Don’t jinx it.
Finally, after a delay, COVID lockdown and scheduling roulette, the UMass basketball team is opening its season. The Minutemen will host Northeastern at 1:30 p.m. Friday at Mullins Center in the first game of a home and home series. They’ll play again at noon Sunday in Boston.
“It’s been a long road to get to this point,” UMass senior Carl Pierre said. “It’s a little bit hard to believe, but I think we’re all ready for the moment.”
The Minutemen returned to practice Saturday with conditioning work an began contact drills and 5-on-5 on Monday. They were rusty initially after isolating for 18 days.
“It’s just rust, we knocked it right off, and we’re getting the wagon rolling again,” sophomore center Tre Mitchell said.
They’re facing a Northeastern team in a similar boat. The Huskies haven’t played yet and are recently out of quarantine, as well. Northeastern paused all athletic activity Nov. 24 after a cluster of COVID cases led to athletes on five teams quarantining. They weren’t supposed to resume until Dec. 18, but the Huskies changed course Dec. 1.
“ They’ve been dealing with the exact same thing,” UMass coach Matt McCall said. “They haven’t played yet and the whole country has.”
The Northeastern team that takes the floor at Mullins on Friday will barely resemble the team that UMass beat last November. They graduated four of their top five scorers, including dynamic guard Jordan Roland, who averaged 21.9 points per game. The Huskies brought in five freshmen and transfer Chris Doherty from Notre Dame.
“They’re going to present challenges from the unknowns of some of their personnel,” McCall said.
Northeastern’s offense was built around Roland last year. The Huskies ran him around multiple screens per possession to try and free him for as many open shots as they could. He scored more than 30 six times. Those points are going to have to come from somewhere.
Sophomore point guard Tyson Walker averaged 10.4 points per game last year, opening opportunities for returners and newcomers alike.
“When you have such a dynamic scorer on film, the question becomes are they playing the same way, running the same actions” McCall said. “Tyson Walker being more of a playmaking point guard are they going to put him in the pick and roll or run cross screens and post ups for Doherty?”
Because of the constantly changing schedule, the Minutemen haven’t spent much time scouting opponents. Instead, they’ve turned that focus toward their own improvement and honing McCall’s style.
“We have to rely on our principals and our effort to make up for any mistakes,” McCall said. “On Friday you could be playing Northeastern and that game could get canceled and (UMass) Lowell could play and you could end up playing Lowell. The focus, no question, needs to be what are we doing to get better as a team.”
That starts with Mitchell, a sophomore center who was named preseason first-team all-Atlantic 10 after averaging 17.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game last year. He worked on attacking off the dribble and outside shooting to complement his polished low post game.
“Last year he led a tremendous amount by example, and this year he’s being more vocal,” McCall said. “We’ve got to play more through him. When the ball goes inside to Tre on the block, his first option is to go get a basket. When the double teams come that’s going to open up things on the perimeter and everybody else.”
His primary targets will be Pierre and point guard TJ Weeks, both of whom shot better than 33 percent from behind the 3-point line. Beyond those three returners and junior Dibaji Walker, McCall has a lot of rotation minutes to determine. There are five freshmen and two transfers trying to find their roles.
“Our bench will be one of our biggest weapons,” McCall said. “We are two, three deep at every position. If they’re not bringing that energy you can bring in someone to bring it.”
McCall acknowledged there will be mistakes and rust from both the players and the staff. None of them have played or coached since March 7. They’re ready to change that.
“Our emphasis has to be on our effort. I’m sure we’ll struggle at times executing,” he said. “If we can’t get up for (Friday’s) game after not playing since March, we’ve got a problem.”
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbwsk.