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LOCATION: Staten Island, NY
CONFERENCE: Northeast
LAST SEASON: 9-18 (.333)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 7-13 (8th)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 4/1
NICKNAME: Seahawks
COLORS: Green & White
HOMECOURT: Spiro Sports Center (2,100)
COACH: Dereck Whittenberg (N.C. State '84)
record at school First year
career record First year
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ASSISTANTS: Jim Meil (Lehigh '82)
Seldon Jefferson (West Virginia '97)
Kort Wickenheiser (Muhlenberg '95)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 10-10-10-13-9
RPI (last 5 years) 228-233-238-236-245
1998-99 FINISH: Lost in conference quarterfinal.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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Dereck Whittenberg has a habit of beating the odds. The new Wagner coach is best known for shooting an air ball that turned into a game-winning dunk by Lorenzo Charles in one of the biggest upsets in college basketball history (North Carolina State's remarkable upset victory over a heavily favored Akeem Olajuwon-Clyde Drexler-led Houston team in the 1983 NCAA title game). Whittenberg, 39, will have to beat the odds again in order to turn around the fortunes at Wagner, a program which has posted five consecutive losing seasons and has not won a league title in its 15-year affiliation with the Northeast Conference. Wagner has hired a winner, though. Whittenberg has won at every stop in his career. In high school, he was an All-American for legendary coach Morgan Wootten, who still calls Whittenberg one of his "all-time favorite players." He won an NCAA title at N.C. State playing for the late Jim Valvano. After his playing days were over, the former All-ACC guard started his climb up the coaching ladder starting as a graduate assistant as his alma mater (1985-86) and eventually serving as an assistant coach at George Mason, Long Beach State, N.C. State, Colorado, West Virginia and most recently Georgia Tech (1994-99). During his five years at Tech, Whittenberg earned a reputation as a dogged recruiter, helping the Yellow Jackets land current New Jersey Nets star Stephon Marbury, among others. "Dereck can recruit," said Bobby Cremmins, Whittenberg's former boss. "And kids will play for him. I am really happy for Dereck. He has been an assistant at a lot of great places and it has been his dream to become a head coach. He is extremely capable and will bring tremendous energy to Wagner College. "
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT C+ BENCH/DEPTH D
FRONTCOURT C NTANGIBLES B-
The Seahawks have an energetic new coach (Dereck Whittenberg), a beautiful new facility (the state-of-the-art Spiro Center) and twice as many newcomers as returnees. Oh, and the Wagner sports promotions people have recycled a well-worn slogan: "We Believe." Right now, we don't. In the long run, hiring Whittenberg was a great move. He has a proven track record as a recruiter, but this is a rebuilding job that might make even Bob Vila blush. Whittenberg appears to have some interesting new recruits (especially Jermaine Hall), but with a roster of four returnees (all sophomores) and eight new bodies (two JUCOs, one sophomore, five freshmen), expect Whittenberg and his team to grow up together. In Whittenburg's first year, look for lots of growing pains and another second-division finish. But keep an eye on this program. The key will be how well Whittenberg can recruit the Big Apple. It says here he'll be successful in that endeavor. |
Other agree. "I've known Dereck for some time now, as a player and as an assistant coach," Kentucky coach Tubby Smith said. "The teams he coached at Georgia Tech and everywhere else he's been have exemplified professionalism on and off the court. He's not only a good coach but a good person, and the players he recruits will show much the same. He's been part of some big-time programs, including a championship team at N.C. State, and he brings invaluable experience to Wagner and the Northeast Conference. Wagner's getting a good one." Whittenberg was certainly in demand when Wagner landed him. At the time, he was considered a candidate for then-vacant head coaching jobs at East Carolina, Georgia Southern and UNC Greensboro. So why take over Wagner, a school with a recent history of nine- or 10-victory seasons and RPIs in the 230s? "People have asked me 'Why Wagner?' Nobody's heard of it," Whittenberg said. "I believe this is the place for me. I know it won't be easy, but the challenge is what excites me. " This will be a challenge. Wagner returns one starter (5-9 sophomore point guard Yves Kabore) from last year's team that won only a third of its games. Picked to finish fourth last year, the Seahawks' hopes were torpedoed by poor guard play and a lack of scoring options, other than now-departed 6-8 post man Frantz Pierre-Louis (19.6 ppg). No wonder Whittenberg is preaching patience. "There isn't