“One of the things I identified is I thought we needed a head coach on the staff, a guy who had head coaching experience,” Siena Head Coach Mitch Buonaguro said. “We were very lucky to get him, we put together a good package for him. And obviously [Athletic Director] John D’Argenio recognized the importance of getting a coach of his caliber and we were able to get him here and certainly was a big addition.”

On May 4, 2011 the Saints officially hired Tobin Anderson, who previously was a head coach at Division III’s Hamilton and Clarkson.

Anderson was a player at Five-Star Basketball Camp when he first met Mitch Buonaguro, who was coaching at the clinic. Anderson played at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT where he holds the record for best three point shooting percentage in a season at 48.1 during the 1992-93 season. He currently ranks 10th on the all-time scoring list at Wesleyan with 1,129 points. From there the two established a relationship once Anderson joined the coaching ranks as an assistant at Clarkson in 1996 and continued to work together at Five-Star.

“He’s a great coach and more importantly a great person,” Anderson said of Buonaguro. “We’ve been good friends all through the time I got started in coaching.”

“I’d pick his brain about stuff,” Anderson said when he was coaching with Buonaguro at the Five-Star Basketball Camps in the past. “I’d watch him teach and coach, I was always very impressed.”

Anderson, having compiled a 118-63 record at Hamilton for seven seasons, said he was looking to make a move and step outside his comfort zone to move up to Division I at Siena. However, his comfort with Buonaguro made Siena a challenge he was willing to take on.

“I wouldn’t want to go out and work for a guy that I didn’t know. Having a prior relationship with him made me comfortable coming to Siena,” Anderson said. “It’s a great school. There’s a lot of similar values that I’m used to that made me feel comfortable.”

Anderson said the biggest difference between the coaching at Division III and at Division I is the amount of resources committed at Siena.

“At the Division I level, you have the resources and staff that allows you to focus on more of the basketball-side of things,” Anderson said. “As a Division III head coach, you do everything. You book the hotels, you schedule the facilities, you run the study hall. It leaves you with a limited amount of time to focus on what I truly love: basketball, spending time with the players, and recruiting. The staff we have at Siena is excellent and very experienced; Craig [Carter], Ben [Davis], and Tyler [Simms] are fun to be around and we all work well together.”

During his first season as a Division I assistant coach, Anderson said he learned a lot and has become a better assistant coach than when he first started his coaching career as an assistant.

“I’m a much better assistant now than I was 12-15 years ago because I’ve learned what a head coach wants, Anderson said. “What I want to do is help Mitch be the best head coach he can be. The goal as an assistant is to let Coach B do his thing and be the best head coach he can be, make his life easier, make his job easier, take care of the details and let him be the head guy. It worked out well this year and I think it will work out well going forward too.”

Buonaguro said that he likes Anderson’s suggestions for the program from his prior head coaching experience.

“What I really like about him is that he’s very proactive, he’s constantly looking at things from an assistants perspective but also from a head coaches perspective,” Buonaguro said. “The suggestions that he makes are very good. He’s had to deal with these situations himself, so he gives me a real good experienced person who’s been through a lot of stuff you go through as a head coach. I value what he says, I think he gives a lot of input in terms of every aspect of the program.”

The experience of going through a season in which Siena played as few players as they did, being a team that had its starters play 83.3% of its minutes and finished 14-17, Anderson said that he learned that it reinforces building strong team chemistry.

“I think it reinforces to you that if you have guys that work hard and believe in what you’re doing and work together you can be successful no matter what the situation is,” Anderson said. “It reinforces to me, it’s not about the talent, it’s about having guys who are on the same page and who are together and will fight for each other and if they do that we’ll have some success.”

Anderson hit the ground running on the recruiting trail, helping Siena secure their three-man recruiting class. Anderson was able to use work from a strong base of northeast connections which included connecting with Northfield Mount Hermon coach John Carroll to learn about and close in on Siena’s spring signee Ryan 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 of Anderson’s recruitment of Oliver.

The key to recruiting this class, Anderson said, was being able to establish personal relationships with the players.

“A lot of guys make phone calls and its all about how’s your team doing, how are you playing, how’s the recruiting process – what’s more important is to get to know them on a personal basis because I think at the end of the day, that is the part that is going to come through,” Anderson said. “A kid makes a decision, they get down to two or three schools, and they have a good relationship on a personal level – that kid is going to feel comfortable to play for your program. I think that’s what we try to do at Siena, we do a good job of selling the personal relationship.”

Oliver said his relationship with Anderson is solid.

“I just kind of felt like he wasn’t trying to say ‘hey go to Siena’ but he kind of guided me, not pressuring me or calling me all the time,” Oliver said. “He give me room.”

Anderson said that his connection with Oliver as well as Buonaguro’s pitch sold the most recent recruit on Siena.

“Knowing that the kids getting probably 10 phone calls a night from coaches from all different levels, it’s important for us to try to be the guy that connects with him,” Anderson said. “Me and Ryan, we had a really good connection which was important and Coach B had a great connection too which really paid off.”

Buonaguro went to California and sold the Oliver family on Siena during a home visit. Siena had four players come for official visits this year, three of them committed.

Not only did Anderson connect with Oliver and helped him commit to Siena, he was able to connect with Brett Bisping. Anderson grew up in the small town of Truro, Iowa and said he was able to use his midwestern roots to connect with Bisping and his family to bring the Illinois recruit to Siena.

“Being from Iowa, I think I have a pretty good feel for those kids and the values that are important to them,” Anderson said. “With Brett, he has a strong bond with his family and his hometown. For him to choose Siena, we had to make him feel comfortable on a personal level with our coaches, players, and the community.”

Buonaguro said that Anderson was very valuable in the recruiting process.

“Everybody did a good job of getting these kids here and certainly Tobin was at the forefront,” Buonaguro said.

Buonaguro, who worked under Rollie Massimino when he came up as an assistant coach, said that he learned that all assistant coaches must be able to do everything.

“When I came up in the business the coach I worked for, Rollie Massimino, always said that the better coaches are the guys who are well rounded,” Buonaguro said. “I don’t want to pigeon hole a coach. He’s got to be able to do everything, and I think Tobin certainly fits that bill.”

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.

Edwin Ubiles Player Card

Photo from last night

The Wizards made a three-team deal with the Nuggets and Clippers that dealt Nick Young and JaVale McGee off their roster, acquiring Nene and Brian Cook in the deal. That trade along with the release of Hamady Ndiaye gave the Wizards room to call up Ubiles. Sources say they are expected to sign him to a 10-day contract as soon as Sunday.

Ubiles made the D-League All-Star game after impressing with the Dakota Wizards this season. In his first full season of pro basketball, Ubiles averaged 20.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists. Ubiles was one of the last cuts this fall at Golden State Warriors training camp after helping lead the Puerto Rican National Team to a gold medal at last summer’s Pan-Am Games.

Ubiles finished co-Rookie of the Year in 2007 and holds the Siena record for most career points in the NCAA Tournament with 85.

The 25-year old Ubiles will join one of the youngest teams in the NBA. The Wizards average 24.2 years old on their roster.

Siena Head Coach Mitch Buonaguro went on the radio earlier today and said that the schedule was close to full for the 2012-13 season. Buonaguro said he thinks Siena will open the season with a home date against Vermont. Siena opened the 2010-11 season with Vermont at home, falling 80-76 at the Times Union Center to break their 38 consecutive home win streak.

The non-conference slate will include plenty of return games. Siena will return games at Navy, host UMass and play at Fordham. In addition to that they will keep the rivalry game with St. Bonaventure. Buonaguro said that Siena will play in an exempt tournament at the University of San Diego, of which the field has not yet been announced.

Buonaguro said that they have one remaining game to schedule and that they are looking into playing a “bigger game”, likely a road game against a power conference opponent.

The Saints will travel to play a return game at Maine out of the America East. Under the BracketBusters rules, Siena has the option of hosting Hofstra either this year or next year.

Siena will also host a BracketBuster game this season at the Times Union Center, the opponent for that game will be determined in late January or early February.

Head Coach Mitch Buonaguro, in his second season, was handed a difficult task. His top rookie from the 2010-11 season, Rahkeem Brookins, suffered a bulging disc in his L3-L4 and a herniated disc at L4-L5 in his back. The injury ruled him out for the season on November 9th, Brookins took to twitter and said, “I’m out for the season!”

