Fresh-faced Fitchburg State ready to open season

Courtesy of Matt Stewart Sentinel & Enterprise

FITCHBURG, Mass. - The Fitchburg State University men's basketball team will have a completely new look this season, as the Falcons return only four players from a disappointing 2013 campaign.

Comprised mostly of newcomers from the junior college ranks, Fitchburg State is looking for a fresh start as it opens up the season Saturday in the Rogers Williams Courtyard Marriott Tournament in Bristol, R.I.

"We have four returning players from last year's team, and the rest are incoming recruits," Fitchburg State head coach Titus Manderson said. "All of those recruits have some sort of junior college ties. That's the route we took, and felt that it would be a great way to have more mature players come in and help to win games this year, rather than a long-term building process.

"Everybody's on the same page, and we're learning all at the same rate," Manderson said. "We are working on the fundamentals, offensive and defensive systems together. They're all coming in from different programs, with different schools of thought, so it's always an adjustment."

The speed at which the players pick up on things could determine how quickly the Falcons succeed, with a big benchmark coming in this weekend's tournament, which opens against Suffolk University.

The Falcons should be an exciting team to watch this season, as they are incorporating fast-paced systems for their offense and defense. The goal is to present matchup problems for the majority of opponents that operate in half-court sets.

"We're definitely athletic, we have length, speed and guys who want to play from end to end, and we're absolutely going to look to do that," Manderson said. "It really is a different look from some of the schools in this region, which have adopted a slower-paced game. We feel like we can confuse teams, throw a lot of different defense at teams, and I think that's what we're going to hang our hat on, our defense."

Shooting guard Anthony Muccioli is the signature returner after posting 14.3 points per game, shooting 77.1 percent from the charity stripe, and having a 40 percent 3-point percentage in the conference (26.8 percent overall) last year.

"Muccioli has the ability to make strong moves to the basket," Manderson said. "He's got a very nice mid-range game and is an excellent free-throw shooter. He's really developed a consistent 3-point shot in the offseason. He had to get hot to do well from the 3-point line last year, and had cold spells. The work he put in I'm hoping we can have some consistency from beyond the arc."

Junior guard Malcolm Dixon will look to improve on his 5.2 points per game from last season, and will serve as the team's captain. Guards Zakariya Alaoui and Leonny Burgos (5.2 points per game) are the only other returners. They both joined the squad midway through last year's 2-22 overall record.

Three top junior college recruits highlight the incoming class that should make an immediate impact after finishing last year as Region 21 Juco All-Stars. Six-foot-8, athletic forward Kwame Lee transfers in from Massasoit Community College, while forward Givaughn Jones comes to Fitchburg by way of Mass Bay Community College. Guard Keyon Armstrong was a key piece for Dean College, one of the best junior college teams in the Northeast.

"Those three transfers have really impressed," Manderson said. "I feel like they'll definitely be contributing, hopefully at a high level."

Fitchburg State is undoubtedly challenging itself with its non-conference schedule. The Falcons play four opponents in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference, including Worcester Polytechnic Institute at home and Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the road. Other marquee contests include road games at Tufts and Clark, and a home contest against UMass Boston.

"The schedule has definitely beefed up," Manderson said. "We're playing WPI again, which is top 25 in the country, and MIT which is top 25 in the country. Tufts is another team getting votes. We have four NEWMAC teams, and they had four teams in the tournament last year. The schedule last year wasn't as challenging, and we knew we wanted to challenge this team with an out-of-conference schedule to prepare us for the MASCAC."