Hey guys, for whatever reason, I'm unable to post to the site. Still doing my best to figure that out ASAP. Until then, here is the recap from the game vs FDU. Hopefully they gain some momentum going forward.
“I’m really, really proud of the fight we had today. Win or lose, that’s the kind of team I think we want to have on the floor and the fight we want to possess on a regular basis,” coach Toole said.
The Colonials were able to get a much needed W, snapping a two game skid against first place FDU. Robert Morris trailed as much as 13 points in the first half, but were able to fight back. They clawed and clawed the entire game and eventually found a way to get stops when they needed to. Elijah Minnie paced the Colonials with 17 points on, while shooting 42% from the field. We talked before the game about this team needing a spark. How about junior walk-on Conrad Stephens?
Stephens finished second in scoring, with 13 points and 6 rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench. Stephens went 6/6 from the field and got the Sewall center amped up every time he made a play. His teammates were going crazy on the bench and the energy certainly translated onto the court. Conrad was initially a practice player for the women’s basketball team during his freshman season. During that school year, several RMU men’s basketball players (Jeremiah Worthem, Britton Lee, etc) were kicked off the team and suspended from school.
The roster was a tight one, and coach Toole needed guys to fill his bench. Conrad and a couple of other practice players were invited to spend the rest of the season with the team that eventually became known as, “the crazy eight.” The following season, Stephens made the team as walk on and only saw the floor during garbage minutes of either a blowout win or a blowout loss. Fast forward to this season, and the walk-on has seen his minutes slowly start to increase. He got into a game earlier in the season against MVSU, and coach Toole even admitted that he thought the game looked a little too fast for him. In the loss to Mount St. Mary’s a few nights ago, the Colonials only had six scholarship players dressed. Rodney Pryor, Andre Frederick, Jordan Lester and of course Aaron Tate, were all sidelined. Robert Morris needed someone to step up and play some valuable minutes off the bench. Enter Conrad Stephens. Stephens didn’t play horrible, but certainly didn’t do anything spectacular. With that being said, he held his own. He got some extended minutes at the end of the game, and hit a nice shot inside on a defender. Prior to the game against FDU, it was announced that only six scholarship players would again be dressed for the game. It turns out Conrad was going to get another shot.
He certainly didn’t disappoint.
He hustled, dove for loose balls and made all of the shots he was suppose to make. “I never thought I’d be on a team like this. To be on a division one basketball team, it’s pretty unbelievable actually,” Conrad said after the game. When asked his approach entering this game, Stephens had this to say: “Just to do whatever coach Toole asked. That’s pretty much what I did today. Just to be in the right spots.”
“It’s unbelievable,” Conrad said when asked about the support from his teammates.
“The way he played today is the way he practices on a regular basis,” Toole said. “I said in the timeout, it’s funny, Conrad would be a top 3-4 pick in practice and he gets into the game and the game is too fast for him. What does that say about our practice? As soon as I walked into the locker room today, they all reminded me of that. But he was awesome. He was in the right spot, kept it simple, finished when he got around the basket and who knows, maybe he’s someone we can rely on to give us some minutes, energy and some pop because we certainly could use it,” Toole added.
Guys like Elijah Minnie, who had a great overall game, felt inspired by Conrad’s performance. “To most people seeing the game tonight, most would say Conrad was pretty much the unsung hero. But in our eyes, we always knew Conrad had this in him. In practice, day in and day out, he might be, either he is, some days or all the time, he’s the best player at practice. He goes hard 24/7 and at practice he makes us better. He just sacrifices a lot. You know, when he gets asked to play, he comes in, plays his role and does it very well,” Minnie stated.
Another big reason why the Colonials excelled against FDU was because of Kavon Stewart. He controlled the tempo and really was confident floor general out there. When ti comes to Kavon, it’s all about confidence. “I’ve been working on my game and I’m playing with a full head of confidence right now. To myself, I think i’m one of the best guards in the conference. I’m just trying to go out and prove it every day and lead my team,” Stewart said.
“I think he did an excellent job, I thought he was huge,” Toole said of Kavon. “You know, a couple of maybe questionable decisions early, but I thought he really settled in. I thought he was on the same page with the coaching staff on the bench and there was great communication back and forth, and that’s what you need from your point guard. When he’s locked in and focused like that, he can really help manage the game,” Toole added.
Toole said there is no timetable for Rodney Pryor’s return, but hopefully he is able to return soon, because as we get deeper and deeper into conference play, the Colonials are going to need their leader to fuel the engine. Will the Conrad Stephens game be a momentum changer this season? I guess we shall all find out very soon.
