The Robert Morris Colonials have put together some good seasons for the fans of Moon Township Pennsylvania, a part of the greater Pittsburgh area.  This college, placed in the middle of the biggest Quaker population in the country, is as conservative as can be.  The team reflects that in their style of play.  The Colonials have not been around long and in a city where basketball is about 7th on the list in popularity of sports it is hard to get any recognition let alone respect.  Football of course is king in the Steel City, nowhere near the basketball crazed fans up state in the city of Brotherly Love, and unlike Philly there is only three Universities sharing this hard-working city.  The Pitt Panthers are king with their nearly 30,000 students, right behind the Steelers on the food chain, especially their football program, but the hoopsters are gaining in status with some solid teams in the Big East that like this program play hard-nosed defense but like these Colonials can’t seem to get over the hump.  The Duquesne Dukes are a private catholic school with about 10,000 students and have a solid basketball history but are similar to both of their intracity brethren schools in that they are just on the outside looking in from the top dogs in their conference, the A-10.  RMU was nowhere near these programs with barely 4000 students and only realistically getting a shot at Division One because the Northeast Conference needed members to join when it was forming as a reaction to the Big East.  They needed a team in Pittsburgh to combat the Panther monopoly of this city and there were no programs left in Philly.  This fledgling program made great strides last year behind Coach Matt Furjanic’s’s solid recruiting of players from around the area and a conservative style of play.  But unlike some of their opponents in this league, this program has a short history as not too long ago they were a JC and never even really got their toes wet in the lower levels of four-year basketball.  Reliant on pressure defense to win games and a disciplined system of offense that relies on outside shooting, the Colonials exceeded their expectations especially as new as they are to division one basketball.  Still, this new program has a long ways to go before they can be considered a real contender for the post season though in the tiny Northeast conference they showed they can compete at least for the upper half of this blue collar league.   

One thing that Furjanic knew he had to do was get some four year guys to build this program from the floor up.  This was barely a four-year school in itself as RMU just recently moved up from the ranks of a JC.  To get the fortunate nod to the big time this program knew it would be over it’s head for a minute but Furjanic was determined to build this program the right way and if they got lucky with a few transfers so be it.  Furjanic got the biggest blow of the year when his best player, Earl Cureton, decided to leave and join the Titans of Detroit after a stellar season in Moon Township.  But there are others who have come back to the Steel City to play after leaving for bigger programs. 

Furjanic will rely on a couple of carryovers from the JV days who were allowed to stay and play on the full-time plan.  Senior to be Perry Johnson (he will be the first Colonial ever to have the status of senior here) and junior Charlie Gaines are the vanguards of the old way.  But they can play.  Johnson is a 6’4 wing from just over the Ohio border in Akron who had some terrific years for the JC team averaging over 20 points a game one year.  Last year, the Colonials, first in D-1 was not so friendly.  Johnson has actually transferred to new D-1 rival Duquesne (they used to be a feeder program for the Dukes) but was not getting any PT behind Si Green and Jarrett Durham, who let’s just say are at a different level then Johnson.  Johnson was allowed to come back with the new transfer rules and played the second half of last year for RMU.  And boy did they need him.  The Colonials won 6 games once they got to the conference schedule and much of that had to do with Johnson and Gaines.  Johnson is the favorite to lead this team in scoring but Furjanic has made it clear he is recruiting wings (it is hard to get real big men at these small schools) and will let the kids play and develop.  Gaines is a Pittsburgh high school legend who didn’t have the grades to go to bigger schools.  He has had to play center and at 6’7 has had some issues when the Colonials wander outside their comfort zone.  When you are jumping from JC level to D-1, there is not comfort zone and everyone is way better then you are used to guarding.  Still, this kid can score on the blocks and board and is by far the best big man this team has by quite a bit.  Both of these guys will start to begin the year and then we will see how Furjanic’s recruits are taking to D-1 and the NEC. 

Sophomores Tom Underman, Chipper Harris and Forest Grant round out the starting lineup to begin this year.  Harris was a mainstay right out of the box from up the road in New Kensington as he was the only Colonial that started every game of the season.  Harris is a complete player who does it all.  His defense is great and his offense is always at the right moment.  He is the most complete player on the team but like most of his teammates is unselfish to a fault.  Harris led the league in steals as a true freshman and defines the type of team the Colonials are.  He will do whatever it takes to get the job done and though he started out the year as the point guard Durham convinced him that the team was better off if he switched to the two guard.  He was hesitant but the team was way better with him and the little General on the court at the same time. He and Grant have become close friends and their own personal version of Abbott and Costello.  Harris accepted the change and the team was better with him playing the two, especially on defense, but there are some gifted wings Furjanic has brought in.  No worries from Harris as he will play big minutes with his defense and his offense will only get better as he progresses. 

