Matt Matheny, Elon University men’s basketball head coach grabbed the microphone before the small assembled crowd at the Phoenix Preview, a pair of scrimmages featuring both Phoenix basketball teams, and took center court, calling all to attention.
He began by introducing Charlotte Smith, the women’s head coach, as the “best” women’s coach in the country. After Smith spoke for a little bit, she introduced Matheny likewise.
The former Davidson College football player took the microphone again. He talked about how his team, which finished second in the Southern Conference’s North Division and was one win away from a winning season for the first time since Matheny arrived, was the community’s team. The team he coached represented the community, he said, and he promised his team would represent that community well, that they would “elevate Elon.”
Now in his fourth season at the helm of the Phoenix men’s basketball team, Matheny said his family is well-entrenched in the community and he loves it.
[box]Elon Phoenix Men’s Basketball Coach: Matt Matheny (38-56, fourth season) Last Season: 15-16 overall (9-9 SoCon), lost in Southern Conference tournament semifinals Players Lost: G Drew Spradlin (graduated), G Lucas Weavil (transfer), F Brett Ervin (non-basketball transfer) New Players: G Tanner Samson, C Tony Sabato, G Sam Hershberger, F Wes Brewer[/box]
“It’s a great place to raise our family and we’re getting to know a lot more people,” he said after he finished shaking hands and speaking to community members who attended the Phoenix Preview. “So it’s really neat to be in the community, in the grocery store, in the restaurants and seeing more and more people that we know are supporting the program. That was reflective today at the hoops preview. I recognized a lot more people in the stands. We love it here, it’s a great place to live.”
Last season, his Phoenix finished 15-16 and fell to Davidson in the SoCon tournament semifinals, Matheny’s best season at the helm. Then-sophomore guard Jack Isenbarger had a breakout year, being named to the coaches’ All-Conference Team, and then-freshman guard Austin Hamilton was selected to both the media and the coaches’ All-Freshman Team.
Despite that increased success, Matheny said he feels like he’s always learning about coaching.
“I think, as a coach, in a lot of respects you’re always still learning,” he said. “This team is completely different from last year’s team. It’s a little bit more veteran, older guys, more experienced guys, so we’re going to coach them differently. I still think I have quite a bit to learn.”
Last season, the buzzword was “leadership.” The Phoenix had lost two key seniors, guard Chris Long and forward Scott Grable. With guard Drew Spradlin as the only senior last year, some of the underclassmen had to step up and perform.
By the stats, they did. Isenbarger and Hamilton had their All-SoCon seasons, while then-sophomore forwards Ryley Beaumont and Lucas Troutman and sophomore guard Sebastian Koch filled out the rest of the starting lineup, providing exactly the leadership Matheny wanted.
That group, minus Hamilton, is coming into its junior year. Add junior forward Egheosa Edomwonyi, a former Rice University transfer, and it’s the group Matheny relies on.
“It is their team now,” he said. “It is our veteran’s team to make of it what they want to make of it and how far they take us is how far they’ll go.”
Isenbarger, Beaumont, Troutman and Koch have been together for two years now and look back on their freshman year fondly.
“I remember coming in my freshman year, lost, not knowing what’s going on, not knowing what to expect, coming onto the floor and being gun shy,” Troutman said. “Coming out sophomore year, things are more normal, kind of settling in. Now, junior year, coming out and being the leaders of the team, being able to control the team and have fun with each other. That’s been the biggest key for us.”
Beaumont said seven members of the basketball team, including those four, live “within a 15-foot block,” and feel like they have “gone over the hill.”
“We’re older now and it’s time to do some special things,” he said. “You can tell just watching all of us. We’re grown now, we’re more in shape, we’re agile. Now it’s our team and it’s our time to do some good things.”
Hamilton, who will in all likelihood start at point guard for the Phoenix, said he loves having those four as floor mates.
