College Basketball Preview: The Brown Bears
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
With the 2011-2012 college basketball season just around the corner, most of the publicity in the Ivy League centers around the Harvard Crimson. It’s understandable that this is the case given that Harvard returns most of its key players from last year’s team which lost to Princeton in a 1-game playoff for the league’s NCAA Tournament bid.
But while Tommy Amaker continues to take Harvard men’s basketball to a new level, there’s another program in the league that has been quietly putting the pieces in place to make a run in the Ivy League.
The Brown Bears finished last season 7th in the league. The Bears were (11-17) overall and (4-10) in the Ivies. But this year there is reason for optimism. In fact, it would not be a stretch to say that Brown may have the most talent in the league outside of Harvard.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTFourth year head coach Jesse Agel and his staff welcome another talented recruiting class which includes 6’-9” center Rafael Maia from Brazil. While at Maine Central Institute, Maia was recruited by Indiana University, among others. He may be one of the few freshmen who has the ability to make an impact in the league right away.
Maia is one of 6 freshman added to the roster this season. Guards Joe Sharkey (Northfield Mount Hermon) and Christian Gore (El Paso, TX) are also highly thought of in recruiting circles.
The six newcomers join some talented sophomores and juniors on a team that has only one senior in guard Jean Harris who returns to the team after leaving the program following his sophomore campaign.
Juniors Tucker Halpern and Matt Sullivan will captain this young squad. Halpern in the team’s leading returning scorer averaging just under 13 points per game last season. Sullivan is the brother of the team’s leading scorer from last year – Peter Sullivan. He is a tough, smart guard who should be able to provide instant offense off the bench.
The Bears also return the reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Year in point guard Sean McGonagill. The Chicago native had an amazing freshman year averaging 11.8 points, 5.3 assists and 4.4 rebounds last year. His toughness was on display last season as well when he played less than 48 hours after having his face ripped apart in practice. Wearing a protective mask, he torched the Columbia Lions for a career-best 39 points at the Pizzatola Sports Center.
Fellow sophomore Dockery Walker (6’-7” F) is another player to watch this season. The athletic forward could dominate the glass and is extremely athletic.
Brown is also expected to have the services of guard Stephen Albrecht who sat out last season after transferring from Toledo. Albrecht should be a legitimate scoring option for the Bears who are looking to replace the offense of Peter Sullivan.
The Bears also have one of the more favorable schedules that the program has had in a long time with 15 games to be played on their home floor.
Brown will also be tested out of conference as they travel to Syracuse to play in the preseason NIT. They will play a total of 4 games in that tournament and visit Iowa in the Big Ten and Providence in the Big East while hosting URI out of the Atlantic-10.
The Bears open up their season November 11th at home against Johnson & Whales.
Projected starting line-up:
PG Sean McGonagill 6'-1" 180 So.
SG Stephen Albrecht 6'-3' 175 Jr.
SF Tucker Halpern 6'-8" 220 Jr.
PF Dockery Walker 6'-7" 215 So.
C Rafael Maia 6'-9" 230 Fr.
NOTES:
-Brown received another big commitment this week when St. Andrew’s (Barrington, RI) big man Cedric Kaukumensah selected the Bears. The 6’-8”, 245-pound Kaukumensah’s stock has been rising of late with some schools in the Atlantic-10 showing interest. A native of Worcester, Massachusetts, he chose Brown over the likes of Holy Cross and Penn, among others.
-Another former Vermont player has been added to Agel's coaching staff at Brown. Ryan Schneider was added to the staff this summer. He was recruited by Agel to Vermont where he was a member of the Catamounts team that shocked Syracuse in the 2005 NCAA Tournament. After transferring and graduating from Marist, Schneider played professionally in Portugal from 2009-2011.
-Schneider was a teammate of fellow Brown assistant coach T.J. Sorrentine at Vermont. Sorrentine enters the 2011-2012 season with a new title. He was elevated to Associate Head Men's Basketball Coach by Agel in late August. Those around the program know that the promotion was well-deserved. The son of a coach, Sorrentine knows the game inside and out and has the complete respect of the players he coaches. There is little doubt that he will be a head coach himself one day.
