Fairfield – Marist Early Edition Game Notes ♫ 21-22

[reindeerfan]

Early Edition Game Notes is intended to be fun, informative and sometime irreverent way to look at the numbers, but if you take this stuff too seriously you are cautioned against reading any further. Please proceed at your own risk!
Edition 136
PLEASE DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOR! .
Fairfield – Marist Early Edition Game Notes ♫ 21-22
Fairfield University (8-5, 2-0 MAAC) VS Marist (6-6, 1-2 MAAC)
Friday, January 7, 2022 • 7:00 PM EST
Bridgeport, CT
LAST TIME OUT
Alex Morales and Elijah Ford each had 15 points as Wagner beat Fairfield 63-50, Raekwon Rogers (11 points) and Will Martinez(10 points) joined Fairfield’s Caleb Green(11 points) and Chris Maidoh was the only other players in double digits. Fairfield has now matched their longest losing streak of the season (2 games).
COMIC OF THE DAY
FAR SIDE
The Far Side, by Gary Larson is one of the most widely read comics of all time. The single-panel cartoon ran daily in newspapers from 1980 to 1995.

SERIES HISTORY
Marist is one of only 2 MAAC squads the Stags having a winning record against over the last 7 years. While overall the Stags lead the series 40-25, Fairfield split the series the last two seasons, and has won 11 of the last 13 meetings and 21 of the last 25 games.
SOME NOTABLE MARIST AND FAIRFIELD STATS
- Entering the Iona game Marist had held its last four opponents to a collective .394 field goal percentage (119-for-302).
- Marist is averaging 9.4 three-pointers made and shooting .409 from three-point range in its wins, while averaging 5.6 three-pointers made and shooting .262 in its losses. The Stags will need to defend against the three point shot to win.
- Marist is averaging 10.0 turnovers over its last four games. The Red Foxes have three games with under 10 turnovers this season. At 11.5 turnovers per game, Marist is 55th in the NCAA. As impressive as Marist has been, Fairfield is now 37th in the nation in Fewest Turnovers per game averaging only 11.1.
- Fairfield is 102nd in the nation in assist to turnover ratio while Marist is an unimpressive 354th in the nation. The reason, Marist is averaging a woeful 8.2 Assists per game while Fairfield is averaging 12.2 (200th). Both squads could stand to improve their numbers but they are each outpacing number 358 Holy Cross who has the fewest assists per game of any team in the nation.
- Marist is last in the nation (358th) in assists to field goal made, while the Stags are 282nd.
- Fairfield is 41st in the nation in Defensive rebound percentage (78.3%)
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR FAVORITE
Marist Freshman guard Jao Ituka was named MAAC Player and Rookie of the Week after his 34-point game at Boston University. Ituka became the first Red Fox to earn both MAAC honors in the same week since Brian Parker on Dec. 21, 2015. Ituka became the first MAAC men's basketball player to earn both honors in the same week since Siena's Jalen Pickett on Dec. 3, 2018. Ituka had now been named MAAC Rookie of the Week for three straight weeks.
LONG AND GREEN
Long saw limited minutes versus Wagner while Caleb Green reached double digits with 11 points on 4-10 shooting.
SUPER SUBS
Fairfield’s super subs of Long, Cruz and Wojcik were a combined 2-16 or .125 from he floor versus Wagner. The bench numbers were boosted by a 4-5 performance off the bench by Chris Maidoh, who continued to connect on more than 80% of his attempts this season.
MAGIC NUMBERS
3 – The number of games Jesus Cruz needs to appear in to establish a new Stags Record for games played.
15 – Number of Assists Jesus Cruz needs to reach 200 in his career.
30 – Points needed for Caleb Green to reach the 1000 Career point milestone.
39 – Number of rebounds Taj Benning needs to 500 in his career.
49 – Points Taj Benning needs to reach the 1000 Career point mark.
256 – Points Jake Wojcik needs to reach the 1000 Career point mark.
899 – Points TJ Long needs to reach the 1000 Career point mark.
MILESTONES
Taj Benning dished off his 200th Career Assist versus Wagner
STREAKS
- Supreme Cooks season long streak of securing at least one defensive board per game ended versus Wagner, but his season long streak of games with at least one rebound continues. Cook’s 3 rebounds versus Wagner were the lowest total he has secured since the final game last season.
- Jesus Cruz has now appeared in 136 consecutive games and has played in every game since joining the program. Cruz’s streak is among the longest in program history and Jesus is now 3rd all time in games played.
- Jesus Cruz has at least one made basket in every game going back to this time last season (32 games). The Streak started last season versus Fairleigh Dickinson. Jake Wojcik’s streak of made baskets is also 32 games, beginning at Niagara. Wojcik has made at least one field goal in every game he played in since joining the Stags, but he did not appear in the game versus Canisius.
HEARD BUT PROBABLY NOT TRUE
PANTHERS REMAIN WINLESS
The 0-10 Prairie View S&M University basketball team is the only team in the NCAA where every player has refused to take the Covid-19 Vaccine. Reports say the winless players are afraid to take any shots.
MARIST SIGNS NEW MASCOT
Believing that it is finally time that women have an equal place in the Mascot world, Marist college President Dennis Murray has announced they are terminating the contract of “Frankie the Red Fox” and replacing him with a female mascot. The new Marist Mascot will simply be known as “Foxy” and she will bring to the program the “look” and “appeal” that Frankie lacked.
Murray believes its time that women take their proper place in the Mascot world, and he finds it disturbing that only 3% of university mascots are women. He calls on other schools to follow his lead and he believes more institutions need to hire mascots like “Hot Pepper,” “Sexy Bee,” ”Lady Mac” or “Spring Chick.” Murray believes that hiring mascots like this will help break traditional gender stereotypes and will be an important step toward helping women secure more meaningful work in other fields.
While some at Marist feel that instead of promoting women, Foxy may in fact be reinforcing stereotypes of women as sex objects, Murray dismissed the thought. “There is definitely room at Marist for a mascot like “Foxy” and when she’s not busy with her game day duties she is welcome to hang in my office anytime….”
Images of new Marist Mascot

