By Joe Budzelek (@stf_ncaa)
For most of the last decade, St. Thomas Aquinas College – better known as STAC – has been excelling at the Division 2 level in national obscurity until the Tobin Anderson-led sixteen-seed Fairleigh Dickinson Knights defeated top-seeded Purdue in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
That season was Anderson’s first in the D1 level after coaching ten years at STAC and his small, but aggressive FDU squad was led by three starters who transferred over from STAC to FDU along with their head coach.
STAC’s former Associate Head Coach Matthew Capell was promoted to head coach soon after Tobin Anderson’s departure and in those two seasons, Capell has continued the program’s standard of excellence. Over the last decade, STAC has won 80% of their games and 87% of East Coast Conference game to the tune of nine straight bids to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
Anchored with their relentless pressure defense, STAC has grown into a destination for recruits with a deep passion for the game. Only fifteen miles from New York City as the crow flies, Aquinas Hall Gym is a quiet refuge away from the city, which Capell and their staff use as a selling point when recruiting as their focus on education, skill development and team building centers their program’s culture.
That being said, STAC’s success is no longer a secret, evident that four of last year’s starters have transferred to Division 1 programs.
The big ticket transfer is James “Biggie” Patterson, who now becomes the fourth STAC transfer to suit up for Tobin Anderson at the D1 level and the first to play at Iona, as well as the first to have been coached exclusively at STAC by Matthew Capell.
“He’s a guy that fans are going to come out and watch for how exciting he is,” says Capell, “For us, [Patterson] guarded all five positions. He handles and shoots it like a guard, so it makes him a really versatile player. He plays with energy and passion.”
Last season, Patterson stuffed the stat sheet, averaging 24 points, eight rebounds and nearly two steals per-game while shooting 36% from three and 76% from the charity stripe. His ability to break down the defender and create his own offense is evident in his eye-popping average of 8.3 free throw attempts-per-game, which would have ranked seventh in Division 1 and just a few tenths off from Illinois star combo forward Terrence Shannon Jr.
“If he has the same jump from sophomore to junior year that he had from freshman to sophomore year, then the sky’s the limit for him, “says Capell, “He treats the game like a professional and wants to go pro, so it’s fun to coach guys [like him]. They come in, they’re at the gym and put in work all the time.”
At 6’7 200, there is no one on Iona’s roster that matches the versatility at his size, so Patterson is a very strong bet to start next season for the Gaels, most likely at the 4.
In March, long-time Cornell head coach Brian Earl was hired by William & Mary one of the many transfers heading to William & Mary is STAC junior guard Kyle Pulliam. One of the best shooters in the program’s history, Pulliam averaged fourteen points-per-game and made 44% of his three-point attempts.
“The kid scores in bunches,” says Capell, “but he’s not just a catch-and-shoot guy. He’s a legit 6’5 guard who handles it well, gets to the paint and draws contact. He’s a strong kid and super athletic.”
Pulliam is also a strong student, so finishing his career at William & Mary was a draw for him. Considering Earl has spent two decades playing and coaching in the Ivy League, it comes to no surprise that three of the program’s incoming transfers played last year in the Ivy League.
Like Capell at STAC, Earl’s defense puts on a ton of pressure with its hard press and that intensity is constant thanks to the high rotation of players that get on the floor each night. Case in point, last year nine Cornell players averaged at least fifteen minutes-per-game, so even though William & Mary’s new roster is deep with guards, Pulliam can assert himself into immediate playing time by displaying his versatility.
Pulliam’s former backcourt mate, Rich Smith, is another incoming junior whose game is tailor-made for his next school, Abilene Christian, another program that utilizes a pressure defense that has ranked within the top-30 in turnovers caused in each of the three seasons of head coach Brette Tanner’s tenure.
“He’s a fun guy to coach,” says Capell, “he guards the opponent’s best guard, distributes the ball, is a high energy guy, and is one of the best, if not, the best rebounding guard I’ve ever coached. In my mind, he should have been at the D1 level right out of high school.”
Averaging nine points, seven rebounds, five assists and one-and-a-half steals per game last season, the only hole in Smith’s game is perimeter shooting – he attempted just six three-point attempts last season – but that shouldn’t be a problem at ACU considering that only about a quarter of ACU’s field goal attempts were from three (356th in the nation, according to KenPom). Smith’s size and creativity at the point guard position gives him a really good shot to start the season as ACU’s starting point guard.
