Iona Gaels endured an unforgettable 2023-24, finishing with a 16-17, their worst finish since 2019-20. The team also lost in the second round of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship Tournament, which snapped a three-year streak of the program making the finals of the tournament. To make matters worse, the entire roster turned over after the season, with players either graduating or entering the transfer portal, leaving coach Tobin Anderson to rebuild the team from scratch.
Now entering his second season, Anderson has had to recruit a new roster for the second time. But, despite all the problems that can come with having 15 players all trying to learn a new system at the same time, the MAAC coaches and fans seem to be intrigued by the Gaels this season.
Starting with the positives, Anderson and the Gaels have brought in some great talent. The MAAC coaches named three of Iona’s players to the preseason All-MAAC teams.
They named guard Dejour Reaves to the first team, wing player James “Biggie” Patterson to the second team and forward Clarence Rupert to the third team. While Reaves, Patterson and Rupert will be Iona’s big three this season, the team is just very well-rounded. From 3-and-D players, like guard Kernan Bundy and forward Luke Jungers to traditional big men like Jacob Hogarth and Yaphet Moundi, the Gaels seemingly have covered almost all their bases regarding their roster construction.
A key player for Iona both this season and for the future will be freshman guard Adam Njie. The three-star recruit, according to all major recruiting websites, is the second-highest-rated recruit to ever commit to Iona behind Norvel Pelle. However, unlike Pelle, Njie will actually play for the Gaels.
With his recruitment and subsequent play, Iona is getting an extremely talented player. A very fast-paced guard, Njie is primarily a floor general but can easily become the primary scorer on a given night if needed. He should serve as a good guard to help the likes of Patterson, Reaves and Rupert now but can easily become an All-MAAC player with potential NBA buzz later in his Iona career.
However, even with the great roster construction, some concerns remain. The main one is the lack of a true center. While the Gaels do have multiple players that can play center, like the aforementioned Hogarth, Rupert and Moundi. Even Jalen Barr, who is 6-foot-4 but guarded all positions at the Division II level for Flagler College, can play the position. Despite the center options, Iona doesn’t list any players as a center.
The team also lacks size at the forward position. In a conference where most teams’ tallest player is nearing 7-feet tall, Iona’s tallest players are 6-foot-9. While Anderson’s system offers certain advantages, there’s a risk of repeating last year’s struggles where the team, despite getting more shots off, was often outrebounded and still lost. However, with high-level scorers like Reaves and Patterson, it’s easy to imagine that even if the team gets outrebounded, the Gaels won’t be behind in the score this season.
The MAAC coaches also agree with this assumption, picking the Gaels to finish third in the conference behind Quinnipiac and Marist. With a full MAAC schedule ahead, along with high-profile non-conference matchups at the Baha Mar Nassau Championship and against West Virginia, it’ll be intriguing to see how the season unfolds.
