By John Boccacino/Sports Information Director
The Keuka College men's basketball team has a simple philosophy entering the 2014-15 season: work hard on both offense and defense, and try to get better every day.
With the top six scorers returning from last year's squad that posted a 6-17 record (4-14 NEAC), and with the top seven rebounders returning, the talent is certainly there for fifth-year head coach Thad Phillips.
Add in a talented group of transfers and incoming freshmen, and the Wolfpack seemed poised to make some noise and possibly contend for a berth in the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) postseason tournament.
In fact, Phillips calls this year's team the deepest squad he's had during his time at Keuka.
"We return everybody from last year, with our top seven student-athletes back, and our experience and leadership on the floor will definitely be a strength of this team," said Phillips, who has compiled a 27-65 overall record during his time in Keuka Park.
"These guys have been through this before. Our inside game with Trevor Healey, Tyler Hixson and Miles Boyer will be a strength for us, but we also have great outside shooters to compliment the post game in Jared Wagner and Adam Starks. We have a nice slasher/playmaker in Casey Williams, and Vinney Zambito has just gotten better and better every year on campus. This is the deepest team I've ever had."
The Green and Gold open the 2014-15 season with four straight road games, beginning with the annual Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at York College of Pennsylvania.
Keuka faces the host York College Spartans at 6 p.m. Saturday, with Lebanon Valley and Johns Hopkins meeting in the other opening-round game at 8 p.m.
The championship and consolation games will take place Sunday.
The strength of Phillips' squad will be the post play, as the Wolfpack return senior Trevor Healey (Wethersfield, Conn./Wethersfield), a third-team All-NEAC selection who led the Wolfpack in scoring average (17.1 points per game) and rebounding (7.6 rpg.) in 2013-14.
Healey connected on 47.2 percent of his shots from the field (117 of 248), second on the team among players with more than 60 field goal attempts.
Classmate Tyler Hixson (Shortsville, N.Y./Red Jacket) was second on the team in scoring
(13.7 ppg.) and was third in rebounding (5 rpg.) while shooting a team-leading 54.5 percent from the floor.
Bigger things are also expected from junior Miles Boyer (East Rochester, N.Y./East Rochester), a 6-foot-7 center who averaged 2.8 rpg. with 2.7 ppg. while appearing in all 23 contests last year.
"Between Tyler and myself, we're probably the best two big men on any team in the entire conference, and coaches around the conference have said that, too," said Healey, who has earned third-team All-NEAC honors the last two years.
"We can rebound the ball and get our offense out in transition really well, and we can also cause a lot of pressure in the paint. Having a good post game frees up a lot of our guys on the perimeter for open shots, or they can drive to the basket. It really opens up our offense."
Hixson agrees, and is excited to see what the Wolfpack's trio of talented big men can to do help Keuka achieve more success during the 2014-15 season.
Healey posted 16 games with double-digit scoring, including six games with 20 or more points. He scored a career-high 32 points on 12 of 17 shooting during an 86-76 loss at Cazenovia College (Jan. 29) and also had 29 points during a loss to Cobleskill (Jan. 22).
Hixson added 15 games scoring in double-figures, including five games with 20 or more points. He scored a career-high 31 points during a loss to Wells College (Dec. 4), and had 25 points during an 81-60 win at Morrisville State, the NEAC champions who advanced into the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division III tournament.
"The fact we're returning all of our starters and have a big senior class is a big driving force for us," Hixson said. "The intensity from our freshmen really helps support and push the seniors to get better. Having the talented bigs that we do has a huge impact on our team. Our offense is predicated around inside-out action, and it's our job to rebound, score in the post and also help get our guards involved outside. We have a lot of talent on this team."
But lest opponents think they can stop the Green and Gold by solely containing the post, Keuka has talent on the perimeter, too.
Senior guards Jared Wagner (Pittsford, N.Y./McQuaid) and Adam Starks (Wellsville, N.Y./Andover) are both accurate outside shooters, with Wagner scoring 9.4 ppg. while shooting 35.6 percent (48-for-135) of his '3s'.
Starks averaged 7.7 ppg. while connecting on 39 percent (23-for-59) of his '3s'.
