Mike Alvarado ran out of eligibility at Manhattan, but he is still making an impact on the program.
Steve Masiello loved knowing where his production would come from in 2013-14.
“The thing I realized about last year’s team was you knew what you were getting every night,” the Manhattan coach said on Oct. 22. “George was going to get his 17 [points] and seven [rebounds], Rhamel was going to get his 12 [points] and four [blocks] and Mike was going to be Mike.”
He was, of course, referring to George Beamon, Rhamel Brown and Mike Alvarado, a trio of holdovers from the Barry Rohrssen era that blossomed into MAAC stars under Masiello.
With their collectively diverse skill set and leadership, the seniors carried Manhattan to its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2004. Now, they’re gone.
Sort of.
Brown is playing professionally in Israel, and Beamon is entering the NBA D-League draft. Alvarado, however, is still on campus, finishing up his last semester of classes and working out with the team as he prepares for his pro career.
Masiello and Alvarado each shared the same wistful response when asked in jest if the NCAA had granted the point guard an extra year of eligibility: “I wish.”
But even an ineligible Alvarado has impacted the team this fall.
“It’s been great for the young guys,” Masiello said.
Alvarado has no position to fight for, yet he doesn’t just perfunctorily run through Manhattan’s sets in a practice 24 days before the Jaspers open their season at Florida State. He hustles. He sprints. He does the dirty work, which at one point includes running into a hard Masiello shoulder of a screen, set to show sophomore Carlton Allen how to compete physically with the ostensibly bigger, stronger Seminoles.
That’s just Mike being Mike.
“I’ve always said Mike was our culture. Mike was our toughness,” Masiello said. “The intangibles he brought were just phenomenal.”
It was that toughness that didn’t waver against Louisville’s swarming defense, as Alvarado scored Manhattan’s first eight points against the No. 4 seed last March. When every other Jasper appeared rattled in the opening minutes, Alvarado calmly nailed a three-pointer. Two possessions later he drove in for a layup, and not a minute afterwards he buried another trey to tie the game at 8 and send a message to Russ Smith and Co.: The Jaspers aren’t going anywhere.
With the lessons of leadership passed on from Alvarado — as well as Beamon and Brown — to the younger Jaspers, this year’s team is out to send a similar message to the MAAC and the rest of college basketball.
“You know we want to be back-to-back champs,” redshirt-junior Ashton Pankey said. “That’s always a goal: getting back to the NCAA tournament and not just winning a game. We’re trying to go to the Sweet 16, maybe a Final Four. Sky’s the limit for us. Hopefully we come together and we get there.”
Said senior Emmy Andujar, referring to last year’s graduating class: “They taught us how to get there.”
Alvarado’s toughness, Beamon’s resiliency and Brown’s commitment to the defensive end have resonated with the 2014-15 Jaspers. The leaders of yesteryear are gone, but not forgotten.
Because of those graduations — specifically Brown’s — this year’s Jaspers will have a different look defensively.
Brown averaged 3.6 blocks per game, altering several more. Opponents knew that driving the lane meant challenging one of the country’s best natural shot-blockers, and that mental factor should not be understated.
Manhattan cannot fill that role. Pankey, at 6-foot-10 and 225 pounds, is bigger and stronger than most MAAC forwards, but he just doesn’t have Brown’s shot-blocking instincts.
As they’ve done every year under Masiello, the Jaspers will wear down offenses with their high-pressure defense — they’ve ranked in the top 35 in turnover percentage each of the last three seasons. The length of the incoming class should make the pressure even harder to break.
Calvin Crawford and Jermaine Lawrence, the Cincinnati transfer, should be the keys to making that a reality. Their height — Crawford is 6-foot-8 and Lawrence is 6-foot-10 — doesn’t compromise their athleticism or ability to run the floor. Lawrence was rated highly out of high school because of his speed and length.
Rivals ranked him as the 26th best prospect in the Class of 2013, while ESPN had him at No. 35.
“The thing I love about him the most, and why I think he’s going to have success, is how hard he plays,” Masiello said. “Every time he steps between those lines that young man competes, and that is a skill. He affects the game in a variety of ways. I love it.”
And offensively, Crawford and Lawrence will make their mark, as will fellow newcomer Zane Waterman. Crawford is essentially a taller Andujar with a better shot but less advanced handles. Lawrence will excel in transition and on the offensive glass, and Waterman can stretch the floor.
Expectations have mounted for Andujar and Pankey, who each showed flashes of their potential as go-to-guys late in the season — Andujar in Manhattan’s overtime defeat of Iona, in the MAAC tournament and against Louisville, and Pankey in the NCAA tournament.
Manhattan will need them to bring that high level of offensive production more consistently, but the Jaspers have other players capable of scoring. Shane Richards, Rashawn Stores and Rich Williams each bring something to the table.
They’re ready because of the mentorship from last year’s senior class.
“I saw guys like George and Mike and Rhamel, and I really just learned from them,” said Richards, who debuted as a pure shooter but has added handling and leadership to his skills set. “It takes time to learn the system and the process, but as you get older you mature more and you learn from those guys that are older than you and have done it before. You just pick up little things from them.”
And because players like Richards are prepared for expanded roles, Masiello has a “luxury” many coaches would envy.
“I think this team has a lot of guys that could really step up and really have what I call ‘alpha roles,’” Masiello said, “but I don’t think you’ll see the same guy have alpha roles every night, which I like — because how do you prepare for it?”
Maybe some things are better unknown.
Ari Kramer is a New York-based writer who covers the MAAC for One-Bid Wonders. Follow him on Twitter at @Ari_Kramer.
Tags: George Beamon, Jaspers, Manhattan, Mike Alvarado, Rhamel Brown, Steve Masiello
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