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SPORTS
bupipedream.com | Summer 2015
Going into his fourth year, Dempsey discusses critical offseason Head men's basketball coach talks about new recruits, transfers, the next step for the program and more
Emily Earl/Assistant Photo Editor
BU head basketball coach Tommy Dempsey looks on as the Bearcats take the court. He discussed the summer off-season in an interview with Pipe Dream.
E.Jay Zarett Sports Editor
After an up-and-down 20142015 season — which saw the Binghamton men’s basketball team lose its best player to transfer and suffer through a 14-game losing streak early in the season, but rebound to win five America East games, the program’s highest total in five years — the Bearcats now head into a critical off-season. BU head coach Tommy Dempsey discussed summer workouts, the impact of his new recruits, the maturation of his young roster and more in an interview with Pipe Dream. Pipe Dream: Have you and the team begun summer workouts?
Tommy Dempsey: We will start as a team on July 5. The boys will all be back for the second summer session. The only two players we had for summer [session] one, [sophomore guard] Justin McFadden and [redshirt freshman guard] John Schurman were here and we worked out with those guys while they were here. But, as far as the full team goes, we will have all 15 guys on July 5. PD: In these summer workouts, what do you look to gain from working out with the team, even though you have such short time with them during the summer session? TD: Just start putting the pieces together, getting them in great shape. We are limited in
how much time we can spend on the court, but we do spend a lot of time doing strength and conditioning. We make sure that everybody is starting that process of getting in the kind of shape they are going to need to be in in the fall. Probably a combination of getting them together on the court, getting them used to playing together. They’ll spend some time even without the coaches, playing pickup games and just indoctrinating the new players with the guys that have been here. Then the second piece would be the strength and conditioning element. PD: What do these summer workouts mean for your staff to get to work with your freshmen for the first time, specifically
your two main recruits [guard] Everson Davis and [forward] Thomas Bruce and what does it mean to them to be on the campus for the first time and work out with the team? TD: It’s a nice introduction to how hard they are going to have to work, what the expectations are. It is nice because they get a chance to take a couple of summer classes and get to work with our academic support staff. I think it always gives the freshmen a little bit of a sneak preview to what it is going to be like to play in the program, to what it is going to be like to attend Binghamton University, to work with our academic people. I always think it gives your freshmen a head start so
when they get here to start the fall semester they are already accustomed to the routine. PD: What does it mean for the players that you do have coming back to be able to work on their game for an entire summer, especially since most of the contributors you had for last season were freshmen? TD: They’re more ready this next time through. So many of our guys were so young last year and now they have a chance to go through the program for a whole year. They understand what the expectations are. When they came in last summer, they were wide eyed and they didn’t know what to expect. I think this next time through, when they come back as sophomores, they’re just
ready to go. They’re ready to take that next step and they now have some guys under them, as far as some guys coming in behind them, that they have to set the tone with and become leaders. I think it’s an exciting process for guys when they go home for a little bit, they have a chance to unplug and then they come back hungry and ready to take that next step in their careers. PD: Even though he has to redshirt this season, what does it mean to have added [former Bucknell guard] J.C. Show to your program, since he has played at such a high level? TD: J.C. is going to be a guy that, even while he is redshirting, is going to provide help as far as just leadership, adding talent into our practices, into our workouts, maturity. I think he will be a good mentor, especially for the younger guys. J.C. is a really hard worker. I think he could even provide examples at times, even for guys in the program, of what it takes to be successful at the Division I level. PD: Have the losses of [former sophomore forward] Magnus Richards and [former sophomore forward] Nick Madray to transfer affect the way you plan on playing next year at all? TD: No. That is really not a concern. We have a good roster. We have 15 guys that are committed to this program and ready to get to work. They’ve all been recruited now by me and my staff, so we have recruited players that fit our style and fit our system. We are excited about getting out on the court this summer and to start implementing those things. PD: What should new fans of the program expect to see from your team this year? TD: Just a continuation of the way we ended the season. I thought that by the end of the year last year we started to develop into a hard-working, tough team that played good defense and played together. And I think we’ve added some pieces that are going to help us take the next step. … We’ve added some athletic guys that can really get out and help us in our pressing up-tempo style.
