Over the 32 days leading up to college basketball season, we’re profiling 32 different teams who could be in the NIT mix, aided in this effort by those who know them best (or the closest we could get). Today, Sam Federman responds by email to our questions about Iona and the MAAC.
Sam Federman writes for Mid-Major Madness, focusing on the MAAC and the northeast. He is the recent author of an 81-page MAAC Season Preview featuring interviews with all eleven MAAC coaches. For more from Sam, follow him on Twitter/X at @Sam_Federman.
Here’s the full list of 32 for 32’s published so far, with links:
- Auburn, with the Sickos CBB Committee
- BYU, with Mitch Harper
- Cincinnati, with Zach Fries
- Dayton, with Tyler Cronin
- Duquesne, with Tristan Freeman
- Indiana, with Matt Cox
- Iona, with Sam Federman
- Iowa State, with Joe Stunardi
- James Madison, with Bennett Conlin
- Loyola, with Ky McKeon
- Michigan, with the Sickos CBB Committee
- Missouri, with Jim Root
- North Texas, with Harry Miers
- Northwestern, with John Templon
- Notre Dame, with Stuart McGrath
- Ohio State, with Mark Titus
- Oregon State, with Andy Dieckhoff
- Penn State, with DJ Bauer
- South Carolina, with Brian Rauf
- St. Bonaventure, with SBUnfurled
- St. John’s, with the Sickos CBB Committee
- Syracuse, with the Marshall Street Podcast
- Texas, with NIT Stu
- Utah, with Andrew Crowley
- Virginia Tech, with Ken Pomeroy
- Washington State, with Dave Andersen
- Wisconsin, with Cole Amundson
The Barking Crow: Iona received some national spotlight these last three years with Rick Pitino at the helm. How is the transition out of that era expected to go?
Tobin Anderson has been much more in touch with the school and the fanbase than Pitino ever was. Iona fans loved having Pitino because they loved winning, but I felt that there was resentment in the way that the fans perceived the coverage. Iona was already a highly successful program without Pitino, and the fanbase didn’t think the national coverage of the Gaels gave the players or previous coach Tim Cluess enough credit for what that program was. I don’t think that the lack of national attention will be very important to the Gaels fanbase.
TBC: To make the NIT, Iona likely needs an automatic bid, something they’d get by winning the MAAC’s regular season title and losing the MAAC Tournament. What needs to happen for this roster to win that MAAC championship?
I don’t really have too many questions or reservations about Iona’s roster, I’m very confident that this is going to be a very successful MAAC team. Idan Tretout broke out over the second half of the season with Harvard last year, Joel Brown has played over 3000 minutes of high-major basketball for Cal, Wheza Panzo is one of the top shooters in the country, Greg Gordon plays with relentless energy, Isaac Brice is a freak athlete, and Terrell Williams is a jack of all trades. Then obviously there’s Osborn Shema, the lone returning player, who is a freakish player in his own right, a seven-footer with excellent coordination, movement skills, and basketball IQ. With 12 new pieces, there’s obviously a lot of gelling that needs to happen, but I expect this team to fit well with what Anderson likes to do, and be at or near the top of the MAAC all year.
TBC: Beyond Iona, which teams are contending for a first place finish this season in the MAAC?
Rider is definitely the top threat, they were even picked to finish first. The Broncs bring back Allen Powell and preseason player of the year Mervin James from a team that finished second last year. They also added UMass transfer TJ Weeks, along with his brother Tyriek in the transfer portal, in an effort to be a better shooting team. Losing Dwight Murray Jr. hurts, but I do believe that Corey McKeithan is ready to step up and be a solid starting point guard in the MAAC. The one major issue for this team is that the interior defense will be tested all year. Last year, Rider rotated three big men, so they had 15 fouls to work with, but two of them are gone now, and the one that remains is the worst defender of the three. They did bring in JT Langston and freshman Mustapha Sanoh, but I’m still questioning the interior defense. It is the MAAC, so I won’t rule anything out, but I’d be very very shocked if a team that isn’t Iona or Rider is the top seed in Atlantic City.
TBC: The NIT is known for being a little chaotic. What’s going to be the most chaotic thing about Iona this year, and who is the most chaotic team in this season’s MAAC?
Greg Gordon is the most chaotic thing about Iona this year. When I spoke to Anderson for my preview, he said that “Greg makes things happen, sometimes good, sometimes bad.” This is a guy who averaged 22 and 12 at the JUCO level despite being only 6’5. He plays above his size and forces a ton of turnovers, flies in for rebounds, and just is everywhere on the court.
As for a chaotic team in the MAAC, I don’t think you can look further than what has occurred at Fairfield over the past few weeks.
(Note: Here’s Trilly Donovan’s report on the situation at Fairfield, where head coach Jay Young unexpectedly resigned this month.)
TBC: We have a lot of love for the MAAC, partially because the schools’ nicknames are almost all unique. From the Golden Griffins to the Jaspers, who has the best nickname in the MAAC, and which mascot is the most fun?
I don’t really have a preference for the best nickname in the MAAC, but the best mascot in the MAAC is without a doubt Siena’s Saint Bernard, Bernie. I’m just a sucker for dogs, nobody else has a live dog as the mascot, so Siena wins by default. (I’ll include a picture of my dog because dogs are the best)
TBC: Another reason we love the MAAC is that we like to pronounce it like a sheep would, in order to distinguish it from the MAC. Does anyone within the league do this? How does the MAAC handle being a homophone with another conference?
Well, I personally pronounce our league like you would pronounce Khalil, Vontae, Sebastian, Big, Miller, or Jones. I call that other league the “Single-A MAC,” when I’m saying it out loud. Thankfully, there’s not a ton of situations where you genuinely need to differentiate and can’t rely on context, but it makes for some fun typos. Most people who aren’t in the region call our league the “Em Double A See,” which I kind of resent, but whatever works.
TBC: Dare we dream of an Iona NIT title?
Iona would probably end up playing away games in the NIT, and while I don’t think they wouldn’t be able to win away games, I have my reservations about winning multiple away games in a row against NIT-caliber teams.
