Siena Head Coach Mitch Buonaguro said that the top three weaknesses Siena addressed in the offseason were perimeter shooting, mistakes with turnovers and overall depth. Buonaguro said that it was key to address the depth issue in this years recruiting class.

“We need to make sure that we have enough guys that if somebody goes down that we can sustain a good level of play,” Buonaguro said. “I think now we’re now a deep team we have 12 scholarship kids right now and if they all stay healthy I think that’s enough to compete pretty well in the league.”

The additions of Audu, Bisping and Oliver were key to Siena whose roster will be bolstered by returns from injury by Rahkeem Brookins, Trenity Burdine and Davis Martens as well as getting Lionel Gomis and Imoh Silas eligible to play this coming season.

Another priority Siena worked to fill in recruiting was their weakness in perimeter shooting. Siena shot 31.2% from three point range in conference play, ranking last in the MAAC last season.

“They’re all guys that can make shots that definitely fills a hole we’ve had the last two years, we haven’t been a great three-point shooting team,” Buonaguro said. “That was one of the things we wanted to address.”

Siena assistant coach Tobin Anderson said that the class of incoming Saints will help shore up the roster.

“They’re definitely going to fill some holes and what we’re looking for from a basketball standpoint,” Anderson said. “All three guys can shoot and know how to play with high basketball IQs.”

Buonaguro said that he expects Oliver to get a lot of open looks when he plays with the combination of Evan Hymes and Brookins at the point and shooting guard spots, respectively.

“He’s not really a guy that’s going to blow by you on the dribble but I think he knows how to play, get shots, get open and with the two guards that we have he’s a valuable player because I think he’s going to get some open looks with Rahk and Evan penetrating,” Buonaguro said. “What I really like about him is his ability to make threes.”

Anderson said that Bisping will have the opportunity to take pressure off of likely MAAC Player of the Year candidate O.D. Anosike with his versatile play.

“I think Brett’s really going to help from the standpoint of taking pressure off of O.D. because he can really shoot the ball and he knows how to play,” Anderson said. “With him you have to guard him out on the perimeter a little bit which is going to help open the floor up for us.”

Buonaguro said that, with the current constructed roster, Siena’s starting five would consist of Evan Hymes, Rahkeem Brookins, Rob Poole, Imoh Silas and O.D. Anosike. Buonaguro said they key roster battle will be for the starting small forward spot in the fall.

“Evan and Rahk at the one and two, and at the three I’d have to say Rob Poole because he’s coming off a year where he played a lot of minutes but we’ve got a lot of depth at that position,” Buonaguro said. “I’d say off the top of my head: Hymes-Brookins-Poole-Silas and Anosike.”

Buonaguro said he thinks a combination of Hymes and Brookins, at the point and shooting guard spots respectively, will work very well.

“People have said well defensively we’re going to be small but you also have to look at the problems they’re going to create, guarding them,” Buonaguro said. “Both of them can go off the dribble, score and make threes. They can be a nightmare for teams guarding them also, and our other three guys are pretty big. I think they’re going to work well together.”

Brookins played the shooting guard spot in high school when he was teammates with point guard Maalik Wayns who now plays at Villanova.

Buonaguro and Anderson both said that fans will be watching a team that plays at a significantly faster pace than last year’s team.

“The backcourt will be fun with Rahk and Evan playing together,” Anderson said. “We’ll be a unique team from the standpoint of having two really really good post players and two really quick penetrating guards and a bunch of guys on the wings, like Rob Poole and Trenity and the guys that are coming in that could make plays.”

Siena has one scholarship available, which Buonaguro said they are considering using it if the fit is right.

Buonaguro said the Saints roster, which will have have 7 players in their sophomore season during the 2012-13 school year, would be a factor in any other players they are considering adding to the team via transfer or later in the recruiting season.

“Right now we’re a little unbalanced,” Buonaguro said of a group that will include 10 players in their freshman or sophomore year next season. “Maybe a transfer in that senior class but I don’t want to burden that one class with eight kids, I want to be careful.”

“We’re evaluating,” Buonaguro said. “I think we’re considering using it.”

Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com has linked Pitt transfer Isaiah Epps and Hawaii transfer Shaquille Stokes as potential transfers that have interest in Siena.

