| Jared Suderley's arrival on
campus at Hartwick has led to a resurgence in the program. Hartwick athletics photo |
It isn't Jared Suderley's statistics, which are glowing, or his awards, which are plentiful.
It's not those obvious barometers of success that keep surprising Hartwick men's basketball coach Todd McGuinness. Rather, it's the simple things an average fan would never notice -- his footwork on a post move, when to go right if his left isn't open, when to make the extra pass -- that constantly wows the Hawks' fourth-year coach.
Junior All-Americans shouldn't be surprising the coach who has been watching them since high school. But Suderley continues to amaze McGuinness.
"He does stuff and we're like, 'Oh my gosh,'" McGuinness said. "People ask me all the time and I just say, 'He's really good.' ... I'm surprised when he misses, I'll put it that way."
It's that ability to surprise that has helped Suderley become what he is now -- one of the most consistent and dominant big men in Division III basketball. In his first two seasons with the Hawks, all Suderley did was lead the team in scoring twice, win Empire 8 Player of the Year (sophomore) and Rookie of the Year (freshman), become the first Hartwick player to break the 1,000-point mark as an underclassman, and be voted a second-team D3hoops.com All American.
"I usually end up on guys that are a lot bigger than me in the post," Suderley said. "But I usually kind of finesse my way around them, and coach gives me a lot of opportunities to shoot the ball."
Through eight games this season, the 6-6 Suderley is averaging 19.9 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, numbers mostly in line with his previous two seasons. But the individual numbers only tell half of the story. Suderley, who chose Hartwick over RPI, has been at the forefront of a program revival for the Hawks.
Since Suderley arrived in 2010, Hartwick has gone 45-18 overall and reached the NCAA tournament twice. Considering the Hawks had only three winning seasons since 1995-96, the last pre-Suderley NCAA appearance, it's safe to say the program turnaround is complete.
"I know Hartwick had a couple down seasons," Suderley said. "One of the reasons I decided to come here was to help turn around the program."
What separates Suderley, McGuinness said, is that he's never satisfied. The left-handed forward with range out to the 3-point line has an insatiable drive to compete.
"He doesn't care if he's scoring 25 or five [points]," McGuinness said. "If we win, he doesn't care, and that's the best thing about him."
Suderley got a prime chance to compete in a pair of Utica basketball leagues this past summer that featured many Division I players, including Brandon Triche, DaJuan Coleman, Rakeem Christmas and James Southerland, all key players at Syracuse. McGuinness said Suderley -- again, likely surprising some -- held his own at the camp.
"The skill competition was just unreal," Suderley said. "But once we got through the first couple games, I got used to it."
Suderley, a willing passer and one of the team's top free throw shooters, is virtually silent during games. McGuinness doesn't question it -- that's just the way Suderley is. But you better believe, if Suderley speaks up during a game, coaches and teammates listen.
McGuinness knew once he inserted Suderley into the starting lineup in his fifth career game against Skidmore -- and Suderley responded with 27 points and eight rebounds -- there was no looking back. McGuinness saw Suderley dominate in high school at West Canada Valley in Newport, N.Y. There was little question he could do it at the Division III level.
"From then I knew, OK, he's not ever coming out of the lineup," McGuinness said. "That was pretty much the game where it was like, OK, we've got a special player here."
Suderley, now a physical therapy major, became interested in the field after suffering a meniscus tear in his right knee in his junior year of high school. The rehab and exercises that most recovering athletes either fear or despise set Suderley on his future career path.
"I was thinking, 'You know, I could do this for a living,'" Suderley said. "I was just really comfortable being there and I enjoyed all the exercises."
Suderley, an admitted outdoorsman, diehard Buffalo Bills fan and Mario Kart 64 master, also played baseball in high school, and spends his summers working 10-hour days at the Golf Club of Newport. But McGuinness most enjoys his habit of killing a free hour between morning classes in the Hawks' locker room watching Jerry Springer.
"It's funny to me," Suderley said. "It makes me laugh a lot. ... I'm just killing time, really. But I can watch it."
At his current pace, Suderley will shatter Hartwick's career scoring and rebounding records (and probably others). McGuinness said Suderley has the potential to play overseas, once his time at Hartwick is complete.
That, as it turns out, is something that would not surprise his coach.
Men's Northeast: Middlebury reaches 6-0
Peter Lynch was very good last season. But the senior forward has been great this season.
Through Middlebury's first six games -- all wins -- Lynch leads the team in scoring (16.8 points per game), field goal percentage (70.7) and free throws made and attempted (19 and 22, respectively). He ranks second in rebounding (5.2 per game) and third in blocks (four). Lynch, who last season was a key contributor on a great team, is now a go-to weapon on another potentially great team.
Lynch scored 22 points (on 9-of-15 shooting) and grabbed 10 rebounds in Middlebury's 79-71 win over Johnson and Wales Sunday. Last season, Middlebury won its first 18 games en route to a Sweet 16 appearance. But considering the Panthers spent much of the season ranked No. 1 and were coming off a Final Four appearance in 2010-11, it was a disappointing end to a promising season.
