2011-12 Schedule

Season Preview provided by Prof. McArthur's Sports Information Class

The Utica College Pioneers begin their 2011-12 season with several roster changes, but remain confident heading into the new season. Despite three key players from last season graduating, fourth-year head coach Christopher Connolly will look to make it back to the Empire 8 Conference Tournament, and continue to improve on last year.

“We need to continue to outwork teams like we have before, and use our size and rebounding ability to help win games,” said Connolly, who enters his fourth season with 37 wins under his belt as the Pioneers head coach. 

Last year the Pioneers finished the season with a 13-11 overall record, including a 7-9 ledger in the Empire 8, good enough for sixth place in the conference. Last year's squad was led by seniors James Patterson (Poughkeepsie, NY/Poughkeepsie), Will Abrams (Somerset, NJ/Rutgers Prep School) and Robert Whyte (Pompton Plains, NJ/Pequannock Township). Patterson was named a first team all-conference player, leading the team in points (18.3) and assists (four), while classmates Abrams and Whyte contributed with 12.8 and 7.8 points, respectively. However, several hungry and determined players are looking forward to the opportunity to step into the spotlight this season.

“We lost a lot of talented players this offseason,” said former all-american Sean Burton, who joined the Pioneers as an assistant coach this off-season. “But, we have several players chomping at the bit to fill the void.” 

Utica will be led by junior Jeff Ward (Ossining, NY/Ossining High School) (Ossining, N.Y.) and senior George Schultz (Ridgefield, NJ/Ridgefield Memorial) (Ridgefield, N.J.). Both players will look to add another winning season to their resumes. Ward enjoyed a breakout sophomore season at forward. He played 24 minutes per game, and averaged 7.1 points and seven rebounds a game, while shooting 53 percent from the field. Ward will look to take another positive step in his Pioneer career, as his presence in the paint will once again cause problems for opponents. 

“Jeff's play in the paint on both offense and defense gives us a dominant presence down-low,” said Connolly. "I expect him to take his game to another level this year.”

Schultz played in 19 contests last season for the Pioneers, averaging 24 minutes per game off the bench, while shooting 32 percent from the floor. However, Schultz's value to the team cannot be measured in statistics, as his energy and effort on the court keeps the team motivated.

“His energy is important for our team,” said Connolly. “His teammates feed off of that energy and remain motivated throughout the game. We'll need his energy and effort more this season as he will be playing a much bigger role.”

The Pioneers have several players expecting to play key minutes this season. Senior Reggie German (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) (New Hartford, N.Y.) will take on a larger role in his second season with the team. German played saw limited action as a second semester transfer last year, playing in just four games. However, this season German will get the chance to showcase his athleticism and establish himself as a perimeter shooting threat. Junior forward Alex Meyer (Salt Point, NY/Our Lady of Lourdes) will look to carry the momentum over from a solid 2010-11 campaign where he averaged 16 minutes and 3.7 points per game. Meyer will add athleticism and a high-skill level to the front court.  Senior guard Marlon Davidson (Jamaica, NY/August Martin) will look to finish his Pioneer career playing in a much bigger role than last year, when he averaged 5.1 minutes and 1.5 points per contest.

Other players expected to contribute this year are sophomore guard Rich Smith (Albany, NY/La Salle Institute) (Albany, N.Y.) and sophomore forward Jevin McClendon (Poughkeepsie, NY/Our Lady of Lourdes) (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.).

“This year the underclassmen will have the opportunity to provide us with key minutes,” said Burton. “Their contributions will be important to our success.”

Newcomers Matt Baldwin (Gloversville, NY/Gloversville), Aaron Nevins (Buffalo, NY/Canisius), and Xavier Maxwell (Newport, NY/West Canada Valley) will also look to make an immediate impact for the Pioneers.

The non-conference schedule looks to be tough as the Pioneers take on Clarkson, Hilbert/Keuka, RIT, and Union.  They will open up the season with two early tournaments, the Hilbert Tip-off Tournament and the RIT Invitational. As always, the Pioneers will face local non-conference rivals Hamilton College and SUNYIT. Hamilton finished last season with a 16-10 overall record and the Continentals have defeated the Pioneers four out of the last five seasons. SUNYIT finished last season with a 14-11 overall record, while winning 12 out of their last 16 games.  SUNYIT has fallen to the Pioneers four out of the past five seasons. 

“We always have a competitive non-conference schedule,” said Connolly. “These games are an excellent way for our team to prepare for Empire 8 conference play.”

The Empire 8 conference will once again provide a challenge for the Pioneers.  “It will be tough this year, there are a lot of teams that did not lose many guys,” said Coach Connolly, “Hartwick, Nazareth, Stevens, and Fisher have most of their team coming back because they were young last year.” 

The Pioneers open up their conference schedule with two straight home games against Nazareth and 2010-11 Empire 8 runner-up St. John Fisher.  Then Utica hits the road against conference opponents Stevens Institute of Technology, and last year's Empire 8 Champion - Hartwick.  After that, the Pioneers are home for four out of five games as they take on Alfred, Elmira, travel to Ithaca, and then return home to take on Hartwick and Stevens.  The Pioneers finish off the season with four straight road games at St. John Fisher, Nazareth, Alfred, and Elmira, before closing out the season at home against Ithaca.

The Pioneers proved to be a difficult team to close out last season. They continued to compete despite being behind in several games. This determined attitude helped the team develop the tenacity and toughness needed to compete in their conference. This season, the program will look to get back to its winning tradition and achieve postseason accolades by using those attributes. 

“Last year we developed toughness,” said Connolly. “We wore teams out with our physical play, rebounding and size. Using those qualities, along with our heart and determination, will go a long way toward getting this program where we want it to be.”