The last time the Saints played a meaningful game on the floor of the Times Union Center, fans were rushing on the court as the Saints clinched their third straight NCAA Tournament appearance with an overtime win over Fairfield.

The Saints will be remade under new coach Mitch Buonaguro and will feature new lineups and rotations to replace Edwin Ubiles, Ronald Moore and MAAC Player of the Year Alex Franklin.

Among Buonaguro’s assets include Preseason MAAC Player of the Year Ryan Rossiter and senior Clarence Jackson. However, the Saints will be without Kyle Downey who hurt himself in practice last week. Downey, who started in the NCAA Tournament game against Purdue last year and scored 6 points on 2 of 10 shooting, was expected to see more playing time after leading the Western New York team to the gold medal of the Empire State Games this past summer.

Siena will have plenty of time to develop younger players this season including sophomore O.D. Anosike who scored 10 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in Siena’s exhibition win over Adelphi on October 30th. The Saints will allow LaSalle transfer junior Kyle Griffin to run the point who has had a positive assist to turnover ratio in limited playing time at both schools thus far.

Meanwhile the Catamounts, under sixth year head coach Mike Lonergan, lose their top players Marqus Blakely, Maurice Joseph, Nick Vier and Garvey Young in a group that made the NCAA Tournament last year. That depleted experience led to Vermont being picked fifth in their preseason poll. The Catamounts return preseason all-conference senior Evan Fjeld who helped carry the offense late in the season to lead them to their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in school history. Fjeld is the only returning starter will be assisted by UMass transfer Matt Glass who scored 20 points in Vermont’s 69-60 win over Division II school St. Michael’s.

Not only has the roster received an adjustment, so has Siena’s home court. Fans will see new video boards and a brand new game presentation – which not only includes new video presentation but includes luxury courtside seats and different Siena student fan placement. Siena has extended its presence at the Times Union Center by two years and will play there until the 2015-16 season according to the Albany Business Review.

Fun Facts: The last time the Saints and Catamounts squared off was January 2, 2006 in Fran McCaffery’s first season. The Saints beat the Catamounts on the road 76-65 behind an 18 point performance by freshman Kenny Hasbrouck. Future Saint Josh Duell, who played for Vermont at the time before transferring to Siena, scored 11 points.

Siena is 18-5 all time against Vermont dating back to their first meeting during the 1946-47 season. The last time Siena lost its home opener was November 29, 2006 to Hofstra 84-80.

Freshman: 11MPG, 1.9PPG, 2.9RPG
Sophomore: 30MPG, 10.0PPG, 7.9RPG
Junior: 33MPG, 13.8PPG, 10.0RPG

The preseason hype comes as no surprise as he looks to be the third straight Saint to bring home the MAAC Player of the Year, following in the footsteps of former teammates Kenny Hasbrouck (2008-2009), and Alex Franklin (2009-2010);

Can Rossiter deliver Siena’s third straight MAAC Player of the Year?
As the season approaches I find myself asking the following questions:

-How will Ryan generate his own offense with the loss of Ronald Moore’s court vision?

-Will the known fact that Coach B plans on going deeper into the bench this year lead to a decrease in Ryan’s minutes?

-With Ryan being more involved in the scoring offense, will that hurt into his rebounding on the offensive glass?

All in all, Ryan has done very little to disappoint the loyal Siena fans, playing above his potential year after year. Albeit the questions do linger, his work ethic and hustle night in and night out cannot be ignored, thus I envision a season ending stat line resembling 14.8PPG, and 9.0RPG. Are those stats enough to win MAAC POY, of course, just take a look at the reigning POY Alex Franklin’s stat line from last season, 33MPG, 16.1PPG, 8.1RPG.

At the end of the day stats are just that stats, and the personnel accolades tend to follow when combined with wins and Championship banners. Do I believe Ryan will bring home the third straight MAAC POY to Loudonville? My gut is telling me it’s too early to make this kind of bold prediction, but with such a wide open conference this year, a deeper bench, and a younger nucleus around him, I am pressed to say no. Needless to say I sure will be rooting Rossiter on along with the rest of the team towards another successful season in Green and Gold.

