Ray Floriani of College Chalk Talk is the RTC correspondent for the MAAC and the NEC Conferences.
NEW YORK CITY – Niagara placed two on the weekly honor roll. Tyrone Lewis was a co-player of the week for his 20 point, 8 block outing in a win over Towson. The eight blocks is not a typo. Lewis, a 5-11 guard, just missed the school record by one. Naturally he set an NU record for guards. Presumably he also has some kind of record for rejections by players under six feet in height.
Co-Player of the Week with Lewis was Brett Harvey, a junior guard for Loyola. Harvey averaged 23.5 ppg and a gaudy 4.0 assist/turnover ratio as the Greyhounds split a pair their opening week.
Kasheif Edwards, a 6-5 freshman forward for Niagara earned Rookie of the Week for a five point, nine rebound outing off the bench in a win over Towson.
Caught Marist’s narrow two point loss at Rutgers last week in the Garden State Classic. Off that contest a number of observers were surprised the Red Foxes were picked at the bottom of the MAAC. They did have a change or overhaul of personnel and there is a new coach in Chucky Martin. He brought the dribble-drive motion offense learned under John Calipari as an assistant at Memphis. The DDM proved to be tough to defend and was instrumental in keeping Marist in the contest. Two nights later, the Red Foxes were routed at home by St. Bonaventure. It’s going to be that type of year. Still, the DDM will be a challenge for conference schools and don’t be surprised if Martin’s club pulls a few surprises along the way.
The Jimmy Patsos incident the other night was a bizarre one to say the least. Patsos can be a little on the ‘vocal’ side on the bench. In a game against Cornell this week Patsos earned a T (technical foul). To his credit he tried to avoid a confrontation with an official and risk ejection even to the point of seeking refuge with Loyola AD Joe Boylan in the stands. From all accounts, the official seemed to continue the exchange by yelling at the bench. I’m not here to criticize an official (I have been officiating two decades and know we are not perfect). I will say the camps I attend for officiating want you, if a T is warranted, to make the call and get back in position away from the bench. Let a coach do something crazy to earn another one but avoid being confrontational.
Saw MAAC commissioner Rich Ensor at Coaches vs. Cancer at MSG. Ensor was stopping by before heading to the Old Spice Classic which the MAAC operates. Why aren’t you in Puerto Rico (for Fairfield) I asked. “Even for me that would be a bit much,” he said laughing. Ensor and Co. are excited about the Old Spice Classic which features a Tennessee-Siena meeting in the opening round.