“I’m really, really proud of the fight we had today. Win or lose, that’s the kind of team I think we want to have on the floor and the fight we want to possess on a regular basis,” coach Toole said.
The Colonials were able to get a much needed W, snapping a two game skid against first place FDU. Robert Morris trailed as much as 13 points in the first half, but were able to fight back. They clawed and clawed the entire game and eventually found a way to get stops when they needed to. Elijah Minnie paced the Colonials with 17 points on, while shooting 42% from the field. We talked before the game about this team needing a spark. How about junior walk-on Conrad Stephens?
Stephens finished second in scoring, with 13 points and 6 rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench. Stephens went 6/6 from the field and got the Sewall center amped up every time he made a play. His teammates were going crazy on the bench and the energy certainly translated onto the court. Conrad was initially a practice player for the women’s basketball team during his freshman season. During that school year, several RMU men’s basketball players (Jeremiah Worthem, Britton Lee, etc) were kicked off the team and suspended from school.
The roster was a tight one, and coach Toole needed guys to fill his bench. Conrad and a couple of other practice players were invited to spend the rest of the season with the team that eventually became known as, “the crazy eight.” The following season, Stephens made the team as walk on and only saw the floor during garbage minutes of either a blowout win or a blowout loss. Fast forward to this season, and the walk-on has seen his minutes slowly start to increase. He got into a game earlier in the season against MVSU, and coach Toole even admitted that he thought the game looked a little too fast for him. In the loss to Mount St. Mary’s a few nights ago, the Colonials only had six scholarship players dressed. Rodney Pryor, Andre Frederick, Jordan Lester and of course Aaron Tate, were all sidelined. Robert Morris needed someone to step up and play some valuable minutes off the bench. Enter Conrad Stephens. Stephens didn’t play horrible, but certainly didn’t do anything spectacular. With that being said, he held his own. He got some extended minutes at the end of the game, and hit a nice shot inside on a defender. Prior to the game against FDU, it was announced that only six scholarship players would again be dressed for the game. It turns out Conrad was going to get another shot.
He certainly didn’t disappoint.
He hustled, dove for loose balls and made all of the shots he was suppose to make. “I never thought I’d be on a team like this. To be on a division one basketball team, it’s pretty unbelievable actually,” Conrad said after the game. When asked his approach entering this game, Stephens had this to say: “Just to do whatever coach Toole asked. That’s pretty much what I did today. Just to be in the right spots.”
“It’s unbelievable,” Conrad said when asked about the support from his teammates.
“The way he played today is the way he practices on a regular basis,” Toole said. “I said in the timeout, it’s funny, Conrad would be a top 3-4 pick in practice and he gets into the game and the game is too fast for him. What does that say about our practice? As soon as I walked into the locker room today, they all reminded me of that. But he was awesome. He was in the right spot, kept it simple, finished when he got around the basket and who knows, maybe he’s someone we can rely on to give us some minutes, energy and some pop because we certainly could use it,” Toole added.
Guys like Elijah Minnie, who had a great overall game, felt inspired by Conrad’s performance. “To most people seeing the game tonight, most would say Conrad was pretty much the unsung hero. But in our eyes, we always knew Conrad had this in him. In practice, day in and day out, he might be, either he is, some days or all the time, he’s the best player at practice. He goes hard 24/7 and at practice he makes us better. He just sacrifices a lot. You know, when he gets asked to play, he comes in, plays his role and does it very well,” Minnie stated.
Another big reason why the Colonials excelled against FDU was because of Kavon Stewart. He controlled the tempo and really was confident floor general out there. When ti comes to Kavon, it’s all about confidence. “I’ve been working on my game and I’m playing with a full head of confidence right now. To myself, I think i’m one of the best guards in the conference. I’m just trying to go out and prove it every day and lead my team,” Stewart said.
“I think he did an excellent job, I thought he was huge,” Toole said of Kavon. “You know, a couple of maybe questionable decisions early, but I thought he really settled in. I thought he was on the same page with the coaching staff on the bench and there was great communication back and forth, and that’s what you need from your point guard. When he’s locked in and focused like that, he can really help manage the game,” Toole added.
Toole said there is no timetable for Rodney Pryor’s return, but hopefully he is able to return soon, because as we get deeper and deeper into conference play, the Colonials are going to need their leader to fuel the engine. Will the Conrad Stephens game be a momentum changer this season? I guess we shall all find out very soon.
