Fairfield Stags men's basketball

Infobox CBB Team
name = Fairfield Stags

logo_size = 150px
university = Fairfield University
conference = Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
conference_short = MAAC
division =
city = Fairfield
stateabb = CT
state = Connecticut
coach = Ed Cooley
tenure = 2nd
arena = Arena at Harbor Yard
capacity = 9,500
nickname = Stags
color1 = Cardinal
color2 = White
hex1 = C41E3A
hex2 = FFFFFF
NCAAchampion =
NCAAfinalfour =
NCAAtourneys = 1960, 1961, 1962, 1986, 1987, 1997
free_label = National Invitational Tournament
free = 1973, 1974, 1978, 1996 and 2003
conference_tournament = 1986, 1987, 1997
conference_season = 1986
h_pattern_b=_thinsidesonwhite
h_body=C41E3A
h_shorts=ffffff
a_pattern_b=_thinwhitesides
a_body=C41E3A
a_shorts=C41E3A

The Fairfield Stags men's basketball team represents Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut and competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference of NCAA Division I. The Stags play their home games in the 9,500 seat, state of the art Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Connecticut and recently played two games in Alumni Hall back on the campus of Fairfield University during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. The team is currently coached by Ed Cooley.

The Stags have experienced the thrill of post-season tournament action twelve times having competed in the NAIB Tournament in 1951; the NCAA DII Tournament in 1960, 1961 and 1962; the National Invitational Tournament in 1973, 1974, 1978, 1996 and 2003; and the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 1986, 1987 and 1997. In the 1973 National Invitation Tournament, the Stags advanced to the second round where the team lost by one point to eventual National Champion Virginia Tech. And in the 1997 NCAA Tournament, the Stags nearly achieved a historical upset of top-seeded North Carolina after leading the Tar Heels by seven points at halftime. The team also won the MAAC Regular Season Title in 1986 and the MAAC Championship Tournament in 1986, 1987 and 1997.

Individually, Joe DeSantis earned All-American honors in 1979; Darren Phillip was the nation's top rebounder averaging 14 rebounds per game in 2000; and Deng Gai was the nation's top shot blocker in 2005 averaging 5.5 blocks per game which ranks #5 on the NCAA's all-time blocked shot average list. Thirteen Stags have been either drafted or signed to play in the National Basketball Association.

History

Dawn of the Stags

Through the efforts of Rev. Victor Leeber, S.J., Fairfield University introduced men's basketball in 1948 and has since played 59 continuous seasons of hoops through the 2007-08 season. Fairfield played its first-ever game against Brooklyn College in Brooklyn, NY, losing 46-78, and won its first-ever game that season against Hillyer College (now the University of Hartford), 47-37, in Bridgeport, CT at the Bridgeport Armory, Fairfield's original home court. During the 1950-1951 season, under new Head Coach James Hanrahan, the still fledgling program experienced its first winning season with a 16-11 overall record and received the school's first ever postseason berth in the 1951 NAIA National Men's Basketball Championship Tournament.

Red Stags Rising

During the 1958-1959 season Head Coach George Bisacca took over the program and proceeded to elevate the Stags to a higher level experiencing only 1 losing season in 10 years. The Stags received three straight postseason berths to the NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Championship Tournament between 1960 and 1962 and advanced to the 2nd round in 1960 and 1961. On the heals of this postseason success, Fairfield upgraded the program up to Division 1 hoops during the 1964-1965 season. The following year, the 1965-66 team went 19-5 and became the first Fairfield team to be ranked in the UPI/AP Top 20 poll. [ [http://www.fairfield.edu/x18860.html#akenney Fairfield University :: 1996 Hall of Fame Inductees ] ]

The Golden Barakat Era

The most successful stretch of Fairfield basketball occurred under Head Coach Fred Barakat when the Stags received three berths in the post-season NIT in six years which was chronicled in the book, 25 Years Plus One: Recounting the Meteoric Rise of Fairfield Basketball, by Connecticut sportswriter, Don Harrison. During the 1972-73 season the Stags finished with a 18-9 overall record and were invited to the post-season NIT for the first time in the programs history. In the 1st round, Captain George Groom led the Stags to a 80-76 victory over Marshall University playing before 13,904 fans at Madison Square Garden. In the 2nd round, the Stags fell 76-77 to the eventual National Champion Virginia Tech Gooblers before more than 17,000 fans. The Stags followed up this success with a 17-9 overall record and a second invitation to the post-season NIT during the 1973-74 season. In the 1st round, Captain Richie O'Connor led the Stags to a 37-32 halftime lead before falling 65-66 to the University of Hawaii before 17,739 fans. The Stags returned to the post-season NIT for the third time during the 1977-78 season following the program's first 20 win season (22-5 overall) and a record point setting 123-108 victory over the then 14th ranked Holy Cross Crusaders. In the 1st round of the tournament, Junior Mark Young led the Stags with a 32 performance in a 93-108 losing effort to the Dayton Flyers.