We also had the opportunity to spend a few minutes with Ryan and here is what he had to say:

SienaSaintsBlog: What conference game(s) did you circle this year on the schedule?

Ryan Rossiter: It is going to be a grind night in and night out in conference, but I would say Fairfield, Marist, and Manhattan.

SSB: Who is the toughest player to go pound for pound in the MAAC?

Ryan: It is hard to name just one player but the ones that come to mind are: Corey Bower (Marist), Ryan Bacon (St. Peter’s), and Derek Needham (Fairfield).

SSB: Who would you say is going to break onto the scene this year and make the biggest impact on the team?

Ryan: I would have to say the combo of Griffin, Rakeem, and John Breeden at PG. They have some big shoes to fill with the departure of Ronald Moore.

SSB: What did you do over the summer break?

Ryan: I worked out in the weight room putting on 25lbs., and worked out with my older brother Steve Rossiter (a 2010 graduate of Davidison who saw some success in the 2009 NCAA Tournament). I did miss an NBA workout in Indianapolis due to a brief illness.

SSB: What are your team goals for the season?

Ryan: A fourth straight MAAC Championship.

SSB: Knowing personal accolades are not your first priority, what would you say is your top goal this year that is consistent with your team’s success?

Ryan: I feel that it’s hard to focus on one personal goal in particular, but I do believe that personal success goes hand in hand with our team’s success.

SSB: In a few words how would you describe your team?

Ryan: Young, Tough, Driven, Up for a Challenge

SSB: In a few words how would you describe your game?

Ryan: Toughness, Hard Working, Pound the Glass

The Siena faithful of just over 1,000 were on the edge of their seats throughout this contest. Siena’s Senior duo of Ryan Rossiter and Clarence Jackson were able to survive a late four (4) point deficit to close out the game on a 12-0 run and prevail 67-59. Rossiter started the run with a resilient put-back on the offensive glass and a traditional three point play. Clarence followed that up with an and-1 of his own, and the Saints never looked back.

In the postgame press conference, Adelphi coach Dominic Savino said his team would, “give Siena issues with their quickness”, allowing the Panthers to hang around until the final minutes of the 2nd half.

Coach Buonaguro acknowledged that their athleticism gave Siena fits, as well as his team’s inconsistent point guard play, which he has been harping on all preseason. He went on to say, when the Saints were able to extend the lead to double digits (10 being their largest lead of the game), erratic play ensued and allowed the Panthers to get back into the game. Thus the majority of the game felt like the Saints were able to get their opponent wobbly, but could not deliver that knockout punch. Mitch continued on the positives to take away from the game– the Saints stuck to their game plan of pounding the ball inside and outscoring the competition 26-8 from the charity stripe, stepping up their defensive intensity, and holding the Panthers to a low shooting percentage (29%).

All in all the Saints walked away with a W this afternoon, albeit it sure was sluggish, as to be expected out of an exhibition game, and with that kind of finish by Jackson and Rossiter, I would be willing to say a sured team character builder.

Five Facts:

Saints had 10 players with double digit minutes
Saints had a team total of 7 assists, Ronald Moore averaged 7.7 per game last season
Adelphi outscored the Saints 24-20 in the paint
Saints turned the ball over 20 times, 9 more times than Adelphi
Saints out-rebounded Adelphi 57-42

Five Questions:

Who will step up to fill the void at PG, Kyle Griffin or Rakeem Brookins?
Where were Ryan Rossiter and Clarence Jackson prior to the last 4 minutes?
When was the last time a Siena opponent had more assists than the Saints (Adelphi 9, Siena 7)?
When will OD Anosike make his first free throw this season (0-4 today)?
When was the last time the Saints’ bench outscored their opponents (Siena 20, Adelphi 10)?

