Longmire beats confidence crisis

Off-season work lifts Saint Rose forward

By BRYAN CHU, Staff writer ALBANY -- Every time forward Clayton Longmire stepped onto The College of Saint Rose basketball court this past summer, he could hear the doubters in his mind.

Every time the fifth-year senior swished a 15-foot jumper it gave him confidence, something the center admitted he lost early in his college basketball career.Relegated to the bench for most of his career, Longmire told himself this off-season that things were going to be different. He is seeing his extra work pay dividends now.

Longmire, who is second in scoring for the Golden Knights with 13.3 points per game and leads the team in rebounds with 6.9 per contest, will be a key cog in Saturday's NCAA Division II Tournament Northeast Regional opening-round matchup against Northeast-10 rival Pace. Tip-off time is set for 2:30 p.m. at Bentley College in Waltham, Mass.

"We haven't gotten out of the first round since I've been here," Longmire said. "I want to leave a mark."

Longmire's grueling summer regimen left him short of breath.

In addition to working with former Saint Rose strength and conditioning coach Daniel Taylor and playing in the Empire State Basketball League, Longmire partnered with best friend Mike Albritton and "The Gun" -- a machine that spits out hundreds of passes in 40-45 minutes -- four nights a week for two hours at the Saint Rose basketball gym.

Albritton, who was a running back for Mercyhurst College (Pa.), was the ball boy as Longmire fired away. Albritton remembers Longmire once making 22 15-foot jumpers in a row.

"I wanted him to get (into) his head he could be an All-American," Albritton said.

Saint Rose coach Brian Beaury praised Longmire for having the best 15-foot jumper of anyone he has coached.

The 6-foot-7, 225-pound Longmire, who is also second in the NE-10 in blocks at 1.63 a game this season, shocked his teammates during fall pickup games.

"He was the best player on the floor," Saint Rose leading scorer Steve Dagostino said. "He'd score like nine of the 11 points. He was killing us. We knew he was going to be an impact."

Teammate Evan Lane said Longmire's game has grown exponentially since last season. Dagostino added he has seen a change in Longmire's approach to the game.

"He might have had confidence in himself, but maybe the people around him (weren't) as confident in him," Dagostino said. "But this year, everyone is confident in him."

Beaury has seen the biggest change in Longmire. Beaury remembers a lanky kid that would run out of gas every fifth possession. He remembers a kid who yielded to upperclassmen, rarely challenging them.

"I wasn't in shape to play," Longmire said. "I needed to make a change."

The Golden Knights have beaten the Setters in two of their three meetings this season, including overcoming a double-digit deficit in the last 80 seconds in a game in which Longmire was held to 10 points.

"For us to be good we need him to be comfortable out there offensively," Beaury said. "We've come to count on Clayton."