I spoke to Coach Petosa in the summer and he said he was happy with his recruiting class. I don't think he fully expected this however.

The secret's out on the College of Staten Island Dolphins.
"We won't be sneaking up on anybody anymore," admitted junior point guard Thomas Tibbs.
CSI not only snuck up on CUNY Conference preseason favorite York and NCAA Division III first-team All-American center Marcel Esonwune, the Dolphins produced a stunning 76-51 victory Thursday night in Queens.
CSI improved to 5-0 on the season — the program's best start in nearly three decades — by rolling in its conference opener. York dropped to 2-6 and 1-1.
"I feel very good about what we've done so far," said Dolphin coach Tony Petosa, whose squad built a 38-23 halftime lead and never was threatened after intermission. "These kids are tough, coachable and respectful.
"And best of all, they're young."
How dominating was the performance?
CSI's pressure man-to-man defense hounded York into 34 turnovers. The Dolphins had nine.
CSI had 22 steals, led by David Hughes with six, Tibbs five and Dale Taranto four. The Cardinals had three.
"Our success came from our defense," said Petosa, who snapped a five-game losing streak to York, including 75-52 and 102-61 routs last season. "We were able to pressure the ball very effectively. The difference between this team and some very good teams we've had in the past is that we're a little more uptempo."
In other words, the Dolphins turned many of York's miscues into layups.
And figure this into the winning mix: CSI freshman center Matt VanManen, playing his fifth collegiate game, matched up very effectively against the 6-foot-6 leaper Esonwune.
York's big man finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots before fouling out in 27 minutes, but fell far short of his earlier performances.
"(VanManen) plays with a lot of toughness and poise," said Petosa of the 6-4 St. Peter's HS product who scored seven points with three rebounds.
The Dolphins spread the wealth behind Jordan Young's 21-point night. Taranto had 13 points and four assists; Louis Valdes came off the bench for 12 points and three steals; and freshman Hughes added 10 points.
CSI took 70 shots. York took 41. The Dolphins made 13 trips to the free-throw line. The Cardinals made just seven trips.
All in all, it was a CUNY eye-opener.
"We wanted to play a full game and for the first time we did," said Tibbs. "It's no secret we're trying to win the league ... we're playing to win.
"But at the same time, it's early."
Petosa agreed.
"It's just one game," said the veteran coach.
For the Dolphins, what a game it was.
NOTES: Esonwune picked up his third and fourth fouls in the first three minutes of the second half. He sat for six minutes while the Dolphins stretched a 40-27 lead to 57-36 with 11 minutes remaining ... CSI hosts Montclair State Wednesday night.
CSI (76)
Taranto 5-11 1-2 13, Tibbs 3-9 0-0 7, Hughes 4-13 2-2 10, VanManen 3-9 1-2 7, Young 9-14 3-5 21, Magliore 2-8 0-0 6, Valdes 4-6 2-2 12, Frank 0-0 0-0 0, Person 0-0 0-0 0, Maccarone 0-0 0-0 0, Jenkins 0-0 0-0 0, Pan 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals: 30-70 9-13 76. 
YORK (51)
Zorilla 0-2 0-0 0, Simon 3-9 1-2 9, Lausell 4-7 0-0 8, Wilkinson 5-8 0-0 10, Esonwune 7-10 1-1 15, Abraham 0-0 0-0 0, Fernandez 0-1 2-2 2, Gregoire 1-2 0-0 2, Moujeke 0-0 0-0 0, Norville 2-2 1-2 5.
Totals: 22-41 5-7 51.

CSI has 3 impressive wins to start the season. Wins against Ursinus, Weselyen and Rochester Tech which are all teams that were expected to finish high in there prospective conferences. They are a much different team than in the past. They still get after it on defense but are much more quicker and athletic than in the past. Thomas Tibbs is a legit pg with great leadership qualitys and Bloochy Magloire is a dynamic scorer who comes off the bench for a instant lift. Combined with Jordan Young the Dolphins are out to prove the coaches wrong for picking them to finish 4th in the South Division. Very interested to see how Baruch fairs against common opponent Weselyen.

