LAST SEASON:
Massachusetts went 10-19 overall last season, and 4-12 in the Atlantic 10. They finished fourth in the eastern division of the A-10, and lost in the opening round of the A-10 tournament to Duquesne.
HEAD COACH:
UMass is fronted by 4th year head coach Steve Lappas, who landed the job in March 2001 after a nine year stint as head coach at Villanova.
THIS SEASON:
The Minutemen are 2-1 thus far, with wins over Birmingham Southern, Yale, and a loss to Northeastern.
It is the general consensus that last year’s UMass team was not as bad as its final record turned out. UMass lost nine of its last ten games - much of it attributable to the amount of youth on the team, as opposed to its talent level. That talent returns this season, and UMass is picked to finish first in the A-10’s eastern division by the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook. The coaches picked them to finish 3rd.
PROJECTED STARTERS:
PG – #12 Anthony Anderson (5-11, Sr.) = Anderson is a four year starter for the Minutemen, and a steady floor leader. He averaged 12.9 PPG last year, dished out 3.5 APG, and also averaged an impressive 4.4 RPG. Anderson is also UMass’ best 3 point shooter – he shot 39% from behind the arc last year.
G - #34 Art Bowers (6-4, So.) = Bowers started in 23 games for the Minutemen last year, and he made the A-10 All Rookie team. Bowers has great upside. He is a very streaky scorer. If he catches fire, look out! Nice athleticism. He averaged 8.1 PPG last year.
G – #3 Maurice Maxwell (6-5, So.) = Maxwell started 19 games last season, and averaged 8.1 PPG, 3.1 RPG, and 3.1 APG. He can play off guard or wing, and is being groomed to be a point guard right now. Maxwell has the ability to get hot and score in bunches.
F - #5 Stephane Lasme (6-8, So.) = Lasme comes from Gabon, and is a versatile big with great athleticism. He also has a terrific shooting touch. Lasme is also considered UMass’ best defensive player, and he accumulated a team high 51 blocked shots last year.
F = #1 Rashaun Freeman (6-9, So.) = Freeman is without a doubt UMass’ best player, and stands a good chance to play at the next level. The A-10 Rookie of the Year last year, Freeman averaged 15.4 PPG and 8.5 RPG. He is blessed with soft hands and a great soft touch around the basket. He also has massive body, yet is still athletic and agile. He can shoot well from the perimeter, and is a nice passer for a big man. He can be weak defensively against quality big men. He has been totally dominant in their first three games.
KEY RESERVES:
Chris Chadwick (#2, 6-3, Sr.) = Chadwick last season served as the primary backup to Anderson, although he is by definition a combo guard. He is juco transfer in his second year with the Minutemen. Chris has a strong body and can do a variety of things on the court to help his team win. Jeff Viggiano (#22, 6-6, Jr.) can play both forward positions and started in 25 games last year. Viggiano was 2nd on the team in rebounding last year. He also can stroke it from behind the 3 point arc. Lawrence Carrier (#23, 6-8, Fr.) sat out last year due to academic issues, but was a top 100 player coming out of high school a couple of years ago. He is an excellent shooter with major upside. Jeff Salovski (#24, 6-11, Fr.) is a wide body who provides depth behind Freeman.