NEW YORK
The season ended Friday night in Brooklyn and really so did an era for the UMass men’s basketball team and program.
When the Minutemen walked off the floor after their 85-70 loss to VCU, the last true contributors from the 2014 NCAA Tournament team — Trey Davis and Tyler Bergantino — completed their college careers.
Seth Berger was on that team, but he was buried behind several older players at his position. That, combined with his redshirt season, makes him feel more a part of the next era than the last one.
Because he went out on a team with a losing record, Davis won’t have the legacy he might deserve, although his late 3-pointer Thursday against Rhode Island gave him a signature moment. He arrived with little to no expectations and became a key contributor to the 2013 NIT and 2014 NCAA teams. Since Chaz Williams graduated, he’s taken it upon himself to be a leader and big brother to the team’s younger players.
Brison Gresham, one of the prized recruits next year, said Davis, whom he’ll never play with, helped sell him on playing at UMass and stayed in touch after he committed. Davis carried himself and the program in admirable fashion.
“He’s been an unbelievable person to have around the program,” UMass coach Derek Kellogg said. “The way he speaks about the school and his time here, if I could have a whole group of guys like him I think we’d have a special situation.”
Davis capped his career with 20 points against VCU.
The loss ended a season that fell short of the hopes of the players and their fans. But in actuality, the Minutemen were exactly what they were projected to be. They were picked 10th in the Atlantic 10’s preseason poll and that’s precisely where they finished.
Those expectations got inflated by a 4-0 start. People were excited about a win over Harvard, which turned out to be not quite as good as people thought at the time, and a dismantling of Clemson in Las Vegas. But beyond that, UMass still had the issues that led to those low expectations. Until late in the season, there were unreliable scoring options beyond the three guards and inconsistent inside play.
It’s hard to guess what a full season of Antwan Space might have meant. There were a couple of tantalizing nights when he looked terrific, but not enough of them. Would he have been consistently better if he’d played all year? Would a healthier Zach Coleman made a difference? Easy to wonder, impossible to know.
There will be plenty of changes when the Minutemen next pull on uniforms as the most anticipated recruiting class in 20 years joins the program. Add current redshirts Luwane Pipkins and Zach Lewis to the incoming freshman class of Gresham, Dejon Jarreau, Chris Baldwin, Tyrn Flowers and Unique McLean, who was at Friday’s game, and the Minutemen have a major roster overhaul. The influx of bodies likely allows Kellogg to go back to playing up and down, his preferred style that he had to abandon this year.
Those newcomers will never be able to develop on the court as fast as they already have in the fan base’s imagination. But their maturation should be entertaining.
The returning players will have increased roles. After improving each of his first two seasons, Donte Clark will be asked to take another step, a sizable one. In addition to being UMass’ likely leading scorer, he’ll be asked to become a leader.
The most fascinating development will be that of Rashaan Holloway. It’s not hard to look at him and think he could be bound for stardom. If he maintains his commitment to lowering his weight and raising his game, Holloway could be a force few opponents can match up with. It’ll be an important offseason for him. He’s saying the right things so far.
“I’m just going to work on my body, work on my skills, try to get in as best shape as I can for next year,” he said. “It all starts with how I get my body together and how good of a shape I can get myself into. … I can’t be lackadaisical. Nothing is going to just come to me. (The way the season ended) taught me to work hard, just be patient. My time will come. And just do what I’ve got to do just to win games.”
He’ll be a big part of the next phase that Kellogg was already planning.
“It’ll be an offseason of work. We’ll work through the spring and the summer and get better and improve,” Kellogg said. “I want to make sure our program is in a good place.”
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage