Mike Griffin, head coach of the Rensselaer men’s basketball team, knew heading into the 2004-2005 season that scoring would be a challenge for the Red Hawks. With the departure of All-Conference center Jared Hite, Griffin, now in his 21st season at the helm, knew defense would have to be his team’s focal point. And it certainly was in Rensselaer’s 64-55 win over Middlebury College last Saturday in Middlebury, Vermont.
The Red Hawks relentlessly harassed the Panthers on defense, forcing the struggling Middlebury squad to shoot just 32 percent from the field in the game. The low scoring affair was the second of its kind, as RPI defeated Southern Vermont in similar fashion a week ago Tuesday. The Red Hawks, who lost their first two games in the Buffalo State Tournament, have now evened their record at 2-2.
“It was important for us to get these two wins,” Griffin said with his team now back at .500 “We feel like we can really be a good team now.”
Paris Moore and John Van Schaick tallied 13 apiece to lead RPI while Russell Herman added 10 off the bench.
Despite the two wins, the Red Hawks’ offensive production, or lack thereof, is still a major concern for Rensselaer as they prepare to enter the Oneonta State Tournament against NESCAC opponent Wesleyan. It took a 24 point effort from Hite for the Red Hawks to sneak away with a 98-94 victory last season.
“It is hard to beat teams when you cannot shoot better than 40 percent,” Griffin admitted. Rensselaer currently has hit just 38 percent of their shots overall and are 22 percent from three point range.
“We have a diverse group of guys with a lot of different talents,” Griffin said. “We can come at people from a lot of different directions; we just are not firing on all cylinders.”
The team’s failures to score has created problems for them on defense, as they have been unable to set-up any consistent defensive pressure.
“We want to get the tempo of the game up,” Griffin said. “The problem is we need to score more so we can pressure the ball more, so we are limited on defense by our shortcomings on offense.”
Despite their early struggles offensively, the Red Hawks do have a few reasons to smile, the biggest of which being junior forward Tom Schneider. Schneider has hit double-digits for scoring in three of the team’s four games and leads RPI in rebounding.
“Tom has a lot of tools to work with,” Griffin said. “We have two 6’5’’ guys [Schneider and Matt Zepernick] who can really run the floor.”
Schneider, who only managed four points against Middlebury, had possibly the biggest basket of the game, a difficult put-back just after the Panthers had cut the lead to five. However, Wesleyan’s 6’7’’ Robert Kelly will present a new challenge for Schneider.
“He [Kelly] is a good player on the block,” Griffin said. “But he could really have his hands full chasing Tom all day.”
Senior captain Van Schaick has also been a solid contributor for Rensselaer, averaging 12 points and over five rebounds per game. Griffin has been extremely pleased with his senior guard’s leadership and improvement, saying Van Schaick has the potential to really be “dangerous” this season.
The bench has also improved steadily for RPI, with Herman becoming the first non-starter to break into double-digits this season.
“We have started to get some terrific play from the bench,” Griffin commented. “Mike Visker, Graham Gordon, Kori Massey, Devin Galvin, Joe Johnson, and especially Russell Herman have all picked it up.”
According to Griffin, Herman’s improvement has not come as a surprise, since the 6’7’’ forward has shown tremendous progress in practice.
Johnson, a junior guard, has also caught Griffin’s attention. Johnson, who joined the basketball team late after a long season on the men’s soccer team, is finally starting to regain his form.
“We need to have a bench to win against good teams,” Griffin admitted. “We cannot be asking our starters to bear the entire burden.”
RPI will hopefully continue to improve this weekend in Oneonta and bring home a tournament championship for the first time since 2000, and will give the Red Hawks a chance to enter the Christmas Break on a four-game win streak, a fact that has not been overlooked by the Rensselaer head coach.
“These are huge games for us,” Griffin said. “This a great chance for us to possibly win a tournament and go home for the break feeling good about ourselves.”
The winter break will be a short one for the Red Hawks, who are due back on campus December 26. The team will then fly to Daytona, Fl. to participate in the Buena Vista at the Land of Magic Tournament. RPI will play five other games over the break, including their first two Liberty League games at rivals Union and Skidmore.