With apologies to Frankie
STAGS TO IMPLEMENT NEW PLAY
Jay Young continues to study film from other college teams and he has told his Fairfield squad that he is committed to working this play drawn up by St. John Fisher Cardinals into the game versus Marist. Keep an eye on 7’1” - 360 pound guard Connor Williams who makes the play work with his exceptionally fancy footwork. (You may need to click on the link to see this)
twitter.com/i/status/1469780981288779776

CLIMBING THE POINTS LADDER AND OTHER CAREER STATS OF NOTE
Taj Benning now has 951 career points and is 49 points away from 1000 in his career. Benning has made more than 300 Field goals in his Stag Career.
Supreme Cook now has 296 career points. Cook has also secured 240 rebounds as a Stag.
Jake Wojcik now has 398 points in his Fairfield Career and 744 points overall as a Division 1 player.
Caleb Green now has 970 points and needs 30 to reach the 1000 point mark in his career. Green has 337 poins while at Fairfield.
TJ Long has 101 points as a Stag.
Jesus Cruz now has 1279 points in his career (19th all time). He is also closing in on the 150 steal mark currently with 142 (8th best all-time) and has 185 assists. His 533 rebounds are good enough for 26th on the all-time rebounds list.
Allan Jeanee-Rose now has 192 points in his career.
Chris Maidoh now has 316 career points. Maidoh also has 49 blocks good enough for 26th on the all-time list.
Zach Crissler now has 207 career points including 151 while at Fairfield.
Jalen Leach now has 121 points as a Stag.
Makai Willis has 16 points while at Fairfield closing in on Jason Edokpayi who has 25.

@stagsmensbball , #stagsmensbball, #MAACHoops , #heardbutprobablynottrue , #EEGN ♫2021-2022♫ ***************************************************************************

[stags1983]

Incredible as usual RF! Love the twitter vid👍

[FU73]

rf, Foxy the Mascot - Hubba Hubba and Brilliant!

[doowopbill]

I saw the Marist -Iona game on ESPN+ and came away impressed by both teams. Obviously Iona has it's firepower but I was surprised by the high caliber of players on Marist like Wright, Sullivan and especially Ituka, the impressive frosh . Wright the Marist leading scorer had an off game but Ituka is really tough and very unique. Except for his last second missed three pointer , he didn't take an outside shot the entire game. The announcers said during the game that all season he had only taken 3 threepointers but yet he scores at such a high clip ( including a recent 34 point outing). He drives to the hoop with a vengeance and has terrific moves in close. My point with all this is the Stags will certainly have their hands full in trying to contain him. He has the build of a linebacker so we need someone strong to guard him( Benning?). Do we then risk early foul trouble for Taj?
I hope JY has a good game strategy. Marist will be tough and is another example of the overall strength of most of this year's MAAC teams. Hopefully a win Friday will be a good indicator of how we will fare in this tougher than usual league.