“If he’s going to transfer to Siena he better be pretty good and he better be able to help the team and be productive,” Buonaguro said about the prospect of taking on a transfer with Siena’s final scholarship.

The Siena staff said that with such a young roster and so few scholarships to give out next season, the Saints will be able to be selective in who they bring in for the recruiting class of 2013.

After playing a prep season to prove he’s healthy and ready, Oliver committed to the Siena Saints on April 10th with a verbal commitment; choosing Siena over 17 other offers.

The journey for Oliver, who committed to the Saints by signing a National Letter of Intent on April 12th, almost ended in an AAU game the summer entering his senior year.

“I heard the pop in my leg and I just fell to the ground. I was grabbing my knee screaming in pain,” Oliver said. “It was horrible, I thought that was it.”

Oliver went on to find out that the injury he sustained during that AAU game was a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. The injury, which required reconstruction of the ACL using a graft taken from his patella tendon, cost Oliver his entire senior season at Loyola High School in Los Angeles, California.

Being unable to play with his teammates, Oliver found a way to help out when his coach asked him to stay as a part of the team during practice and at games.

“He wanted me to still sit on the bench at games and travel but also stay with the coaching staff before a game and we’re watching film and scouting he wanted me to be a part of that,” Oliver said. “I learned a lot from the coaching staff.”

After his senior year Oliver went for a prep year at Northfield Mount Hermon in Massachusetts. Oliver said he felt fully healthy one year after his surgery and went to Northfield Mount Hermon to prove his health. When Oliver reached Northfield Mount Hermon, head coach John Carroll and his coaching staff put him on a program to gradually ramp up his practice time. Oliver eased into practicing and did not miss a game until the end of the season.

“He was great, he was healthy and he looked phenomenal,” Carroll said of Oliver’s season. “He’s a very, very fluid player.”

According to MaxPreps.com, Oliver averaged 13.9 points per game and shot 42.2% from three point range during the season.

“He can score in bunches,” Carroll said. “He makes big time plays. So I think [Siena fans] can expect a lot of really good things from him next year.”

Siena’s staff closed in on Oliver throughout the season. Carroll said that Assistant Coach Tobin Anderson established a great connection with Oliver.

“Tobin has a lot of connections with our coaching staff and it was familiar territory for him, I think that helped with Ryan.” Carroll said. “He’s seen a bunch of his games, had a lot of good conversations [with Ryan] and developed a relationship that was obviously impossible to beat.”

Siena was watching Oliver early and often at Northfield Mount Hermon during the season. Oliver said the key to his commitment was establishing a relationship with Anderson.

“Tobin is just a really good guy,” Oliver said. “When we had conversations, it wasn’t always about Siena basketball. I just kind of felt really comfortable with him.”

Carroll said he remembered a game where Oliver helped lead Northfield Mount Hermon to a win over South Kent (CT) which featured Ricardo Ledo, a Providence commit and the #21 prospect on the ESPNU 100 prospect list, as one of his best performances of the season.

“Ricky [Ledo] is considered probably the best offensive player in the country,” Carroll said. “He wasn’t that night – that night it was Ryan.”

“[That game] was probably a turning point for our season where we started knocking off anyone who beat us, we beat them the next time we played them,” Carroll said. “I think that was due to the kind of confidence Ryan brought to us that day.”

Carroll said that Oliver will be an impact player for Siena right away.

“He has real poise with the ball in his hands,” Carroll said. “He really believes in himself as a scorer and as a teammate and I think he’ll contribute with an outside presence immediately.”

Oliver said he plans to major in marketing at Siena and said he looks forward to having an impact in the community.

“I met a lot of people during my visit,” Oliver said. “they’re all good people so just meeting more people and getting to work with the team and start achieving our goal.”

Oliver is the first Siena player in their Division I history to come from California. Oliver’s brother, Vince Oliver, played for UC-Davis and finished as the third leading scorer in school history with 1,523 points. Oliver holds the scoring record in UC-Davis’ Division I history. UC-Davis was certified as a Division I member in July 2007.

Siena reached into Illinois to grab Brett Bisping during the early signing period. Bisping’s journey began with a battle with iron deficiency issues, to emerging as a top player in high school to building his game in AAU ball. Bisping got discovered and signed by Siena’s staff and comes in as a capable player who can play inside and be a sizable three-point shooter.

