KEVIN OWENS

STEVE BRIDGEMOHAN

JASON KRAYL

RAHSAAN JOHNSON

CAMERON MILTON

This season, the Hawks are looking to prove them wrong.

Head coach Dave Calloway hit the nail right on the head when he called Monmouth’s road to the NCAA Tournament in 2001 “unbelievable”.

The Hawks had been just two years removed from an 0-19 start in Calloway’s first full season as a head coach. He won five that year, 12 in the following year and capped off the comeback with last season’s 21-10 mark. The season was highlighted by one of the most stunning comebacks in NEC tournament history, as the Hawks trailed 56-36 with 13:59 remaining in the title game. Monmouth outscored top-seed St. Francis (N.Y.), 32-9 down the stretch to earn its second NCAA Tournament berth.

The Hawks will not rest on their laurels and Calloway still sees room for improvement.

“We can definitely improve on last year,” Calloway said. “After all, we didn’t win the league regular-season title which is always one of our goals. There were also one or two non-conference games that we felt we should have won, but things didn’t work out. Our goal is to once again win the NEC title, but to also play well enough to draw a higher seed in the NCAA Tournament. Although the tournament was an unforgettable experience, we do not want to go as a 16 seed again. I don’t think a 13 seed is out of the question.”

Monmouth welcomes back eight letterwinners from last season, including four starters STEVE BRIDGEMOHAN (6-9, 225, Sr., F), RAHSAAN JOHNSON (6-0, 175, Sr., G), CAMERON MILTON (6-3, 185, Sr., G) and KEVIN OWENS (6-10, 230, Jr. C). The Hawks must replace forward Gerry Crosby in the starting lineup and guard Demitry Courtney from the bench. RUSS ANDERSON (6-7, 215, Jr., F), JAY DOOLEY (6-6, 205, Jr., F) and JASON KRAYL (6-5, 195, So., G) saw a great deal of action as reserves last season and will be integral parts of MU’s attempt to repeat this season. TOM KAPLAN (6-5, 200, So., G) saw limited action during the 2000-01 campaign, but will be counted on to contribute off the bench this season.

Monmouth will also have three newcomers added to the mix this season, including true freshmen DWAYNE BYFIELD (6-2, 175, Fr., G), BLAKE HAMILTON (6-7, 225, Fr., F),  BRANDON OWENS (5-10, 160, Fr., G).

Monmouth’s defense will once again be the key to the Hawks’ success. Behind the vaunted matchup zone, Monmouth led the Northeast Conference in scoring defense for the ninth time in the last 12 seasons. Last season, the Hawks went undefeated in contests in which they held opponents to less than 60 points.

“Our defensive play will always be the key to our success,” Calloway said. “It is a lot easier to win ball games when you play solid defense.”

A two-year starter at center, KEVIN OWENS has experienced a gradual improvement each year. This season the Hawks’ coaching staff is looking for a bigger leap for the junior who has started 58 of the last 59 games in the middle.

“Kevin will be a key to whether or not we take that next step. He is guy that can score 14 points and grab 10 rebounds, but we are looking for him to do it each and every night. Kevin has a chance to be a real special player in this league. We just need him to become more physical. The rebounds are there for him, he just needs to decide that he wants them more than the other guy and take them.”

Owens averaged 8.2 points and 4.8 boards per game as a freshman and increased his out put to 9.4 points and 5.8 rebounds a game last season.
Senior STEVE BRIDGEMOHAN could also see action at the center position, but the Hawks would prefer to play him at his natural No. 4 position.

Bridgemohan is a two-year returning starter at forward. The North Brunswick, N.J., standout has started 55 games for the Hawks and has averaged 5.3 points and 4.3 rebounds over the last two seasons. 
Bridgemohan was a valuable component in the Hawks’ offense last season. He shot 59.8 percent from the field and grabbed 41 offensive rebounds, the second-highest total on the squad.

Bridgemohan showed he could be an offensive force for the Hawks late last season when he led the team in scoring with 16 points in the NEC Championship game vs. St. Francis (N.Y.)  and 12 points in the NCAA Tournament contest vs. Duke.

Like Owens, Bridgemohan has a tendency to get into foul trouble. He finished the season with 99 personal fouls and fouled out of a team-high four contests. Bridgemohan’s other achilles heel is at the charity stripe, where the junior will need to improve on his .562 foul shooting from a year ago if he wants to become a factor late in the game. 

“Bridge needs to have a better understanding of what he can get away with as far as physical contact in the game,” Calloway said. “If we can keep him out of foul trouble, he can put up big offensive numbers and pull down a whole lot of rebounds.”

After playing the off guard position most of the 2000-01 season, JASON KRAYL is returning to his natural swing forward role where he will look to replace Gerry Crosby as the starter.  Krayl has big shoes to fill as Crosby ranked second on the team in scoring with 16.2 points per game and posted a 35.8 mark behind the 3-point stripe.