There are a ton of D1 schools right now who are not high profile.  Are you telling me he could'nt play at a school like Byrant, Wagner or NJIT  just to name a few.  If you think he can't just watch one of their games 1 time.

     I agree Bubba, RJB could mos def play at more than a few D1 schools.  Me living on Staten Island I know Wagner could use him right now.  He is a very skilled offensive player.

I noticed Marcel has a brother playing at Queens CC.  Does anyone know if his game is similiar. Interested to see if he lands at York next year.

Zak you are 100% right I should not have said that about Marcel , he is probably a good student.  I apologize.  I typed  the comment before I thought it out.  My comment should have been more about my belief that York can get anyone elgible to play for their program.  It has been built on transfers and Juco players.  I still have a fishy feeling on the transfer of Denis Echols 3 years back.  My personal opinion is if you asked other coaches around the league if the York program is legit with the focus on academics and graduating they would tell you otherwise.

Zak on another note could you explain the CUNY alumni game more?

Why is Marcel playing at York and not a NEC school like St.Francis ?  For sure he could play at that level.  He must not have the grades to play anywhere else but York.

 Baruch rallies for 89-83 overtime win over CSI men

Pain can be measured by varying degrees, but Baruch's 89-83 overtime win over the College of Staten Island on Saturday afternoon hurt the Dolphins in more ways than one.

For starters, CSI squandered a six-point lead in the final 44 seconds of regulation, then missed two free throws with 4.9 seconds remaining in a 74-74 game.

Ouch.

And the Dolphins did themselves no favors in their quest for a first-round home game in the upcoming CUNY Conference tourney. In fact, they probably can pack their bags for a do-or-die contest on the road.

"It was a great game," said CSI coach Tony Petosa after one of his team's top efforts of the season. "But in my mind, it's not over until you have a 10-point lead with three seconds remaining."

Baruch (9-2 CUNY, 17-6 overall) pulled out the tough road win without injured senior forward George Kunkel and his school-record 1,021 career rebounds.

CSI dropped to 5-6 and 10-12 with its fourth straight loss over a murderous stretch of schedule that concludes Wednesday night at red-hot Brooklyn College (10-1,16-5).

Baruch forced overtime after Lionel Hilaire's 4-point play — a long-range 3-pointer from the right wing combined with Christian Montervino's fifth foul — cut the deficit to 73-71. Tammer Farid followed with a 3-pointer from the top that made it 74-74 with 15 ticks remaining.

CSI sophomore center Michael Ledbetter, who had a dominating 28-point, 14-rebound outing, grabbed an offensive rebound, was fouled, and stepped to the line. He missed both shots and Baruch had new life.

Hilaire's three-pointer from the top gave the Bearcats a 84-81 lead with 1:18 left in overtime, and four consecutive free throws from Hilaire and Chris Beauchamp put the game away.

"Good teams find a way to win," said Petosa. "And they found a way to win."

Beauchamp had a monster game for the visitors: 22 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and four steals.

"He's becoming a high level player in this conference," praised Petosa of the 6-foot-1 swingman from Xavier High School. "He's really upped his productivity."

Hilaire added 20 points, inside man Sean Loftus added 18 and Farid 13.

Sophomore center Jordan Young worked wonderfully with Ledbetter in the paint, finishing with 22 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.

But the Dolphins struggled with 3-for-16 shooting from downtown, and looked sloppy at times with 20 costly turnovers.

At the end, they let a chance at a victory slip away.

And it all added up to a painful afternoon in Willowbrook

January 30, 2010, 1:51AM
Medgar Evers derailed a frantic College of Staten Island finish by scoring the last eight points of Friday night's 95-87 CUNY Conference victory over the Dolphins in Brooklyn.