Bisping said to SienaSaintsBlog that his iron deficiency issue, which was first reported when he committed, began to effect him as early as his sophomore year at Morton High School. Bisping said he had been diagnosed with mono during his sophomore year. During his junior year he said he couldn’t get enough sleep, being constantly tired, and was then diagnosed with an iron deficiency. He was put on a regiment of pills which gave him energy; energy enough to lift his game to new heights.

Bisping played AAU basketball with the Illinois Wolves in 16 and Under and 17 and Under games and Roy Schmidt, Editor and Publisher of Illinois Prep Bulls-eye which covers Illinois high school basketball, attributed his development with the Wolves as a crucial element to earning his scholarship offer from Siena.

“It was during the spring and summer in traveling team competition that Bisping was able to develop his skills to the furthest, especially being used as a spot up shooter offensively and being able to face up at the 3 spot,” Roy Schmidt said. “On his high school team Bisping is unable to play the 3 because he is more needed in the post.”

From there he got discovered by the Siena staff. Siena assistant Tobin Anderson and Head Coach Mitch Buonaguro came out to see him and Bisping said he visited and loved the school on his official visit. Bisping said he got along with the guys very well and he and his dad were able to watch Siena’s scrimmage against Cornell. Bisping committed to the Saints 0n November 14th.

Bisping said he’s not sure if he will get playing time early but he will continue to work to impress his freshman year.

“I don’t know that I have expectations as far as my playing time,” Bisping said. “I’m just going to try to work as hard as I can to improve my game and help out the team as much as I can.”

After committing to Siena, Bisping turned in a great senior season, knocking down threes and playing hard in the post; averaging about 17.5 points per game. Bisping took to improving his game playing heavy minutes for Morton. Playing in the second largest class in Illinois, Class 3A, Bisping has had to play inside for Morton. Listed at 6’8″, by the time the Potters reached the postseason, he had grown an inch and listed at 6’9″ according to Peoria Journal Star reporter Lonnie Schwindenhammer, who covered Morton during the season.

“Brett’s met or exceeded expectations coming into this season,”  Schwindenhammer said about how Bisping played after committing to the Saints. “He had a great year.”

Not only was he a focal point but Bisping said he sometimes had to bring the ball up against teams that pressed because it was easier for him to take it up against a big man.

After missing the start of the season with a left knee issue and watching Morton lose their first game. Bisping returned Morton went 4-0 behind his 18.5 points and 7.5 rebound average in November’s Lincoln Tournament. Morton also appeared in the Pekin Holiday Tournament in December, going 3-1 and finishing in third place. Bisping turned in a 25 point game in the third-place game, a 65-53 win over Normal West, making 9 of 11 shots from the field. Bisping earned spots on the All-Tournament team in both tournaments Morton played in this season.

Morton Potters Head Coach Jarrett Brown said that Bisping’s performance in tournament play reflected his consistent play all season.

“Brett’s performance in the Christmas tournament was no different than anything all year long,” Brown said. “He will stretch the defense with his shooting, he’ll get into the post, he gets to the foul line, runs the floor. He does a little bit of everything and then he dominates the glass, normally most every night.”

The second-year coach Brown said that Bisping improved throughout the year, getting stronger with continued work in the weight room.

“He’s not a afraid of work and he’s confident enough to look at weaknesses and not take that kind of criticism or coaching as a personal attack but as an opportunity to get better,” Brown said.

Behind Bisping Morton went to the regional finals on March 2nd where they fell to Peoria Manual 54-32. Brown said he credits Bisping’s unselfishness to help the team in the post as aiding to their terrific season.

“He’s just so unselfish,” Brown said. “[He's] a tremendous shooter and as the season wore on for us I asked him to sacrifice that part of his game and just be down in the post and stay down there. A lot of kids would really mock at that but he just did what was best for the team.”

Bisping improved as a player who can step out and shoot the three pointer as well as play physically inside, being the focal point of the Potters. Bisping said that he has been working on his shooting and ball handling on his personal time to make the move from playing inside to being a wing player.

“He can move around the perimeter – he’s got good footwork both inside and out,” Schwindenhammer said when he saw Bisping play this season. ”I think he can get on the floor right away as a college player shooting shots from the outside and if you can do that you can get in rebound at 6’9” too he’s tough enough to do that.”