Back to Back in the MAAC

During the 1995-96 season Head Coach Paul Cormier led the Stags to a 20-10 overall record, an appearance in the MAAC championship game and the program's fourth berth in the NIT. In the opening round of the NIT, the Stags played the Providence College Friars before 6,368 fans at the New Haven Coliseum. Led by Shannon Bowman the Stags held a 46-43 half time lead before eventually falling 78-69 to the Friars.

Picked to win the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in 1996-97, Fairfield suffered through an injury-plagued regular season and finished in last place. But the Stags made a Cinderella run in the MAAC tournament, defeating top seed Iona, St. Peter's and Canisius to capture the league's automatic berth in the 1997 NCAA Tournament despite an 11-18 record. Fairfield then gave top seeded North Carolina all it could handle in the first round of the East Region in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The Stags opened a 37-28 lead early in the second half before their bid to become the first 16 seed to win a NCAA Tournament game fell short, 82-74. Stag legend Greg Francis '97 almost single-handedly upset the Tar Heels scoring 26 points including eight three-pointers. Following the game, legendary North Carolina coach Dean Smith said "I had to find Francis after the game but I couldn't shake his hand because it was so hot." [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketba/skm/sktm83.htm]

O'Toole Time

In 2002, Stags basketball moved from the comfy confines of the on-campus Alumni Hall to the new state-of-the-art 9,500 seat Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, CT. During that same season, Head Coach Tim O'Toole '87 led the Stags to an 19-12 overall record, an appearance to the MAAC tournament championship game, and the program's fifth berth in the NIT. In the opening round of the NIT, Nick Delfico led the Stags with 14 points in a 90-78 losing effort to the Boston College Eagles before 6,500 fans at the Arena at Harbor Yard. During 2004-2005 season, Deng Gai '05 led the nation in shots blocked with 5.5 blocks per game and graduated as number eight on the NCAA's all-time blocked shots list.

Cooley In Control

On April 11, 2006, Ed Cooley (former Boston College Eagles assistant coach) was announced as the program's 11th Head Coach ushering in a new era of Stags basketball. With a renewed commitment to reestablishing the winning basketball tradition at Fairfield, Coach Cooley quickly signed a talented recruiting class to join veteran leaders Michael van Schiack, Danny Ogelsby, Marty O'Sullivan, All-MAAC Rookie Herbie Allen and Jon Han (of MTV Nike Battlegrounds fame). The new Stags included 6'8" Iowa State transfer Mike Evanovich (Storrs, CT), 6'8" Anthony Johnson (Lake Wales, FL), 6'4" Devin Johnson (Richmond, VA), and 6'6" Greg Nero (Red Hook, NY). Nero was the only one of these recruits to be signed by O'Toole, and he also led his high school squad to a berth in the New York State regional final and was the Most Valuable Player of the Mid-Hudson Athletic League. Devin Johnson was the Richmond Metro Player of the Year.

All-Time Head Coaches

tags in the NBA Draft

The following Stag players were selected in the National Basketball Association draft or signed as free agents:

WVOF radio broadcasts

WVOF is the home of Fairfield Stags men's basketball. Men's basketball coverage is led play-by-play analyst Bob Heussler with color commentary from Stag basketball legend Joe DeSantis '79. [ [http://media.www.fairfieldmirror.com/media/storage/paper148/news/2007/11/01/SectionB/Basketball.And.The.Beast-3068008.shtml Michelle Morrison, 'Basketball and the Beast,' "The Mirror," November 1, 2007.] ]

ee also

* [http://www.fairfieldstags.com/sports/m-baskbl/index Official team site]
* [http://www.fairfieldstags.com/multimedia/listenwatch/listenwatch Fairfield Stags broadcasts]
* [http://fairfield.scout.com/ The Unofficial Fairfield Stags message board]
* [http://mirrorsports.blogspot.com/ Mirror Sports Blog: Covering Fairfield Athletics]

References