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WF MBB: Game #1 - Fairfield Stags - November 7 - 8pm - ACCN+

Pilchard

Pilchard

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This Monday night, after the WF women open their season against Elon, our MBB Deacs open the 2022-23 season against the Fairfield Stags. Here is breakdown of the oppponent:

Coach Jay Young: Young begins his 4th season as Fairfield HC. The Stags are 37-55 under Young finishing 8th, 7th and 7th in the underrated MAAC (St. Peter's conference) over the past three seasons. Young is a disciple of Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell as Young worked as an assistant under Pikiell for fourteen seasons at Stony Brook and Rutgers before Young landed the Fairfield job. Young has an unusual background for a college hoop coach as he did not play basketball at Marist, but he was an all-conference lacrosse player before beginning his career as a basketball coach.

2022-23 Stags: Fairfield comes off a 15-18 (8-12) season in 2022, which ended with a MAAC QF loss to NCAA Cinderella St. Peter's. FWIW, Fairfield opened last season at Providence (who was NCAAT #4 seed) and played the Friars tough losing 80-73. Last year's Stags played at slow pace (#323 in tempo; slowest in the MAAC), didn't commit many TOs (#72 in TO%) and played solid FG% defense (#92 in 3 PT%; #113 in 2 PT% D). Fairfield is expected to be improved this season as most preseason rankings had Fairfield as the #4 team in the MAAC, but that was before Manhattan torpedoed their program. So, Fairfield jumped up to the #3 MAAC team. KP rated Fairfield as #206 last year, and ranks them as #188 in his preseason ratings. Torvik had Fairfield as the #212 team in 2022; he bumped the Stags up to #154 this year.

Roster: Fairfield loses a pair (Caleb Green and Taj Benning) of backcourt starters off last year's team, but they add two backcourt pieces via the transfer portal:
  • 6-3 PG Caleb Fields (3 year starter at Bowling Green; sat out last season with an injury)
  • 6-4 SG Brycen Goodine (started at Cuse in 2020; transferred to Providence for 2021 and 2022; he has now moved on to Fairfield for 2023-- fwiw, among the many rules that the NCAA fails to enforce is the one free transfer rule).
Both will start against WF as they started the Fairfield preseason exhibition at Rutgers; Fields led the Stags in minutes (26) and points (13) against the Scarlet Knights. Fairfield is expected to play a 3 guard lineup, and the lone returning backcourt starter is 5th year grad student:
  • 6-5 Jake Wojcik. Wojcik began his college career at Richmond and actually started for the Spiders as a frosh in December 2018 against a WF team that included Torry Johnson, Ollie Saar and Chaundee Brown among others (Richmond won 84-74 gag).
In addition to Wojcik, Fairfield will bring these guards off the bench:
  • 6-4 TJ Long (7 ppg; 40% from 3)
  • 6-6 James Johns (freshman; played 16 minutes and scored 9 points in Rutgers exhibition game)
  • 6-4 Jalen Leach (4 ppg; 30% from 3)
Upfront Fairfield is led by:
  • 6-9 C Supreme Cook (yes, that is his name). Cook ranked in the top 3 in the MAAC in rebound rate ( 8 rpg) and racked up eight double-doubles for the Stags last season. Cook had off-season knee surgery, but will play on Monday as he played 21 minutes against Rutgers last week.
The Stags have some other returning size in forwards:
  • 6-7 Allan Jean-Rose (17 mpg; 4.5 ppg; 1.8 rpg; can't shoot from deep),
  • 6-10 Chris Maidoh (14 mpg, 5 ppg; 3 rpg; can't shoot from deep), and
  • 6-9 Zach Crisler (13 mpg, 4 ppg, 2 rpg, 32% from deep).
  • 6-9 Makai Willis (2nd leading scorer in exhibition against Rutgers; 2 for 5 from three)
As mentioned above, Fairfield played an exhibition at future WF opponent Rutgers last week. Rutgers won 78-65. Here is the box . Fairfield held their own against the Big 10 Knights on the boards (35-34), but Fairfield was -6 in TOs, which is understandable given that the Stags have two new backcourt players. Fairfield shot 11 for 27 (41%) from 3 and 13 for 32 (41%) from 2. Rutgers outscored Fairfield 46-24 in the paint.