Prior to Brookins being ruled out for the season, Junior Davis Martens was ruled out on September 13th after undergoing hip surgery to repair a torn labrum. Meanwhile, Sophomore Trenity Burdine was running into setbacks and was ruled out of the first month of the season before Siena’s first game against Navy. Burdine would eventually be ruled out for the entire season, after complications from surgery on his right foot. Burdine had the surgery in April 2011 and was ruled out for the year in January.

Injuries appeared to be the only thing that could go wrong until the Saints were dealt a decision on two incoming players. On October 21st, African incomers Lionel Gomis and Imoh Silas were ruled ineligible to play for the 2011-12 season, having to sit out a mandatory year per NCAA rules. Gomis was originally ruled to have just one year of eligibility until Siena won their appealed on that decision. He will now be eligible for three seasons. Both players were prepared to have an impact but were forced to sit the season, thus dwindling Siena’s roster even further.

The Saints began the year with a rotation whose bench was exclusively freshmen: Rob Poole, DaVonte Beard and Marcus Hopper. Siena lost Beard on December 15th, when he decided to transfer due to homesickness. Siena subsequently became one of the thinnest benches in the nation for the entire season– with the bench playing just 16.7% of the minutes. This ranked second lowest in the nation after Youngstown State (15.4%).

“We were really under very difficult circumstances and these guys had to buy in to everything,” Buonaguro said. “We didn’t practice as much. I coached differently, I had to.”

Among Buonaguro’s adjustments included playing a 2-3 zone exclusively throughout the season. The zone reduced their fouling even further than in past seasons– which ranked 5th in the nation. Siena was already a program that boasted a low fouling rate since now Iowa coach Fran McCaffery came in, the Saints held down their fouls, helping to keep a thin lineup on the floor. The zone also emphasized Siena’s biggest strength, the inside presence of senior Brandon Walters at 6’9″ and junior O.D. Anosike at 6’8″. Siena held opponents to 42.7% on two-point field goals, ranking 15th in the nation.

Meanwhile the injuries created opportunities for young players to step up. The injury to Brookins created an opportunity for freshman Evan Hymes to step into the point guard position. Hymes took the chance and ran with it, scoring 415 points on the season – securing second place all-time amongst Siena freshmen for scoring in a season. Without Hymes presence, Buonaguro said that Siena would have struggled to make the MAAC semifinals.

“What he’s done is remarkable,” Buonaguro said of Hymes play. “He’s been way above our expectations this year.”

Evan Hymes made the MAAC All-Rookie team, scoring 13.4 points per game and shooting a team-best 36.1% from three point range. Hymes also had a team-high 115 assists during his rookie campaign. The Siena freshman became the first Saint since teammate Kyle Downey to make the MAAC All-Rookie team (2008-09).

The key entering this season rested on how Siena’s seniors would play. Kyle Downey and Owen Wignot, critical parts of two Siena MAAC Championships had to shoulder the burden as tri-captains to go along with Brandon Walters, who transferred from Seton Hall and saw few minutes behind Rossiter the year before. All three would have to step up in leadership roles to keep the Saints, who became decimated by depth issues early, on track to win double-digit games.

“I think the big thing this year was the senior leadership,” Buonaguro said of his seniors. “If I didn’t have good leadership, it would have been very difficult. We were really under very difficult circumstances and these guys had to buy in to everything.”

Owen Wignot saved his best game of his Siena career when the Saints needed it most, hitting a three pointer with 7.8 seconds remaining in the MAAC Quarterfinal against Manhattan to force overtime. Wignot’s baseline jumper in overtime gave the Saints an 82-80 lead with 2:38 left, a lead Siena would hold on for an 84-82 win. Wignot’s career high 22 points was a finish to a season that began with Wignot injuring himself on a layup 6:19 into Siena’s first game against Navy. Wignot would miss the next five games but came back to start the rest of the season for the Saints.

“Not many people thought we were going to go far, I think as a team we all really pulled together,” Wignot said. “The first two years we were really supposed to win it and this year we kind of played with a chip on our shoulder, we tried to show people that we were contenders too and I think that’s what we really did this year.”

Downey, who averaged 23.6 minutes per game in the previous season, played the sixth highest percentage of minutes in all of Division I. Only five other players in the country played more than Downey’s 1,173 minutes. Downey, who was plagued by injury issues throughout his career, arrived healthy and started every game for the Saints.

