A little less than a year ago, Jordan Mast was scrambling.
Mast had just been hired as the men’s basketball coach at Fort Lewis College after the Skyhawks went 29-4 overall and he didn’t have a single player returning who saw the court. Furthermore, Mast had to hire a staff and put together a team with less than a full offseason remaining to compete in a conference he didn’t know a lot about.
Fast forward to the present day, Mast is coming off a 19-12 season in his first year and a trip to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament semifinals. He coached three All-RMAC players. Mast now has a full offseason and a better understanding of the RMAC.
“I’m much more excited,” Mast said. “Last year was almost panic mode, where it's, ‘We need to get a team, we need to fundraise, we need to run these camps,’ and there was no room to just breathe and relax. This year it's more excitement. We know how things operate. We know what the league looks like. We know what we need to be good again. Last year it was kind of guesswork. This year, we have a much better understanding of what we need to fit our style and to be competitive in the RMAC.”
A big difference between last year and this year is Mast has six returning players from last year.
Guard Stewart Erhart is back after he averaged 8.0 points per game (fourth most on the team) and led the RMAC with 2.54 steals per game during his redshirt freshman year. Erhart was a menace on defense all season and really improved his offensive game throughout his first year.
Forwards Cassius Carmichael and Keither Florence will return for their senior seasons. Carmichael was fifth on the team in scoring with 7.0 PPG and was second on the team in rebounding with 4.1 per game. Florence was tied-sixth on the team in scoring with 6.1 PPG.
Florence and Carmichael were two of the Skyhawks’ biggest assets in the paint, with both players finishing strong inside and battling against bigger RMAC forwards. Carmichael showed more offensive versatility as the season went on with his high-arching 3-point shot.
Guard Nathan Penny will be back for his redshirt sophomore season. Penny was in and out of the rotation throughout the year but is a strong and dynamic guard that could make a big jump for his sophomore season.
Two players that Skyhawk fans may not be very familiar with will also be returning. Forward Jacob Neubert, a former Durango High School player, and guard Noah Hellem will be redshirt freshmen in the fall.
Another thing that will be returning next season is the Skyhawks’ full-court press. FLC had great defensive success under Mast last season with this defensive scheme.
While the Skyhawks were one of the best teams in the country in steals, FLC struggled at times to rebound the ball and struggled to consistently make shots, especially early in the season.
“We don't want to sacrifice our ability to move laterally and press,” Mast said. “But … what we need is more strength. It's not necessarily that we need to get so much taller, but we do need to get stronger and bigger, and that includes our guys (returning) … We're looking for that and then the ability to shoot. We were one of the best defensive teams in the country. However, we were one of the worst offensive teams, maybe not in the country, but in our conference with our field goal percentage, our turnover percentage and our assist-to-turnover ratio. So we’re looking for some more offensive-minded guys that also can play our style and are committed to our pressing style of defense.”
The team play of other RMAC teams stood out to Mast in his first year. He has seen other conferences that are very talented, but the RMAC teams are solid and disciplined. It’s what makes the RMAC one of the best conferences in the country.
Mast hopes to be a little more relaxed on the sideline during his second year. He has high expectations for his players and has a lot of energy as the head coach. He hopes he doesn’t react as much when mistakes happen. Mast wants his players to be more confident with their abilities, play and not react poorly to one or two bad reads.
The returning Skyhawks are already preparing for next season with offseason workouts. The new weight room is also getting used by the returners and Mast said the new facilities make FLC a top 10 program in Division II.
Mast is already ahead of last year because he has his standard and culture set. His returners know what’s expected and know what standard to hold the new players Mast and his staff bring in.
The returning players also know the goal for next season is more than get back to the NCAA tournament.
“Our standard is to get to a regional and win a regional, something that hasn't been done here,” Mast said. “Last year, I said our goal was to win the RMAC and be at the top of the RMAC. We fell short there, but we did finish in the top four in terms of the playoffs, number six during the regular season, so we didn't fall too short there. But the standard this year is to improve on that and win the RMAC; that's always our goal.”
bkelly@durangoherald.com
