These two brethren schools were happy to catch on with the fledgling Northeast conference though.  FDU got the first call and were from the onset with many schools that now are in the MAAC (there seems to be an ongoing bridge between these two conferences).  The Hawks of Monmouth were recruited to join when the ECAC morphed after some teams moved out.  The powers to be decided to bring in another Jersey school to help this league move forward.  This University is located just up the road from the Bosses playground in Asbury Park and the greetings from the newly named NEC were welcoming indeed.  Shore U as it is known to some has a bit of an identity problem being only a mile from the Jersey shore and just up the road from the famous race track.  Would these Hawks be able to fly as high at this level as they did when they were a dominant NAIA program?  We shall see but if Snookie and the Situation have anything to say about it, the Hawks will be the kings of the Right Coast in no time at all. 

The Monmouth Hawks had a solid yet unspectacular season in their first year in the Northeast conference.  Long-time Coach Bill Boylan had the problem of transitioning this New Jersey school from the old days of NAIA power to the Division One.  He still was loyal to some of his old school stalwarts but has to change with the time.  Boylan brought in a large group of freshman to get this program off the track in Division 1.  He decided not to try and get a quick fix with a lot of junior college players and the results were as one would have expected.  The young group showed a lot of potential at times but were not very consistent and thus lost several games they could have won.  Still, they did make improvement over the course of the year.  

Senior Ron Kornegay was the only upperclassman that played throughout the entire season for the Hawks.  Kornegay was undoubtedly the leader of this team.  A gifted scorer who does all the little things right, Kornegay would be a pro next season if he was a little bigger.  Undersized at 5 foot 8, he may not be the most gifted vertically but he does not make mistakes and he comes through in the clutch.  Gifted with a quick release and the conscious of a burglar, Kornegay was meant for the 3 point line and lead the team in scoring for the 3rd straight year.  He is also quick as they get going to the hoop and scored plenty of his points getting by bigger guards.  Obviously not your typical two guard Kornegay can also distribute which he did much more of this year with other gifted players around him as there was not as much pressure on him to score every time down the court.  There is no way to measure how important Kornegay to this program as he was here from the get go and led the Hawks to an NAIA tourney while earning All-American honors.  He has had an outstanding career for the Hawks and though he has relatively no chance of going to the next level with his intelligence, leadership and understanding of the way the game should be played he should be a great coach for someone someday.  But for now he has one more goal for his beloved Hawks.  Get this program to the post season in D-1. 

Fellow upperclassmen like Walt Mischler and Ed Halicki saw their time cut back throughout the season as Boylan transitioned in with the big boys of Division One.  These two plus Jim McIntyre, Don Wiley and John Haas formed a pretty formidable front line when the Hawks were matching up in the NAIA but they were no match athletically for the warriors who play Division One.  After a couple of early season games where the Hawks got embarrassed by the Big East (they lost two games by a combined total of 35 points) Boylan brought in the reinforcements and let some of these guys go to pasture quietly.  McIntyre and Halicki (when he was not pitching for the baseball team as their ace) still platooned at the four but were losing time like a broken hourglass.  Mischler, who is a legend in West Long Branch, was the hardest to sit down but the Gentle Big Man gave way to the youth movement very humbly.  At only six five, Mischler is not your prototypical center but he has manned that position well.  He is still tentatively listed as the starter for next year but unless the new kids are not up to snuff, he will be that veteran guy who hangs around helping the young kids adjust. A solid board guy, the Senior Mischler still showed some gas last year but the game against the Scarlet Knights of rival Rutgers was the nail in the coffin and Roy Hinson and James Bailey put on a dunk clinic against the overmatched big man before he fouled out midway through the second half.  McIntyre was similar to Mischler but a little big bigger and much more athletic.  Big Jim is only a junior who can eat up some space but was not all that mobile and though he almost made it all of the way through the year his minutes dwindled throughout the season.  Still, McIntyre will be in the mix again next year as the Hawks can use all of the big bodies they can use to battle in the NEC.  Halicki is another undersized junior but he can really play.  This Newark native is six seven and 220 Halicki has the size and skill to hang down low as he a solid board and score guy on the post.  Ed was having a solid year in this fluid rotation but shut it down 21 games in so he could concentrate on getting ready for the amateur draft (he was already drafted out of high school by the St. Louis Cardinals but chose to go to Monmouth).  Arguably the greatest all-around athlete in Hawk history, Halicki was drafted again this time by the San Francisco Giants where he will pursue his pitching career as this big righty with the mean slider has a bright future.  Haas is another senior who barely played the second half but will eat up some space.  Wiley is a junior who has some size and toughness but barely played due to some nagging injuries.  He might be in the mix this year but has to get more athletic and beat out some mighty good underclassmen who are looking to take over the primary low post roles for the Hawks. 

Sophomore Fernando Sanders led a contingent of underclassmen that got opportunities to show what they had down low.  Fellow sophomores Karl Towns, Jesse Stout and Rich Pass all got their feet wet but mostly played on the JV except for Sanders.  They all had some good moments and should for more playing time next season as these kids have something the upperclassmen do not.  Size.   Stout goes 6’10 and though he is a project can play.  Towns is only 6’6 but man he eats up space and can really board.  Pass is 6’5 and more of a combo forward but this trio formed a solid front line for JV coach Wayne Czoke who had a big hand in recruiting all of these kids including Sanders.  Speaking of, Sanders is a presence inside at six seven and had a few monster games after he got on the court.  He might not start next year but he will play and he will contribute.  These are the perfect type of complimentary players a good program needs to compete at this level.    

 Junior Bill Terry lost his starting job early on with a small little injury which opened the door in almost perfect timing for some new kids to play but came back strong and is penciled in to start next to Kornegay.  Terry is a solid combo guard who has some size at six two (that is huge for guards on this team) and can score but is nowhere near Kornegay on the overall talent pool.  Still, he came back and had some valuable games off the bench and should do the same this year.  Sophomore John Blair may be the best defensive guard on the roster and played much more than expected in his first year in D-1. He has great motor and should be back and pushing Terry for the starting lineup next to Kornegay but he is not the only one.  Fellow Sophomore Gary ‘the Kid’ Carter rotated in last year but is looking to start this year next to Kornegay and Terry if Boyland goes with a three-guard set.  The problem is he is only 5’7 and having two guards under 5’10 might work in the lower divisions, it is not going to fly in D-1.  He will, however, be in the mix for playing time but his starting role is probably lost unless he gets a growth spurt.  Fellow Sophomore Derric Thomas got some limited minutes at the point and is a gifted set up guy and is cat quick around the corner.  He was the catalyst on the JV but at 6’2 gives the back court some size and will play.  Fellow sophomores Mason McBride and Harrie Garris were also stuck on the JV last year but will compete for roles on the wings and give the Hawks some athleticism that they need. 

The Monmouth Hawks were a competitive basketball team although they were transitioning into a new world of basketball.  They improved immensely throughout the year and showed some real promise for the future.  This is a good sign but they will take no shortcuts to becoming a Northeast Conference power.  Coach Bill Boylan skipped over taking some short cuts with JC transfers and got lucky with a couple of proposition 48 kids that got passed over by the bigger schools. They have made this school a player in the NEC quicker than expected.     The ‘situation’ is the Hawks finished stronger than expected in the NEC and are a few players away from making the big leap to the top of the heap quicker than expected.  They are going to have replace the terrific but tiny Ron Kornegay, the greatest player ever to wear the Midnight Blue and White, soon but that is after one more year of glory in Mechanicsville.