Grant did a good job at the point and can also score some but is best setting up his teammates.  He loves to play defense but may be the weakest part of his game.  He gained minutes throughout the year as it progressed and by the mid-point was starting next to his buddy Harris.  This Abbott to Chipper’s Costello (he was a great setup man so the joke goes) took the promotion in stride and this duo’s play down the stretch was a big part of the late success.  He might not get his starting job back next year but he will play and he will contribute on both ends as he has done since he stepped onto the RMU campus last year.  

Underman was an entirely different story than his two teammates.  He hopes to carry over after a solid first year as a capable big man who could score and board some.  This want to be superhero (the Incredible Underman to his buddies) was nowhere near physical enough for D-1 basketball but he improved every game.  Another Ohioan from tiny Elyria, Underman is 6’6 and can play but he definitely needs to hit the weight room this summer.   

Another big force for the Colonials is Sophomore big man Anthony Dickens.  A good rebounder who loves to bang, Dickens is the type of tough player others look up to.  His toughness and physical play was needed on a team that relies too much on perimeter defense and long range shooting.  Dickens began the year as a starter down low and was counted on to be the primary defender and board man for the Colonials.  At only six five, Dickens get by with sheer toughness and a willingness to mix things up.  Not much of a scorer, Dickens is unselfish to a fault and would rather pass (he is an excellent passer) than shoot but does need to hit a few more shots.  Sadly, Dickens hurt his hip ten games into the year going up for a dunk and looked like he was going to miss the year.  He became an inspiration to his teammates by working his butt off and making his way back onto the court for the stretch run.  This man amongst men and the teammate elected captain going into this year.  He should start next to Gaines down low if he is back to full speed unless one of the kids is tougher.  That would almost be impossible.  

Many players got minutes as Furjanic tried to find the right combinations.   Juniors Paul Jones and Cornelius Holmes were recruited for JC but have decided to stay for four.  Neither is going to get huge minutes but they do provide depth and work hard.  Another junior Hosea Champine, is one of those kids that could have been recruited by D-1 but has some ‘other’ issues.  He missed most of last year with some of those issues and was recruited by some other schools in the portal but is going to stay.  This wing can play and might be the best athlete on the team not named Johnson.  The kid with the best chance of playing if he comes back is junior Mike Morton.  He goes 6’8 and can hang in the paint and will block a shot.  This team needs a rim protector and though this kid does not bring much on the offensive end, he will get some minutes if he does not get scooped up by a bigger program.  Sophomore Skip Koskoski has some size too at 6’7 but could have used a year of JV seasoning.  The Colonials did not have a JV program in their first year (heck they barely had a full 15 man roster) but they will this year as Furjanic has brought in Andrew Toole to run that squad and be his top assistant.  Toole can recruit but has never coached so we shall see but this team needs to develop some players and that is the way to do it.  Larry Downing, Mark McCloud, Roy Dudley and Ron Winbush are a trio of second year players who probably will get a year of seasoning with Toole and Koskoski and more are on the way as this program jumps full board into D-1 and NEC basketball. 

Coach Furjanic has a young and inexperienced team at Robert Morris.  He tinkered with various lineups throughout their first year in D-1 trying to find the right chemistry.  It finally worked at least for a minute and there is hope in Moon Township about this team.  A late-season run led to a solid finish in the small Northeast conference and has the fans of the Colonials hoping for bigger and better things next year.  Coach Furjanic has taken some gambles with some smaller but tough-minded players and some others who just wanted to come back to Pittsburgh to play.  Most of the time it has worked out well and the Colonials building process moved forward quite well in their first year of D-1 as they finished in a five way tie for third in this conference know for it’s parity beyond it’s two great small college programs in Brooklyn and Loretto Penn.  The most important thing is that the Colonials are finally developing a personality as a team and it fits the city they are from.  No these are not football players but these kids are all tough-minded and physically strong kids who keep coming at you on the defensive end that pressures the opposition all day long.  If Furjanic can keep this process moving forward and can bring in a few more kids that fit his program especially a seven footer or two (maybe the Pitt Panthers can loan them one as they seemed to have monopolized project seven footers in this part of the world) to guard the rim to match this pressure defense than things could really interesting in Moon Township!  And maybe those two teams at the top have some room for a third power in this developing league!