A Siena men’s basketball program that hasn’t played a game in 9 ½ months because of the coronavirus pandemic is scheduled to play two in 26 hours starting on Sunday afternoon against Monmouth.
The Saints are due to open the season against the Hawks on back-to-back days at the Alumni Recreation Center, tipping off at 3 on Sunday at 5 on Monday.
“These guys haven’t done that since they played AAU,” Siena head coach Carmen Maciariello said on a Zoom call this week.
The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference adopted a back-to-back schedule in the same venue this season to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Actually, it’s not that uncommon for college basketball teams to play consecutive days. It happens every year during conference tournaments. It occurs during the regular season, too, in exempt tournaments. The last time Siena played on back-to-back days in the regular season were victories over Radford and Bryant in the 2K Classic on Nov 20 and 21, 2015.
However, Siena has never played the same opponent on two straight days, according to the athletic communications departmemnt. Now the Saints will have to do it regularly during the MAAC schedule. They’ll play Canisius at the ARC next Friday and Saturday.
“Obviously, back-to-back games, it’s just another hurdle,” Maciariello said. “I think these guys do a great job of taking care of their bodies and we want to make sure they’re ready to play and have enough time to recover, hydrate, stretch, and then really take care of the mental aspect.”
It also means teams will have little time to rest and adjust between the first games and second game, as junior forward Jackson Stormo noted.
“This year, playing back-to-back games with such little preparation, everybody has to be ready to bring whatever they have to the table,” said Stormo, making his Siena debut after transferring from Pepperdine. “I’m just ready to go out there and do whatever I can to help.”
Entering this weekend, the MAAC held nine back-to-back series in league play. There were five sweeps and four splits.
Monmouth head coach King Rice’s team split with Saint Peter’s and then swept Canisius. He said he erred by not going deep enough into his bench against Saint Peter’s.
“I don’t think people understand how hard it is to play back-to-back,” Rice said. “The NBA doesn’t do it their whole season for a reason, and it’s hard. I’m just starting to feel better after our Canisius weekend and that’s a couple of days ago. You put your body through it and then you’ve got to practice and it’s just a hard thing, another thing we’re throwing at these kids and we’re expecting them to deal with.”
Carpenter ready for debut
Siena freshman guard Aidan Carpenter will make his college debut against Monmouth. He sat out the second half of last season after coming over from Lee Academy in Maine as a mid-year enrollee.
Like his teammates, Carpenter has waited through three 14-day pauses because of positive COVID tests.
“It’s been pretty frustrating because I haven’t played a basketball game in like a year and a half, but I’m just excited to get together with the guys because we haven’t played in a very long time,” Carpenter said. “I know we’re all just excited to get together and play.”
Carpenter said he feels he’ll be prepared.
“I mean, I was here last year with these guys,” he said. “I should be more than ready for the game.”
He is expected to make an immediate impact. He was competing with Gary Harris Jr. for a starting position before Harris decided to transfer to Loyola Marymount last month.
Rice praises Maciariello for taking initiative
Monmouth coach King Rice said his relationship with Siena's Carmen Maciariello has grown over the past year. He said he respected Maciariello founding "Coaches 4 Change," dedicated to social justice and registering athletes to vote following the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis in May.
"I feel like Carm and I have built a friendship over this time," Rice said. "I really respect what he did with Black Lives Matter. I really respect what he did with getting kids out there to vote. A lot of people talk a good game and then they didn't really put any actions behind it. Carm didn't talk. He just went and started something. That was amazing to watch."
msingelais@timesunion.com • 518-454-5509 • @MarkSingelais
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