“March Madness” 2024 has only just started and it is already bringing its first great stories. Tuesday, Wagner University dominated Howard (71-68) during the “First Four”. The Staten Island team didn't just have the weight of the stakes on their shoulders. She also had to deal with a cascade of injuries which forced her to enter the competition with only seven players fit!
On Tuesday, three players – Melvin Council Jr, Javier Ezquerra and Julian Brown – had to play the entire 40 minutes of the game. And everything could have changed at the end of the match when Howard came back to within a point.
“ We only have seven guys, so at the end of the match we sometimes get a little tired » admitted Julian Brown, hero of the evening with his two decisive free throws with 14.9 seconds remaining. “ But in every training session, the coach pushes us despite adversity. So that doesn't give us any doubt. We said, 'No matter what happens, let's just finish this game.' »
No more contact training since December to avoid injuries…
In the spirit of North Carolina State’s “Survive and Advance” in 1983, the Seahwaks adapted. They have not carried out contact training since December, for fear of further physical boredom. The coaches, led by head coach Donald Copeland, had to fully participate in the sessions to play the role of the opponent during set-ups, or even to complete the group during tactical work.
“ I imagined that at times the players would come to the training room and say to me: 'Look coach, there's only seven of us, let's just work on our systems', but they never did that » assures Donald Copeland. “ We always prepared in the right way. We expected to win, even when we lost. »
His team struggled, experiencing a logical slump in January (17 wins – 15 losses but only 7-9 in their conference) before recovering during the final Northeastern tournament, eliminating the first three seeds. Among the six players currently on the flank, four were to be starters, and two among the first rotations coming off the bench explained Donald Copeland at ESPN.
“ It is so hard » evokes Julian Brown, big fan of Damian Lillard. “ You would never think we could get to March Madness with seven players and win that game. It’s definitely been surreal, crazy, but we have confidence in our team. »
This group spirit made the difference on Tuesday, “ we just come on the field, and we preach tenacity every day » summarized Melvin Council, best player Tuesday with 21 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists.
They will have less than 48 hours to recharge their batteries before facing North Carolina, first seed in the West, on Thursday. Only two teams ranked #16 have managed to defy logic in the annals of “March Madness”. A logic that Wagner is now used to defying.