[reindeerfan]

Jan 3, 2022 12:11:28 GMT -5 doowopbill said:

I saw the Marist -Iona game on ESPN+ and came away impressed by both teams. Obviously Iona has it's firepower but I was surprised by the high caliber of players on Marist like Wright, Sullivan and especially Ituka, the impressive frosh . Wright the Marist leading scorer had an off game but Ituka is really tough and very unique. Except for his last second missed three pointer , he didn't take an outside shot the entire game. The announcers said during the game that all season he had only taken 3 threepointers but yet he scores at such a high clip ( including a recent 34 point outing). He drives to the hoop with a vengeance and has terrific moves in close. My point with all this is the Stags will certainly have their hands full in trying to contain him. He has the build of a linebacker so we need someone strong to guard him( Benning?). Do we then risk early foul trouble for Taj?
I hope JY has a good game strategy. Marist will be tough and is another example of the overall strength of most of this year's MAAC teams. Hopefully a win Friday will be a good indicator of how we will fare in this tougher than usual league.

To your point, our man to man defense as been subject to giving up easy drives to the hoop. I kind of expect Itulka to have a field day. Lets see what happens. I would say Marist is a team that calls for zone with Maidoh protecting the rim but yet they also have some very good three point shooters and are connecting at a 40% clip. I don't think Marist is a pushover this year.

[nashvillestag]

Jan 3, 2022 12:11:28 GMT -5 doowopbill said:

I saw the Marist -Iona game on ESPN+ and came away impressed by both teams. Obviously Iona has it's firepower but I was surprised by the high caliber of players on Marist like Wright, Sullivan and especially Ituka, the impressive frosh . Wright the Marist leading scorer had an off game but Ituka is really tough and very unique. Except for his last second missed three pointer , he didn't take an outside shot the entire game. The announcers said during the game that all season he had only taken 3 threepointers but yet he scores at such a high clip ( including a recent 34 point outing). He drives to the hoop with a vengeance and has terrific moves in close. My point with all this is the Stags will certainly have their hands full in trying to contain him. He has the build of a linebacker so we need someone strong to guard him( Benning?). Do we then risk early foul trouble for Taj?
I hope JY has a good game strategy. Marist will be tough and is another example of the overall strength of most of this year's MAAC teams. Hopefully a win Friday will be a good indicator of how we will fare in this tougher than usual league.

Great 'scouting' report bill. Yeah I have suspected that the Red Foxes might be a tough opponent for quite awhile now based on reports in the fall, and now that you have watched them, your comments don't surprise me at all. In fact your description of Ituka and how good he is happens to coincide with predicted reports back in October that he might be the best freshman player in the MAAC this season, and that may be coming true right now. It is interesting how you describe his game though in that it kind of reminds me of how a recent former great Marist talent, Brian Parker, played the game. I guess we'll get a first hand look on Friday if (let's hope) the game is actually played. And speaking of the preparation for that contest, a source of mine suggested that the Stags are back on the practice court starting today. Certainly if true that's good news, as a few days conditioning, not to mention game planning, is extremely important to help the team perform well and beat this tough opponent on Friday night.

[nashvillestag]

Jan 3, 2022 13:33:22 GMT -5 reindeerfan said:

Jan 3, 2022 12:11:28 GMT -5 doowopbill said:

I saw the Marist -Iona game on ESPN+ and came away impressed by both teams. Obviously Iona has it's firepower but I was surprised by the high caliber of players on Marist like Wright, Sullivan and especially Ituka, the impressive frosh . Wright the Marist leading scorer had an off game but Ituka is really tough and very unique. Except for his last second missed three pointer , he didn't take an outside shot the entire game. The announcers said during the game that all season he had only taken 3 threepointers but yet he scores at such a high clip ( including a recent 34 point outing). He drives to the hoop with a vengeance and has terrific moves in close. My point with all this is the Stags will certainly have their hands full in trying to contain him. He has the build of a linebacker so we need someone strong to guard him( Benning?). Do we then risk early foul trouble for Taj?
I hope JY has a good game strategy. Marist will be tough and is another example of the overall strength of most of this year's MAAC teams. Hopefully a win Friday will be a good indicator of how we will fare in this tougher than usual league.