The two main accomplishments of this season came down to battling the theme that brought the Saints together all year: battling adversity. The Iona Gaels, a team that crushed the Saints 95-59 in their first meeting at Madison Square Garden, raced out to a 20-2 lead in the game’s first four and a half minutes in the second meeting at the Times Union Center. The Saints closed the half down double digits and could have easily folded to the Gaels in the second half. Instead the Saints came out and made five three pointers to help close the gap. As much as that closed the gap, the Siena defense held down Iona, a team that shot 55.7% from two-point field goals (2nd in the nation), to just 39.1% (9 for 23) and shut them out from three.  The senior Downey showed up in a critical way twice late as well. His a three-pointer with 4:22 left gave Siena their first lead and his 17 foot shot gave the Saints a 63-62 lead with 51 seconds left. Not making anything simple, the Saints let the Gaels have four chances to tie or win the game but held them off for a 65-62 win. Downey’s 16 points trailed just O.D. Anosike, who went for a team-high 17 points and 15 rebounds.

The Saints, aided by their Iona win, worked their way to clinching the sixth seed in the MAAC Tournament with help from another senior. Connor Fenlon, a walk-on from Tampa, FL, made Senior Day‘s first basket – a three-pointer – as they went on to score a season-high 86 points in an 86-75 win over Canisius. Downey made Senior Day his by scoring a career-high 28 points and dishing out a team-high 5 assists. Hymes scored 12 points but exited in the second half with a left knee injury, an injury that held him out of practice all week leading up to the tournament.

Hymes injury dealt the Saints even more adversity as they got set to face third-seeded Manhattan, a team they split the season series with. The freshman warmed up with the team prior to the game, heavily taped in gold colored tape on his knee, and did not start the game. Freshman Rob Poole took Hymes place in the starting lineup and Downey ran the point for the first three minutes of the game before Coach Buonaguro decided to put Hymes in the game.

Siena refused to quit and battled the Jaspers, getting a performance where it might have been least expected. While First Team All-MAAC member O.D. Anosike was busy dealing with foul trouble after being assessed a technical foul after being involved in a scuffle with Torgrim Sommerfeldt, senior Brandon Walters picked up his game to turn in his best game as a Saint. Walters scored a career-high 19 points and had 5 crucial blocks. Walters final block of the game came with six seconds left in overtime.

The Saints fell in the MAAC Semifinals to Loyola 70-60, failing to beat the Greyhounds who went on to win the MAAC Championship. Siena coach Buonaguro thought winning in the MAAC quarterfinals over Manhattan, with a thin bench and Hymes playing through pain, was a great accomplishment.

“To go through what we went through basically playing with six guys,” Buonaguro said. “This is a phenomenal accomplishment; to win [against Manhattan] with six guys, against a team that played 12 guys.”

“We had a great year this year,” O.D. Anosike said of the season’s accomplishments. “Not a good year, a great year.”

Siena’s record for the season at 14-17 might appear similar to their prior season’s record of 13-18 under Mitch Buonaguro but the path of how the Saints got to this year’s record ended on a very positive note.

“I think this year we achieved the most that I’ve ever been here,” Downey said of the season. “I think we overachieved beyond anyone’s expectations.”

Despite the losses of seniors Downey, Wignot and Walters, Siena’s future looks bright and the Saints could have depth on their side for the 2012-13 season. Anosike figures to be one of the top players in the MAAC and he said he is excited for what Siena will have for next season.

“I’m just really excited about next year,” Anosike said. “We got some guys who are going to be eligible again, it should be fun. I think Siena basketball really has a bright future.”

“I think Evan [Hymes] and Rahk [Brookins] on the floor at the same time will be really exciting,” Wignot said. “It’ll be really exciting to watch and hopefully they’ll make another run.”

Siena will have some difficult choices to make at the start of the season. They will have to form a lineup, likely behind Hymes and Brookins at the two guard spots – while working in shooter Rob Poole and incoming swingman Richard Audu. The pair of Africans, Lionel Gomis and Imoh Silas, will be eligible to be a presence inside and help take some of the burden off of O.D. Anosike’s shoulders. Anosike will have to battle double, and even triple-teams while he works on making his case for MAAC Player of the Year. Anosike will also be the final piece of a legacy of Siena history, being the last player who was a part of Siena’s last NCAA tournament appearance – falling to Purdue in the first round in Spokane, WA.