Can things get any worse? Probably not. Coming off of a loss to the worst team in Division I basketball, the Colonials find themselves in a tough spot. This week has been rough one for Colonial fans. Sophomore forward Elijah Minnie was dismissed from the basketball program. I can’t say I was shocked, but I can’t say I saw it coming either. Toole spoke about Elijah, as well as Kavon Stewart, who will be back for the game tomorrow against Bryant. As far as Elijah, he and Toole have had their fair share of disagreements since Minnie arrived here last year. Here’s what HC Andy Toole had to say:
“If you don’t want to be a part of the program, if you don’t want to be about what this program stands for, you can’t be here. It’s not about you. And you know what? In the short term, it probably shortens our bench a little bit. But I think we’ll be much better in the long term because of it.”
The loss to CCSU was bad, but Toole seemed to be in a surprisingly joyful mood after the game. Maybe he’s relieved that the situation with Minnie is over, who knows. With that being said, the Colonials are tied for the eighth and final playoff spot with Bryant. The Colonials host the Bulldogs tomorrow afternoon at 4:00 P.M. This is a HUGE game.
If Robert Morris wants to keep any NCAA tournament hopes alive, tomorrow is a must win game. Kavon Stewart and of course, Elijah Minnie, tore it up against Bryant the last time these two teams met. Stewart will be back in the starting lineup, but as we all know, RMU will be without Minnie.
Toole acknowledged that short term, this may hurt the team. However, in the long run, he thinks it will be better for the program. With the departure of Minnie, perhaps we see more Conrad Stephens? Also, Andre Frederick has to step up and provide a presence down low off the bench. He’s too big of a body to not be making an impact.
Jordan Lester is still recovering from mono, but him suiting up and providing any minutes he can is a positive. Matty McConnell and Isaiah Still have been brilliant lately. Although they are freshman, they seem to be grasping and taking on leadership roles. Thats great, but not so great at the same time. Rodney Pryor is in a massive offensive slump. As the leader of this team, he needs to be more vocal on and off the court.
He needs to set the tone for this program. Karvel did, Velton did; now it’s time for Rodney to do the same. Us reporters can sit up in front of our laptops and type all the junk we want. We say the same things over and over ...and over again.
Short possessions, lack of intensity, lack of leadership, blah blah blah.
They just need to go out there and play basketball. Dan Garvin will be a lot to handle for the Colonials. He’s a monster in the frontcourt, and after watching Brandon Peel pull down 17 rebounds, I’m sure Garvin is licking his chops.
I’m not quite sure why, but I refuse to count this team out until they are mathematically eliminated. Andy Toole is too good of a coach to not pull something together.
While a deep run in the NEC tournament would surprise the you know what out of me, I would not be shocked if the Colonials made the NEC playoffs and won a game. The talent is certainly there (even without Minnie) it’s just about attitude and the will to win. Matty McConnell and Isaiah Still have that mentality. No matter how much adversity this team has faced, the two guys that have handled it the best are both freshman.
If they can do it, than everybody else can too. Will they? We’ll find out.
“If you don’t want to be a part of the program, if you don’t want to be about what this program stands for, you can’t be here. It’s not about you. And you know what? In the short term, it probably shortens our bench a little bit. But I think we’ll be much better in the long term because of it.”
The loss to CCSU was bad, but Toole seemed to be in a surprisingly joyful mood after the game. Maybe he’s relieved that the situation with Minnie is over, who knows. With that being said, the Colonials are tied for the eighth and final playoff spot with Bryant. The Colonials host the Bulldogs tomorrow afternoon at 4:00 P.M. This is a HUGE game.
If Robert Morris wants to keep any NCAA tournament hopes alive, tomorrow is a must win game. Kavon Stewart and of course, Elijah Minnie, tore it up against Bryant the last time these two teams met. Stewart will be back in the starting lineup, but as we all know, RMU will be without Minnie.
Toole acknowledged that short term, this may hurt the team. However, in the long run, he thinks it will be better for the program. With the departure of Minnie, perhaps we see more Conrad Stephens? Also, Andre Frederick has to step up and provide a presence down low off the bench. He’s too big of a body to not be making an impact.
Jordan Lester is still recovering from mono, but him suiting up and providing any minutes he can is a positive. Matty McConnell and Isaiah Still have been brilliant lately. Although they are freshman, they seem to be grasping and taking on leadership roles. Thats great, but not so great at the same time. Rodney Pryor is in a massive offensive slump. As the leader of this team, he needs to be more vocal on and off the court.
He needs to set the tone for this program. Karvel did, Velton did; now it’s time for Rodney to do the same. Us reporters can sit up in front of our laptops and type all the junk we want. We say the same things over and over ...and over again.
Short possessions, lack of intensity, lack of leadership, blah blah blah.
They just need to go out there and play basketball. Dan Garvin will be a lot to handle for the Colonials. He’s a monster in the frontcourt, and after watching Brandon Peel pull down 17 rebounds, I’m sure Garvin is licking his chops.
I’m not quite sure why, but I refuse to count this team out until they are mathematically eliminated. Andy Toole is too good of a coach to not pull something together.
While a deep run in the NEC tournament would surprise the you know what out of me, I would not be shocked if the Colonials made the NEC playoffs and won a game. The talent is certainly there (even without Minnie) it’s just about attitude and the will to win. Matty McConnell and Isaiah Still have that mentality. No matter how much adversity this team has faced, the two guys that have handled it the best are both freshman.
If they can do it, than everybody else can too. Will they? We’ll find out.