To your point, our man to man defense as been subject to giving up easy drives to the hoop. I kind of expect Itulka to have a field day. Lets see what happens. I would say Marist is a team that calls for zone with Maidoh protecting the rim but yet they also have some very good three point shooters and are connecting at a 40% clip. I don't think Marist is a pushover this year.

No I don't think so either. And BTW based on past history I don't think you will see much in the way of a zone by Jay. Still doesn't mean they can't have better help on drives and post entries then in some recent games however. My first guess about the match-up is that it is a toss-up. The Stags may have the slight home advantage, but OTOH the Foxes will be highly motivated to get another league win based on how close they came to beating the top dog in Iona yesterday. Certainly a contest I am looking forward to. Go Stags!

[sonofdoc]

Marist is one of only 2 MAAC squads the Stags having a winning record against over the last 7 years. While overall the Stags lead the series 40-25, Fairfield split the series the last two seasons, and has won 11 of the last 13 meetings and 21 of the last 25 games.


Who is the other MAAC team Fairfield has a winning record against over the last 7 years?

[stags74]

I agree Marist is much better this year then in the past. Hopefully, the stags are also improved over last year. I expect a close game.
Marist was leading Iona late in both of the games. However, they could not execute on offense in both games , they made a bunch of TO’s and eventually lost the lead and the game . Yesterday, Marist scored 2 points over the last four minutes of the game and were out scored I believe 11-2 by Iona.

[FU73]

MAAC Men's Basketball Standings
TEAM-MAAC-GB-OVERALL-STREAK
Iona 3-0, - 11-2, W5
Monmouth 2-0, 0.5, 10-3, L1
Fairfield 2-0, 0.5, 8-5, L2

Quinnipiac 2-1, 1, 7-4, W4
Manhattan 1-1, 1.5, 8-3, W2
Siena 1-1, 1.5, 4-6, W2
Saint Peter's 1-1, 1.5, 3-6, L1

Marist 1-2, 2, 6-6, L1
Rider 0-2, 2.5, 4-8, W1
Canisius 0-2, 2.5, 4-9, W2
Niagara 0-3, 3, 5-7, L1
maacsports.com/

Friday, January 7 Stags vs Marist at 7:00 pm on ESPN+
Sunday, January 9, Stags at Siena at 2:00 pm on ESPN3
Tuesday, January 11, Stags vs Iona at 2:00 pm on ESPN3

[stag79]

When can the team practice? That will matter a lot.

[doowopbill]

Thanks Nashville for your kind comment on my recent "scouting report".
I believe you do or have resided in Connecticut. Perhaps you remember John Williamson of Wilbur Cross fame and then the ABA Nets. When I watched the Marist game yesterday and observed Ituka I immediately thought of John Williamson. He drove to the hoop just like Williamson but of course has ( and probably won't ever have) no deadly outside shot like Big Bad John.
Your thoughts?

[reindeerfan]

Jan 3, 2022 14:00:00 GMT -5 nashvillestag said:

No I don't think so either. And BTW based on past history I don't think you will see much in the way of a zone by Jay. Still doesn't mean they can't have better help on drives and post entries then in some recent games however. My first guess about the match-up is that it is a toss-up. The Stags may have the slight home advantage, but OTOH the Foxes will be highly motivated to get another league win based on how close they came to beating the top dog in Iona yesterday. Certainly a contest I am looking forward to. Go Stags!

To the dismay of many, I think I can safely speak for myself and Rave, I don't think we are going to see any zone at all under Young. Its not that I am a big zone advocate, I just think zone is called for in certain situations. I also think mixing up defenses and being unpredictable makes it much more difficult for a team to prepare to face you. So I am for changing defenses.

One of the great things about Cooley was he would change defenses within a defensive set. An opponent would set up to run a play and then they'd be facing a different defense. Cooley I felt really understood this.

