Coach Detrick decided to build for the future and now has a nucleus from which to move forward with!  If he decides to stay around for another year.  He does have over 400 career wins and this former star athlete for the Blue Devils (he earned 12 letters at CCSU back in the day) is not getting any younger.  He had confirmed he will be back for one more and has already said that he will hand the reins over to one of his players next season.  Yes, that’s right, one of the guys already playing for the Blue Devils will become the head coach right out of college.  I wonder who that may be.  If you are a CCSU fan you might already know as this kid is a legend around these parts and though he is a great player has no realistic shot of playing at the next level.  Then again there are two of these cats that fit the bill and Detrick is keeping it close to the vest.  Well, as close as you can after his previous statement. 

 The two players that are the most likely candidates for that role next year are Seniors Howie Dickenman and Gene Reilly. This duo will still be starting for the Blue Devils for one more season.  Detrick has attempted to surround them with some D-1 talent including a large group of freshmen as they transitioned into this new level of basketball.  The guys that have made this program outside of the aforementioned duo have been great at the lower levels but the athleticism is so much higher at D-1.   

One player who will be impossible to replace after next year is senior Howard Dickenman.  Dickenman is the unquestioned leader of the Blue Devil squad.  A hard-nosed post-up player, Dickenman took some young post men under his shoulder and showed them basically how to play.  Not incredibly gifted or big at only six four, Dickenman knows how to play and really understands the game from the basics on up.  Howie can score and board but is much more than that.  He sets great screens with his wide derrière and is a solid defender who uses positioning and strength to keep his opponent from scoring.  At his size you have to be doing something right if you were once an All-American albeit Division Two as Dickenman was.  Division One was probably a little above Howie’s pay grade last year but he never gave an inch and never stopped working his tail end off for his beloved Blue Devils. He is a great mentor and understands this game in and out.  With the clock ticking on the great career of Detrick it might not be long before ‘Howie’ is running this team the same way he ran through opponents who underestimated him.  But before that he has one more year to prove to that he does belong at this level and in this league.  And to take his beloved Blue Devils a little higher then their 9th place finish from a year ago. 

Sophomore forward Tyrone Canino got some big minutes down low due to his tremendous work ethic and his ability to get the ball off the glass.  Canino from Bulkeley High in nearby Hartford (ironically the same school as Blue Devil legend Eugene Reilly who might have had a hand in bringing this kid to New Britain) is the best rebounder on the team and does have some size at 6’8.  He teamed with junior Bill Reaves and fellow sophomores Bryan Heron and Steve Ayers to give the Blue Devils some depth up front next to Dickenman.  Reaves once led this team in scoring and started out doing more of the same until he got injured.  He was not starting by then but was instant offense off the bench though he is a little too small for Division One.  He will push for his starting role back this year but Detrick wants to get bigger and if Dickenman is going to play (and he will) you can’t have too many undersized guys up front.  Heron and Ayers are solid all-around players but like Reaves are a bit undersized.  Both can contribute in limited minutes.  They did tear up the JV trading off coming up for varsity games as Detrick wanted to see as many kids as possible. 

Sophomore Rich Leonard is the most well rounded Blue Devil.  He played last season at the small forward and really is a complete player.  Not huge, Leonard gets the job done with consistent moves, a reliable shot and is unselfish and we are not just talking about his great passing ability. Leonard missed a few games that were just about the time the Blue Devils started on their losing streak but it did open the door for a few others to get some more playing time. Though Leonard quickly regained his form by this time Detrick was playing everyone as the season was basically over.  He probably would have averaged double digits in scoring without the injury but is almost assuredly going to start again this year.

The most obvious choice to take over for Detrick is senior stalwart Gene Reilly.  As good as Dickenman and Leonard are the most important player on this roster is Reilly as showed by the team’s collapse whenever he would miss a game which was often the second half as he is the best pitcher on the Blue Devil baseball team.  He played last summer for the Giants single A farm team after getting drafted and posted a 2.19 ERA in 15 games.  But he has committed to coming back for his senior year in New Britian.  This kid is not great at anything (except for free throw shooting where he led the conference at over 90 percent) but he is the kind of glue player that keeps a team together.  He is as old school as it gets but this scrappy 5’10 150 pounder does everything the right way.  Reilly is the guy who wore the C on his chest last year (not Dickenman) and his ability to teach the younger guys cannot be understated.  His overall scoring, defense and playmaking should not either as he led the team in minutes when he was on the court.  There is no doubt this is a better team with Reilly on it but for those taking odds on who will replace Detrick remember this kid is going back to the minor leagues next year unless there is an intervention from a higher entity (such as Uncle Same) and Dickeman is a 6’4 center.  

Detrick had some choices with some upperclassmen for the other roles but he will probably go with the youth movement. He does have a great Blue Devil freshman class and if Bill’s last gift to his alma mater is developing a program that can compete at the D-1 level, this is the way to build it.  The plan is to rotate in the freshman (and some others) with Reilly and Dickenman and keep the ship floating and to learn from his great work ethic and discipline.  Still, those upperclassmen with a chance of playing next year besides the ones listed include the Eddies, senior guards Eddie Rosmarin and Eddie Batagowski, juniors Jere Quinn and Billy Wendt and sophomores Johnny Kidd, Kevin Hightower and Dwayne Jones in the backcourt plus seniors Bob Reagan, Paul Zajac and Earle Jackson as well as juniors Bill Hunter and Greg Roberts and sophomore Ken Hightower (Kevin’s bigger brother) up front.  Hunter has the best chance of getting big minutes of this group but watch out for those brothers as they can play. 

The Central Connecticut State Blue Devils are a new but improving program.  They have brought in some post players who have tremendous upside.   If they can hang in there on the perimeter they can match up (at least size wise) in the Northeast Conference.  I think they may be the team most other coaches fear the most with all of their front court size coming in.  They surprised some teams last year early on before falling off the second half.  The Blue Devils will be back to take on another couple of leaps up the NEC ladder this year but this time around there will be no surprises.   Coach Bill Detrick definitely has this team going in the right direction.  Up!  Rumors are that Kaiser Gym might be soon getting a new name (Detrick Gym anyone?) and that the Blue Devils might be getting a new leader!  Whatever happens this program is in good hands and is moving forward in the now basketball crazy state of Connecticut where there is enough room for everyone.  Even Blue Devils!