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Get To Know Iona Basketball

ByBobReagan|
Nov 30, 2014; Fayetteville, AR, USA; Iona Gaels guard Isaiah Williams (1) passes the ball as Arkansas Razorbacks guard Anthlon Bell (5) defends at Bud Walton Arena. The Razorbacks won 94-77. Mandatory Credit: Beth Hall-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 30, 2014; Fayetteville, AR, USA; Iona Gaels guard Isaiah Williams (1) passes the ball as Arkansas Razorbacks guard Anthlon Bell (5) defends at Bud Walton Arena. The Razorbacks won 94-77. Mandatory Credit: Beth Hall-USA TODAY Sports

When you think of dominant offenses in college basketball, your mind typically wanders to Notre Dame, Duke or Gonzaga. Perhaps you think there’s no dominant offense in college basketball and you think of terrible officiating or powerful defenses like Kentucky.

However, there’s an offense from a small school in New York that could lead to a Cinderella run in March. The Iona Gaels are averaging 82.4 points per game and rank 15th in KenPom’s adjusted offensive ratings.  In fact, Iona has scored more than 80 points already 18 times this season and has only been held to less than 70 points just once this season.

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Sure, people will want to knock Iona’s stats on playing in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, but the Gaels have had no easy schedule. Prior to starting conference play, Iona went on the road to play Wake Forest, Arkansas and UMass.

The Gaels went 1-2 in those games, with the win coming against Wake Forest, but none of the three superior schools were able to slow down the pace Iona plays at. They scored 85, 77 and 82 points respectively in those games.

The Gaels are led by A.J. English and David Laury, who both average more than 19 points per game. As a team, Iona shoots 41 percent from deep. Could you imagine the scoring output if Iona plays Iowa State, like Joe Lunardi is currently projecting in his latest Bracketology?

Iona head coach Tim Cluess prefers his team to play an incredibly uptempo style, as evident by having the 11th-fastest adjusted tempo per KenPom. His system isn’t made for a specific type of player because guard Isaiah Williams, who averaged 14 points per game, has been sidelined by a foot injury for the last three weeks.

Instead of taking a complete drop in numbers, the Gaels continued to pile on the high scoring effort.

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    • However, the offense has made a star out of junior A.J. English. He’s looking to match what his father did, which was become a NBA draft pick. His father, A.J. English II was a second-ound pick by the Washington Bullets in 1990. The younger of the two is currently projected to be a second-round pick in 2016 according to NBADraftNet.

    The rise of English shouldn’t be a complete surprise as there’s been a string of good guards under Cluess at Iona. After making the NCAA tournament as an at-large team in 2011-12, Cluess had to replace Scott Machado and Michael Glover. That’s one of the country’s best point guards and his leading scorer. Iona won the 2013 MAAC championship.

    Then Cluess had to replace top scorer Momo Jones, and Iona won the regular-season title.

    It wasn’t any different this season as Iona once again graduated its leader in Sean Armand. That’s when English made the switch to point guard and has helped guide the Gaels to the top of the MAAC standings. English is easily having his best season in New Rochelle, upping his rebound and assist averages to over five per game.

    Most people don’t know about Iona, but don’t be surprised to see a big name school cringe when they see the Gaels in their bracket come Selection Sunday. Just make sure you tune in to see one of the best offenses in the country.

    Next: College Basketball Rankings: Top 25 Teams In America

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