By Sam Federman
With just over 120 days until the college basketball season starts, the rosters are still getting fully shaken out. A few MAAC programs have had some pieces of news come through over the last few weeks that will affect the 2024-25 season.
Niagara lost every scholarship player from last year's team, and added in three freshmen with their transfer haul. One of those freshmen, Landon Williams, recently announced that he tore his ACL and meniscus, meaning he will miss the upcoming season.
Williams, a native Michigander, is a 6-foot-5 guard who played at North Farmington High School, about half an hour from downtown Detroit. He was selected to the OAA Conference All-League team this past season.
The Purple Eagles received eleven transfer commitments this offseason, but one of them, Cam Kearney, will not be playing for the team this season. Kearney, who was Niagara's first commit, averaged 16.6 points per game for Division II Clarion.
Niagara's roster is as follows:
6-1 G Jahari Williamson
6-2 G Zion Russell
6-2 G Damondre McKnight
6-3 G Josiah Davis
6-4 G Landon Williams (FR - Injured)
6-4 G Jaeden Marshall
6-5 G Justin Page
6-5 G Olumide Adelodun
6-5 G AJ McBride
6-6 G Justice Smith
6-8 F Will Shortt (FR)
6-9 C James Henderson Jr.
6-11 C Jhaylon Martinez
Manhattan has added a few names to the 2024-25 roster over the last few weeks. Amaan Sandhu, who was the first Indian-born player to receive a Division I basketball scholarship two years ago at Monmouth, committed to play for the Jaspers next season. The seven-foot-one Sandhu brings much-needed size to John Gallagher's roster, which is heavy on small guards and young wings. He has yet to fill a major role at the collegiate level, playing just 4.5 minutes per game this past season.
The Jaspers were a little late to the party in terms of landing commits, but Manhattan also recently added Fraser Roxburgh to the roster. The six-foot-five Australian played two games for the Adelaide 36ers in the NBL during the 2022-23 season as a developmental player at age 17. He played in 20 games for the West Adelaide Bearcats of NBL1 in 2023, averaging 12.9 points per game while shooting 42% from beyond the arc.
Croatian forward/big Marko Ljubičić is the third and final recent pickup for Manhattan. He stands six-foot-nine and averaged 5.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per contest in the 2023 FIBA U18 European Championship.
Manhattan's roster is as follows
5-11 G Devin Dinkins
6-0 G Jaden Winston
6-2 G Shaquil Bender
6-3 G Masiah Gilyard
6-4 G Raziel Hayun
6-4 G Brett Rumpel
6-5 G Fraser Roxburgh (FR)
6-7 F Wesley Robinson
6-8 F Alijah Curry (FR)
6-8 F William Sydnor (FR)
6-9 G Allen Myers (RSFR)
6-9 F Marko Ljubičić (FR)
7-1 C Amaan Sandhu
Fairfield recently finalized its roster with the addition of Fordham transfer guard Noah Best. He redshirted in 2022-23 for the Rams before playing sparingly this past season off the bench. The Stags have just one true freshman on the roster (Isaac Munkadi) but multiple long-term projects with three or more years of eligibility left, and a redshirt already burned, in Best and Makuei Riek.
Merrimack officially announced the signings of their new additions. Among the group was incoming freshman guard Tye Dorset from Lenape, NJ. He committed to the Warriors back in October, but he was not listed in the MAAC Offseason Hub until his signing. The six-foot-two Dorset was a 1000-point scorer for Lenape, and averaged 18 points per game this past season. He was named First Team All-South Jersey by South Jersey Sports Zone, along with Manhattan signee Alijah Curry.
Sacred Heart's facility renovations are chugging along. I stopped by the Pitt Center on Sunday and saw the design and the progress. The court is expected to be ready by October, and will run in the opposite direction from where the court previously ran.
Siena held a media availability last week, I'll link a thread of the quotes from head coach Gerry McNamara, as well as a few players.
Former Iona star Daniss Jenkins, who finished his college career with Rick Pitino at St. John's, signed a two-way deal with the Pistons following the NBA Draft.
It must also be acknowledged: Ray and Mike's (in Hamden, CT near Quinnipiac) is so good. Nobody else gives you the steak/cheese/buff chix combo all on one sub, it's usually one meat or the other, but they give you both and it is unreal.