By Andrew Robinson
The date is Monday March 9, 2015. The Manhattan Jaspers had just won their second consecutive MAAC championship, and it marked the second time the Jaspers had won back-to-back MAAC crowns since the turn of the new Millennium.
That’s nothing new for a team that has appeared in five MAAC tournament championships from 2000 to 2015, tied for third behind only Iona and Siena in that rarefied air.
But hard times have come to Manhattan since the glory days of the first two decades of the 21st century. The team hasn’t finished above .500 since that magical 2015 season that landed them in the NCAA tournament. Last year, they struggled en route to an 8-12 conference record, but not even a conference tournament win over Fairfield could salvage the season, which ended with a loss to Siena in the quarterfinals before COVID-19 hit and the league cancelled the tournament.
This year is shaping up to be much different.
With the addition of three NCAA division one transfers and two junior college transfers, along with a strong returning core, the Jaspers are expected to be one of the best teams in the conference this season.
Picked fifth in the conference by fellow coaches, the Jaspers enter the 2020-21 season with high expectations.
“We understand the moment. There’s a lot of good teams in the league,” head coach Steve Masiello said. “We understand we’re going to have our work cut out for us, but we’re not going to shy away from any expectations.”
The main reason that the Jaspers enter this season as one of the early favorites in the MAAC is due to their success this off season on the transfer market. The team added Anthony Nelson from Seton Hall of The Big East, Samba Diallo from UMass of the Atlantic 10 and Jason Douglas-Stanley, who played at George Mason, also of the Atlantic 10.
Nelson comes to the Jaspers after two years at Seton Hall, where he helped the Pirates win the Big East regular season championship in 2019-20, and earn a top 15 finish in the final national AP poll.
“I’m just ready to show that I belong. I felt like at Seton Hall you feel like you just went away, and everyone forgot about you,” Nelson, a 6-foot-4 guard, said. “So I just feel like this is my year. I just can’t wait to show everyone that I belong, and just get ready to win with my teammates.”
The biggest addition to the Jaspers this off season, pun intended, is UMASS transfer Samba Diallo. The 6-7 forward started 30 games in the A-10 and averaged nearly seven points and six rebounds per game last season, including a 12-point 13-rebound performance against Duquesne. He followed that with a career high 19-point 3-rebound effort the very next game against St. Joseph’s.
Diallo arrives in the Bronx ready to make an immediate impact in the MAAC. Alongside pre-season second-team All-MAAC selection Warren Williams, the Jaspers should have one of the most formidable frontlines in the conference.
“We’re all different. Every single one of us has something that we’re going to bring to the table that’s different than the other,” Diallo said when asked about how he will fit in with the other forwards. “I will bring intensity to the table, and I’m available for the team and for coach for whatever they need me to do.”
Probably the most underrated of the trio of transfers is Mount Vernon native Jason Douglas-Stanley. Douglas Stanley joins the Jaspers after a highly decorated high school career where he was an All State selection, which eventually led him to George Mason. While with the Patriots, the 6-foot-2 Douglas-Stanley couldn’t establish himself in the backcourt rotation. Now, he joins a loaded Manhattan team ready for a fresh start.
“Coming back was a blessing. Truly having the opportunity to come to Manhattan and play was amazing for me,” Douglas-Stanley said of his return. “I’m just glad and happy I’m able to play for a team like this, under a coach like (Masiello), and with the city being from New York behind my back, I just want to put on for them, and help the team win this year.”
Though the Jaspers added a lot of talent to the fold this offseason, they will be tasked with replacing a lot of production from last year's team as well.
Pauly Paulicap, Tykei Greene, and Christian Hinckson all elected to enter the transfer portal and pursue other opportunities in the spring. The Jaspers also lost Tyler Reynolds to graduation. The four of them accounted for a combined 33.2 points per game and 19.5 rebounds per game, while averaging 25.3 minutes per game combined.
For a team that averaged 62 points per game last season, and 34.7 rebounds per game, losing more than half of both your scoring and rebounding production is quite the uphill battle. However, the Jaspers also return a strong core who Masiello said will mesh well with the transfers to compensate for the lost production.
“I think with the additions that we have, with what’s returning, it’s a really nice complement to one another. I think these three guys all fill major voids that we had,” Masiello said when referring to Diallo, Douglas-Stanley, and Nelson. “They’re all different but they all fill big holes that we had in our roster, and I think it’s going to play to the strengths of the other guys.”
The Jaspers return Williams in the frontcourt, but also return their starting lead guard Samir Stewart, who is the highest scoring returner from a season ago. Paired with Nehemiah Mack and Elijah Buchanan, who also played major roles for the Jaspers last season, the core is intact for another run at the tournament this season.
“You put me and Samir together in the backcourt, we’ll be able to play off of each other like nothing.” Nelson said when comparing this year's backcourt to last years at Seton Hall. “I think it’ll be the same as Seton Hall, but it’s just now with more confidence....And Samir, I think he’s just as good as Quincy (McKnight), so I think it’ll be the same.”
Despite the expectations, Masiello knows that his team will have to work hard, in order to return to the top of the MAAC standings like they once were.
Their Goal? The 2021 NCAA tournament.
“The only thing that could get in our way is ourselves. And I don’t say that arrogantly.” Masiello said. “We need to understand we need to come in and work everyday, and be the best version of ourselves as the other ten teams in the league are going to attempt to do.”
The Jaspers will begin their quest for the MAAC championship when conference play begins on Dec. 8.