George Papas MBB MAAC Tournament Quarterfinal Monmouth vs. Fairfield 3-10-2021

Men's Basketball November 08, 2021

HAWKS OPEN SEASON TUESDAY AT CHARLOTTE

2021-22 Monmouth Basketball Game One Preview

Monmouth Hawks (0-0, 0-0 MAAC) at Charlotte 49ers (0-0, 0-0 C-USA)

Tuesday, November 9, 2021 - 7:00 p.m. EST
Halton Arena, Charlotte, NC

TV
C-USA.TV
Play-by-Play: Matt Sweriad
Analyst: Trevor Wilt

RADIO
Monmouth Digital Network
Play-by-Play: Matt Harmon

HAWK BULLETS

-Monmouth enters the 2021-22 season with seven seniors on the roster
-MU has four fifth-year seniors on the roster this year
-Monmouth comes off its third MAAC regular season title in six seasons
-MU returns 10 players from last years MAAC regular season title team
-King Rice is entering his 11th season on the Monmouth sidelines
-George Papas and Marcus McClary have returned this season to use their fifth season of eligibility after an extra season was granted due to COVID-19
-MU welcomes in two power-five conference transfers in Shavar Reynolds Jr. (Seton Hall) and Walker Miller (North Carolina)
-MU is opening the 21-22 season tonight

A MONMOUTH WIN WOULD...

-make the Hawks 14-24 all-time on opening night as a D1 program
-be King Rice's seventh win on opening night in 11 seasons
-mark MU's first opening night victory on the road since 2019 at Lehigh
-be the Hawks second ever against Charlotte
-be Rice's fourth triumph on the road on opening night (Hofstra-2013, UCLA-2015, Lehigh-2019)
-register as the 162nd win of Rice's career
-count as the 1,008th win in program history
-mark Monmouth's first win in the Tar Heel state under King Rice
-move the Blue and White to 5-6 all-time against current C-USA members
-be MU's first win over a C-USA member since opening night 2009 vs. FIU, the opening night of Monmouth's current arena
-be the first win as a Hawk for seven MU newcomers

NOTES FROM LAST SEASON

-Monmouth led the MAAC last season with 12 wins
-MU won the conference's regular season for the third time in six seasons
-The Hawks were one of just two MAAC teams to play every conference opponent last season
-Monmouth earned a bye in the MAAC Tournament for the fifth time in eight years
-The Hawks played at the fifth fastest pace in the country last year (KenPom)
-George Papas was an All-MAAC Preseason First Team selection
-Shavar Reynolds Jr. was an All-MAAC Preseason Third Teamer
-Papas was an All-MAAC Second Team choice a season ago
-Deion Hammond, the top-three point shooter in school history, finished his career at MU last season and is now playing professionally in Romania for CS Municipal Ploiesti
-King Rice earned his third MAAC Coach of the Year honor last season, tied for the most in the league's history

THE ALL-TIME SERIES

-Monmouth and Charlotte have met one time previously
-The teams met on November 19, 2007 at the Paradise Jam on the US Virgin Islands
-Monmouth won the contest 58-56 in overtime
-The Hawks were led by 13 bench points from Nick DelTufo
-Also scoring in double-figures for Monmouth were Alex Nunner (12) and Jhamar Youngblood (10)
-Charlotte took the lead with 32 seconds left in OT before Whitney Coleman's game-winning three with 13 seconds left propelled MU to victory
-Coleman also netted a game-tying layup with 18 seconds left in regulation to force the extra session
-Monmouth is 4-6 against current C-USA members
-The Hawks have only played six of the 14 current Conference USA members
-MU has wins over current Conference USA members Charlotte, FIU, Rice and UAB
-This is Monmouth's first ever trip to Halton Arena.

WHAT RETURNS

Monmouth brings back 10 players from last season's MAAC regular season title team, including a pair of players that opted to remain at MU for their fifth season after the NCAA granted eligibility due to COVID-19. The Blue and White are 15 total points shy of returning 50% of its scoring from a season ago, with the two fifth-year players in George Papas and Marcus McClary coming back as the top two returning scorers.

WHAT COMES IN

The Hawks have seven new faces on the roster to begin the 2021-22 season, with four freshman coming in as well as a trio of transfers. Impact graduate transfers Shavar Reynolds Jr. (Seton Hall) and Walker Miller (North Carolina) will make an immediate impact, while MU also welcomes walk-on guard Jakari Spence from Robert Morris. King Rice also brings in a strong freshman class of four players, including guards Tahron Allen, Jayden Doyle, and Sam Fagan and center Tadhg Crowley.

PRESEASON ALL-MAAC

Two Hawks were named to Preseason All-MAAC teams, with top returning scorer George Papas earning First Team and transfer Shavar Reynolds Jr. earning Third Team. Papas, a second-teamer a season ago, becomes the fourth Hawk to ever earn Preseason All-MAAC First Team, joining Justin Robinson, Micah Seaborn and Deion Hammond. Reynolds was named to a preseason team despite not suiting up for the Hawks yet after an impressive season a year ago with Big East member Seton Hall.

GRAD TRANSFERS

King Rice has welcomed a pair of graduate transfers in the same season for the first time in his tenure at Monmouth. Rice has had two previous grad transfers in his 10 prior seasons. Reserve guard Trevon Gross Jr. was a Hawk in 2018-19 after playing at Virginia, while impactful big man Brice Kofane joined the Hawks in 2014-15 following his time at Providence. Kofane averaged 6.4 points per game and led the Blue and White in rebounding (5.8 per game) and blocks (55).

RICE SIGNS EXTENSION

This past August, Monmouth Head Coach King Rice inked a five-year contract extension to keep him on the Monmouth sidelines through the 2025-26 season. Rice comes off his third MAAC regular season title and third MAAC Coach of the Year honor.

LAST TIME OUT

Monmouth fell to Fairfield in a 2021 MAAC Tournament semifinal game in March at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

WHAT'S TO COME

The Hawks head to Towson Saturday for a 7:00 p.m. tip with the CAA's Tigers.

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