Samuel Barber
MSMU Class of 2022
(9/2020) With almost every aspect of the sports world being at a standstill due to the Coronavirus pandemic, there is one thing that shows no signs of stopping, conference realignment. Flagship Northeast Conference (NEC) member Robert Morris announced they would be joining the Horizon League in 2020 while their football program joins
the Big South Conference. The Colonials’ exit marks the end of 39 years of membership for the school.
This is the first time a school has left the NEC since the Conference Realignment Boom of 2012-13 when Monmouth and Quinnipiac left to join the MAAC. So, who will replace the Colonials? Rumors have been circulating into three potential scenarios. The first is to bring in Delaware State via the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).
Another avenue is to target Division II schools, which is how they most recently expanded with Merrimack. The third and final option is to remain at an even 10 schools and forgo replacing the departed school.
With all the ramifications of conference realignment put aside, the most important question is yet to be answered, how does this affect the Mount?
The men’s and women’s basketball teams will feel the brunt of the move. In recent years, the Mount St. Mary’s women’s basketball team has seen tremendous success on the hardwood. Under third-year head coach Maria Marchesano, the Mountaineers have improved their win totals in the past three seasons. The Butler alumna guided her team to
their first winning season since 2013-14, and their first 20-win season in more than 20 years.
With increased success, comes better chances to begin new rivalries. Much like the men’s team, the women’s team over the past three seasons have spawned a rivalry with RMU. This newfound rivalry heated up during the 2019-20 season, where games between the Colonials and the Mountaineers played a pivotal role in deciding the NEC
regular-season title.
The men’s team will see an immediate impact. For the 2020-21 regular season, the Mountaineers were slated to begin the conference portion of their schedule in December with Robert Morris. This leaves the team searching for two new opponents in December. The Mount will have to pay close attention to which schools they schedule, as
long-distance travel is expected to be kept at a bare minimum.
Dan Engelstad, who will be entering into his third year at the helm of the men’s basketball team offered his thoughts on the latest conference shakeup in a July 8 interview. "I wasn’t shocked, there had been some rumblings for quite some time that they were looking to try to leave the NEC. I think a lot of it revolved around
basketball", said Engelstad.
Robert Morris has made a name for themselves within the conference over the better part of the last decade, especially with Andy Toole as head coach. The Colonials have captured the NEC Tournament crown three times in the past ten years, most recently in 2020.
However, the loss goes further back than the upcoming season. For the better part of the 21st century, Mount St. Mary’s had built one of the most exciting and heated mid-major rivalries in the country.
One of the most memorable games between the two storied programs came in the 2007-08 season during the NEC semifinals where the fourth-seeded Mountaineers steamrolled top-seeded Robert Morris on their home court. The Mount would go on to capture their third NEC title, as Engelstad was in his first season as an assistant coach for the
Mount.
RMU will never again be on the conference slate, however, the memories will last a lifetime. Fans of both squads will have to wait until at least the 2021-22 season to see the two schools play each other again.
Although the latest conference shuffling has been on the mind of Coach Engelstad, this pandemic has allowed for more family time, which is a rarity for coaches across the NCAA, especially when coaching at the Division I level.
Since the beginning of this medical mayhem, in-person meetings between athletes and coaches have been non-existent. However, communication remains at the forefront. This is where social networking platforms such as Zoom are vital. "We’re still trying to communicate as much as possible. Zoom has been popular with coaching and recruiting.
We’ve had very powerful conversations and are creating a dialogue and building the comradery," according to Engelstad.
Throughout all of the various media outlets, the ramifications from COVID-19 have flooded the headlines daily. Regardless of the current state of intercollegiate athletics, there needs to be a concrete plan for the future of college sports. A plan in which every single conference across the three divisions can agree upon.
Despite the grim state of not only the world but the sports world, the young coach is still optimistic about the upcoming season and thinks this season could be the year that the Mountaineers finally move up the NEC ladder.
The fans that follow Mount St. Mary’s have an array of reasons to be excited, as the Mount returns six of their seven scorers from a season ago.
Damian Chong Qui and Vado Morse will look to build on the success from their sophomore seasons. The rising junior guards averaged 12.2 and 10.8 points per game (PPG) respectively during the 2019-20 campaign. Chong Qui has evolved into a versatile player who can be relied on both the defensive and offensive sides of the court.
Chong Qui and Morse will play a pivotal role in how far the Mount’s success reaches next year, however, that is not the biggest storyline in Emmitsburg. The development of the team’s bigs, how the incoming freshmen adapt to the fast-paced coaching style of Engelstad, and the waiver decisions of two transfers will decide how far the
Mount’s success will go.
Jalen Gibbs, Malik Jefferson, and Nana Opoku all stand at 6-foot-3 or taller. Much like many big men in college basketball, Gibbs, Jefferson, and Opoku struggle somewhat to get up-and-down the court. If those three can continue to mold themselves around the fast-paced offense that’s emerging at the Mount, then getting second-chance
opportunities will become that much easier.
Successful programs are built off experience and longevity, and those are two things the Mountaineers will see out the Class of 2020 signees.
The Mount extended their recruiting trail to the Czech Republic with Franta Barton. The 6-foot-8 forward will add immediate depth to the frontcourt of Jefferson and Opoku. He scored in double-figures while playing overseas. Dakota Leffew, the Georgia native had a prolific presence on the glass, grabbing 6.7 rebounds per game (RPG) and
is sure to make himself known in the paint.
Quinton Mincey is destined for success in the NEC. The Eleanor Roosevelt alum guided his team to a Maryland 4A state title during his junior year. Mincey is a versatile player that will have a presence on both ends of the floor. Prep school players are known to have success at the college level and that is sure to be the case for Josh
Reaves. During his time at South Kent School, he bolstered a strong offensive repertoire, as he averaged 25 PPG and 9 RPG.
The uncertainty of college sports has led to transfers not knowing whether they will be granted immediate eligibility or not. That decision affects the Mount as well.
Mezie Offurum comes to Emmitsburg via George Washington, who is under the direction of former Mountaineers coach Jamion Christian. The 6-foot-8 forward looks to fill the scorecard while also adding depth to the team’s bench. The second transfer, Deandre Thomas, enters the NEC after playing two seasons in the Southern Conference (SoCon)
at Samford. Like many of the new additions in the Class of 2020, Thomas brings a strong presence on both sides of the ball.
As there is no timetable on when athletes and coaches can take to the court again, there is only one thing that Coach Engelstad and the Mountaineers can do. They can only continue to grind on and off the basketball court and the gym. After all, the athletes, coaches, and conferences do not decide when life will return to a sense of
normalcy, the virus does.
The 2020-21 college basketball season is scheduled to kick off on November 10.
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