Young is a defensive master in his own way with regards to how to help to avoid switches, how to hold hands, position, guard. I have to commend him on many of the things he has done, it night and day from Sydney always switching and ending up with Segura guarding a 6'10 guy who is posting him up. LOL. But while Young is truly excellent at all of the things he is coaching, I think this is mitigated by our one-dimensional approach that makes us somewhat easy to build a game plan to attack. Fairfield is 311th in the nation in steals per game from what is supposed to be a good defensive team. We had past players like Nickerson and Goode who averaged close to what this entire team delivers in steals per 40. Defense is not just about forcing hard shots it is about getting turnovers, and easy points. Sometimes a zone allows players more room to position for steals.

Not down on Young yet, as some fans were after Wagner but I think the low number of forced turnovers and one dimensional player are legit criticisms in spite of the many things I would say he is doing well.

[nashvillestag]

Jan 3, 2022 15:26:17 GMT -5 reindeerfan said:

Jan 3, 2022 14:00:00 GMT -5 nashvillestag said:

No I don't think so either. And BTW based on past history I don't think you will see much in the way of a zone by Jay. Still doesn't mean they can't have better help on drives and post entries then in some recent games however. My first guess about the match-up is that it is a toss-up. The Stags may have the slight home advantage, but OTOH the Foxes will be highly motivated to get another league win based on how close they came to beating the top dog in Iona yesterday. Certainly a contest I am looking forward to. Go Stags!

To the dismay of many, I think I can safely speak for myself and Rave, I don't think we are going to see any zone at all under Young. Its not that I am a big zone advocate, I just think zone is called for in certain situations. I also think mixing up defenses and being unpredictable makes it much more difficult for a team to prepare to face you. So I am for changing defenses.

One of the great things about Cooley was he would change defenses within a defensive set. An opponent would set up to run a play and then they'd be facing a different defense. Cooley I felt really understood this.

Young is a defensive master in his own way with regards to how to help to avoid switches, how to hold hands, position, guard. I have to commend him on many of the things he has done, it night and day from Sydney always switching and ending up with Segura guarding a 6'10 guy who is posting him up. LOL. But while Young is truly excellent at all of the things he is coaching, I think this is mitigated by our one-dimensional approach that makes us somewhat easy to build a game plan to attack. Fairfield is 311th in the nation in steals per game from what is supposed to be a good defensive team. We had past players like Nickerson and Goode who averaged close to what this entire team delivers in steals per 40. Defense is not just about forcing hard shots it is about getting turnovers, and easy points. Sometimes a zone allows players more room to position for steals.

Not down on Young yet, as some fans were after Wagner but I think the low number of forced turnovers and one dimensional player are legit criticisms in spite of the many things I would say he is doing well.

I pretty much agree with just about everything you are saying here which is expressed in a fair manner as opposed to just an emotional reaction to something like only a game or two. Only thing I will comment on here regards your documentation of the lack of turnovers caused by the Stags. Actually there are many good defensive teams that tend to play a "straight up" man to man without extra pressure or double-teaming, with that style leading to a good protection of the basket and I think Jay Young's type of coverage fits that description. But that said, and to your main theme, sometimes variety is needed to change things up if something isn't working. So whether it is having pressure or a zone or anything else in reserve as a backup, in that I am in complete agreement with you as noted above.

[nashvillestag]

Jan 3, 2022 15:14:32 GMT -5 doowopbill said:

Thanks Nashville for your kind comment on my recent "scouting report".
I believe you do or have resided in Connecticut. Perhaps you remember John Williamson of Wilbur Cross fame and then the ABA Nets. When I watched the Marist game yesterday and observed Ituka I immediately thought of John Williamson. He drove to the hoop just like Williamson but of course has ( and probably won't ever have) no deadly outside shot like Big Bad John.
Your thoughts?

I've been back in Connecticut since 2005 after living in Tennessee for 7 years (for your info). Anyway, regarding 'Super John,' of course I remember him, especially since I was at the last ABA contest ever played which was game 6 of the finals in 1976 played at the Nassau Coliseum as his Nets competed against the Denver Nuggets. And in one of the greatest games ever played in that league, Williamson was the star (despite the Nets having Julius Irving) as they rallied from over 20 points down in the second half to come back and win the game and hence the league championship. And more to the point of today, no, I don't think this kid from Marist will ever have the same outside shot as John did. I certainly hope he doesn't prove me wrong against the Stags on Friday night!