going to be any quick fix," Whittenberg said. "I want to take my time. My first responsibility is to the players who are already here. I know how they feel. Norm Sloan left N.C. State when I was there, and Jimmy (Valvano) came in as the coach." His goals? "To win," Whittenberg said. "I'm not Superman. This isn't about me. I want everyone involved. If we do it together, I'm confident we can accomplish good things." Actually, despite his late hiring, Whittenberg has already done some great things, beating the bushes to turn a three-man recruiting class of his predecessor Tim Capstraw into an eight-player haul. He said everybody will start from scratch and the best five will start, regardless of class. That means that even returning point guard Kabore (5.1 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 60 assists, 22 steals) will have to battle to keep his job. Kabore, a product of the always-tough New York City Catholic League, started 21 games last season, but struggled with his shot (.304 FG) and with turnovers (67 in 27 games). Kabore will have to straighten out his aim and his decision-making or risk losing his job to junior-college import Alvin Askew, whom Whittenberg calls an excellent defender. But like many inner-city players, the Brooklyn born-and-raised Askew struggles to hit the perimeter shot, preferring instead to penetrate. Other possibilities at the point are either 6-4 sophomore combo guard Jeff Klauder or 6-0 combo guard Dedrick Dye (Clinton HS/Clinton, Tenn.). Klauder needs to add some size and strength. Still, Klauder (4.2 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 34 assists, 13 steals) has Division I experience (25 appearances, one start) which is rare in these parts. Dye hits the books he was the valedictorian of his senior class at Clinton as well as he hit shots. He wasn't heavily recruited, but Whittenberg liked him enough as a person and a player to offer him a full ride. At least Dye can shoot. as evidenced by the fact he averaged 24.0 points as a high school senior. Dye and Klauder will see time at the two-guard spot, but 6-4 freshman Jermaine Hall (Dublin HS/Dublin, Ga.) figures to be the man there. Hall was recruited by a number of bigger schools, such as Notre Dame, but chose the Seahawks instead. Whittenberg loves his athleticism and his upside not to mention the quality of his schoolwork. Hall sported a 3.5 GPA and an 1100 SAT score. The 200-pound Hall, the 1999 Region 2-AAA Player of the Year in Georgia, averaged 25.0 points and 11.0 rebounds. Hall isn't the only two-guard on the roster. Hassan Wilkerson, who played his prep ball at Staten Island's Curtis High School, brings a sweet jumper and the ability to play the two or the three. The locals will want to see him on the court and the Staten Island press will chronicle the sophomore's every basket and miscue. On the plus side, Wilkerson can always slip home for a home-cooked meal and will help Whittenberg land more locals, if he plays well. "There are so many good players to go after in this part of the country," Whittenberg said. "And I'd like to start here on Staten Island. " Solomon Edwards, a 6-2 freshman, rounds out the guard corps. He was a Capstraw recruit out of Southfield, Mich., whom Whittenberg believes is a good enough athlete to swing between the two guard spots. So what about the frontcourt, especially without first-team All-NEC performer Pierre-Louis? Well, it will be younger than the cast of Real World as two returning sophomores and three new faces are its components. Let's start with the sophomores. First, there's 6-7, 220-pound Lesli Myrithil, who is considered one of the top three players in his age group in Sweden. As a freshman, Myrithil (5.3 ppg, 2.1 rpg) looked like a typical Euro-forward, meaning that he can shoot the deep ball but wasn't crazy about the rough stuff. That will have to change under Whittenberg, who is short on frontcourt bodies. The other returning frontcourt player is 6-6 sophomore Chris Jackson, who saw just 58 minutes of action on a 9-18 team, scoring 1.1 points and gathering 0.7 rebounds per game. The starter in the pivot is likely to be 6-11 junior Derrick Emery, the tallest player in the program. The Long Beach (Calif.) Community College product can run the floor, stick the 15-foot shot and is a good high-post passer. His downside? He's Marcus Camby-thin at 220 pounds and isn't the world's most physical player. A fair portion of the rough-and-tumble work will be handled by 6-6 Canadian import Donald Joseph. Whittenberg describes Joseph as a "Dennis Rodman-type." We assume by that he means that Joseph will eventually push for the league lead in rebounding, not hair color changes. He attended Dawson High School in Montreal. Rounding out the frontcourt is 6-7 freshman Marvin Jefferson, a versatile performer from a quality high school program, Woodbridge (Va.). Jefferson could earn playing time at any, or all, of the frontcourt spots.
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