“They’re basically the core of our team,” he said. “They’ve been very big leaders for us. As far as playing with them, for a point guard, it’s great. You’ve got two knock-down shooters (Isenbarger and Koch). Ryley’s a hard worker who can score the ball, then you’ve got big Luke (Troutman) inside, who can finish everything. It’s definitely a luxury for me.”
According to Matheny, one of the keys is the guard play. Along with Isenbarger and Hamilton, senior guard Josh Bonney returns after solid spot duty in the SoCon tournament when Hamilton was hampered by a wrist injury.
While Hamilton is still recovering from that injury, Matheny said he is excited about the possibilities in the backcourt.
“College basketball is a guard-dominated game,” he said. “I like our experience at guard and our ability to play several guys at the point in particular. Josh did finish the season very well with a great performance against Georgia Southern. Austin returning to health could be very beneficial to us, and Jack’s ability to play both the one and the two gives us a solid guard rotation. I like the fact that we have three guys to choose from.”
Bonney, who played sparingly during the regular season, said he looks forward to being a part of the guard rotation in a regular spot this year.
“I think we, all three, have our own specialties and own capabilities that we’re a little better than each other at,” he said. “If we were able to figure out a way to implement all of them, we’d be very, very tough in the backcourt, as far as the Southern Conference is concerned.”
The Southern Conference is the goal. It’s been made clear by Matheny and the players, that this team’s goal is SoCon-oriented.
“We want to win the North Division. We want to win the Southern Conference. We haven’t done that,” Matheny said. “We want to play in the tournament championship game. We want to win against the BCS opponents. We want to have more nights like last year when we beat South Carolina (Nov. 15, 2011). We want our players to play on a national stage, which would be an NCAA Tournament or postseason in some way, shape or form. There is an incredible amount of things that we can accomplish that we haven’t accomplished in a long time.”
The road to that goal usually involves Matheny’s alma mater and former employer, Davidson. Matheny left Wildcats coach Bob McKillop’s staff in March 2009 after spending 16 years with Davidson. The last time Elon defeated Davidson was Jan. 20, 2011, but the team has dropped three straight to the elite of the SoCon since then.
As the preseason No. 1 team in the SoCon, the defending conference champion Wildcats are a squad Isenbarger sees as part of the path to a SoCon championship. Davidson visits the Phoenix Feb. 27, 2013.
“I think Davidson definitely has a target on their back, being last year’s SoCon champs,” he said. “And that’s something that we want to be is winning the SoCon. It’s a very realistic goal for us. That’s certainly a game we’re looking forward to, that we’re looking forward to competing in and getting a win, hopefully.”
That SoCon championship is part of a movement Matheny started called “Elevate Elon.” Players and coaches have shirts reading the phrase and it has been on players and coaches’ lips.
For Hamilton, it has already begun. But it’s not over.
“We expect a lot more,” he said. “Each and every year, we want to elevate to being an elite program in college basketball. It’s definitely something that we stand by and that we’re going to continue to do because we’ve got the tools to elevate. We’ve just got to all put it together.”
Isenbarger points to the fact that his recruiting class and the rest of the team finally “have ownership.” And because its “their team,” there’s more of a sense of individual duty to get something accomplished this year.
“We’re taking more responsibility for our growth and how far we go this season,” he said. “Elevate Elon to me is a more personal thing and it’s also something that affects everyone because, in order for our program to get better, every individual has to put in hard work if we want to get better. I think it’s everyone working hard all the time and it’s not taking a day off..”
While that may seem cliche and overused, Beaumont said it is at the heart of “Elevate Elon.”
“For us, ‘Elevate Elon’ is a constant thing,” he said. “You don’t take plays off, you don’t take practice (off) when you’re tired so you’re not going to put anything into it. ‘Elevate Elon’ is a constant reminder to yourself that we need to elevate this program. We’re doing the right things and taking the right steps - it’s just buying in and now we need to believe.”