After starting his career at Rider, Lawrence Foreman worked hard to transform his body and improve his play to become STAC’s starting center. Next year, he will try to continue a starting role at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore . “He didn’t play much as a junior, but he stayed on campus the summer going into this past season, worked out every day, fell in love with the weight room and changed his body because he was unhappy with his role,” says Capell, “and I root for guys like that.”
With size typically unforeseen at STAC, the 6’9 240 Foreman “was huge for us, nobody could box him out,” says Capell, “he’s walking into a good situation [at UMES] and there’s an opportunity for him to play a big role,” especially with new head coach Cleo Hill Jr. only starting at his new post earlier this month.
All four of STAC’s outbound transfers should be able to contribute immediately at their new schools, but despite the fact that the Spartans will be missing eight of their ten top scorers from last year’s squad, Coach Capell and his staff are confident with their next wave of talent.
STAC’s foundation starts with their six deep freshman class. “I really like the freshmen,” says Capell, “Probably four or five of them are ready to play right now.”
The most decorated of the incoming freshmen is Boston native John Kallon, a 6’5 combo guard who is a three-star recruit, according to Rivals.com, and he received nine Division 1 offers earlier in his recruitment.
6’6 wing Daouda Traore also received multiple Division 1 offers out of Grace Brethren Christian School, where he led the conference in scoring. At STAC, Traore will likely parlay his athleticism, length and skill into a multi-dimensional Swiss Army Knife type roll. Traore will join STAC alongside his high school teammate, Ky Panda-Massey. At 5 '10, he might have the height of a typical STAC point guard and he could develop into pound-for-pound one of the toughest guards in the ECC. Capell adds: “he’s built like an NFL running back. Ky’s an absolute pitbull and a tough kid.”
Looking to help replenish the shooting of Kyle Pulliam is St. George’s graduate Anthony Daley, who Capell mentions that he has the potential to be the best shooter he’s ever coached. Out of Camden, NJ, Cairo Rivera just finished up his post-grad year at Star Athletes Academy and is a long and athletic 6 '3 combo guard.
Both of STAC’s incoming transfers are safe bets to be penciled into starting roles. A starting guard for the PSAC champs Gannon, Derrick James helped lead Golden Knights to a 30-win season and an Elite Eight appearance. At 5’10 160, James is built more like a traditional STAC guard, but the Brooklyn born point guard plays with a chip on his shoulder and will fit perfectly in what STAC does on both sides of the floor. Last season, James averaged ten points, three rebounds, five assists and two-and-a-half steals per game, so he will fit in seamlessly with their pressure defense.
An NAIA All-American at Florida College, Tyshon Judge is a 6 '3 three-level scorer who averaged seventeen points and five free-throw attempts-per-game while making 36% of his three-point attempts and nearly three-quarters of his free-throw attempts.
STAC also brings back a half-dozen returnees, none of which were full-time starters last season, but with the next wave of talent Capell shares that “there’s going to be a lot of competition at practice and that’s always been something that’s worked well for us.”
Injured for all of last season and most of his freshman season, 6 '5 wing Kyle Jones earned immediate playing time as a potent off-the-bench glue guy averaging six points and a steal per game, helping to generate second-chance points after securing 24 offensive boards in only seven games in his freshman season. With STAC’s overall lack of size and Jones’ ability to crash the boards, the incoming junior has the goods to compete for the starting 4 spot and play a similar role to Sean Moore back in the 2021-22 season.
The center position looks to be a battle between fifth-year returnee Luis Risquez and junior returnee Jordan Green. Starting every game as a freshman, Green ceded the starting role last season following Lawrence Foreman’s breakout. Like Foreman, Rizquez hit the gym hard last summer, lost nearly 25 pounds and earned a steady backup role in the frontcourt.
Returning sophomore Shaun Arnold is a strong rebounding 6 '5 wing while returning 6' 0 junior Zion Ruckard is a creative distributor who limits mistakes and makes smart plays. Like Arnold, 6’5 junior Michael Parrotta crashes the glass and does the little things well that wins games.
Pending a potential late addition from the portal, STAC’s reloaded squad might lack certainty and lineup clarity, but their East Coast Conference comrades should not take the new-look Spartans lightly.
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