To call McKee/Staten Island small would be an understatement. The Seagulls biggest rotation players are 6-foot-2. There are teams who can put out a lineup with everyone bigger than that.
But MSIT coach Charlie Donohue isn’t overly concerned. He’s never had big teams in his five seasons at the Staten Island school.
“We’re a little smaller than we usually are, but we can shoot a lot better and we are a much better free-throw shooting team,” he said.
Donohue’s undersized team has impressed him thus far with its toughness and fight. It more than held its own in a scrimmage against Manhattan powerhouse Wadleigh and topped Robeson, 74-53, in its season opener. Osa Izevbuwa led the Seagulls with 18 points in the win, which is one major reason for optimism.
The 6-foot-2 junior guard enjoyed a memorable regular season as a sophomore, averaging 14 points per game, but was kicked off the team after the playoffs for disciplinary reasons. He returned this fall more mature, slightly bigger and stronger.
“The kid’s a Division I player,” Donohue said of Izevbuwa, who he has known since the standout was in the sixth grade. “He’s physical and wide and he’s tough. He can dribble and he can shoot.”
The coach added: “He had to see the bigger picture. He did all the right things, he said all the right things. He’s a huge asset to the team and we need him. The team wanted him back.”
Other players Donohue is counting on are 6-foot-2 senior guard Kareem Martin, 6-foot senior point guard Ryan Markoe, 6-foot-2 senior forward Chris Smith and 6-foot sophomore Nick Maetta, a playmaking combo guard.
“He’s gonna be a guy who will be contributing big-time by midseason,” Donohue said of Maetta.
Smith, a wide body with a soft touch, will be instrumental in the paint, banging against bigger bodies. Izevbuwa and Martin, who Donohue said is one of the best players in the city nobody talks about, may be guards, but they will be forced to match up with forwards. Donohue thinks it can be an advantage.
“Osa and Kareem are tough matchups,” he said. “Big guys will have to come out and defend those guys. They have speed and they can shoot.”
It would seem to be difficult for MSIT to repeat as SISHL champions. Curtis returns four starters and has plenty of length and size. The Seagulls, however, weren’t supposed to be the last team standing on the Island last winter, either.
“We’re gonna be tough, we’re gonna come to play every night,” Donohue said. “We’re dangerous. We can score points. We’ll fight hard.