It is an exciting time of year because everybody is still undefeated! We are excited about our team again this year. Tonight we will have our fifth practice and the guys have given us a great effort so far.

Once again we will start the year as a "Dark Horse" which is a position that we are very familiar with. A dark horse is a horse that not much is expected from but one that emerges to prominence.

All the talk in the MAAC is centered around Fairfield and Iona and they deserve the accolades because they have great players and great coaches. But once again we have a team that has a chance to be very good and we expect to fight it out with them every step of the way.

The preseason moves quickly and we will be playing games before you know it. Our first scrimmage is next Saturday October 29th against a strong Boston University team. We are excited to compete against BU and get a feel for where we are as we get ready for opening weekend in Pittsburgh against Robert Morris and Pitt. This promises to be a fun season!.


September 20, 2011

Raphielle Johnson, from CollegeHoops.net, did a nice little feature on the Broncs... "No matter where you look for information on the 2011-12 season for the MAAC the theme remains the same: regular season champion Fairfield and MAAC Tournament finalist Iona will stage a two-team race for the title. But while the Stags and Gaels are most certainly contenders for the league's automatic bid don't forget about Tommy Dempsey's Rider Broncs."

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE FEATURE


August 11, 2011

MSG Network's Jon Rothstein recently wrote a feature on underrated coaches in college basketball. The list included Kevin Stallings (Vanderbilt), Fran Dunphy (Temple), Randy Bennett (St. Mary's), Blaine Taylor (Old Dominion) and yours truly.

It's always great to see the Rider basketball program receive some national attention. I greatly appreciate the mention.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE FEATURE


May 23, 2011

The school year has come to a close and once again all of our seniors have graduated. Every player that has stayed at Rider for four years has graduated on time since I came to Rider in 2003 and that is something I am extremely proud of.

I want to thank my seniors Justin Robinson, Mike Ringgold, and Pat Mansell. They won more career games (82) than any players in program history. This was another exciting year for the Rider Broncs. We tied a school record with 23 wins and earned a birth in a national post-season tournament (CIT) for the third time in the past four years.

We are looking forward to another exciting season in 2011-12. We have a strong core of players returning and we also welcome a great recruiting class that should help us stay amongst the MAAC's best teams next year. Eddie Mitchell (LaSalle High School, PA), Junior Fortunat (Roman Catholic High School, PA), Charles Oliver (Scotch Plains High School, NJ), and Mark Medley (Tatnall High School, DE) are the newest members of the Rider basketball family and we can't wait for them to join us later this summer. Our high scoring attack will also be bolstered by the addition of Virginia transfer Jeff Jones who sat out last season due to transfer regulations.

Another exciting season of Broncs basketball is ahead!


March 4, 2011

We are in Bridgeport, CT for the 2011 MAAC Tournament. It's hard to believe that we are a little over 24 hours away from our opening game. It seems like yesterday was the first practice of the season.

It has been a really good season thus far. We finished the regulars season tied for second in the MAAC (13-5) and 22-9 overall and four players were honored will All-MAAC honors.

Senior Justin Robinson was named to the First Team All-MAAC, junior Novar Gadson was named Second Team All-MAAC, senior Mike Ringgold was named Third Team All-MAAC and freshman Danny Stewart was named to the MAAC All-Rookie Team. As is often the case, the success of the team produced individual success. I am proud of our four players who earned All-MAAC honors, but I am more proud of the fact that their play led to the success of our team.

Saturday evening we will face Canisius in the final quarterfinal game. Canisius is a veteran team, which is fully capable of making a run in the tournament. It will be a challenge for us.


Feb. 12, 2011

We have reached the half way point in the season and so far the team has played pretty well. The Broncs finished the non conference portion of our schedule with 8 wins and 4 losses highlighted by a 20 point victory at USC. Overall we are 17-8 and 9-4 in MAAC games.

The team has played very unselfish basketball and we are starting to become a team that could compete for a MAAC championship if we keep working hard. After our first Buffalo sweep of Canisius and Niagara a few weeks ago, we're preparing to host both those teams this weekend in the Broncs' Zoo. Hope you can come out as these are two key games for us.

Thanks again for your support of the Broncs!

Oct. 5, 2010

The leaves are starting to change and the nights are getting cooler which to me signals the start of basketball practice. My favorite time of year is the fall because it is a time of great anticipation and anxiety for a new season is just weeks away. But before I talk about this year's team it is important that I mention how proud I am of Ryan Thompson who recently signed a contract with the Utah Jazz. He hopes to join his brother in the NBA and it appears he is well on his way. Congrats Ryan- We are all very proud!

Our current players have been very committed since our season ended in the MAAC semi-finals in March. One of the real strengths of our program the past several years has been player development in the off season and this spring and summer were exceptional in that area. I think our fans will see players that have gotten bigger, stronger, and better since the last time we took the floor. The players spent the summer on campus taking classes, lifting weights, and working hard to improve as basketball players. Also note worthy from the summer was the experience that Justin Robinson had playing for his country (Great Britain) in the EuroBasket qualifier. I am confident that his summer experience will help him become one of the MAAC's top guards this season.

I also want to welcome four new members to our Rider Basketball family. Tommy Pereira, Danny Stewart, Anthony Myles and Jeff Jones are the newest Broncs. This is a group that should make an impact on this program for years to come. I am confident our supporters will enjoy watching these young men compete for the Broncs. Thanks again for your support and I look forward to seeing you all in the Broncs Zoo this year!.

Oct. 15, 2009

The season is here! We have our first practice tomorrow and everybody is really excited... There is a lot of excitement around campus about this team and we have to start preparing tomorrow for what promises to be a brutal schedule... Mississippi State, Lehigh (Patriot League favorite), Virginia, and Kentucky in the first 8 days of the season... I should have my head examined... Oh well I wanted to challenge this team so let's get after it right away and see who we are.

