The State of Gaels Basketball

Fresh from winning four consecutive Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) championships, the only limit that was stopping the Iona Gaels men’s basketball program was the sky. Lead by the reigning MAAC Coach of The Year Tim Cluess, the 2019-2020 Iona Gaels have a roster that is stacked with veteran talent that is also supported by a promising frontcourt lead by Tajuan Agee and E.J. Crawford .

The 6-9, 225 senior forward is coming of a season which saw the Chicago native collect a slew of awards which includes second-team All-MAAC, third-team All-MET and MAAC All-Championship honoree. With an impressive career field goal percentage of over 45% fans can make the argument that he was the team’s MVP.

Aiding Agee in the paint is combo guard/forward E.J. Crawford. The Hartford native was ranked 10th in the state of Connecticut and is one of just 15 players in MAAC history to have three championships. Like Agee, Crawford also has his share of awards with first team all-MAAC and MET in his resume. With these two men coming back to conclude their collegiate careers the strive for five seems inevitable as this point.

However, it wouldn’t be fair to just give all credit to both Crawford and Agee, the Gaels also boosted their backcourt as well. This year they landed Isaiah Washington a once coveted prospect from Minnesota to assist in relieving some of the load off of Agee and Crawford. The former Mr. New York Basketball recipient holds the second highest single game assist total in Minnesota history with 13 along with zero turnovers in a win against North Florida.

Fast forward in 2020 with league play in full effect, the team is currently last in the conference with a 2-4 record with two of the four losses coming within three points or less. And while their overall record is 4-9 this is a far cry from the champs a season ago where they stood 4-2 in league play with the identical overall record . The Gaels currently average 68 points a game and 34 rebounds a game with EJ Crawford leading the team in scoring and Tajuan Agee leading the team in rebounds.

But what sticks out in the teams current statistics is the turnovers. The maroon and gold currently average around 16 turnovers a game and while this surprisingly does not lead the league in terms of margin, this definitely plays a role in some of the losses that the team suffered over the course of the season. For an example, in a road loss against LaSalle, the Explorers scored 17 points off of turnovers committed by Iona. This lead to them gaining momentum and eventually winning the game thanks to a 6-0 overtime run.

Iona fans should still remain hopeful as the season is just getting started and neutral play has concluded. With thirteen games left in the season there is more than enough time for the Gaels to turn it around. And with the team hosting Canisius on Friday, can the team win and begin a streak? Can the turnovers be trimmed to respectable numbers? There’s only one way to find out