CSI, which dropped to 5-4 in conference play and 10-10 overall, had taken advantage of three consecutive Ryan Hennessey 3-point shots to erase a late 82-72 deficit.

Michael Ledbetter's layup pulled CSI even at 87-87 with 48.2 seconds remaining.

But the Cougars responded quickly at the other end, as Ronald Holloway's driving layup was followed by a costly CSI turnover that was converted into two free throws.

Medgar Evers (4-5, 10-11) iced the triumph as Jarrel Deare and Holloway sank four straight foul shots in the final 20 seconds.

"The sense of urgency we showed shouldn't have been in the final five minutes," said CSI assistant coach Vinny Messina. "It should have been in the first five minutes of the game."

The Cougars swept the two-game season series between the two schools for the first time since 1992-93. CSI holds a 50-16 all-time lead.

Holloway, a senior guard, paced the winners with 29 points on 10-of-16 shooting, while freshman swingman Jovan Deare added 24.

Medgar Evers enjoyed a commanding 52-33 rebounding edge with 17 offensive boards. Winston Douglas, another freshman, had 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Marquis Jones pulled down 11 rebounds.

Ledbetter topped CSI with 24 points while Jordan Young and Christian Montervino added 21 apiece. Hennessey heated up late for most of his 15 points.

"The problem was they killed us on the glass," said Messina. "They got to the basket all night and Holloway was making shots from everywhere on the court."

Young's foul problems hurt the Dolphins. The sophomore forward drew his fourth seven minutes into the second half and fouled out with 5:21 remaining.

Medgar Evers took a 79-70 lead on Jones' layup with four minutes left.

That's when Hennessey got hot from downtown and when the Dolphins looked like they might steal a conference road game.

But it was too little, too late.

NOTES: Medgar Evers sank 32 of 42 free throws while CSI went 14 of 21 from the line. ... The Dolphins return to play Wednesday night at York, which improved to 9-0 in the CUNY and 16-5 overall with its 12th straight win last night.

The bottom line with CSI is when Hennessey and Montervino dont make shots they will struggle.  That is exactly what happened last night.  I dont consider losing to Stevens to be that disapointing they have more than 10 wins on the year and also beat Baruch as well.

 I am still trying to figure out how he made that shot?? His body was squared up to  the sideline and he shot it off balance with one hand. Pure Luck but fun to watch , thanks for the footage.

I agree Marcel is in a league of his own, he leads the nation in rebounds for goodness-sake.  But for the CUNY they are two great bigmen.  For that matter you might say that CSI has the best front line in the CUNY as a group. 

Look at the stats=
Mike Ledbetter- 12 pts , 6 rbs, 61 % FG
Jordan Young- 15 pts, 7.6 rbs, 54% FG
Christian Montervino- 15.4 pts, 6.1 rbs, 47% FG, 45 % from 3 pt. range.
   I challenged you to find a CUNY team with better frontline production.  The main problem with CSI is that they dont have a guard that can create his own shot and just flat out go get it.

I still dont understand why it is a shocking win for CSI.  They play tuff man to man D and have 2 great big men?

Why do you keep bashing CSI? They have steadily got better throughout the course of the year. They also have two legit bigmen in Young and Ledbetter and when Hennesey and Montervino are hitting threes they are very dangerous.  It should also be noted that their improved play has probably been do to the fact that their pt. guard Taranto has stepped up his game nearly getting a triple double in a recent win against Kean.  I know their not the most athletic team but they play well together and share the ball.  They should at least get a 4 seed for the tourney.

Hey Danny whats up homie? I see u have some great post on here.  To the guy that said Hunter was going to beat CSI, wrong again.  Besides Rankis , Coach Petosa should also be noted for recruiting 4 year players who all contribute by at least there senior year. He also makes sure that a majority of them graduate on time.  Since someone said not much is said about CSI on here I will do my best to feel that void since I live on the Island.