By: Aaron Robinson
The days of the ‘bench mob’ are long gone in West Long Branch, New Jersey and Justin Robinson is not walking through the doors of the OceanFirst Bank Center any time soon, not to play for head coach King Rice and the Monmouth University men’s basketball team that is.
Still, this year’s Hawks team could be just as exciting as those teams of the past.
Robinson, who starred for the Hawks from 2013-2017 and earned MAAC Player of the Year twice, is now playing in Italy, but the Hawks do have another small guard who could be just as electrifying in Donovann Toatley, a 5-foot-9 inch sophomore guard from Largo, Maryland.
There is no Micah Seaborn, who won MAAC rookie of the year in that magical 2016 season, but Deion Hammond, a 6-foot-4 inch senior guard and first team All-MAAC selection, is every bit as good.
This also will not be the first time Hammond and Toatley share a backcourt.
The two starred together at Riverdale Baptist high school in Prince George’s County, Maryland and at the end of their respective high school careers, the two were first and second on Riverdale Baptists’ all-time scoring lists.
“It's amazing to think that two guys from the same high school, [who are] top 2 on the scoring list, won a championship together...are back in the same backcourt,” Toatley, a transfer from The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, said. “It's crazy to think about, but it’s just a testament to our journey and how close we are together.”
Toatley sat out last season due to the NCAA’s transfer rules, but prior to that he played at UT Chattanooga in the Southern Conference. As a freshman, Toatley averaged over 11 points-per-game, a mark second on the team, while leading the squad with just under 3 assists per contest.
According to Rice, Toatley’s scoring ability has been something to behold since the day he arrived on campus.
“Nobody has been able to guard him since he has been here,” Rice said. “And even last summer, Justin [Robinson] and those guys were like ‘man coach this kid can really do it.”
That’s high praise from the school's all-time leading scorer. If Toatley can come anywhere close to the magic that Justin Robinson mustered up during his career as a Hawk, Monmouth could very well have the best backcourt in the MAAC this season.
The other half to this Monmouth backcourt is Hammond, who is undeniably one of the best players in the conference. Hammond led the Hawks in scoring a season ago pouring in 16.3 points-per-game on his way to a first-team All-MAAC selection. Hammond is the leading returning scorer in the conference and was a unanimous selection to the preseason All-MAAC first-team.
Although Siena’s Jalen Pickett was named preseason player of the year in the MAAC, it is not impossible to believe that Hammond could end the year with the hardware, should Monmouth finish ahead of the Saints in the standings.
“Deion could play on anybody’s team in the country right now,” Rice said. “He is going to break the record for 3-point shooting at Monmouth… he has been first team all league as a junior and he should do that again this year, I think he is a guy that 2 or 3 years from now when he is 25 years old could have a chance to play in the NBA.”
Hammond has always been known as a shooter, and rightfully so after nailing 82 three’s at a 36% clip a season ago, but this year, the senior guard is looking to expand his game in ways that he hopes will increase his ability to score the ball.
“Everybody in the league has been saying ‘oh he is a pure 3pt shooter’ so I have been trying to work on my inside game, my midrange game and ball handling,” Hammond said.
This only adds to a toolkit that is already loaded and could make for some long nights for MAAC defenders this season.
Although Toatley and Hammond will likely assume the brunt of the scoring load, Monmouth is returning five of their top seven scorers, including four seniors in Hammond, George Papas, Melik Martin and Marcus McClary.
According to Rice, this year’s Monmouth team will rely heavily on their quartet of seniors to captain the ship that is this year's edition of the Hawks.
“When you have four older guys, I am leaving a lot of things up to them," Rice said. "Usually in our program the seniors get to make a lot of decisions, and this year they’re making more than ever.”
George Papas, a Jersey City, New Jersey native, burst onto the scene early last season when he stole the ball from a Kansas guard who was attempting to dribble out the clock. Papas went the other way for a nasty dunk at Fog Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas, a moment that became a viral sensation.
But it was in conference play that Papas really came alive, scoring in double figures nine times, including a stretch in February where he averaged almost 17 points per game and exploded for a career high 32 points in a road contest against Canisius.
Papas averaged just under 10 points-per-game in MAAC play, a mark good for third on the team, he also knocked down 49 threes which was also third on the team. With the departure of Ray Salnave, look for Papas to have an even bigger role in the offense this season.
McClary, a Linden, New Jersey native, and Martin, a York, Pennsylvania native, both averaged a hair over five points-per-game for the Hawks last season, while adding three rebounds and one assist in about 20 minutes per contest each.
It is fair to assume both will see increases in their production in their last seasons in West Long Branch in 2020-21.
What this season will essentially come down to for the Hawks, though, has nothing to do with the offensive side of the ball.
Last season in MAAC play, Monmouth led the conference in scoring, putting up 74.4 points-per-game. But on the other end, they gave up an average of 70.6 points-per-game, a mark that was second to last in the conference.
In 2018-19, when Monmouth made it all the way to the MAAC title game, the Hawks held opponents to a league best 39.7% shooting from the floor in conference play. Last season, that number was up to 42.1%, which was a pedestrian, sixth best in the conference.
The magic number seems to be around 39%, which St Peters achieved last season, in holding opponents to a 39.9% mark en route to a second place finish in the conference.
With the offensive firepower that the Hawks seem to possess, the key will certainly be the defensive side of the ball. Can Rice get his squad to lock in on that side of the ball?
Can this group of seniors get over the hump and reach the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2006?
Hammond says this group wants it more than anything.
“We want that ring,” Hammond said. “We know we have an older team, we have a lot of veterans on our team, and it should be the best year for all four of us, so we just have to put it all together, go out there and get it done.”
Monmouth opens up the season Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. from the OceanFirst Bank Center against Hofstra in a non-conference game.
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