Newcomers old hands at winning
3 graduate student transfers sharing their championship pedigree with Retrievers
When UMBC players recently visited Topgolf in Baltimore, they discovered a few things.
Graduate student shooting guard Colton Lawrence is the best golfer.
Freshman guard Dion Brown doesn’t have the prettiest swing but still makes good contact.
Sophomore guard Devan Sapp isn’t entirely sure whether he golfs left- or righthanded.
The trip to Topgolf was organized by graduate student point guard Craig Beaudion II, who did a similar thing when he was a member of Cleveland State’s roster for three years, including the 2020-21 squad that captured the Horizon League regular-season and tournament championships.
“One of the things about a championship team is getting to know your teammates,” he said. “You’ve got to know who you are and know the people you’re around.
“The connectivity off the court can lead to connectivity on the court. So that’s why I brought up the Topgolf idea: just to bring that connectivity.”
Beaudion is one of three graduate student transfers who bring a championship pedigree to the Retrievers.
Lawrence scored 15.7 points per game to lead Bentley to the NCAA Division II Tournament quarterfinals for the first time since 2010. And forward Tra’Von Fagan was a member of the 2018-19 Buffalo team that won Mid-American Conference regular-season and tournament crowns before falling in the second round of the NCAA Division I Tournament.
That trio has made immediate contributions to UMBC (3-3). Lawrence leads the offense in points per game (15.7) and ranks third in assists (two). Fagan ranks second in rebounds (5.2) and is tied for sixth in points (5.5), and Beaudion leads in assists (2.8) and is tied with Fagan in points.
Lawrence scored 21 points and Beaudion had 11 points and four assists in the Retrievers’ 76-72 loss at UNC Greensboro on Tuesday night. But as welcomed as the on-court production is, coach Jim Ferry said he values the threesome’s example for a team that returned just two players with significant playing time last winter.
“We felt strongly about going after guys that had championship backgrounds, guys that had been to the NCAA Tournament, guys that understand what it takes to get to the NCAA Tournament,” he said. “We
wanted guys that wanted to be a part of a program but have some leadership and bring some experience to get back to the NCAA Tournament.”
How the transfers can influence their teammates is perhaps more of an intangible.
There are the obvious examples in which Beaudion, Fagan and Lawrence share their experiences and try to set good examples with their work ethic and commitment. Despite their backgrounds, Lawrence said he doesn’t try to lord it over anyone.
“No matter if we’re coming off a win or a loss, what our bodies are feeling like, it’s about showing everyone that even though I’m older I’m not above anyone else,” he said. “I’m going to give up my body and work as hard as I possibly can on every single rep.”
Then there are the practical moments.
Over the summer Fagan arranged for four cookouts with teammates who were already on campus. He whipped up lemon pepper wings, bratwursts, hamburgers and hot dogs to the delight of his teammates.
“Ten out of 10,” graduate student forward Jarvis Doles said of Fagan’s culinary skills. “I chef-ed it up,” Fagan bragged.
Fagan said the food served as an opportunity to have the players connect away from the combative spotlight on the court.
“I think you can’t always be close on the court because there’s a lot of competitiveness, and sometimes you’ve got to get after one another,” he said. “So it’s good to have those times where you can sit back, chill and relax with your teammates and just be cool instead of always competing.”
At times Beaudion, Fagan and Lawrence
might be too accommodating, according to Ferry. The day after a 94-64 loss to Princeton at home Nov. 14, Ferry met with the threesome and asked them how they addressed the setback with their teammates.
“They were kind of like, ‘Well, we just tried to stay positive,’ ” Ferry said. “I said, ‘OK, but we’ve also got to hold accountability on things.’ No one wants to step on each other’s toes, so I think we’re still having to develop that leadership side.”
Lawrence said he is still working on confronting his teammates.
“When we have a game like that, each of us has a dozen plays in our heads where we know we needed to do something more or we didn’t give enough effort or we were lacking focus,” he said. “So it’s kind of hard to address the team when I know that I should be the first one to raise my hand.”
Ferry said the one objective is to develop Beaudion, Fagan and Lawrence into on-court extensions of the coaching staff. Beaudion said he and his teammates welcome that responsibility.
“I don’t think it’s pressure on us because we’ve been here before,” he said. “I think it’s a great opportunity to show that we are veterans [who] can lead the younger guys, to make them a path so that when we leave, they’ll be the veterans.
“So I don’t think there’s any pressure . ... If you’re a leader and a veteran, you embrace your role, and I think that’s what everybody does on this team.”
The trio’s influence seems to be rubbing off, according to Doles, a Baltimore resident and Hammond graduate.
“I feel like I’m chasing that winning feeling,” he said. “That’s something that I crave above anything else. … Now that this is my last year, I want that more than anything in the world.”
Before Tuesday’s setback the Retrievers had won two straight games. More will be revealed when they begin play in the America East on Jan. 1 against Vermont, winners of five of the last six regular-season titles and four of the last six tournament championships, but Lawrence said the seeds for growth are there.
“I’m looking forward to see,” he said. “Especially with this work ethic, I don’t see how we don’t have some type of success.”