Out with the old, in with the new.
Fourteen new faces are suiting up for Niagara this season. The program does not have a single returning player from a season ago, as all six of last season’s players with remaining eligibility took their talents elsewhere.
Now, NU is one of six schools in the nation with an entirely new roster. The other teams starting the season with a fresh roster are DePaul, IU Indy, Kentucky and Louisville — all of which have new coaches — along with in-conference foe Iona.
Since everything is happening for the first time with this set of guys and coaching staff, the team has been learning a lot about each other and have the opportunity to grow the program together. It also presents the opportunity to teach the players the program standards.
“I’ve been able to see the understanding of what we’re trying to do to improve,” Niagara coach Greg Paulus said. “Each game I’ve been able to see us take a couple steps forward when we’re in the early stages of really developing our identity.”
It goes without saying that this season will be different from the last — 14 new players means various strengths and new schemes to attack the opponents. So, how does this year’s team compare to last year’s team, through the first 10 games?
For starters, the team has one more win under its belt (4-6) at this point in the season than they did last season (3-7), when Niagara went on to finish last season 16-16 overall and 11-9 in conference play. The Purple Eagles started this season off with a 100-65 win against Division III Houghton before losing four consecutive games to D-I opponents.
They had a loss to Lafayette College sandwiched between a three-point win against Binghamton University and a win over Long Island University at the Lafayette Classic in Easton, PA. Upon their return home, Niagara defeated MAAC foe Siena by a free throw, 69-68, but lost to Merrimack a couple of days later.
NU lost three games in a row to start their season last year, falling to Notre Dame, Bucknell and Hawai’i before getting a win on the road against St. Francis. The Purple Eagles endured another trilogy of losses to Saint Peter’s, Quinnipiac and St. Bonaventure’s before dismantling Buffalo State,113-64.
The Purple Eagles won their next match against NJIT for a pair of wins before losing by five to Binghamton University to fall to 3-7. Paulus’ crew averaged 73.5 points per game through 10 games last year, but the 113 points netted against Buffalo State, a team that won one game last season, is a reason for the higher average.
Pace is something NU seems to consistently struggle with, opting for a slower style of play. They are ranked 358th out of 364 teams in pace this year, finished last season ranked 235th and sat at 349th the year prior.
While they are trying to limit their opponents opportunity to score, it might not always work out the best for them. They’ve been outscored 718-682 through 10 games so far. This year, the team is averaging 68.2 points per game, making 232 field goals on 532 attempts so far (44%), which is a 3% decline from this juncture a year ago.
Niagara struggled with 3-pointers last season, only netting 36% of their shots. Through the first 10 games last year, they made 66 triples on 174 attempts — 38%. This year, they’ve made 84 shots on 245 attempts — 34% of their shots. While the Purple Eagles are more aggressive with shooting through these first 10 games, their triples aren’t necessarily more effective, yet.
“Each game I feel like we’ve taken a step in terms of learning more about each other and learning more about how we would like our system to operate and play together as a team,” Paulus said.
Through the first 10 matches this year, senior Olumide Adeloden is leading the team with 116 points, which includes 18 triples and a team-high of 42 shots made from the field. He’s also posted a team-lead in rebounds with 60.
The second highest scorer, sophomore Jahari Williamson, has 112 points and leads the Purple Eagles with 24 made 3s. Senior Jaedan Marshall leads the team with 32 free throws made while graduate student Justice Smith leads in assists with 26. Six-foot-eight freshman Will Shortt is in front with five blocks.
Paulus plans to rely on the versatility of his team to find success this year, claiming the team is at their best when they have a balanced attack and strong energy on defense.
“Being able to see the progression from when all these guys got here in the summertime to where we are right now, we’ve taken steps forward and our goal is to continue to keep taking steps forward,” Paulus said.