Tribe’s identity a work in progress
Blame, credit or thank the NCAA transfer portal.
William & Mary’s men’s basketball team, third-year coach Dane Fischer says, has gotten younger while the rest of the Colonial Athletic Association has gotten older with the addition of transfers. That’s fitting, he says.
Two years ago he inherited a relatively experienced team that included 6-foot-10 Nate Knight — who played 33 games for the Atlanta Hawks last season and five for the Minnesota Timberwolves this season — winning 21 games, then guided a less-veteran group to a 7-10 mark in a 2020-21 season interrupted several times by COVID-19.
“It was more like a half-season,” said small forward Connor Kochera, a 6-4 sophomore who averaged 13.4 points and 4.8 rebounds in earning CAA Rookie of the Year honors.
“In kind of a weird way, this feels like our first year in trying to establish our identity as a program,” Fischer said.
That basketball identity will always blend with W&M’s institutional identity as one of America’s elite universities. So Fischer leans more on recruiting players out of high school like Kochera with a firm grasp of their ABCs.
“Academics, basketball and character — guys who can help establish our culture,” he said.
That is not to say the Tribe were unaffected by the transfer portal. Versatile guard Luke Loewe, the Tribe star the past two seasons, took his 16.4-point average to Big Ten school Minnesota, where he will play his graduate season.
Transferring into the program is 6-7 Brandon Carroll, who started 11 games for Division I Bryant of the Northeast Conference three years ago. He averaged 16.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and hit 37.5% of his 3s for Division II Florida Southern last year, and he fits the W&M profile
as he snagged conference recognition for academics while there.
Although it’s difficult to see any silver lining in Loewe’s departure, the addition of Carroll will allow the Tribe to play bigger by moving sharpshooter Kochera to shooting guard on occasion.
The Tribe should be significantly better inside.
Ben Wight (6.9 ppg), a 6-9 sophomore, progressed steadily last season at center. Improving 6-9 senior Mehkel Harvey — who made the All-CAA defensive team with a league-high 2.4 blocks per game — has been suspended for the first semester but could return for the second. Landon Hatton, a 6-10 freshman, has looked good in preseason, so depth in the post is improved.
Quinn Blair (11.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg), a 6-7 senior, was the Tribe’s steadiest player inside last season. Along with Kochera and Carroll, the Tribe should be plenty competitive rebounding the basketball.
The arrival of Tyler Rice, the
W&M at a glance
7-10 4-6 Colonial Athletic Association (7th)
Dane Fischer (28-21 in two seasons at William & Mary)
Today at Wake 1. Delaware, 2. Northeastern, 3. Drexel, 4. James Madison, 5. Hofstra, 6. Elon, 7. Charleston, 8. Towson, 9. UNC Wilmington, 10. William & Mary. program’s first true point guard in years, increases the backcourt’s versatility. A 6-1 freshman who led his South Carolina high school to three state titles, Rice allows Yuri Covington (9.5 ppg) — a shooting guard who performed well at point guard last season when not injured — to move to the 2 spot.
“We’re really excited to see what Tyler can bring,” Fischer said. “First and foremost, he is a point guard, someone who can run the team and get other guys involved.”
If so, younger might just prove to be better for the Tribe this season.