MBB: Little East

[nescac1]

Keene State may be almost unrecognizable from the dominant team of the last two years.  Keene could potentially lose its top five scorers, in addition to apparently being forced to hire a new coach. Jeff Hunter is out of eligibility, Brito is in the transfer portal and I suspect will snag a D1 offer, Tahmeen Dupree and Mike Caruthers both left the team mid-season, and Siow, Jean-Baptiste, and Linton are all seniors -- even if they could take a COVID year (I believe at least Siow and Jean-Baptiste can), would they want to on a team that is a shell of what it was?  If Siow and Jean-Baptiste choose to return, they could still potentially form a top-tier LEC squad along with Odiase and Aronson. 

Western Conn also loses two of its top three players as they were graduate students this year.  But they have done pretty well in the transfer portal over the past two years ...

[el_jefe_90]

Keene St. hires Steven Enright as its new head coach:

https://www.sentinelsource.com/sports/local_sports/keene-state-hires-enright-as-mens-basketball-coach/article_2c6eb14d-a1cf-5532-901b-fbac1442d911.html

[NEHoopScoutPH]

It appears that rosters are starting to trickle out, at least at Keene and Castleton, which means the season can't be far away.

With that in mind, here are (what I believe to be) the three most significant off-season developments in the Little East.

1. Brito's return to Keene State.
This one should be obvious. While they have a new coach, getting back a potential 1st team all-American is about as big of a boost as you could ask for. On top of that, Keene retained Siow-Jean Baptiste-Aronson-Odiase and brought in a few potential impact first years and transfers. The Little East still runs through Keene, NH.

2. Dartmouth's roster continuity.
Word out of southern Massachusetts is that Dartmouth's roster returns mostly intact. The Corsairs had one of the deeper perimeter units in the league last year and the potential return of Lopes-Boyd-Marcille-Percy-Leonard should have them near the top of the league standings. Add in Flauto and a full year of Dunbury and these guys could be really good.

3. Sanicola steps away from Southern Maine.
After a 3-year stint at Southern Maine, including back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in 30 years, Sanicola departed for a job in the G-League. That's a tough loss for a program that looked like it was starting to build something. It sounds like their roster is mostly intact and will be interesting to see how the group adjusts under their new head coach.

Things are quite elsewhere, but will be interesting to see if East Conn or UMass Boston can turn it around and what Coach Ferry was able to do with his first recruiting class at RIC.

[nescac1]

Keene State's roster is eye-popping and they certainly look like a top ten (at worst) team in D3 this year to me.  Obviously, getting Brito, Jean-Baptiste, and Siow back is huge.  But the additions to the roster also look really impressive.  They added a 6'8 D2 transfer and 6'8 and 6'10 FYs to the frontcourt.  While I'm sure no one guy can replace Hunter, that's at least a collection of big bodies to compete for the center position (along with a 6'9 sophomore from last year's roster). 

And they added some high-impact perimeter transfers, including Ryan Bakey, who is lightning-quick and was in the rotation as a FY at Hampden Sydney, and Mitch Shettles, a shooting specialist who was an all-NEWMAC player while pouring it in from three at 46 percent on high volume.  Bakey and Siow are as fast a duo as you will see anywhere at point guard and they can really terrorize opposing guards defensively if they play them in spurts together.  Baptiste, Aronson, and Shettles form a potent trio of spacers at the other guard spots, Odiase is a high-level wing talent, and of course Brito is a first-team all-American level player at wing.  That gives them at least seven high-level players for four spots on the perimeter (there are two other transfers who may be in the mix as well, I'm not sure how good they are but that could add even more depth).  If a few of those big men give Keene capable center play, they could be in the national title mix.  I think CNU, John Carroll, Trine and Platteville will be, in some order, the top four pre-season teams, but Keene is a strong candidate for number five.   

They will certainly have a chance to show how good they are early on, as they play on the road at Tufts and Williams and against two WIAC teams in December. 

[Greek Tragedy]

https://littleeast.com/news/2024/10/30/keene-state-claims-top-spot-in-2024-25-lec-mens-basketball-preseason-coaches-poll.aspx

1. Keene St (6)
2. W. Connecticut (2)
3. UMass-Dartmouth (1)
4. RIC
5. UMass-Boston
6. Southern Maine
7. Eastern Connecticut
8. Plymouth State
9. Vermont State Castleton

[el_jefe_90]

Congrats to Keene State's Octavio Brito! The senior guard surpassed 2,000 career points in a 92-75 win over Castelton last night. Just the third player in Keene State history to reach that milestone. He's only 10 points away from getting to #2 on the all-time list. He is also in the top 10 in career rebounds, blocks and approaching the top 10 in career assists and steals. Congrats again to an excellent player!

[Greek Tragedy]

Keene State    11-0   
Western Connecticut    9-3   
Rhode Island College    8-4   
Mass-Boston    6-6   
Southern Maine    5-7   
Mass-Dartmouth    4-7
Eastern Connecticut    4-8   
Plymouth State    3-8   
Castleton    2-9

https://littleeast.com/news/2024/10/30/keene-state-claims-top-spot-in-2024-25-lec-mens-basketball-preseason-coaches-poll.aspx

1. Keene St (6)
2. W. Connecticut (2)
3. UMass-Dartmouth (1)
4. RIC
5. UMass-Boston
6. Southern Maine
7. Eastern Connecticut
8. Plymouth State
9. Vermont State Castleton