The wait is finally over. The 2018-19 basketball season is upon us and UMass Lowell is eager to get back to work on the heels of the squad’s first taste of Division I post-season eligibility. The River Hawks’ new campaign opens at in-state foe Massachusetts on Tuesday, November 6 at 7 p.m.

“We’re really excited for this year,” said Head Coach Pat Duquette. “As a coaching staff, we’ve really enjoyed working with this group. They’re very coachable, fun to be around, and they’re very positive with each other and how they interact.”

Duquette feels that this year’s team shows a lot of promise, despite being one of the youngest groups he’s coached during his time in Lowell with a seven-member incoming class.

“We’ve got a lot of young pieces, a lot of new guys to blend into the mix, but we like what we have to work with,” commented the sixth-year coach. “We feel like we’ve made a lot of progress.”

In 2017-18, the River Hawks finished with a 12-18 overall record, as well as a 6-10 mark in America East play to tie for sixth in the regular-season standings and qualify for its first America East Championship. In addition, the River Hawk offense averaged 76.2 points per game to lead the league.

KEYS TO SUCCESS

Heading into this upcoming season, Duquette hopes to get a lot out of the youth of the team.

“I think one of the biggest things is to get some of our leadership to develop, to communicate and really help our young guys make some progress. We’ve got a good young group. Right now it’s about trying to figure out which freshmen are ready to play college basketball right away. There’s such a big difference in the level of intensity and consistency that you’re going to need to transition from high school to college, so we’ve got a lot of guys that are learning that right now. The quicker we get them up to speed, the better.”

VETERAN LEADERSHIP

With half of the team entering their rookie season, leadership from the returning seven will be extremely important. For the first time in Coach Duquette’s tenure, the River Hawks have named team captains, and in doing so, redshirt-senior Josh Gantz (Grove City, Ohio) and senior Ryan Jones (Rio Rancho, N.M.) will look to play a major leadership role this season.

“Ryan and Josh really understand us as a coaching staff, philosophically what we’re about, what we’re trying to accomplish, the approach that we take to developing players and developing the program, both on and off the court,” explained Duquette. “They’ve been through a lot of challenges and struggles, but they’ve been persistent and never stopped believing in the right way to do things.”

With the River Hawks graduating their top two scorers from last season, Ryan Jones is the squad’s top returner, averaging 11.3 points and 4.6 rebounds in 2017-18. He shot a team-best 38.1 percent (43-113) from beyond the arc as a junior, and ranked second on the team with 91 assists.

As a redshirt-sophomore, Josh Gantz chipped in with 8.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. He boasted a team- and career-high 32 blocks, in addition to finishing second on the team with 39 steals.

Other than the two captains, Duquette believes that there are several other team members who can step up and provide leadership. Redshirt-junior Connor Bennett (Wilmington, Mass.) appeared in 25 games with 4.0 points and 2.2 rebounds per game last season, while senior Shawn Jones (Bridge City, La.) averaged 4.1 points with 45 total assists in his first year with the River Hawks. Redshirt-junior Christian Lutete (Silver Spring, Md.) will suit up for his first season with UMass Lowell in 2018-19 after missing last year due to NCAA Division I transfer rules.

“Connor Bennett has quietly earned the respect of his teammates and always seems to say the right things at the right time, so he can play a role. Christian Lutete and Shawn Jones have only been here a year, but they’re mature and experienced upperclassmen, who have led by example. The guys notice their work ethic and their mental approach to the game. All of our returners are going to be pivotal in terms of offering leadership for the underclassmen.”

Also back after a successful freshman campaign will be Obadiah Noel (Frederick, Md.). Last season, Noel was named to the America East All-Rookie Team after averaging 18.4 minutes, 6.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.

Classmate Joey Naccarato (Coeur d'Alene, Id.) returns for his sophomore season, as well. Naccarato appeared in 13 games in 2017-18 with a personal-best eight points on two occasions.

NEWCOMERS

The River Hawk squad will start the season with plenty of new faces. The list includes Allin Blunt (Bowie, Md.), Bryce Daley (Pittsfield, Mass.), Joey Glynn (Portsmouth, N.H.), Darius Henderson (Pasadena, Calif.), Mark Mayle (Malvern, Ohio), Alex Rivera (Lowell, Mass.) and Sesan Russell (London, England).

“The good news about the seven freshmen is every one of them has made great progress and shown a lot of good things,” stated Duquette. “The hard part is none of them have really stood out from the rest, so it makes our job that much more difficult. They’ve all earned opportunities to see what they can do and see if they can play right away, so that’s good for the long term, but it just makes it a little bit trickier in the short term. We’re keeping an open mind and we’ll keep watching them before we make any decisions about who’s the most ready to get into the rotation.”

“We tried to make a conscious effort to create a balanced schedule, keeping the level of competitiveness, but eliminating some of the travel,” said Duquette. “We’re going to play UConn, and we’re going to play UMass, which are games that our guys get really excited about and they are great exposure for our program.”