Last month, I had the honor to discuss the upcoming America East season with Greg Peterson on his podcast The Greg Peterson Experience. Piggybacking on our conversation, here are my breakout picks for each team in the conference.
Vermont:Shamir Bogues, 6’4 190 senior
In the season preview for Vermont, a key story of the Catamounts’ offseason is their completely rebuilt backcourt that included four incoming transfers. Out of that quartet, each piece will counted on to contribute but Tarleton State transfer Shamir Bogues brings elements to the game that nod to Finn Sullivan’s defensive ability (117th highest national steal rate and Tarleton State’s top defensive efficiency rating, according to Evanmiya.com) and Dylan Penn’s production inside the arc (54.4 2P%, 368th best FT rate nationally).
Kyle McDonald of WAC Hoops Digest reports “Vermont fans will really like Shamir Bogues. He’s not flashy or a guy that’s going to get 15-20 points every night, although he has the ability to do just that. He outworks players, uses his great length and usually defends an opponent’s best player. He can finish at the rim and knock down a perimeter shot,” but scoring is not his top priority on the floor.
Simply put, Bogues, like Robin Duncan over the last five years, is one future Catamount whose impact might not always be evident on the box score, but his tenacity and two-way versatility makes him a potential impact guard that provides contrast to Vermont’s shooters like Matt Veretto, Aaron Deloney, TJ Long, TJ Hurley and Brenton Mills.
Bryant: Rafael Pinzon, 6’6 190 junior
With 2022-23 Second Team All-Conference selection Charles Pride transferring to St. Bonaventure, Bryant’s frenetic-paced offense will look to St. John’s transfer Rafael Pinzon, a versatile guard who played for Mike Anderson’s similarly paced offense, to step up as an offensive weapon to pair with fifth-year returnees Sherif Gross-Bullock and Earl Timberlake.
The key for Pinzon is his versatility, as head coach Jared Grasso is expected to play a positionless style of basketball with a good chance that all five starters measure between 6’4 and 6’6.
Noting this, Pinzon brings an ability to make plays, distribute, defend multiple positions, and most importantly, space the floor (career 36.1 3P%). With that combination, do not be surprised if Pinzon finishes the season as an All-Conference selection.
Albany: Amar’e Marshall 6’4 204 sophomore
This offseason, Albany ransacked the transfer portal to jumpstart a massive rebuild of their backcourt following a trying 8-23 season, their worst record in over a decade. Some of their transfers look to have clear roles; URI’s Sebastian Thomas is the calming distributor, UAB’s Tyler Bertram is the floor spacer and Delaware’s Gianmarco Arletti is the defensive specialist.
Amar’e Marshall, however, is the X-factor. A redshirt sophomore from Hofstra, Marshall is an explosive two-way athlete who made most of his impact earlier in his freshman season, scoring fifteen or more points four times within the first thirteen games of the season, highlighted by a 24 point spot start against Purdue.
According to EvanMiya.com, Marshall finished with Hofstra’s fourth best defensive metrics while his per-40 stats suggest a versatile big guard who can contribute in a variety of ways (16.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.7 blocks, 3.7 free throw attempts and 1.9 three point made at 40.5%).
Simply put, Albany needs weapons to surround stud sophomore center Jonathan Beagle and Amar’e Marshall has the gumption and the gifts to earn a starting role this season at either the 2 or the 3 guard, with the potential to add value in a variety of ways.
Binghamton: Symir Torrence 6’3 195 grad transfer
A former top-100 prospect who spent a pair of seasons both at Marquette and in front of his hometown crowd at Syracuse, Symir Torrence has been a consistent bench option, but only started in four games throughout his career.
However, looking at Torrence’s per-40 stats at Syracuse (7.5a, 1.6s, 34.6 3P%, 2.7 A/TO), hint towards Torrence’s latent ability to dish, defend and stretch the floor. In addition, with his impressive size for the point guard position, Torrence should be able convert inside the arc with the best rates of his career.
With 2022-23 Second Team All-Conference selection Jacob Falko graduating, Torrence will be counted on to step up, seize the starting point guard role and possibly spend his last year of college eligibility to be his best.
UMass Lowell: Brayden O’Connor 6’4 204 sophomore
Coming off its best season in Division 1 history, UMass Lowell has plenty of returning talent, including three starters, to remain a contender in the America East, but replacing the scoring from the graduating 2022-23 First Team All-Conference selection Everette Hammond will be Pat Duquette’s top priority.
