Nov 17, 2016 4 min read

The 2015-16 season was not an enjoyable one for anybody associated with the Washington & Jefferson College men’s basketball program. They do not pretend otherwise.

The Presidents, however, can write off the 1-25 season as a learning experience, albeit a painful and humbling one.

And for the seven players who have returned, they are determined to hit the reset button, erase the memory of last season and build some much-needed momentum.

“Our returning guys, going through what they did last year, they’ve realized how hard it is to be good at college basketball,” said second-year head coach Ethan Stewart-Smith. “It was an eye-popping experience. It was a humbling experience. But we had guys play a lot of minutes – we had no choice – and they can gain from that. They have put in the time during the offseason and gotten better.”

The number of healthy bodies on W&J’s roster dwindled to as few as six last season. This year, there is an 18-player group that is heavy on freshmen, many of whom will play more than casual roles. Three of them were in the starting lineup when the Presidents opened the season Tuesday night.

Stewart-Smith, however, has high hopes for his holdovers, especially junior forward Brian Graytok and 6-5 junior forward Brian Lindquist. Graytok led W&J in scoring (15.7 points per game), assists and steals, and was second in rebounding, a year ago. Lindquist was tops in rebounding and averaged 9.3 points.

“Brian Graytok does everything,” Stewart-Smith said. “He’s played point guard for us but now he’s more of a wing. He was top-10 in almost every statistical category in the PAC last season.

“Brian Lindquist was real close to averaging a double-double. He’s the only true post guy we have, so we’ll play through him. He does a good job of being efficient.”

Also back are senior guard Christian Rohaus (10.4 ppg), sophomore guards Gianni Buarne, Joe Satira and Adam Joyce and junior guard Joel Garcia. Rohaus has proven to be a reliable scorer and is fully healthy for the first time in his career. He’s a 35-percent shooter from three-point range, and at 6-5 is a matchup problem on the wing for opponents.

Three freshmen, Sean Stinelli (Penn Trafford), Mike Zappala (Fox Chapel) and Jonathan Devito (Pittsburgh Central Catholic) were in the Presidents’ starting lineup in the season opener Tuesday at Denison. It was a 96-84 loss but there were many positives for W&J. Denison won 25 games last year and the North Coast Athletic Conference championship. The Big Reds were picked to finish third this season but W&J was tied with them on the road at halftime.

“It was more encouraging than anything,” Stewart-Smith said. “I was pleased with our effort. We knew it was going to be a tall task but we didn’t go away.”

Graytock led W&J with 23 points and five assists, leading four W&J players in double figures. Rohaus scored 17 points, Stinelli had 16 in his collegiate debut and Lindquist contributed 13.

If anything, the opener showed the Presidents they can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Wins are coming, and if they get enough of them then they’ll reach one of their goals, which is to make the PAC tournament.

“We’re going into every year with the goal to max out our group. If we can finish in the top eight, we make the conference tournament and then we feel like everybody has a chance,” Stewart-Smith said. “Outside of that, we’re trying to find out what the ceiling is for this team. We’re still building an identity. I hope our ceiling is 15 wins.”

Wins, however, could be difficult to get this weekend when the Presidents return to the court. They will play in the Mary Washington Tip-Off Tournament that begins tonight in Fredericksburg, Va. They play the host team in the opening round. Mary Washington has seven players who are 6-5 or taller.

“In many ways, it’s like this is the first year for everybody because we’re doing everything differently on both offense and defense,” Stewart-Smith said. “It takes time to build it up. Everyone understands the challenge.

“Our biggest goal is not to make repetitive mistakes. That’s all we want from these guys because it will pay off when they are sophomores, junior and seniors.”