For Sebastian Hermenier, Nov. 18, 2005 has been a long time coming.
For three straight years, ‘Seabass’ has watched in frustration as Taylor Coppenrath and Vermont repeatedly dominated the conference.
Each year, the preseason questions would be the same — how do you see the conference shaking out this year? And each year, carefully guarding his true skepticism, the answers would come: “We got a shot, man. Everyone’s got a shot.”
But now — tonight — Seabass kicks off his senior season as his first with a truly legitimate chance at success. Vermont and Boston lost their best players, and Northeastern has departed for the CAA.
“I’ve been pretty much waiting four years for this particular season,” said Hermenier. “You know, my last year, it’s an opportunity to do big things. It’s time to go to work.”
Zookeeping
There are several key players on Binghamton’s roster — Hermenier, Hailey and Andre Heard quickly come to mind — but the most exciting player on the roster might be the heralded “sixth man.”
“It is an incredible advantage when the Events Center is filled with students who are here to have a good time,” Walker said. “It adds to the energy on the floor, it gives guys a chance to play in an environment that you see on TV. It’s a bigtime college basketball environment, and at our level of play, it doesn’t get any better.”
Manning the Middle
There’s no question about Binghamton’s “sixth man,” but there are certainly questions surrounding the fifth man.
Walker points to a quintet of post players ready to try and fill the void left by Adediran, who came on strong at the end of last season. Leading the pack is 6’6” sophomore Jordan Fithian, who earned 10 starts last year as a freshman. Fithian’s passing ability and interior defense are his strengths, but questions remain surrounding his willingness to shoot the ball.
Redshirt freshman Ian Milne, a 6’9” Canadian, will be the other primary option on the inside for the Bearcats this season. Milne is a stronger shooter than Fithian, but isn’t as tough a defender.
Leadership
The Bearcats’ leaders are found at the forward positions. Hermenier, one of the league’s best rebounders, will start at the four-spot. He finished eighth in the America East in rebounding last year with 6.5 rpg, and was BU’s best free throw shooter with a .741 percentage.
“Sabs” has always had a huge impact on the defensive end, and he’s the team’s unquestioned emotional leader. But this year, without an established big man, Sebastian will be asked to move into more of a scoring role.
“We (the team) all know he can score the ball,” added senior swingman Andre Heard. “His mentality — he hasn’t been asked to the score this whole time he’s been here, so it’s kind of hard for him to step into a scoring role, but I think he’s capable of doing that.”
But nobody questions Heard’s ability to score. Heard, a 6’3” Oklahoma native, returns for his senior season after earning first-team all-conference honors with a team-best 14.3 points per game. But ‘Dre’ keeps himself on the court with his defense, averaging 1.97 steals last season. He’ll need to continue to blossom if the Bearcats plan to stay at the top of the conference.
“Andre Heard is an explosive athlete,” Walker said. “He can slash to the rim, he can knock down jump shots, he can get to the free-throw line and make free throws.
Guardians
With the graduation of almost all the best big men in the conference last year, the America East is shaping up to be a guard-dominated league. With a strong backcourt returning, Walker says he’d take his guards against any other AE team’s.
Mike Gordon will start off the year at the point. Gordon is a lightning-fast guard with a flair for the dramatic. Asked to step into a starting role mid-season last year, Gordon answered the call, playing a key role in Binghamton’s quarterfinal win over Albany in the conference tournament.
One of the league’s streakiest players, Troy Hailey returns for his junior campaign to start at the two-spot. Hailey is a great three-point shooter, especially on the road. He’s not afraid to take the big shot and has worked hard on his defense since arriving at Binghamton in 2003.
Fan favorite Schafer Jackson returns for his senior year as the Bearcats’ actual sixth man. A three-point specialist, “Schafe” is a threat to drop trey after trey in any given game, but his commitment to defending will be key to keeping him on the court.
Running it Up
This year’s guard-oriented team will be a much quicker version of last year’s squad. Fans should expect more full-court-press defense and a much more up-and-down offense to suit the quick nature of the roster. But Walker stressed the importance of mastering this skill to keep the crowd involved.
“If we’re playing quick and we’re throwing the ball away, the crowd’s not going to be too excited,” he said. “If we’re playing quick and jump shots are going down, and we’re running the floor and we’re knocking shots down, obviously it’s a fun way to play.”
Benchmarks
The depth of the Binghamton bench will be another question mark this year. Sophomore transfer Drew Davison will back up Gordon at the point, while Giovanni Olomo and Duane James will be needed to play significant minutes if Fithian or Milne hit a cold streak. Dwayne Jackson will also find some playing time behind Hailey until Steve Proctor becomes healthy.
The Bottom Line
The biggest key to Binghamton’s success may be Al Walker himself, however. His questionable substitution patterns and treatment of upperclassmen like Nick Billings and Billy Williams has come into question in recent years. Walker has never spent more than five years at one job, but tonight he opens his sixth season as the most visible member of BU’s athletic department.
With the conference tournament returning to Binghamton in early March, will this be the year Binghamton breaks through? Can Andre Heard take advantage of his talents and make everyone around him better? Can Jordan Fithian establish himself as an inside presence? Will Al Walker wipe away tears and cut down the Events Center nets? At this point, only time will tell — but the journey starts tonight.