Ottawa native Brayden O’Connor will be a top candidate to secure Hammond’s vacant starting role in the backcourt. A physical combo guard with size, O’Connor flourished late in his freshman season averaging 19 minutes per game and shooting an impressive 62.5 2P%, 47.4 3P% and 76.0 FT% during that time.
While Hammond was a lights out perimeter threat (44.8%), his ability to create his own offense and attack the rim (219th best FT rate in the nation) will also be missed, however O’Connor’s analytics show that he actually had a higher FT rate throughout conference play than Hammond, foreshadowing O’Connor’s potential as a breakdown scorer if he is able to get more looks.
Even with senior Yuri Covington returning and incoming transfers Jordan Thompson and Andres Fulgencio competing for playing time in the backcourt, I expect O’Connor to step up and finish the season as the River Hawks’ third scoring option behind Abdoul Karim Coulibaly and Ayinde Hikim.
New Hampshire: Dior Davis, 6’2 170 sophomore
New Hampshire’s backcourt is undergoing a major overhaul: double-digit scorers Nick Johnson (transferred to Winthrop), Kyree Brown (transferred, undecided) and Matt Herasme (graduated) have all departed, leaving sophomores Christian Moore and Rex Sutherland as the Wildcats’ only returning guards, both of which played minimally last season, although Moore had promising end to the season.
In need of veteran guard depth, New Hampshire’s new head coach Nathan Davis scoured the JUCO and D2 transfer portal to bolster their backcourt, with Dior Davis poised to immediately step into an impact guard role.
Playing his freshman season at Ellsworth CC, Davis stuffed the stat sheet, averaging 14.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.8 steals and 4.5 free throw attempts per game, showcasing a two-way ability and a penetrating combo guard style. Prior to committing to Ellsworth, Davis held offers from thirteen D1 programs including Bryant, Hofstra, Missouri State, DePaul and others.
UMBC: Dion Brown 6’3 180 sophomore
A selection of the 2022-23 All-Rookie Team last season, Dion Brown is one of the few known commodities on a UMBC roster that will feature ten new Retrievers.
Hard-wired to score, Burns averaged 7.7 points in just 18.6 minutes per game, shooting with efficient rates (53.5 2P%, 35.4 3P%, 76.5 FT%) that should make head coach Jim Ferry confident in Brown’s ability to handle an increased role.
Despite his 6’3 180 frame, not many guards rebound better than Brown, who finished last season with top-15 metrics in both offensive and defensive rebounding rates during conference play, averaging 8.5 rebounds per 40 minutes played. Also, while his defensive counting stats are modest, Evanmiya.com cited Brown as UMBC’s third best defender last year.
Maine: Quion Burns 6’6 180 junior
With three starters returning, highlighted by America East Defensive Player of the Year Kellen Tynes, Maine fans have reason to be excited as the Black Bears’ 7-9 conference record was the team’s best since the 2010-11 season.
However, with leading scorer and top three-point threat Gedi Juozapaitis graduating (15.4 points and 2.4 three points made, converting 40% of attempts), the Black Bears will look for LIU transfer Quion Burns to help provide spacing, rebounding and size to the guard position, as Burns finished last season averaging 7.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.1 three pointer made per game at 35.6%.
Part of Burns’ potential breakout is in the promise of transferring from, according to KenPom, the least efficient offense in Division 1 to a roster where his spacing pairs perfectly with Jaden Clayton’s distributing, Kellen Tynes’ attacking and Kristians Feierbergs inside-outside frontcourt play. While it is unrealistic to expect Burns to score at a Juozapaitisian level, improved synergy provides a good chance for Burns to have the best season of his career.
NJIT: Isaac Hester 6’1 freshman
Entering their fourth year in the America East under the first season under Grant Billmeier, a long-time New Jersey basketball staple, incoming freshman Isaac Hester has the talent and the connection with the new coaching staff to immediately step in and become an asset in NJIT’s new look backcourt.
Committing to NJIT after also receiving offers from Stony Brook, Radford and Northern Illinois, Hester was a high usage lead guard at Ranney School, where he averaged 22 points-per-game thanks to his ability to penetrate to the hoop to dish and attack the rim, as well as shoot it from deep.
With an incoming recruiting class that features six high school graduates and two grad transfers from Manhattan (Elijah Buchanan and Daniel Schreier), an expected rebuilding year for the Highlanders lays the groundwork for the next wave of talent to step up, thus setting Hester up to make an immediate impact.
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