16 years. 17 years. 18 years. History, history and more history.
In the 2023-24 season, Marist men’s basketball completed a memorable chapter in the John Dunne era, earning their highest seed in the MAAC championship in 17 years and their highest win total (18) in 16 years. Despite the achievements, Marist fell in the MAAC semi-finals to eventual runner-up Fairfield in heart-breaking fashion, failing to tie the game via free throws with 10 seconds left.
After being picked eight in the poll last year, Marist received some league-wide respect and was picked second in the MAAC coaches poll this season, the Red Foxes’ highest placement in 18 years, including one first-place vote. Marist head coach John Dunne gears up for his seventh season in Poughkeepsie with a unique chance to build on last year’s success.
“I feel like last year the league was wide open. We could have made a run; we fell two points short in the semis. Winning a championship goes beyond the plays your calling. It’s how you’re coming together as a group,” said Dunne.
While teams around the back look to solidify themselves in a shifting conference, here’s a breakdown of where Marist lies with seemingly high expectations for the 2024-25 season.
Who’s In; Who’s Out
Marist returns about 55% of the team’s minutes from last season, needing to replace two starters and three bench players, half of their 10-man rotation. The average MAAC team returns 34% of their team’s minutes, according to Sam Federman’s MAAC 2024-25 Preview.
The two starters no longer in Poughkeepsie are forward Javon Cooley and center Max Allen II. Cooley provided extremely efficient offense as a wing shooter, knocking down 47% of his three-point attempts and leading Marist in offensive rating at 125.2.
Cooley served as a veteran on a young team and was a model example of a hard worker and dedicated player. He transferred to Pepperdine this summer for his graduate year.
Allen II transferred in from San Jose State and burst onto the scene, averaging 17.5 points across the year’s first four games. His ability in the post attracted the defense and forced double teams, where his vision opened up space for shooters outside the arc or cutters in the paint.
Allen II was named to the All-MAAC second-team leading Marist in scoring last year at 11.4 but decided to go pro after entering the transfer portal and signed with the Danang Dragons of the Vietnamese Basketball Association.
His 30% usage rate leaves a sizeable hole in the offense’s direction this year, and the first option is to funnel more offense to the team’s two young guards: sophomore Jadin Collins-Roberts and sophomore Josh Pascarelli. Collins-Roberts started every game while Pascarelli started all but three. Both ranked first and second in minutes last year for the Red Foxes.
Pascarelli led the team in field goal attempts last season and earned a spot on the All-MAAC Rookie Team. With more development, he can break out into an All-MAAC player.
“He’s a very talented offensive player. I’d like to say it was coaching, but he just comes with that natural ability to play. He’s got high IQ, he can see the game,” said Dunne about Pascarelli.
Pascarelli was selected as a MAAC preseason first-team player this year due to his impressive rookie performance. Collins-Roberts was chosen for the second team, the first Marist duo to do so since 2014 and the first preseason first-team selection since 2016.
“We’re not really big on all that stuff. We’re going to go out there and hoop every night. We are just going to play hard regardless of being ranked second, first, whatever,” said Pascarelli.
Collins-Roberts showed flashes of playmaking and individual scoring as a freshman. He grew as the season progressed, leading the point for a Marist team projected to finish at the bottom of the MAAC standings to the no. 3 seed in the MAAC championship.
A notably physical guard, Collins-Roberts led the team in assists (94), but he also racsked up turnovers (80). His work on the defensive end shined as he led Marist in steals (49) and played with extreme toughness that set the tone on a nightly basis.
“I would like to see [Collins-Roberts] at least a 3:1 assist-to-turnover ratio because he’s got that kind of talent. I think he’s got more shooting around him this year,” said Dunne.
He’s also worked on shooting in the offseason; Collins-Roberts made just 24% of his 3-point attempts last year.
“Credit to Jadin, his jump shot has gotten way better. He’s been hitting way more shots in practice,” said Pascarelli.
