Backcourt sets tone for Molloy

The East Coast Conference Tournament has become familiar territory for the Molloy College men’s basketball team in recent years. The program has repeatedly put up successful regular seasons, and as a result has found its way into postseason play. 

The Lions hope to continue trending upwards and possibly contend for a conference title. But in order for Molloy to accomplish this, several returning players will need to step up for the team.

“I think it’s going to be a work in progress,” head coach Charles Marquardt said. “We have six returners, but those returners will be taking on larger roles. I would look at us last year as being more experienced and seasoned than this year. But, I think we do have the potential to be pretty good.”

One thing the Lions can feel good about is three of their four leading scorers from last season are back. This includes senior point guard Brandon Williams, a former standout at Baldwin High School who led Molloy with 14.3 points per game last season.

“Brandon will put us in places to succeed hopefully,” Marquardt said. “We want him to be a pass first guy, and get others involved. He has a lot of experience, and has pretty much started for three years. And being the point guard, he’s obviously key for us.”

Molloy expects junior guard Jaylen Morris to also be a catalyst. Morris averaged 13.9 points per contest last year, and was named ECC All-Conference Honorable Mention for his play.

“He’s probably one of our more skilled players,” Marquardt said. “He can go inside and out, can rebound and is pretty athletic. So he’s a multi-dimensional guy.”

The coach also hopes his son, junior guard Charlie Marquardt, can give the team a boost offensively. Last season Marquardt shot 38.1 percent from behind the arc. “He can shoot it pretty well, and he’s comeback ready to play in good shape,” Marquardt said. 

One area where the Lions face question marks is in the frontcourt, as the team tries to make up for the loss of reliable big men Richard Zoller and Miles Prendergast. Senior forward Kevin Bowles hopes to step in this season and provide an answer for Molloy down low. 

“He’s been kind of a role player, but now his minutes have increased,” Marquardt said. “He’s done a pretty good job for us so far this year. He can go inside and out. He’s an undersized big, but he plays pretty tough.”

Filling out the team’s starting five at the moment is new addition Curtis Jenkins. Marquardt has liked the athleticism and strong defense that the sophomore from Farmingdale has brought to the club so far.  

Off the bench, Molloy has a pair of reliable seniors in guard Maurice Gaston and forward Chucks Obunse. Gaston will be counted on for offense, while Obunse will be looked upon to be a physical presence down low for the team.

Even with those two players, depth remains an issue for the Lions. Marquardt has the task this season of figuring out which of his younger players he can trust to fill out the rest of his rotation. 

“I think we’re going to have to continue to build the bench,” he said. “But we need to get good play from our front seven.”

Molloy seems poised to once again be in the postseason mix this spring. And according to Marquardt, the key for his team will be finding a way to play its best basketball at the end of the season.

“It’s just going to be a matter of playing well at that important time and being healthy in March. It’s a long year,” he said.

Molloy was set to begin ECC action on Dec. 9 with a trip to Mercy College.