rival from the school’s D2 days.

Stonehill owned a 10-3 record with Northeast Conference play on deck. The Skyhawks were 6-0 in Quad 3 games, 4-1 in Quad 4. The lone game against a Quad 1 resulted in a 68-58 loss at VCU. The upbeat tempo had the team averaging 82.8 points per game, just how Callahan wanted it. Can they go faster?

St. Francis still had the best overall record among NEC schools, 11-2. Impressive. Dance-worthy, even.

No new news on the recruiting front. Brandon Dove didn’t say much whenever Patrick or his assistants called.

[SteveVictory]

It doesn’t matter what level of hoops you play, conference games are a different animal. Stonehill seemed a step behind during the first loop through the NEC, losing three of the first five games and five of the first eight. Something had changed with his team, and Patrick couldn’t put a finger on it. Even the projected bottom-feeding opponents in the league were outworking his troops.

St. Francis and Long Island emerged as the favorites to win the Northeast after the first month. Stonehill’s lone highlight was an upset of Long Island at home, 79-64. The Sharks featured one of the league’s top players in Brian Walker (averaging 21 ppg). Stonehill held Walker to “only” 14 points. Aside from that game, January had been a mostly frustrating month in Easton, Mass.

Patrick Callahan faced his first big challenge as a college head coach. Could he make adjustments to right the ship during the second trip through NEC play? Or would his first season in the college game be the bust that so many had worried about when he was hired?

[SteveVictory]

After getting blown out by Sacred Heart (81-50) and struggling again against league leading St. Francis (78-67 loss), Callahan decided it was time to make changes to the lineup.

He sent small forward Tom Fredrick to the bench and moved power forward Will Lucas into his spot at the three. He promoted Ramsey Henderson to a starter’s role at PF. That gave Stonehill more size and brawn in the paint.

The moves paid dividends immediately. Henderson scored in double figures four times, and the Skyhawks won five of the next six games. The only loss came at scrappy Central Connecticut, 87-78. With one week to play in the regular season, Stonehill owned an 18-9 overall record and boatload’s more confidence. That's more like it! The ship had been righted.

St. Francis had the inside track to earn the top seed for the NEC tournament with an 11-3 conference mark. Long Island was 10-5, while Stonehill and Central Connecticut were battling for the final podium spot at 8-6.

The Skyhawks’ last two games: Sacred Heart (12-15) at home and St. Francis (22-5 overall) on the road.

[SteveVictory]

JUCO prospect Brandon Dove sent Patrick an email letting him know he had made his college choice. It was a thanks-but-no-thanks to Callahan’s scholarship offer. Stonehill wasn’t even in the top five. Dove picked Canisius. Could he not have let Patrick know earlier?

The Stonehill recruiting coffers were almost empty at this point. Patrick renewed acquaintances with high school point guard Isiah Denson, a two-star from Rhode Island with nice size at 6-5. It was a long shot, with most believing Bryant or Brown having the inside track.

Time to turn on the Callahan charm.

“We beat Brown and Bryant this season,” Patrick told him. Denson seemed impressed.

[SteveVictory]

Merkert Gymnasium was packed for Stonehill’s senior night. The Skyhawks paid tribute to starting guard Anton Monroe and reserve center Stan Flanders, then turned on the jets to beat Sacred Heart 96-85.

Stonehill scored a season high 56 points in the opening half and avenged the earlier bludgeoning at the hands of the Pioneers (81-50 remember?).

Four Stonehill starters scored in double figures, led by Monroe’s pleasing 23 points. Ramsey Henderson, just a sophomore, added 17 points and nine rebounds. Flanders got six minutes of garbage time and drew loud cheers after hitting an old-fashioned hook in the lane and then burying two free throws the next time down the court.

St. Francis beat Central Connecticut to win the regular season outright on the same night. That result gave Stonehill (19-9 overall) the inside track at third, with only the finale at St. Francis left.