Junior forward Jaden Daughtry will return to the starting lineup as the leader of this Marist defense. Daughtry is an eraser, whether he is stuffing shots, cleaning the glass, or picking pockets with his long arms and starting the break
An improvement in his 28% from 3-point range can go a long way for Marist, who won’t rely on Daughtry to create offense but needs him to be enough of a threat.
“If he [Daughtry] improves with his offense, we are a better team. Up to this point, he’s making a massive effort to take our coaching to heart. He’s an excellent stationary passer, and we want to get more cutting,” said Dunne.
It’s no secret the Red Foxes depended on defense last year to win many of their games, with a top-100 defensive efficiency according to Kenpom. Marist sprinkled some offensive outbursts in between, but Dunne is looking to make the offense more productive. The Red Foxes ranked 322nd in the country in offense–a possible reason for the semi-final loss–but slotting senior center Jackson Price at the five will allow a variety of playmakers to contribute on the scoring end.
“Without Max [Allen II], and don’t get me wrong, I’m not minimizing how good he was, that opens the court up more and allows us to play faster,” said Dunne. “Even though you’re going to play five-out, you still have to put pressure on the paint. This year we need to be a cutting team.”
The emphasis on offense is not just to be more efficient, but to play with better pace in the half-court and be more consistent in attacking in transition. Collins-Roberts is a picture-perfect point guard when looking to play fast. He shined in the MAAC quarterfinals, scoring 21 points (14 in the second half) to stage a comeback win over Niagara.
His flurry of moves in the open court left Purple Eagles in the dust, and his explosiveness to the rim makes him effective when perimeter defenders are caught out.
“We’re going to play a lot faster. We have a lot more flow, you guys are going to see a lot of moving the ball and fast-paced games,” said Collins-Roberts.
New Kids on the Block
Several of the eight Marist newcomers are positioned to be reasons why the offense improves across all metrics. Chief among them is junior guard Elijah Lewis, who is a likely step-in for Cooley in the three-guard/forward role. Transferring from Division II school Adelphi University, Lewis put up numbers over two years, averaging 15.7 points with 52% field goal, 42% 3-point and 82% free throw shooting percentage.
Lewis is a pure scorer, a shot creator and draws fouls while attacking the defense. Marist shot 69% from the free-throw line, something Lewis can improve with the ball in his hands.
“He’s just a great complement to the other side of Pascarelli. You can’t just focus on Pascarelli because Elijah Lewis can score the ball,” said Dunne.
“If you don’t know about Elijah [Lewis], you’re going to know within the first week or two of the season,” said Pascarelli.
The other seven are three transfers–all juniors–and four freshmen (two walk-ons) each adding their own ingredients to the pot, with several staring down big minutes for Marist.
Junior guard Martin Kawa is a potential sixth option for Marist and another perimeter player to spark the offense. He averaged 19 points per game at junior college Richard Bland and returns to Division I (originally at UNC-Asheville) with a refined body and game.
He profiles as a shooter, but can also operate pick-and-rolls with his midrange game and attack the rim with springy athleticism. Kawa’s performance in practice so far has many in the program excited for the season.
“Offensively, I don’t think there is anybody that can stop the combination of me, Josh [Pascarelli], Jackson Price, Elijah Lewis, Martin Kawa,” said Collins-Roberts.
Forward Travis Roberts and guard Caleb Mackery add to the rotation. Roberts is another shooter at 6 foot 6 inches tall and can play multiple positions. He spent two years at Jacksonville State–one year shooting well and another year shooting poorly–playing just 10 minutes a night in both seasons. Dunne envisions Roberts playing well in this situation with better shot selection and putting him in the best place to succeed.
“When [Roberts] takes the right shots, he’s lights out. He’ll shoot 40% [from 3-point range] for us. He going to be able to space the floor,” said Dunne.
Mackrey is an auxiliary ball handler off the bench, gifted athletically and at 6 foot 3 inches can be another option in multi-guard lineups for Dunne. He suffered a sprained MCL but has participated in scrimmages in recent weeks and should not miss time.
Parby Kabamba, a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo, is a physically gifted and skilled wing with a strong frame as a 6-foot-6, 225-pound freshman. There is a lot of new for him being stateside just one year before Marist and will take time to assimilate to college life.