Juniors Vinney Zambito (Elba, N.Y./Batavia Notre Dame) and Casey Williams (Syracuse, N.Y./Jamesville-DeWitt) combined for 17.3 ppg., with Zambito displaying an accurate 3-point shooting touch after connecting on 41.5 percent of his shots from beyond the arc. He also led the team with 2.8 assists per game.
"Adam and I, we know our roles, so when coach asks us to shoot, we shoot, and we have all the confidence in our abilities to knock down those big shots. We have really high expectations this year, and if everyone sticks to their roles and does what coach says, I think we'll be successful," Wagner said of his talented backcourt partners.
"I know my role, I'm a shooter and I think I have worked really well in this offense," added Starks. "Whenever Vinney is able to drive inside, I usually get a wide-open shot, which I like a lot. It really helps that we have really good big men, too, because we can play the inside-out game and that really helps to free me up for open shots."
Williams, a slashing guard who can both penetrate the lane and create his own shot, was second on the team in rebounding (6.1 rpg.), and was third in scoring average (10.9 ppg.).
Having such a deep rotation of experienced student-athletes has not only helped make practices more competitive, it has pushed the returners to strive for greater heights, Zambito said.
"We have a lot of depth on this team; that makes our practices very competitive. You know you have to come to work every day. You're not going to have an easy day in practice because there's someone behind you who is pushing for your minutes," Zambito said.
"When guys went down (with injuries) last year, other guys stepped up and maybe they built some confidence. I know I did. I'm just trying to continue with that confidence throughout this year. As point guard, we have a lot of scorers on this team, so my job is just to facilitate and get them good looks."
Wagner, Zambito and senior Jeremy Crawford (Oakfield, N.Y./Oakfield-Alabama) will serve as Keuka's captains in 2014-15.
The Wolfpack also return sophomore guard Aksel Jensen (Dundee, N.Y./Dundee).
"I'm really excited for the season to start. We're all about the family atmosphere, and we're a tight-knit team that can rely on each other," Crawford said.
"We're all about hard work and dedication, and we push each other to the limit every day. This is the most talented team I've ever been a part of."
The transfers include juniors Ron Guillaume Jr. (Stamford, Conn./Stamford) and James Outlaw (New York, N.Y./St. Thomas More).
The freshmen class consists of Trevor Alton (Hannibal, N.Y./Hannibal), Dylan Doupe (Phoenix, N.Y./John C. Birdlebough), Artie Martinez (Staten Island, N.Y./Ralph R. McKee), Cliff Stevens (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa), Greg Tyler (Edgewater, MD./Southern) and Josh Wahnon (Staten Island, N.Y./Port Richmond).
Zambito and Tyler will serve as the point guards, while Wagner, Starks, Williams, Crawford, Jensen, Alton, Martinez, Outlaw and Wahnon will serve as the team's guards.
Healey, Hixson, Boyer, Guillaume Jr., Doupe and Stevens will serve as the forwards.
Add it all up, and Phillips sees a team that, so long as the student-athletes remain hungry, focused and hard-working, is poised for a breakthrough season.
"We're a blue-collar team that is going to defend hard, play hard and work hard," Phillips said. "We are a motion style team that will share the ball. Everyone is going to get touches and shots on offense. Defensively, we're man-to-man, but we will defend a lot better this year. Our goals are to get better every day as individuals, but more importantly, to get better as a team. We want to be playing our best by the end of the year."
Following the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, the Green and Gold will travel to Alfred State for a 7 p.m. non-conference clash Nov. 19, before traveling to Hamilton College for a 7 p.m. non-conference clash Nov. 22.
Keuka closes out the fall portion of the schedule with four straight home games, beginning with a 7 p.m. non-conference clash with RIT Nov. 25.
Keuka then welcomes SUNY ESF to campus for a 7 p.m. non-conference matchup Dec. 2, before hosting SUNY Cobleskill for a 3 p.m. clash on Saturday, Dec. 6 in the NEAC opener.
The Green and Gold welcome NEAC rival SUNY Polytechnic (formerly SUNYIT) for a 3 p.m. home game on Dec. 7 to close out the fall semester.
The NEAC postseason tournament runs Feb. 28-March 1.
"I think we can make it to the championship for NEAC's, and I think it would be a bust if we didn't make it," Starks said. "That's my expectations for this year."
To view the complete schedule, visit http://kcwolfpack.com/sports/mbkb/2014-15/schedule.