Krayl, who started four contests last year, averaged 7.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game as a freshman. A sharpshooter, Krayl led the team with a 39.3 3-point field goal percentage.
Krayl, the son of longtime Monmouth assistant coach RON KRAYL, will be relied on heavily to contribute to the Hawks’ offense.

“Going into last season there were some questions about where we were going to get offense from,” Calloway said. “We knew Rahsaan (Johnson) could score 20 a game and Kevin (Owens) could score 10 a game, but after that we weren’t sure what we were going to get. Gerry (Crosby) was what put us over the top. We never expected to get 16 points a game from him. We think Jason is more than capable of giving us that kind of production.”

Junior RUSS ANDERSON will once again serve as Monmouth’s sixth man. Anderson has performed admirably in that role over the last two seasons. Last year, Anderson registered 5.4 points and 3.0 rebounds per game off the bench. More importantly, he provided another perimeter threat as he hit 36.8 percent of his 3-point field goal attempts.

“Russ really came on towards the end of last season,” Calloway said. “We are expecting big things from him. He has become a more consistent shooter, which presents a tough matchup for teams because we can have a 6-foot-7 guy playing a swing.”

JAY DOOLEY logged 1.9 points and 1.4 rebounds per game in his second season in West Long Branch. He averaged 10 minutes per contest and saw more action as the season neared an end. 

Newcomer BLAKE HAMILTON had an outstanding prep career at Central Daphin High School in Harrisburg, Pa., and is looking to make a smooth transition to the college ranks.

“We have a solid group of forwards this year,” Calloway said. “We are confident that Jay  can give us solid minutes on the inside because he can contribute on offense and defense. Depending on how well Blake adjusts to the collegiate game, he has the potential to step right into our forward rotation.”

Senior RAHSAAN JOHNSON led the Hawks in scoring (19.2 ppg), rebounds (6.1 rpg), assists (178) and steals (64) for the second consecutive season and was flooded with accolades as he earned Associated Press All-America honorable mention, Northeast Conference Player of the Year and Northeast Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player honors.
Johnson is one of the toughest players in the league to defend as a legitimate three-point shooting threat who can also take defenders off the dribble. He is also a very accurate foul shooter, hitting 76.8 percent of his shots from the charity stripe last season. 

“Rahsaan was nothing short of phenomonal last season,” Calloway said. “We need him to come out of the gate strong this season and continue where he left off. He now has a better understanding of how to incorporate the whole team in the offense. He has seen that Kevin, Jason, Bridge, Cameron, Russ and the others are all capable of performing well on offense so the burden is not all on him.”

CAMERON MILTON returns as the starter at the No. 2 guard. Milton had a productive junior season averaging 4.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.

“Cameron has a chance to become one of the top guards in the league this season,” Calloway said. “He just needs to have a better understanding of what he is capable of and stay within himself. The only time he gets in trouble is when he tries to do too much.”

TOM KAPLAN is the lone returning bench player in the backcourt. After appearing in just 13 games last season, he is expected to see increased playing time this season.

“Tom is a fundamentally sound player,” Calloway said. “We want him to step up and expect more from himself. He can be a very good player if he strives to be one. With us moving Jason to swing forward it will be vital for Tom to step up and fill that role that Jason served last year coming off the bench to give Rahsaan and Cameron some rest.”

DWAYNE BYFIELD and BRANDON OWENS are a pair of highly touted newcomers. Byfield hails from St. Mary’s High School on Long Island where he hit over 100 3-point field goals last season in leading the team to a metro title in 2001. Owens served as the starting point guard at St. Thomas More in Connecticut last season and he guided the team to the prestigious New England Prep Class A title.

“Dwayne and Brandon were very good players on very good teams last year,” Calloway said. “They are used to winning and know how to win. They shouldn’t have trouble adjusting to the collegiate game.”

KEVIN SHORT, who was a practice squad player in 2000-01, joins the team this season and adds depth in the backcourt.

The road to a repeat will not be an easy one this season. With Maryland, Seton Hall, Gonzaga and Princeton on the slate along with a Thanksgiving tournament in Hawai’i, which boasts Notre Dame and Vanderbilt as potential opponents, the Hawks face one of its toughest schedules ever and it is all part of Calloway’s plan to build a consistent winner

“We are excited about the challenge,” Calloway said. “Last year, the games our guys looked forward to the most were the games at UNLV and Gonzaga and of course the NCAA Tournament game vs. Duke. Although we didn’t play particularly well vs. Gonzaga and we were outmatched vs. Duke, we played well vs. UNLV and had a chance to win if a couple of shots would have fallen late in the game.”

The Hawks will look to become just the fifth team ever and first since Rider in 1993 and 1994 to win back-to-back NEC titles.

“All of the teams in the conference have solid players returning,” Calloway said. “So depending on how well the newcomers can contribute, anybody in this league can be a contender. Wagner, UMBC, Long Island and Central Connecticut will be especially tough and Fairleigh Dickinson, Mount St. Mary’s and St. Francis, New York always do a good job recruiting. It definitely won’t be any easy task. But with the guys we have coming back and the newcomers we are adding to the mix, I like our chance as much as anyone else in the league.”