Written by Brandon Gould '13

NJAC poll

Ewing, NJ ... Senior Donovan Smalls and junior Al Matlock know what it takes to play in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. The pair of guards started in every contest last season with Smalls finishing the season with a team-leading 12.8 points per game and Matlock adding 9.8 points per game.

As productive as they were, the duo plans to make a bigger mark this season – on and off the court. After the NJAC announced the Lions are picked to finish fourth in the South Division in the NJAC preseason coach's poll, they are set to their experience to the test.

“We learned a lot as far as hard work, being disciplined and just being there every day for your teammates and setting an example for the younger guys,” Smalls said.

Both players have been proactive in the offseason making sure that the team is committed to learning from last season and building off those experiences sooner rather than later. 

“I think through our struggles that we've all grown as a team,” Matlock said. “I feel like that leadership is necessary and it's going to come from us because we went through the fire, we went through the storm and the pain from last season. We have to step up and become the leaders of the team.”

Head coach Kelly Williams only lost one player to graduation from last year's squad, but the shoes that need to be filled are pretty large.

With the team struggling to find consistency in 2010-11, senior forward Steven Siracusa was the epitome of dependable. Siracusa was second on the team in scoring with 10.2 points per game, while also leading the team in rebounds (9.0 per game), assists (2.1 per game) and steals (2.0 per game).

His biggest impact for the Lions program may be felt this season though as Smalls and Matlock prepare to apply the leadership that they learned from Siracusa.

“The best you can take from a senior that has left is the knowledge that they left you and utilize it and give it to the rest of the team,” Matlock said. “The stuff that he taught us, the leadership that he gave us, I think that is transferred over to this season.”

From effectively using their time in the weight to early morning runs, the Lions have been hard at work, preparing for this season.

“We definitely worked a lot harder in the offseason and the preseason because we don't want to have a season like we did last year,” Smalls said. “Basically it was about hard work, dedication, and staying together as a team, as a family.”
Williams certainly noticed the change in attitude and conditioning when his team showed up for the preseason. 

“I think sometimes players can use the offseason to vacation more than work out,” Williams said, “But I got a nice sense, and I truly believe, that our guys made a true effort in regards of working out more and really trying to push themselves to the limit.”

The Lions will take their first step of the new season on November 19 at 1 p.m. as they travel to the Empire State to take on New York University. Their home opener is set for Wednesday, November 30 at 8 p.m. in Packer Hall when they take on NJAC opponent Rowan University.