Projected scores: KP projects a 76-64 WF win in 71 possessions; Torvik (who is higher on Fairfield and lower on WF than KP) projects a 76-68 final. Would expect the line to sit around 11.

Supreme Cook is still rounding into form from surgery, and Fairfield is still working out the kinks with its new starters. Rutgers dominated the Stags inside. Will be interesting to see if WF has the ability to dominate a smaller opponents inside this year. Expect to see Davien taking to the rack often. Bummed that Ituka won't be playing as this is an opponent that would suit his game. If WF can push tempo, strip and rip, like WF chances to win comfortably. Fairfield wants a slow-paced slugfest. If the Stags avoid TOs and control tempo, it will be tough stretch out the lead.
 
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Jake Wojcik is former Wake assistant (briefly, under Dino) Dave’s son.
 
Deacs are 3-0 all-time against Fairfield (at least since 1950)

Fairfield did have a halftime lead against UNC in the Joel during the NCAA tournament in Dean Smith's last season; the Fairfield Stag famously got in the handshake line after the game
 
Fairfield fun fact:

The campus is adjacent to a beach on Long Island Sound:

images

But not all local residents are that happy with the Fairfield students use of the beach:

img-7577___11053423547.jpg
 
I couldn't have been able to tell you Fairfield is in NY state much less near a beach.
 
PhDeac said:
I couldn't have been able to tell you Fairfield is in NY state much less near a beach.
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yup. I think I would've guessed Northeast...maybe NY as my first guess...but maybe CT as well. Isn't there a Fairfield, CT?
 
I would have guessed northeast, but CT or MA before NY.
 
I thought it was in Connecticut and I live next to Connecticut. Couldn't have told you a thing about it.

ETA: It is in Connecticut! Just abuts the sound I guess.
 
I'd be pissed if I were a local too. I never littered like that as a student. Not that it's a Fairfield phenomenon, of course. Frat row up here is gross as hell and it used to be a ritzy ass neighborhood.
 
ipitytheblue said:
I'd be pissed if I were a local too. I never littered like that as a student. Not that it's a Fairfield phenomenon, of course. Frat row up here is gross as hell and it used to be a ritzy ass neighborhood.
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yeah my cousin was in a frat his first few years at Georgia and those frat houses were disgusting, which is sad because they were some grand old mansions (same at UVA where I knew a guy). not like at Wake where frats just have random houses off Polo Rd.
 
In defense of the beach... and my info might be a little outdated... but, I'm guessing that picture was taken early the morning after one of the beach parties. Cleanup was usually part of the next day activities.

Nice summary of the Stags, but I can add a few more tidbits.

  • Allan Jean-Rose is a pretty good defender who can guard multiple positions. His length and quickness caused Ituka a lot of problems in last year's matchup.
  • Maidoh is the team's designated dunker and is sometimes quite disruptive on defense - he's long.
  • Crisler takes a lot of charges per minute.
  • Willis is a RS. He looks like the strongest guy on the team, but the Rutgers exhibition was really the first time anyone outside the team has seen what he could do.
 
Welcome, stagperspective. Just a heads up, Wake fans may not be in a good mood this weekend.
 
Wake -11.5. Tricky opener but one we should win.
 
Looks like this one will be on ESPN+ for anyone wondering.

Personally I still can't figure out what all these networks are and where they overlap, etc. but this shows up on the listings in my HULU (Disney bundle from Verizon).
 
lazydeac said:
Looks like this one will be on ESPN+ for anyone wondering.

Personally I still can't figure out what all these networks are and where they overlap, etc. but this shows up on the listings in my HULU (Disney bundle from Verizon).
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It’s ACCN+. Still streaming but the difference is that ACCN+ is included with your regular cable/internet/streaming service unlike ESPN+.
 
With pretty much every college basketball team playing tonight, I'll take any kind of win. Would just like to avoid being one of the schools that loses a home opener to a much lesser opponent (all due respect to Fairfield, who doesn't suck).

Having said that, I can't wait to see which teams drop games tonight and get ridiculed by fans and media.
 
deacdixieboy said:
It’s ACCN+. Still streaming but the difference is that ACCN+ is included with your regular cable/internet/streaming service unlike ESPN+.
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I have youtube tv and am not seeing the game in the upcoming Wake schedules.... Do I need to sign up for ESPN plus to watch this one?
 
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