Walk-on big man Andrew McCarthy hopes to see some action for Minutemen
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AMHERST — The New Jersey Institute of Technology isn’t usually a team players get excited to see on their schedule.
NJIT hasn't been in Division I long and it doesn't have much of a history. But for University of Massachusetts redshirt freshman big man Andrew McCarthy, it means getting to play against his older bother Sean, a junior for the Highlanders.
"I was excited as soon as I'd heard we'd scheduled them," McCarthy said. "It should be fun."
McCarthy may have made his collegiate debut by the time NJIT visits the Mullins Center on Nov. 17. A year ago, the idea that McCarthy would be excited for any game on the schedule was unlikely. Coming out of Loomis Chaffee, McCarthy received no Division I recruiting interest despite being 7-foot-1. He enrolled at UMass and walked on to the men's basketball team.
The Minuteman coaching staff saw him as a project, but he ran the floor and moved well enough for his size that they liked his potential. They elected to redshirt him last year in hopes that by the end of his fifth year, he'll have more to offer than he did in his first.
McCarthy said he's already improved.
"Last year I don't think I was ready. I'm glad I redshirted. Going up against these guys, I feel like I can definitely do something," he said. "It's a whole lot better. I didn't know what the heck I was doing last year. It's a whole new year."
McCarthy is still far down the depth chart inside, where Sean Carter, Cady Lalanne, Matt Hill and Maxie Esho are still in front of him. But coach Derek Kellogg likes McCarthy's progress.
"Andrew is doing a great job. He's taking the game seriously and fighting through a little adversity. When you're 7-foot-1 and 260 pounds, you just have to get tough and a little bit nasty," Kellogg said. "He's starting to get that a little bit. He's a nice kid, a good guy, but he's starting to realize he is 7-feet and has a chance at this game."
McCarthy said his confidence has skyrocketed.
"Not exactly being recruited, I wanted to show I could play with these guys and actually be a part of the team. Originally I didn't have that much confidence, I had to find my own place," he said. "Now I am part of this team and I can see myself going places. The coaches definitely saw something in me and I appreciate them redshirting me. Right now I'm focusing on just being big and taking up space, rebounding and being a defensive presence."
Kellogg said if the Minutemen are matched up with a big body inside, perhaps NJIT's 6-10 Sean McCarthy or Xavier's 7-foot Kenny Frease, McCarthy could be useful now.
"If we're playing a 6-foot-11, 7-foot guy, he can play," he said. "He's going to help us at some point in his career, I'm hoping sooner rather than later. I want to run and push tempo, but there's going to be games where we can't do that. In those games, he'll have a chance to come in and mix it up in the middle and be a big physical presence. He's really matured."
He's hoping to mature more. He daydreams about being a late-blooming success story.
"I'm not content with where I'm at right now, obviously. I can see how much I've improved and what I can get a lot better on," said McCarthy, who attended Scituate High School. "I definitely see that as possible. Throughout my life, growing into my body late, I was always adjusting. I can see myself improving. I know that I can do what is asked of me. I just have to put that work in."
CAMBY IN AMHERST? - Kellogg is an NBA fan, but he wouldn't mind if the lockout lasted a few more weeks. If it does, former Minuteman standout Marcus Camby could be in the crowd when the Minutemen open Nov. 11 against Elon at 9 p.m. at Curry Hicks Cage.
Camby and Kellogg tweeted back and forth with each other on the subject Thursday and Kellogg sounded optimistic that his former teammate would follow through.
"I hope for him that the season kicks off, but if it doesn't happen by Nov. 11, I think it would be unbelievable to see Marcus Camby walk into the Cage and put him right behind the bench," Kellogg said. "It would give this place a charge and help fill the place."
DREXEL SCRIMMAGE ON DECK - The Minutemen will play Drexel at Curry Hicks Cage Saturday in a closed scrimmage, which people outside the program are barred from attending. Kellogg was looking forward to using the event to see where his team stood against an actual opponent.
"It'll be a gauge on where we are," Kellogg said. "It will be good to play against a team that really knows what they're doing."
Drexel is coached by former Minuteman coach Bruiser Flint, who is good friends with Kellogg. Drexel was picked first in the Colonial Athletic Association preseason poll.
"He's done a great job there. It'll be a good barometer for us to see where we are," Kellogg said. "It's good that we can play against each other then talk as friends to help each other afterward. We can spend time to talk about our strengths and weaknesses and what we need to work on."
The Minutemen will play another closed scrimmage at Seton Hall on Nov. 5. Kellogg said he preferred the closed scrimmages to exhibition games against a Division II or III team.
"I thought we got more out of playing Harvard down there last year than the scrimmage against Brandeis," Kellogg said.
GOOD ADVICE - With Chaz Williams expected to play most of the minutes at point guard this year, a former UMass player, who took on a similar challenge, had some advice to offer.
"Well, I REALLY worked on my conditioning all year because I didn't want fatigue to bother me psychologically," said Edgar Padilla, responding to a Facebook message. "Learned to manage my energy during the game, picked the moments when to be aggressive defensively so I wouldn't get in foul trouble and prepared myself in terms of the game plan to be more effective with the least effort possible. And of course, lots of REST and good nutrition."
Padilla averaged 36.5 minutes per game over 37 games en route to the 1996 Final Four.
ALUM vs. ALUM - On Saturday former UMass teammates Tony Gaffney and Ricky Harris will play against other in Germany, where both are playing professionally in the Basketball Bundesliga. Harris plays for Wurzburg, while Gaffney plays for Telekom Baskets in Bonn.
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Follow UMass coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/GazetteUMass. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at http://www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.
