November 7, 2019
Men's Basketball Faces St. John's on FS2 on Saturday
The game will be broadcast live on FS2.
Central Connecticut travels to St. John's for a men's basketball contest on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. at Carnesecca Arena. The game will be broadcast live on FS2. Dave Sims (play-by-play) and Len Elmore (analyst) will call the action.
Central Connecticut dropped the season-opener to Hartford, 74-59, on Tuesday night at home. St. John's won its opener, 109-79, against Mercer in its first game under head coach Mike Anderson. The Red Storm were picked ninth in the preseason BIG EAST poll.
SERIES HISTORY • St. John's leads the all-time series, 2-0...The Red Storm won the most recent meeting, 80-55, on Nov. 14, 2017...All three meetings have been played at Carnesecca Arena.
Opening Notes
• Central Connecticut is facing St. John's for the second time in three seasons. The game is the first of three straight road games for the Blue Devils.
• CCSU will play at Arizona State on Nov. 14 as part of the Air Force Reserve Tip-Off Tournament presented by Citi. CCSU will then play at UMass on Nov. 16.
WITH A CCSU WIN TODAY...
• Central would even its record at 1-1 on the year and be 1-0 on the road.
• It would be CCSU's first win in three meetings in the series.
• The Blue Devils would have a win against a BIG EAST school for the first time since Dec. 21, 1999 (54-50, at Providence).
CCSU Roster Has a Fresh Look
• Central Connecticut has one of the youngest rosters in the nation in 2019-20 with 11 underclassmen and a total of 10 players in their first year with the program.
• CCSU is one of seven schools with 7 or more freshmen on the roster. Navy has 11 freshmen on its roster.
• Central started three freshmen in the opener and played six rookies - all for at least 11 minutes - in the first game of the season.
• The Blue Devils also feature two junior college transfers (Ayungma, Newkirk) and a senior transfer (Rowe) who are in their first season of eligibility with the program
84 Years of CCSU Basketball
• This is the 84th season of men's basketball at Central Connecticut. CCSU is 1,112-954 all-time (.538).
• Bill Detrick is the school's all-time winningest coach, having won 468 games in 29 seasons as head coach.
• CCSU's first year of competition was in 1934-35 under coach Harrison J. Kaiser, the athletic building's namesake.
Coleman Leads the Returnees
• Jamir Coleman is one of two starters from 2018-19 to return for CCSU. He averaged 12.3 points per game last season, while adding 6.1 rebounds.
• The 6-foot-7 forward had four 20-point games and five double-doubles, including grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds three times (last at LIU Brooklyn, 2/28).
• Coleman scored 13.4 points per game and shot 41.9% from the field in NEC play, while ranking 8th with 6.6 rebounds.
• In Northeast Conference play, Coleman scored in double-digits 11 times with four double-doubles, grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds three times.
CCSU Foul Shooting Sets Northeast Conference Mark
• In 2018-19, CCSU set a single-season Northeast Conference record making 78.2% of free throws (previously 77.2% - Wagner, 2010-11). The mark ranked 5th in the NCAA.
• CCSU made 31-of-35 (.886) at the foul line at Maine (Dec. 22, 2018) for its most foul shots made in a game since going 30-of-34 vs. Mount St. Mary's on Feb. 18, 2016.
• Central made its first 5 foul shots vs. Bryant (Feb. 2) after making its last 18 straight against St. Francis Brooklyn (Jan. 31) for a streak of 23 straight foul shots over two games.
• CCSU was 12-for-12 against LIU (Jan. 26), its first perfect game at the line since Dec. 6, 2017 at DePaul (6-for-6).
Blue Devils Post Marks Among Program's Best
• In 2018-19, CCSU achieved a number of team and individual marks that rank among the program's best.
• Central tied the 4th-best single-game mark in program history by hitting 13 three-pointers at Fairleigh Dickinson on Jan. 10, 2019. Central would end the season with 201 three-pointers on the year to post the 6th-best single-season total.
• CCSU blocked 110 shots, the 9th-most in program-history and most since 2013-14 (146).
• Individually, Ian Krishnan made 71 three-pointers - the 9th-most in a season - including 7 in a win at Fairleigh Dickinson, which is the 10th most in a game in CCSU history.
• Tyler Kohl made 139 foul shots, the 6th-highest single-season total at Central.
CCSU In Crunch Time
• Central went 9-1 when leading with 5:00 to play in 2018-19 and was 2-4 in games decided by 5 or fewer points.
• The Blue Devils converted .764 at the foul line in the final 5:00, while hitting .864 in the final 1:00 and overtime.
• Jamir Coleman was 24-26 (.923) at the line in the final 5:00 of regulation.
Central and the Three-Point Shot
• CCSU has made a three-pointer in 130 straight games dating back to Feb. 5, 2015 at St. Francis Brooklyn.
• Ian Krishnan had a team-high 71 three-pointers and ranked 6th in the NEC with 2.3 per game as a rookie in 2018-19.
• The Blue Devils made a season-high 13 treys in the win at Fairleigh Dickinson, the third game it made 12+ in a contest. In 2017-18, CCSU did not make more than 11 in a game.
An International Roster
• The Blue Devils' program has student-athletes from four countries (including the United States) in 2019-20.
• CCSU has 12 student-athletes representing nine states and England (Thai Segwai), Cameroon (Stephane Ayungma) and Nigeria (Ola Olamuyiwa).
• Central is among a group of 46 schools with student-athletes representing three or more foreign countries.
Where Are They Now?
• Several former Blue Devils are still playing professionally in overseas leagues. A brief list of where some recent CCSU standouts have last played: Deion Bute (Hestia Menorca, Spain-LEB Silver), Brandon Peel (London Lions, UK-BBL), Ken Horton (BK Astana, Kazakhstan-NL), Khalen Cumberlander (Ovarense, Portugal-LPB), Faronte Drakeford (Heffingen, Luxembourg Total League), Javier Mojica (Lenadores, Mexico LNBP), Tidell Pierre (Rivadavia, Argentina) and Keith Closs (Hertener Loewen, Germany).
• Mojica represented Puerto Rico in the FIBA Basketball World Cup. In 5 games he scored 2.0 ppg in 7.7 mpg.
• Corsley Edwards also played for Tri-State in the Big3 league in 2019. Edwards was a 2nd round draft pick of the Sacramento Kings in 2002.
• Horton and Closs played in the TBT in 2019. Horton played for Team Fredette, while Closs was on the LA Cheaters.
Senator Olamuyiwa
• Freshman Ola Olamuyiwa was sworn in as a senator on the CCSU SGA Student Senate on Oct. 9.
• Olamuyiwa was also student government president at The Patrick School prior to coming to Central.
• Olamuyiwa and his teammates had the opportunity to meet with U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) when he visited the CCSU campus earlier in the fall.
• The SGA Student Senate meets weekly on Wednesdays and is seen as a "voice" for the undergraduate student body.
Blue Devils Welcome Alex Inyatkin
• CCSU teamed with Team IMPACT to bring 12-year-old Alex Inyatkin into the men's basketball program.
• The Blue Devils held a signing ceremony on April 24 in the Athletic Department that included Alex and his family.
• Inyatkin will be with the team for the season and attend games, practices and other team functions.
• Team IMPACT connects children facing serious and chronic illnesses with local college athletic teams, forming life-long bonds and life-changing outcomes.
