Brandon Federici nearly went to another Division III contender. Franklin and Marshall athletics photo

Franklin and Marshall returned just six players from last year’s squad – two starters, two reserves, and two guys who didn’t see that many minutes. Morgan Lee, this year’s lone senior, was the fifth leading scorer.

Considering last year’s Diplomats lost nine games and fell to third-seeded Johns Hopkins on a neutral floor in their first conference tournament game, it didn’t seem like 2014-15 would be a particular success.

“We lost three outstanding players,” says legendary coach Glenn Robinson. “We did not appear to be in a position with upperclass leadership and returning talent to have a year where we’d be 17-2 at one point.”

But win they did, taking the first 14 games of the season, including a win over nationally ranked Richard Stockton and a conference road win no one saw coming. “We told our team they had no idea what they did when they beat Hopkins at Hopkins early in the year,” said Robinson. Johns Hopkins won the Centennial Conference tournament last season and returned 12 players this season and haven’t lost since the F&M game Nov. 25.

“We knew winning down there was just a tremendous thing for us. We were very fortunate the game went the way we wanted it to – and then we almost pulled it off again,” says Robinson, referring to a five-point defeat to the Blue Jays in the rematch, Feb. 4.

Franklin and Marshall is winning on the strength of a stellar group of freshmen and sophomores. Five of the top eight players are seeing their first meaningful college minutes this season. Freshman Brandon Federici leads the Centennial overall, and all freshmen nationwide, in scoring at more than 20 points per game.

A floor leader in all aspects, Federici came to F&M highly recruited, but he surprised even his coach. “You don’t expect [what he’s done]. We expected him to be a very good player and a very proficient scorer and he is. The thing about him – everyone knows he can make threes – but he does everything else. He’s very good from the free throw line, he goes to the basket, and gets fouled. He has very quick hands, so he gets a lot of deflections on defense.”

Federici almost didn’t end up at F&M; he had his sights set on MIT, even playing a season of prep school ball after graduation in an attempt to gain admission. In the end, Federici chose the Diplomats over a slew of top D-III programs and some Ivy League offers as well. “F&M was persistent. Other schools were up and down in their interest, but F&M recruited me consistently,” says Federici, “Plus, Coach Robinson is one of the best coaches in the history of basketball, so that doesn’t hurt.”

The opportunity to play in a strong program for a successful coach was important, but Federici was also attracted by the opportunity to play and contribute right away. “I was recruited to be a basketball player not a freshman. I wanted to make a contribution right away.”

Federici also seems to fit perfectly into Robinson’s system, making significant contributions within the overall team game. “He is still a freshman,” says the coach, “There are times in the game when you look out there defensively and he’s not exactly where he should be or where you’d like him to be, but he’s been a very, very pleasant addition to the team – I wouldn’t really call it a pleasant surprise, because we knew he was good.”

This year has certainly been a learning experience for the young Dips. With such success it is easy to forget most of these players were in high school just a year ago. Federici says, “The biggest adjustment was just getting used to the length of the games. I remember in my first game, I was exhausted by halftime. It felt like I’d played a whole game already.”

The Diplomats lost to Washington College over the weekend. Chestertown is always a tough place to play and the Shoremen have a stronger team than their 3-18 record indicates, but it was still unexpected for F&M, a rare low point in an otherwise spectacular season. “They put in a lot more effort than we did,” said Robinson, “We need upperclassmen to step up and they’ve been stepping up with their play, but not so much with the leadership. Games like this are where those things stand out. It’s really our younger players doing most of the leading.”

There is great hope for the future on a team losing only one player to graduation, but Franklin & Marshall is not ready to turn the page on this season just yet. “There are enough games left. It’s still possible for us to get first place,” says Federici, “and that’s what we’re planning on. Correct the problems. Learn from our mistakes. Keep on winning.”

Mea culpa

Last week I mentioned the rise of Eastern’s women. They’ve played well and earned themselves a Top 25 ranking, mostly on the back of being the first team to defeat FDU-Florham in nearly two years with a one point home victory in overtime on Saturday. To be honest, I featured the Eagles ahead of the Freedom Conference rematch mostly because I didn’t think they had a chance to win, having lost by 30 points only three weeks previous. Eastern had five players score in double figures and shook up the national rankings.

Florham did sit two starters in the first half, but even with a full complement of players in the second (and overtime), the Devils were unable to put the Eagles away. The Devils will likely retain the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament, but the aura of invincibility is decidedly gone.

Sage smelling sweet

The Sage Colleges sit in Troy and Albany, N.Y., the heart of the East Region, but this Skyline Conference leader could be making waves in the Atlantic rankings this week. Garnering a Top 25 vote for the first time ever, sitting at 17-4 overall, and with a win over NYU, there is a real chance Sage will contend for one of the seven regional ranking positions in the Atlantic. This is only Sage’s sixth year with men’s basketball and its second winning season, but things are really looking up for the Gators.

Mustangs charging Through the Commonwealth

The Stevenson women haven’t lost since before Thanksgiving. Only four games in that span have even been within single digits. They’ve stormed through the MAC Commonwealth and lead by three games with four remaining. The roster features eight seniors and three juniors, but sophomore Sarah Tarbert (a transfer from UMBC) leads the team in scoring at more than 18 points per game.

Odds and ends

Eastern and Cabrini women’s basketball teams each entered the Top 25 this week. The campuses of these two schools are divided by only two lanes of Eagle Road, northwest of Philadelphia. Elle Larsen of Swarthmore hit 1,500 career points this week, while on the men’s side, Cabrini senior Aaron Walton-Moss also went over 1,500 career points. Walton-Moss registered his sixth triple-double of the season; he averages 19 points, 11 rebounds, and a d3 leading 8.5 assists per game.

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If you have any feedback or story ideas (especially approaching milestones, which are sometimes hard to discover), please pass them along at ryan.scott@d3sports.com or @ryanalanscott on Twitter.