It is not often that a small mid-major enters a new season with its third different head coach in three seasons while also generating positive momentum, but FDU is used to bucking the trends.
According to KenPom.com, last season FDU was the shortest team in Division 1 basketball, measuring in at average height of just a hair under six-one-and-a-half, a solid 1.6 inches shorter than the second shortest team, Liberty.
Much of the team’s diminutiveness also coincided with its excellence as their dynamite starting backcourt of Demetre Roberts and Grant Singleton transferred over to FDU for their extra year of eligibility along with their head coach from St. Thomas Aquinas College, Tobin Anderson, who is now the current head coach at Iona.
Simply put, FDU’s 2022-23 season was magical: after finishing the 2021-22 season with a 4-22 record, the Anderson-led Knights entered the NEC conference tournament with a 10-6 conference record. Losing in the finals to postseason ineligible Merrimack punched FDU’s ticket to March Madness, first dominating Texas Southern 84-61 in the First Four, and then shocking the world by beating Purdue where the Knights’ full court press stifled Purdue’s freshman backcourt, causing the Boilmakers to give up more turnovers (16) than assists (15) en route to just the second time a sixteen-seed victory over a one-seed.
Following Anderson’s exit to Iona, FDU promoted assistant coach Jack Castleberry, who has held various coaching positions in both mens’ and womens’ basketball at the Division 1 level since graduating from VMI in 2007.
Stylistically, the transition from Anderson to Castleberry keeps FDU’s winning formula intact: great guard play and a defense predicated on a full court press.
The aftermath of promoting Castleberry has already paid dividends. As a leader of recruiting efforts under Anderson, the relationships he has made under that role has been essential to the retention of three starters and five other rotation pieces from last year’s Cinderella squad.
Honored by the Northeast Conference coaches as the Most Improved Player of the Year, Ansley Almonor is FDU’s most essential returnee thanks to his production and his positional rarity. The 6’6 219 junior from nearby Spring Valley, NY was the Knights’ de facto center whose 37.8 3P% will allow Castleberry to continue to roll out five-out offensive sets.
Despite his lack of size, Almonor’s quickness, will and motor makes Almonor a versatile defender and capable rebounder, ranking within the top-20 in rebounding and block rates during conference play.
As he enters his fourth season with FDU, Joe Munden is not only the Knights’ longest tenured returnee, but arguably the team’s most efficient weapon. The 6’3 188 guard out of Harlem ranked within the top-20 in offensive rating, rebounding, turnover and fouls drawn rates while also ranking within the top-13 in 2P%, 3P% and FT% all while playing as an undersized four-guard.
Alongside fellow small ball “forward” and former STAC standout Sean Moore, both Munden and the 6’4 175 Moore provide the frontcourt with a gritty defensive tenacity, bothering opposing forwards and rebounding very well for their size. The last remaining player who joined last season from St. Thomas Aquinas College, Moore is a quintessential glue guy guard who plays with infectious effort, strong rebounding and also has the athleticism to break down the defense and get to the bucket.
Even with Anderson in New Rochelle, the STAC to FDU pipeline will continue this offseason with incoming grad transfer DeVante Jamison.
Current STAC head coach and Matthew Capell was kind enough to speak to me over the phone at length about Jamison, his impact at STAC and his immediate potential at FDU: “Jamison is a perfect fit with Jack Castleberry still pressing. We call him “Bullet”: he’s really shifty, a great first step, very good off ball screens, excellent at getting the ball to the paint, keeping the ball high and finding the open guy. As a junior, he was our leader in assists while playing only nineteen minutes-per-game alongside Meech [Roberts] and Grant [Singleton].”
For how much Capell raved about Jamison’s on court excellence, he was even more commendatory to Jamison’s leadership abilities, both on and off the court. “[Jamison] was a huge reason for me taking the head coaching position at STAC. What he did with our locker room and our culture will be hard to replace. At FDU, I could see him averaging double-digits and getting seven or eight assists per game.”
With Singleton and Roberts both graduating, Jamison is an easy pick to start next season as the starting point guard. Like his former STAC comrades the year before, it is also safe to consider Jamison as an All-NEC candidate.
Rounding out FDU’s projected starting lineup is fifth-year returnee Heru Bligen, whose father, Samuel, happened to also play basketball at STAC. Finishing the season with modest numbers, Bligen’s start to last season was exceptional, averaging 14.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.1 free throw attempts and 1.1 steals per game before sitting out five weeks with a mid-season injury.
At 6’2 183, Bligen is a rare guard with a reluctance to shoot from the perimeter, totaling just one three point attempt last season and thirty total attempts in his three seasons of Division 1 basketball. However, when surrounded by FDU’s capable shooters, Bligen will be provided the space to do what he does best: penetrate and attack the interior.
In summary, like last year, FDU’s starting lineup will be short in stature, but rich with tenacious guard play and anchored by the shooting and hustle of Almonor.
Off the bench, 6’6 196 sophomore Jo’el Emanuel will reprise his role as a hard-working, athletic forward who plays bigger than his listed size and is comfortable at contributing without the ball in his hands.
6’4 222 junior Cam Tweedy returns as FDU’s arguably strongest and most physical rotation piece who had his best game of the season against Purdue, finishing with ten points, six rebounds, a season high eighteen minutes, spending most of those minutes guarding the National Player of the Year Zach Edey.
6’1 198 senior guard Sebastian Lamaute and 6’1 194 sophomore guard Brayden Reynolds are both physical guards who both had experience last year at the 3-guard. Lamaute is the stronger rebounder while Reynolds is the better on-ball defender and distributor.
With the nine aforementioned players all expected to play meaningful minutes next season, it will be an uphill challenge for FDU’s five-man freshman class to earn playing time. The class features guards Jameel Morris, Terrence Brown, wing Tyler Jamison and forwards Davin Francis and Jake Warren. If any of these freshmen were to earn regular roles, the best chance might be to Jamison, Francis and Warren, as all three bring an element of size that is rare on this roster.
Overall, the NEC looks to be wide open this season and FDU has as good of a chance as any team to finish the season at the top.
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