Garn earns first-team All-American honors Senior finishes fourth in the 800-meter event at NCAA Championships Orlaith McCaffrey
Assistant Sports Editor Binghamton senior middledistance runner Jesse Garn took fourth in the finals of the 800-meter race at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, en route to becoming just the third Bearcat in program history to earn first team All-America honors. To accomplish that feat, Garn competed in two rounds — the preliminaries and the final. Although Garn found success in the final, he achieved his actual goal in the qualifying round. “Going into it, I just really wanted to qualify for the finals,”
Garn said. “In my first race, I had gone up against a lot of the other runners head-to-head before so I was pretty confident going in.” As the eight runners rounded the University of Oregon’s historic Hayward Field track in the second of three preliminary heats at the championships, a flash of green came into view. Garn, who had been at the back of the pack for much of the race, began to overtake fellow runners as the final turn approached, positioning himself third with 200 meters remaining. As his competitors started to fade from view, Garn only increased his speed, using his kick to cross the finish line in first and qualify for the final round of competition with a
Emily Earl/Assistant Photo Editor
Senior middle-distance runner Jesse Garn recorded a fourth-place finish in the 800-meter finals at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
time of 1:47.68. After catching his breath, Garn pumped his fist in celebration. The last time he had competed on the national stage, at the 2015 NCAA Indoor Championships in March, Garn was disqualified in the semifinals due to a false start and his hopes of advancing were dashed. He refused, however, to let the outcome of that meet affect his goals moving forward. “I kept my head up,” Garn said. “Honestly, it took a bit of a toll emotionally, but I just stayed positive and realized that it wasn’t a fluke that I made it to the indoor championships and that I really did belong at the national level of competition.” Garn had a similar plan in the finals, when he came from the rear of the group for the second consecutive race to finish fourth, clocking in at 1:49.74. “I knew that I belonged in the finals of the 800,” Garn said. “I know that I’m that much of a competitor and finishing fourth is crazy. It was really a cherry on top of the season.” Iowa State senior Edward Kemboi took first in the race with a time of 1:49.26, while Penn State junior Brandon Kidder (1:49.36) and Akron sophomore Clayton Murphy (1:49.74) finished second and third, respectively. While Garn completed his undergraduate degree in May, he has another year of NCAA eligibility left due to his status as a redshirt. He plans on staying at Binghamton as a graduate student while continuing to race for the Bearcats. “I’m very sure that I can qualify again next indoor season, either in the eight [hundred] or the mile,” Garn said. “As far as the team goes, we want to be in the top two or three in the conference championships again next year.”
Emily Earl/Assistant Photo Editor
Former Bearcat star outfielder Jake Thomas was selected in the 27th round of the 2015 MLB amateur draft by the Toronto Blue Jays.
Thomas selected by Toronto Blue Jays
Former BU star taken in 27th round of MLB amateur draft E.Jay Zarett Sports Editor
For the second consecutive year, a Binghamton outfielder was selected in the MLB amateur draft. Bearcat star outfielder Jake Thomas was picked by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 27th round of the draft, held June 8-11, as the 812th overall selection. “I had heard from a bunch a teams [about a possible selection], but it was weird, I hadn’t heard from the Blue Jays probably until two months before the draft,” Thomas said. “It was a little surprise from the Blue Jays, but it was a great opportunity and I couldn’t thank them enough for selecting me.” Thomas was a four-year starter for the Bearcats and was instrumental in BU’s back-to-back America East titles in 2013 and 2014. Thomas’ best season came as a sophomore in 2013, when he led the conference with a .371 batting
average, 45 walks, a .522 slugging percentage and a .517 on base percentage. In the America East tournament that season, Thomas delivered seven hits in 15 at-bats while scoring three runs to lead Binghamton to its first America East championship since 2009. Thomas had another excellent season as a senior in 2015. He led BU with a .352 batting average and a .478 on base percentage while driving in 29 runs. However, the Bearcats finished 17-24-2 and failed to capture their third consecutive AE title. Thomas believes the motivation to win the crown for a third time kept him distracted from the nerves of potentially being drafted. “The only thing I had my eye toward during the season was just winning the third championship,” Thomas said. “But that was what helped me keep my mind off the whole draft experience, just focusing on what I could do to help the team win the third championship in a row.”
Thomas was a three-time selection to the America East first team during his time as a Bearcat. He finished his career ranked in the top 10 of every offensive category and he set program records in career on-base percentage (.453) and walks (132). Thomas is the fourth player in the last four years to be drafted from the BU program. BU outfielder Bill Bereszniewicz was selected by the Dodgers last year in the 28th round, while right handed pitchers Mike Augliera and Lee Sosa were drafted in the fifth and 26th rounds, respectively, of the 2012 draft. Thomas is the highest position player to be selected out of Binghamton since 1990, when catcher Dan Gray was picked in the seventh round. “[Being drafted] was something that I have been dreaming about since I was a little kid,” Thomas said. “Every other ball player who has played the game has had the same dream. To have it happen was an absolute surreal moment.”