UMass Dartmouth basketball retools around a pair of returning starters and some new faces on the roster

(Dartmouth, MA) – UMass Dartmouth men’s basketball coach Brian Baptiste enters his 21st season with the Corsairs facing a roster which includes a pair of returning starters, several players with experience from a 13-14 team last season and a host of new names and faces on his bench.

The Corsairs are coming off a 7-7 season in the Little East Conference where they finished fourth, but did have a surprise in the play of Little East Conference Rookie of the Year Devon Maiorano (Rehoboth, MA). A four-time LEC Rookie of the Week during the 2002-03 season, Maiorano worked his way into the starting lineup by averaging 10.1 points per game with 2.59 rebounds, 53 assists and 29 steals. He led the Corsairs with a team-high 53 three-pointers on 115 attempts (.478), second among all players in the LEC. Maiorano was the leading freshman scorer in the LEC and 20th overall in the conference.

A sophomore this season, Maiorano and junior Matt McAulliffe (Sutton, MA), the only other returning starter for the Corsairs, will have to be ready to shoulder much of the leadership on this year’s team due to the departure of Tim Gaspar and Brian Cagle. Gaspar and Cagle were perennial LEC All-Stars over the last several seasons and their loss leaves some key spots to be filled for this season.

In the backcourt, senior Manny Monteiro (Swansea, MA) will direct the Corsairs at point guard along with junior transfer Josh Adamec (Norwich, CT). Monteiro saw some playing time last season, but will move into the starting position due to his familiarity with the Corsairs’ offense. Adamec is a transfer from Dean Junior College where he was the point guard on a team, which was one of the top junior college teams in the New England last year.

Joining Monteiro and Maiorano in the backcourt will be sophomore Jeff Hambley (South Hadley, MA) along with freshman Justin Folger (Lancaster, MA) and sophomore Steve Hashim (Somerset, MA). In his first season with the Corsairs, Hambley averaged 7.2 points per game and 1.6 rebounds, while demonstrating a steady touch from three-point range (43-121, .355).

“I think we’re going to shoot the ball better that we shot last year,” said Baptiste, who has a career record of 397-154, three wins away from 400. “We should take care of the ball better because we have more guards out there than big guys. We are going to play a faster game this season. I think we’re going to be a pretty good three-point shooting team.”

The loss of Cagle and Sean Walsh from last year’s team will leave UMass Dartmouth looking to rebuild its front court. They key player up front will be junior Joey Britto (Fairhaven, MA), a second transfer from Dean Junior College with UMass Dartmouth this season. Baptiste is also looking for big things from freshman forward Paul Pawlowski (Taunton, MA), a standout player for a very good Taunton High School team last season.

“Britto is a very talented player who has played at a very high competitive level,” said Baptiste. “But it takes some time to adjust to what we’re trying to accomplish. He and Adamec were key players on that Dean Junior College team, and combined with Pawlowski, who will play center for us for a while, they will have to do the job up front.”

Among the other players in the front court for UMass Dartmouth are junior Jim Campbell (Marlboro, MA), who saw some time last year, and sophomore Charlie Large (Easton, MA) a newcomer to the team.

“Our lack of depth and size is a major weakness for us this season,” said Baptiste. “I think we can get away with the lack of size but if I had more depth I’d feel better.”

A couple of the things the Corsairs will do is hustle, play solid defense and shoot the three-pointer, three trademarks of a Baptiste-coached team. UMass Dartmouth led the LEC in three-point shooting last year, connecting on 177 of 472 attempts for a .375 shooting percentage.

“We need to shoot the ball extremely well and defend the perimeter as well,” said Baptiste, who will work with long-time assistant Len Desautels along with newcomer Joe Winterhalter, Adam Clark and volunteer assistant Jason Antonio. “What we need to do is box out and do all of the little basic fundamental things in order to succeed. If we do those things we can make up for our shortfalls, but we need to play the kind of basketball we are accustomed to playing.”

The Corsairs will open the 2003-04 season at the fifth annual Hampton Inn Basketball Classic on November 21-22. After non-conference games with Worcester State (Nov. 25), Bridgewater State (Dec. 2) and Connecticut College (Dec. 4), the Corsairs will open LEC play on December 6 when they host the Owls of Keene State College. Over the holiday break, the Corsairs will travel to California to compete in the Whittier College Tournament on Jan. 2-3, 2004.

Looking ahead to the LEC this season, Baptiste thinks Western Connecticut and Plymouth State University will be the teams to beat within the very competitive conference.

“Western Conn. graduated one senior from five starters a year ago so they will be strong,” Baptiste said. “Plymouth State will be the second best team with two top players back. Other than that, the other teams are going to be fighting for the rest of the top spots.”