UMBC junior guard Jay Greene was tired, upset and emotionally drained sitting in the locker room of the RBC Center following the Retrievers? 66-47 loss to Georgetown in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
But still, Greene wasn?t dejected. Greene understood he was part of a historic team, which finished with the program?s best record in its history at 24-9, won its first America East title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the school?s 22 years in Division I.
Greene believes what the Retrievers accomplished this season will lay the groundwork for what could make the Catonsville school a postseason contender in the future.
“This has been a record-setting season for this school,” Greene said. “No one can take this experience from us, and it is something we?ll remember for the rest of our lives. We got here through hard work and the underclassmen know what it takes to get here and that will only benefit them in the future.”
UMBC is expected to return four of its five starters next year, but the Retrievers must find a way to replace the offensive production vacated by seniors Ray Barbosa, Cavell Johnson and Brian Hodges. The trio combined to average about 43 points a game this season.
Retrievers coach Randy Monroe knows it won?t be easy to replace those players, but he also believes his team will continue to be competitive with their returning players, including Greene, forwards Darryl Proctor and Justin Fry and guard Matt Spadafora. Proctor averaged 15.1 points and 8.4 rebounds and Greene averaged 7.3 assists per game, second-most in Division I.
Fry said he gained a lot of experience this year, especially after replacing Johnson in the starting lineup during the middle of the season.
“No one gave us a shot to even win our conference this year,” Fry, a sophomore who averaged four points and 2.7 rebounds per game, said. “It?s been a great ride and we will be ready to get back to work and try to get back there again because I feel like we have some players that really developed a lot this season.”
Joining Fry next season on the Retrievers will be Baltimore City Community College transfer guard Bakari Smith and Fairfield transfer forward Rich Flemming, who both have three years of eligibility.
“These young men will be chomping at the bit,” Monroe said. “We?ll take some time off to regroup, but we?ll get back in the swing of things this spring. I think what we can do to learn from this situation is to be in this situation, I know I have a group of guys that want to be able to come back to this situation.”