While most of Siena’s players tweet or own twitter handles, Bisping said that he does not have a twitter account. Morton’s Brown said Siena is getting a quality player and teammate.

“You need to surround yourself with good people and there’s no better person and no better family than Brett Bisping and his family,” Brown said. “He’s a tremendous player and a better person and I’m anxious to continue to build that relationship with him and be there for him in whatever capacity I can be to help him out in the future.”

“He’s a real level headed kid, not a lot of highs and lows in terms of emotions or anything he’s real level-headed,” Schwindenhammer said of covering Bisping. “I think he’s probably matured a bit as a player, just being the focal point of everybody else this year.”

Bisping profiles as a combo small forward/power forward according to Roy Schmidt of Editor and Publisher of Illinois Prep Bulls-eye.

“[Bisping] is a face up big man who can step out and consistently knock down shots ranging beyond the 3-point line,” Roy Schmidt said. ”He is also more athletic than people give him credit for, as he can run the floor and has the ability to play above the rim.”

Roy Schmidt said he expects Bisping to be an immediate contributor for the Saints. Editor and Publisher Harv Schmidt said his concern about Bisping is his ability on defense.

“He is athletic, but not enough to guard the ’3′ wing spot consistently,” Harv Schmidt said.  ”He may need more strength to guard the ’4′ power forward spot.”

Roy Schmidt said that his concern with Bisping on defense is whether or not he will be better defending the interior or perimeter.

“While he is athletic, he lacks the physical strength to be able to consistently seal off bigger and stronger defenders and doesn’t sport the natural quickness and lateral movement to be able to guard on the wing,” Roy Schmidt said. “There are also times when he needs to be more aggressive with respect to attacking the glass.”

Brett is among candidates for the Player of the Year award along with being likely to receive all-conference and potentially all-state accolades. His sister, Brooke, will be a senior on the Bradley Women’s Basketball team when Brett enters Siena as a freshman in the fall. He said he is undecided on a major at Siena.

This isn’t the first time Siena has received a commitment from the Illinois area. During the late 90s, Siena signed Micah Ogburn (Class of 2000), who committed from nearby Chillichothe, IL. Ogburn played two seasons for the Saints, appearing in 43 games.

Bisping will be welcomed to the league by Niagara rising junior Marvin Jordan, who plays for MAAC rival Niagara and hails from Peoria Manual, the same high school that ended Bisping’s senior season.

Here’s the most recent evaluation on ESPN.com…

Basabe was aggressive and very productive around the basket today (AAU Nationals). He ran the floor with great urgency and got a couple baskets by simply out running the transition defense to the rim. He was terrific on the glass on both ends. Basabe was difficult to box out as he weaved around weak box outs for tip ins and a crowd pleasing put back dunk. Defensively he snatched balls in and out of his area and promptly delivered a sharp outlet pass to the point guard. In the low post offensively he played strong with a foot in the lane and he has developed a great habit of keeping his hands high to provide the passer a target. Basabe scored on a jump hook over his left shoulder and a couple power drop steps. He must continue to sharpen his back to the basket moves in order to score on taller post players. He also has the ability to put the ball on the floor and drive from the low wing or high post. He wins your over with his relentless pursuit of the ball. Basabe must learn not to gamble for steals on defense and extend his shooting range but he is a good shot blocker with excellent timing away form the ball. He also struggled at times at the free throw line because his follow through was inconsistent, his guide hand is under the ball and he shot flat footed.

– July 2009

He plays a number of different positions,” said McCaffery. “He can play inside and out. The way we like to play he’s a perfect fit — his length and his versatility, that’s exactly what we’re looking for and I think he saw that. We run and press and I think that’s the way he likes to play. He handles the ball well for a big man. Obviously when he gets stronger he’ll be able to do even more in the post.”

“He’s got dribble moves,” added McCaffery. “He can beat his man off the dribble. That’s why he can play the three spot. He’s probably going to be a four man most of the time because of his length and he can be a pick-and-pop four or you can run post ups for him.”

Pretty exciting that we can land a guy with over thirty scholarship offers. To the coaches credit, you could see that Fran and company were in hard pursuit over Anosike over the summer, guess it paid off.