Middlebury is ranked third in D3hoops.com Top 25 poll and even garnered a first-place vote. Lynch, along with junior guard Joey Kizel (11.4 points per game), sophomore forward Hunter Merryman (12.0) and senior guards Nolan Thompson (13.0) and Jake Wolfin (10.2), are all key components for what appears to be another deep, talented Middlebury squad.
The Panthers close 2012 with home games against Johnson State (3-4), Skidmore (5-1) and RPI (4-3) before opening NESCAC play in early January.
Men's East: Stevens tops Williams
In sports, a good start doesn't always necessarily foreshadow a good finish. Sure, sometimes it does. But more often than not, the team that began a season will look, play and feel differently at the end.
For Stevens, the challenge will be avoiding that change. The Ducks are off to an impressive 5-0 start, which includes a road win over then-No. 24 Williams. To go on the road and defeat a legitimate NESCAC contender is no small feat. The Ducks will surely want results like that come later in the season.
"We have started the season strong, getting some solid wins against some very good teams,” coach Bobby Hurley told Stevens' athletics website. "The start is nice, but we need to stay focused and continue to work hard so we are playing our best basketball come our tough conference schedule and the end of the year."
Senior guard Sheldon Jones led Stevens with 18 points, but the Ducks' entire starting lineup reached double digits in points as Stevens erased a 10-point halftime deficit in the comeback win.
Stevens, which made its season debut in the D3hoops.com Top 25 poll this week at No. 25, is a viable candidate for the Empire 8 championship this season. Hartwick and Ithaca got more votes in the preseason poll, but in early December, it's Stevens that looks like a strong contender.
Women's Northeast/East: Knight leads S. Maine
Southern Maine entered this year coming off a 21-7 season in which it reached the NCAA tournament. But the Huskies might be even better this season.
A key reason why is sophomore forward Rebecca Knight, a transfer from Division I University of Maine. Through the Huskies' first seven games -- all wins -- Knight leads the team in scoring (14.7 PPG), field goal percentage (62.9) and rebounds (8.7 RPG).
Knight's addition, combined with the senior core of guard Nicole Garland, forward Haley Jordan and forward Jordan Grant, has Southern Maine looking like a legitimate tournament team.
Knight exploded for 27 points (12-of-14 shooting) and 14 rebounds in Southern Maine's 83-61 win against Salem State on Sunday. Grant added 10 points, 14 rebounds and five assists while Garland added 12 points (all on 3-pointers). This kind of production serves as a blueprint for how Southern Maine will win this season.
It would be rare for all four standouts to have down games on the same night. Keep an eye on this team moving forward.
Top 25: MIT, Amherst men fall
MIT and Amherst both fell in this week's D3hoops.com Men's Top 25 poll after suffering their first losses of the season. MIT fell from No. 1 overall to No. 18, while Amherst slipped just four spots to No. 10.
Middlebury climbed one spot to No. 3, while Rochester jumped from No. 17 to No. 11. Rhode Island College (No. 14), NYU (No. 21), Albertus Magnus (No. 23) and Stevens (No. 25) also cracked the top 25. WPI, Springfield, Williams and Oswego State also received votes.
Amherst (No. 9) again was the top-ranked East/Northeast team in the Women's Top 25 poll. Tufts jumped two spots to No. 10 and Emmanuel held steady at No. 16.
Babson (No. 22) and Southern Maine (No. 23) were also ranked. Williams, Rochester and Ithaca each received votes.
Quick hits
Jasmine Hardy finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists and Megan Robertson had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds as No. 9 Amherst knocked off No. 16 Emmanuel 74-61 Tuesday night in an early-season matchup of women's tournament contenders. Fiona O'Dwyer (17 points, nine rebounds) led Emmanuel in the loss. ... Chris Burton had 11 points, nine rebounds and six steals off the bench as No. 14 Rhode Island College (7-0) defeated Salve Regina 66-42 on Tuesday. Tahrike Carter added 10 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals for the Anchormen. ... Sam Longwell scored a game-high 18 points and Ryan Kolb added 13 points and nine rebounds as WPI beat Salem State 75-71 on Tuesday to improve to 8-0 overall. ... Alex Berthiaume scored 19 points and Jordan Rote tallied 17 points as Springfield held off Western New England 73-71 Tuesday night. Springfield, which beat No. 10 Amherst on Saturday, improved to 6-1 overall. ... Matt Curry scored a team-high 17 points in 21 minutes off the bench to help Geneseo State upend Cortland State 70-66 Tuesday night. The win was Geneseo's first in SUNYAC play. ... Lee Vazquez scored a game-high 13 points off the bench for Westfield State, which improved to 6-0 with its 76-54 win over Elms on Saturday. ... Jason Norsen and Thad Wier each scored 17 points as St. John Fisher (4-2) routed Alfred 85-40 on Tuesday for its first Empire 8 win of the season. ... Samantha Corcoran tallied 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists in Curry's 58-47 win against Gordon on Saturday. The Colonels improved to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in CCC play.
Contact me
Whether you have an interesting story idea, know of a player or coach approaching a career milestone, or just want to talk basketball, I want to hear it. Please reach out to me at andrew.lovell@d3sports.com. You can also follow me on Twitter (@andrew_lovell).
