Men's College Basketball Preview

How many communities can claim to have six college basketball teams just a short distance away; teams that have won coveted championships and competed in major tournaments?

Take in a college game this winter or spring and cheer on the Jaspers, Lady Jaspers, Dolphins and Lightning. You’ll be glad you did.

Men’s Teams

Lehman College Lightning

Last year was bound to be a tough season for the Lightning. Not only were they coming off a season where they won the East Coast Athletic Conference (ECAC) championship. But they also graduated all-time leading scorer, guard Duane Rhoden, who amassed about 1,500 points. Many other top-quality players also graduated.

That kind of a show is hard to beat. So it was no surprise last season was a rebuilding year for Lehman, which went 9-17, 5-8 in the CUNY conference.
But coach Steve Schulman and the Lightning have a swagger in their steps again as the new season begins.

“We’re going to be good,” he promised. “Last year, we could go seven players deep. This year maybe 10 or 11 quality players.”

This season, Lehman is only maintaining one senior on the team. “All these sophomores and juniors have had a lot of experience, nine of them have played for me before,” said Schulman.

The remaining senior is Alain De la Cruz, who Schulman called “a smart-headed guy.” He will either play point man or shooting guard, but regardless, will be a team leader.

Jonathan DeJesus, a power forward, has improved every part of his game, said his coach. “He is stronger, quicker. We have very high expectations of him,” he said.
Newcomer Sam Batista, a junior, is “a kid who can really score anywhere on the court,” said Schulman, who also praised Batista’s passing skills.

Chukwama Ndukwe, a junior, is big and physical, “he looks like a big farm kid,” said Schulman. He didn’t play basketball until he came to America from Nigeria.
“He’s a sponge. Everything he learned, he learned from us.”

Manhattan College Jaspers

Fifth-year coach Barry Rohrssen isn’t coy when describing what the Jaspers need to do to become a better basketball team.

“We need to rebound the basketball better,” said Rohrssen, whose Jaspers went 11-20 last season, 4-14 in the MAAC. “So we recruited with size in mind.”
The Jaspers graduated six seniors last year and added seven new players.
“We have added new pieces to the front court who we hope will understand the importance of rebounding and having possession of the basketball,” said the coach.
Rohrssen called 2010-11 “a blank canvas.”

“We have to develop a chemistry and familiarity with each other,” he said.
The coach was not quite ready to highlight any of his players.

“Right now, nobody has stepped forward,” he said. “It’s basically an ensemble.”
Rohrssen did say that “it would be nice for our returning players, especially our seniors to provide us with leadership.” He said that he is expecting his new players to jump right in and make contributions.

He named Iona and Fordham as his team’s biggest rivals, one in the MAAC conference, the other a Bronx competitor.

Rohrssen not only wants the Jaspers to be an attractive team for Manhattan students, but wants to draw plain old basketball fans from the neighborhood.
“We want to be able to provide our neighbors an affordable place to go,” he said. “This is a perfect opportunity to take your family to a sporting event.”

Mount St. Vincent Dolphins

When Coach Brian Nigro was a point guard for the Dolphins from 1996-2000, the team was a force with which to be reckoned.

In his rookie season, Nigro made the NCAA tournament and in his second year was a high seed in the ECAC tournament.

Since then, in eight years, the school has not made a post-season appearance.
This will be Nigro’s third year as coach of the team for which he once played. The first season, the Dolphins were 12-14. His second season, they were 11-14.
Nigro believes that finally, this season, “we will have a pretty good mix.”  Building the team in three years was Nigro and his staff’s plan.

“We wanted to be more competitive by then” he said.

The team has brought in six new players, including three freshmen and three transfers.

Nigro called senior guard Dino Johnson one of the best 3-point shooters in the league. He has scored in double figures all three seasons in the league. He is also about 230 points away from being a career 1,000-point scorer.

Alvin Pegues, another senior guard, is a transfer student. He is said to be extremely talented handling the ball and really knows how to orchestrate the offense.
“We haven’t had a true point guard in the past two years and he is a true point guard,” said Nigro.

Cody Gauvard, a 6-6 forward-center, transferred to the Mount last January. He is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 13 ppg. and six rebounds.

“He brings in a lot of versatility and athleticism and is also a terrific scorer,” said Nigro.

Omonya Onwe is another transfer student who plays both guard and forward. He is a very physical presence, at 6-foot-3, 230 lbs and very talented, the coach said.
Ultimately, Nigro’s goal is to equal or surpass the teams for which he played.

“Our goal is to put a product on the court to represent the student body and the school and make them proud of their team,” he said.