Dunne is excited for him to develop this year and wants to put him on the court as much as possible given his skill and maturity.
The Price is Right, but what else?
While much of the roster composition leans towards the perimeter, there is an evident query based on the loss of Allen as well as the assessment of recruits/transfers: the frontcourt rotation behind Price.
There’s only one player with experience at the collegiate level, junior forward Matt McCool, who has played sparingly over two years. The other big men on the roster have no playing experience but plenty of intrigue: redshirt freshman center Jason Schofield and freshman forward Tarik Watson.
Schofield did not see a minute last year, spending the season developing, while Watson comes in from two highly regarded high schools and an AAU program. They each offer a different skill set than Price, with Schofield working with his back to the basket at 6-9 and Watson being a nuisance on the glass and in ball screens while anchoring the defense.
“[Jason]’s got some poise in the paint, some ability down there. Every now and again he will take advantage of some post-ups. Tarik is physical, he just hits and screens,” said Dunne.
It will be interesting to see how Dunne puts the minutes together on these three players, but historically, he is not shy from a big rotation and is quick with his substitution game.
“At least in the first half, I’m going to try and get them all in. They all bring something different to the table for maybe whatever that game might need,” said Dunne.
Getting Dunne’s Job Done
Dunne wants his team to be better with turnovers, where they ranked sixth in the MAAC in turnover percentage. For reference: this is not a terrible number at face value, but when a team plays at a slower pace like the the 2023-24 season, that percentage can become alarming. Factor in the goal to play faster, turnovers will be a key indicator of execution this season.
Offensive rebounding is another area of emphasis to improve, where Marist ranked last in the MAAC in offensive rebounds per game and 336th in offensive rebound rate according to Bartovik.
Three of the five leading rebounders (Isaiah Brickner, Cooley and Allen II) are gone. Marist was already a below-average team in the MAAC, revealing a potential issue if new players do not produce.
Daughtry led the team in rebounds last year; but Price, Schofield, Watson and Kabamba are other players that will need to make impacts in that area. The rebounding will need to be done by the collective, including the guards getting physical and securing boards.
The other two freshmen are walk-ons Jagger Bascombe and Antoni Vlogianitis, both guards who have stepped in during practice getting reps when others have dealt with illness or injury.
Besides players, Dunne brought in a new assistant coach this summer, Dan Bozzelli, the head coach at SUNY Purchase from 2020-2024.
“I’m excited that he’s on staff. I’ve watched him and liked the way he goes about things. He’s a junkie for the game and always in the gym. He’s a jack of all trades,” said Dunne.
Before the Red Foxes Attack the MAAC
The Red Foxes open with Ivy League opponent Harvard tonight at 5 p.m. ET, then travel to Richmond to face off against the defending A-10 co-champions on Saturday, Nov. 9. Other notable non-conference games include the home opener against Army on Nov. 15 and a trip to face Stony Brook on Dec. 17.
In their MAAC schedule, Marist opens with Manhattan and Mount St. Mary’s, two teams who project to finish lower in the standings this year but are nonetheless talented and dangerous. They only face Quinnipiac once, the favorite to win the MAAC this year, with the addition of Merrimack and Sacred Heart altering the league schedule.
A challenging four-game stretch begins their full MAAC slate: away to Iona on Jan. 3, home versus Quinnipiac and Fairfield and then a Thursday night trip to St. Peter’s. The gauntlet will reveal how Marist matches up to the heavyweights of the conference with an opportunity to cement themselves even further as a conference contender.
The Red Foxes have just two two-game road trips, the Buffalo swing in late January (Canisius and Niagara) and a Friday-Sunday pair against Siena and Merrimack in mid-February.
Despite the number of new players, the team feels confident about their chemistry and togetherness from day one.
“We had a little bit of a good team last year, but I think this year, it’s gotten even better. It takes a team to get through the MAAC tournament and try to get to the NCAA tournament,” said Collins-Roberts.
Edited by Dan Aulbach
Graphic Credit: Raegan van Zandt
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