Five Words:There is room for improvement

Next Game: vs. Vermont Saturday November 13, 2010 7pm

It looked like Clarence was limping after the game after he made a bunch of hustle plays down the stretch. He played about the first two minutes and disappeared for a large majority of the first half too, something to keep an eye on.

Siena All Access
Tomorrow’s game will be streamed online FREE for your previewing pleasure. Also, you can watch the game on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch.

http://www.sienaallaccess.com

Uhm, wow, that’s AWESOME. I’m shocked that Siena is one of the first schools to offer this feature, but I’m completely psyched to try it out tomorrow.

The Siena All Access package costs $80 for the year. If you don’t feel like paying, you can always listen to the games online. Last year, if you missed a game, you could log on to SienaAllAccess.com and download the full audio broadcast of a game. This was such an awesome and under promoted feature by Siena. I don’t see anything about it in their Press Release, but we’ll keep our eyes open.

Single Game Tickets
Individual game tickets go on sale Monday at 10am. Tickets can be purchased online at SienaSaints.com or by calling Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000. Season tickets are still available at $110 per seat by calling 518-487-2281.

“The challenge is just to keep the program where it is,” Siena first-year coach Mitch Buonaguro said. “We’ve been the best team in the league the last three years.

Read into that quote what you will, but he’s got to be tempering expectations a bit. Mitch is a great recruiter, and if he can keep the same talent level that was brought in under Fran, we should be able to be a top program in the conference.

1. Fairfield (6)
2. Siena (3)
3. Saint Peter’s (1)
4. Iona
5. Rider
6. Loyola
7. Canisius
8. Niagara
9. Manhattan
10. Marist

Update:
Pete Iorizzo tweeted earlier today that there were two NBA teams at practice today looking for Edwin. He also digs deeper as to what Fran’s mindset is when it comes to playing the younger players. Read More »

You can take a look at my season ending essay to get a feel of what I was thinking going into this essay. I’ve been working on other writing projects, and working in general like we all do, but my time between the final buzzer against Louisville until now has been far from idle.

I have studied and reveled in all the polls. Yes, all the polls in which the Siena Saints have been ranked in the Top 25. The Men’s Basketball team has been projected by numerous sporting publications to start the season as one of the best 25 teams in the country. Many have begun to believe, others still think the ranking is too high. It’s difficult to absorb the ramifications. As I promised to do in my season-ending essay I will not look to the future with rose-colored glasses, those days are over. In examining the goings-on of the men in green and gold I’ll take a look with close scrutiny while still maintaining the game to game enjoyment and growth of the program.

We live in a reality as Saints fans that is more clear-cut than ever before. But as a fan who has endured much, I write as a semi-impartial journalist who is here to make even clearer the realities that truly exist in the world of Siena men’s basketball fandom.

The Saints enter the season as the favorites once again, voted to finish first in the MAAC almost unanimously for the second consecutive season, with the sole dissenting vote coming from Tommy Dempsey, the head coach at Rider. A lot of Siena fans bashed the vote, but if you look at it objectively, it makes sense. I picked Rider to finish second – they return possible player of the year Ryan Thompson with experienced scorers and possess one of the best starting five players in the conference. Niagara should be a tough out once again, and the conference looks to be as difficult to win from top to bottom as it has ever been.

Anything can happen in March, before the big dance. Anything. Dempsey knows this, Joe Mihalich knows this, and everyone has to accept it. It’s the price of being a fan.

Am I trying to hedge my bets that Siena won’t win the MAAC tourney and get to the big dance? Hardly. I just know that as a lifelong Saints fan, and as a sports fan, and as someone who understands the complexities of competition it is difficult for any team to repeat, much less do it three times in a row.

