As the dust has settled after a turbulent April, the Manhattan Jaspers have spent the summer rebuilding their roster. Under the new leadership of former Hartford head coach John Gallagher, the current roster features just two returning Jaspers, signaling a stylistic sea change in Riverdale.
Manhattan’s offense with Steve Masiello was known for attacking the rim while their defense’s signature hounded turnovers on defense while preventing teams from producing on the perimeter.
While Gallagher and Masiello share similarities in their defensive philosophies: namely their attention to defending the three-point shot, their offensive identities are very different.
For example, Masiello’s Manhattan teams ranked within the top-75 nationally in free throw rate in eight of his eleven year tenure while Gallagher's Hartford squads never ranked higher than 182nd in free throw rate.
Instead, Gallagher’s offense is centralized on three-pointers: all but one of his dozen seasons at Hartford finished in the top-65 in three point attempt ratio. Conversely, Masiello’s last three seasons at Manhattan finished no higher than 291st in that same metric.
With a change in offensive philosophy of this breadth and a new roster to build, Gallagher and his staff had to act quickly to add pieces, but the Jaspers’ two returnees, fifth-year forward Logan Padgett and sophomore guard Raziel Hayun, are both willing shooters, last year shooting more three-point attempts than two-pointers. Their efficiency needs to improve (combined 29.1 3P%), but they both shoot well enough for defenses to honor their spacing.
Amongst their offseason additions, Hartford’s leading scorer last year, Briggs McClain, is the offseason headliner after averaging 14.4 points and 1.6 three pointers per game at 35.1 3P%.
Not only is the senior guard the Jaspers’ best bet to lead the team in scoring, but he is an essential leader to help liaison the newly formed roster after spending two seasons under Gallagher’s lead, highlighted by a 2021 America East tournament championship and an appearance in March Madness
Reflecting back on his time in the tournament, McClain called it “amazing for me. It is definitely something that I would love to experience again…the difference between getting there and not [...] is very slim. Details about how we go about everything matters.”
Gallagher was an essential cog to McClain’s ascension from an irregularly used back of rotation piece in his freshman and sophomore seasons to a lethal scorer his junior year: “playing for Coach Gal, he only gives you confidence,” McClain adds, “I believe with that I’ve grown so much in my ability to score from all three levels, just being able to go out and play my game. When a coach believes in his guys the way Gal does, it makes the game a lot easier.”
McClain’s on-court growth with Gallagher’s guidance is obvious, citing the coach’s track record as a mentor off the court: “He’s just an amazing guy. Once you’re a part of his team, you become family for the rest of your lives. He’s been doing this a long time. He’s been successful. So just buying into what his vision for us is important to get to where we want to go.”
In addition to McClain, JUCO addition Shaquil Bender is poised to become a lethal perimeter weapon fresh off his award-winning season where he not only won the Orange Empire Conference Offensive Player of the Year after finishing the season averaging 13.9 points and 2.0 threes made per game at a remarkable 47.1%, but also earned the MVP award in the California Community College State tournament where his Fullerton College Hornets won the championship after finishing the season with a 32-1 record.
Grad transfer addition Perry Cowen also lets it fly from deep with career splits of over 75% of his shot attempts from three, converting 33% throughout his three seasons at Brown. A bigger shooting guard at 6’4 205, Cowan played both off-ball backcourt spots at Brown, a program with a reputation as a tough defending squad under current head coach Mike Martin.
Shooting only two three-point attempts in his redshirt freshman season at St. Bonaventure, Binghamton native Brett Rumpel is a 6’4 190 scoring combo guard who was arguably the most touted recruit of the Bonnies’ 2021 offseason, with seven D1 offers including DePaul, George Washington and Fordham. Out of high school, Rumpel was noted for his competitiveness, ability to break down defenders and comfort shooting midrange and beyond, a skill Gallagher and his staff will continue to foster in Rumpel’s first season in Riverdale.
Out of DeMatha Catholic, incoming freshman Jaden Winston is a dynamic, gritty and unselfish two-way point guard with eye-popping quickness and great vision: “I’m a guard who really gets after it on the defensive end, picking up 94 feet, getting steals and deflections, trying to speed the opposing team up,” says Winston, “On the offensive end, I love to push the pace, getting out in transition and just making the right play whether it be for my teammates or for myself. I’ve been making a conscious effort to ‘take singles’ and not always go for that home run play on offense and defense [...] Keeping this on my mind has really made a difference in my game. I want not only the staff but also my teammates to trust me with the ball.”
Throughout his senior year and this offseason, Winston has worked on adding more tools to his offensive profile: “as for developments in my game, I’ve been going very hard in the weight room and getting up lots and lots of shots on The Gun daily.”
Winston was an electric dynamo at DeMatha and will be even more poised to compete for an immediate role with an improvement to his perimeter game.
Amongst Manhattan’s frontcourt additions, 6’7 Bloomfield (D2) transfer Wesley Robinson is the most comfortable from the three point line, finishing last season shooting 32% from three and averaging throughout the last nine games 1.3 three-pointers per game, converting 36.3% of those attempts.
Incoming freshman Seydou Traore out of Our Saviour Lutheran is another 6’7 forward who is most known for his athleticism, but can score at all three levels, making him an exciting long-term weapon.
A traditional low-post big, former Weber State sophomore transfer Daniel Rouzan received interest in the portal from programs like Temple, Oral Roberts, Tulsa and others thanks to his willingness to battle on the boards, an essential trait for big men playing on four-out offenses, extending possessions after long distance shot attempts.
With three scholarships still open as of late July, the final shape of the Jaspers’ rebuilt roster is still a mystery, but it is clear that this new look Manhattan squad will bring a sustained perimeter attack unforeseen at Draddy Gymnasium.
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