Sept. 28, 2009

I am having so much fun coaching this team right now so I am counting down the days until the start of official practice... We are getting a new floor put in Alumni Gym so we have been practicing at an off campus practice facility and the guys are really enjoying it... It is exciting to watch our workouts because we have so many talented players in our program right now... Only three weeks until the first practice!

July 6, 2009

Today is the 1st day of the summer recruiting period and coaches are scurrying all over the country trying to find that diamond in the rough... It is also a big today for our program because our incoming freshman Dara Nd-Ezuma, Jonathan Thompson, and Carl Johnson along with transfer Deshawn Mitchell all start summer school today at Rider... It was great to welcome them to campus yesterday as they get ready to start their promising careers this fall... Ryan Thompson is at the Lebron James Skills Academy this week playing against some of the best college basketball players in the country... Justin Robinson has returned to London where he will attempt to make the Great Britain Men's Basketball team that will compete in the 2009 EuroBasketball competition which begins in August... We are really hoping he makes the team! The rest of the boys are working hard on their games and lifting weights as we prepare for what we expect to a very exciting season... It is time for me to hit the recruiting trails... I hope everyone is having a great summer!.

March 2, 2009

The regular season has come to an end and it is time for March Madness... One year after going 13-5 and winning the regular season MAAC championship this team finished 12-6 and earned the #3 seed in next week's MAAC tournament... It was a very successful regular season and we are excited about this weekend... We head to Albany on a four game winning streak and winners of 9 of our last 12... We have now won 41 games over the past two seasons and 57 over the past three seasons which is one short of the Rider all time three year mark of 58 wins which was set in 1994-95-96... We hope to represent all the Broncs fans well this weekend... Hope to see you in Albany!

February 13, 2009

It is now mid- February and everybody is jockeying for position in the league standings as the conference tournament approaches... What a great time of year for players, coaches, and fans of college basketball... The Broncs have things moving in the right direction at the right time of year... We have won 5 of our last 6 games including a big home win on Saturday over MAAC rival Siena... Siena entered the game 12-0 in the MAAC and with an RPI of 20th in the nation... Ryan Thompson's driving layup with 3 seconds remaining ended Siena's pursuit of MAAC perfection 90-88... We followed up the big win with a 13 point road victory at Marist two nights later... Rider is now 9-4 in the MAAC (3rd place) and 14-9 overall... Niagara (2nd place) is 10-3 and the Purple Eagles will visit the Broncs Zoo on Wednesday night (Feb. 18)... Before that game the Broncs will host St. Peter's tomorrow night at the Soverign Bank Arena and then travel to Manhattan on Sunday... This is a great time to be a fan of college basketball!

January 26, 2009

Home sweet home... The Broncs are looking forward to getting back home after a long four game road trip that saw the team go 2-2... After losing the first two games of the road trip in upstate New York to Canisius and Niagara, the team responded this weekend with big wins at Fairfield and at St. Peter's... We are now half way through our MAAC schedule and we are in 2nd place in the MAAC (behind Siena) with a 6-3 record... We play 6 of our last 9 MAAC games at home starting with a 9pm tip on Friday January 30 vs. Loyola on ESPNU television... The excitement is just getting started and February is just around the corner... Hopefully we are starting to peak at the right time... Thanks again for your continued support of Broncs basketball!

January 8, 2009

The Broncs are starting to get healthy and it has shown on the court over the past two games... After an injury plagued start to the season, which saw 3 starters (H. Mansell, Robinson, Jackson) miss significant time, the team sits at 8-5 overall but most importantly 3-0 and in a first place tie in the MAAC conference with Siena and Niagara... Tomorrow night we travel to Albany for a showdown with Siena... The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU TV at 7pm... Our game this past Sunday against Marist was a special day for the Rider program as we retired Jason Thompson's jersey #1... JT was able to spend the day in the Broncs Zoo and it was great to have him back... The next night Jason scored 12 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in a tough loss to the New Jersey Nets... I am getting ready to get on the bus for Albany so I will talk to you all soon.

December 12, 2008

The Broncs have survived some early season injuries and we have gotten off to a 5-2 start in what they call in this area "Year One A.J.T." (meaning first year after Jason Thompson)... We are still trying to develop that on court chemistry that we had from a year ago... With so many new faces and the early season battle with the injury bug it is taking some time to put the pieces together but in spite of that we are again finding ways to win and that is a good sign... We also were able to win our only MAAC game (Manhattan) that we will play before the holiday so that was a very good win for us... We have four more non-league games (LaSalle, NJIT, Binghamton and Drexel) before we get back to MAAC play on New Year's Day at Iona... We are also looking forward to the day Jason Thompson returns to the Broncs Zoo... We are retiring his jersey in a ceremony prior to our game against Marist on Sunday January 4th and JT will be in the Zoo... What a great day that will be!!! The Kings play the Nets in New Jersey on January 5th... Thanks again for all your support of Rider Basketball and we hope you continue to Back The Broncs.

November 11, 2008

Another season of Broncs basketball is here and we are ready to get started. Pre-season practice has gone real well and we are looking forward to our opener against St. Joseph's on Friday night at the Wachovia Center (home of the Philadelphia 76ers)... We have been slowed by injuries to sophomore point guard Justin Robinson and freshman forward Jermaine Jackson. They will miss our first several games as they recover from knee surgeries but both are expected to return sometime in December... How about the start Jason is off to in the NBA. We are so proud of him. After a great beginning to the season he is expected to get his first start tonight against the Detroit Pistons.