If the Saints are fortunate enough to win the MAAC tourney for the third consecutive time it will be the first time in 20 years that a team not named La Salle has accomplished the feat. Siena has the personnel, it’s been well documented. Coach Fran McCaffery has said that this year’s team belongs to the senior PG Ronald Moore. He is the floor general, he has sneakers made of pure speed, and his basketball IQ and instincts are exemplary. He will make the team go, but add returning seniors Edwin Ubiles, Alex Franklin, junior Ryan Rossiter prowling in the post, and junior Clarence Jackson to the mix, you have a blend of players who know the McCaffery system and are going to spend forty minutes a night running and gunning until their opponent is gasping for air. The leadership, experience, and ability to create within the coach’s system should provide for fireworks and offense that will enthrall anyone watching a Saints game this year.

Now is the time to enjoy what’s going on, but to also understand that the future is bright in Loudonville, while also uncertain and possibly maddening. The pipeline seems to be working as coach continues to recruit well and to add players who are not only skilled but fit well in his system. This is the first time in the history of the Siena Saints when continuity seems to be working, and the coach is not only reloading each year, but truly building a program. The 2009-2010 season has one minimum goal – yes, one main goal – to return to the NCAA tournament and try to win at least one game in the big dance. Why just this one goal? Because if it doesn’t happen then everything the program has worked for will take a step back due to the amazing pre-season hype and rewards extolled on the players and coaches. If the Saints make it to the dance and lose, then at least they had the shot. Gonzaga, in making the progression they’ve made to get where they are today, lost a number of first round games in a row, but the fact that they continued to make it year after year is what got them to their perch. It’s what enabled them to be able to play BCS schools on a regular basis. It is the one goal that Siena needs to continue to set and attempt to make – returning to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament year after year.

Professional golfers repeat the cliché when playing in tournaments that the event can not be won on the first day, but it can be lost. The same can be said for mid-major basketball programs. Close is nice, but without getting over the hump continually then programs can not evolve in to perennial threats.

This is where Siena is trying to get to, and the last two years were huge hurdles that were leapt. The mountain is large, though, and the summit is still far away. If the Saints are fortunate enough to make the sweet sixteen this year then they’ve come pretty close to reaching their goal, I’d go as far to say as they made it. Then, next year, the journey begins anew, albeit starting closer than they’d ever started before.

This is not a primer on how to be a Saints fan – you all know how to do that already. It is just one voice saying things that need to be said. It’s cautious optimism, hiding a passion that knows that every non-conference win is a step closer to that holiest of college basketball grails – the at-large bid. The schedule isn’t as strong as last year, but with a pocketful of non-conference wins Siena will continue to garner attention based on all the looks that were given to them in the preseason.

I can’t wait to see the development of Kyle Downey and Owen Wignot, who should develop to be a huge addition off the bench as possibly the sixth man. He will be challenged by OD Anosike as the other player off the bench who could have a growing impact in the frontcourt, even as a freshman. There is a depth to this team that has possibly never been seen before– freshman guards Denzel Yard and Jonathon Breeden adding their versatility to the backcourt, La Salle transfer Kyle Griffen, and big man Davis Martens coming in midseason to give the Saints more options.

Capital District residents have been waiting for this era of Saints basketball to arrive since the 1989 win over Stanford in the NCAA tournament, and it is finally here. On Friday, the Saints will open the season on the road against Tennessee State. Road wins are always tough to come by, and the opening game result will go a long way to setting the tone for the season. The non-conference schedule doesn’t let up, with the home opener against CAA powerhouse Northeastern coming the following Tuesday. Temple, St. John’s, Georgia Tech, St. Joseph’s, Mount St. Mary’s – each win is step closer to what every Siena fan wants – a 25 win season and a chance to win the MAAC championship.

Get nervous before every game, listen to the General and Tommy Heurter, watch Sportscenter if we get ranked in the top 25 for highlights, read up on the next game and prepare if we don’t. It’s a long season, but the offseason has been more than rewarding. Let’s hope there are plenty of prizes on the way as the men of the Green and Gold pursue their third straight MAAC championship and postseason NCAA berth.

Get ready to march, and if the Saints are playing in March, get ready to scream. I’ll be right there next to you, ready. Have fun, Saints fans!