Homegrown talent key to CSR success

By Ryan Kircher, The Record



ALBANY — Saint Rose head coach Brian Beaury has built the men’s basketball team into one of the elite programs in all of Division II. He has never had a losing season during his 22 years at the school and got his team to the NCAA tournament 11 times.

The Golden Knights (22-7) were awarded the three-seed this year and face six-seed Philadelphia University on Saturday at Bentley College at 12p.m in the opening round of this years NCAA tournament. It’s the Knights second straight trip to the Division II Big Dance.

You need a solid foundation to build a successful program like Beaury has. For the Knights that foundation is comprised of former Section II stars.

The Knights roster boasts six players that spent their high school basketball careers in Section II; Steve Dagostino (Guilderland), Josh Pelletier (LaSalle), Dallas Jones (CCHS), Zach Bye (Scotia), Evan Lane (Sharon Springs), and Malcolm Williams (Schenectady).

The program has always had a strong local flavor to it but it has really emerged as a choice for some of the areas best under head coach Brian Beaury.

“We’ve always considered ourselves a great opportunity for a local kid to come and play,” Beaury said adding, “We’ve always made it a priority to recruit the local kids.”

While there is a plethora of talent coming out of Section II, there’s also a long list of local colleges looking to snatch that talent up. There’s Siena and UAlbany at the Division I level of course, then add RPI and Union at the Division III level to the mix. Hudson Valley also has emerged as a top program at the junior college level with a top nationally-ranked team comprised of all Section II alums this season.

With all of those schools in the area, you would think the competition for Section II grads would be fierce. Beaury sees it as a positive though.

“There is something for everyone out there, they’re all good programs,” he said. “We certainly would like to steal a couple from the big guys and encourage a number of them to stay home,’ Beaury said. “If we can continue to do that over the years I think our program will continue to have success.”

One player that Beaury was able to steal was two-time NE-10 Conference player of the year Steve Dagostino. The senior point guard became only the fifth player in the conference’s history to win the award in back-to-back years.

Dagostino’s success proves you don’t have to be a major Division I player to get national attention. He was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Men’s basketball team the past three seasons.

His success has brought more recognition to the school and may make local players consider Saint Rose when they previously may have looked else where.

“I think it gives players, especially around Ssection II, something to grab for,” Dagostino said of the division II school.

“Everyone’s looking for Division I, but when that doesn’t happen you know Saint Rose, a great Division II program, is right here. So you know, hopefully, people have continued to recognize it because I think it began a long time ago and I’m just glad that I’ve been a part of it.”

Junior Evan Lane averaged 24 points per game for Sharon Springs High School and, after a two-year hiatus from basketball, has emerged as a top player for Beaury’s squad. The 6-foot-8 250 pound forward averaged close to a double-double with 9.8 points and a team high 9.3 rebounds per game.

Junior Josh Pelletier came to St. Rose from LaSalle Institute where he was the schools all-time leading scorer and was twice named to The Record All-Area team.

Zach Bye is a Scotia-Glenville grad and a Hudson Valley transfer. The junior averaged a double-double at Hudson Valley with 10.5 points and a NCJAA Region III high 11.5 rebounds per game.

“You don’t have to be a big name, if you can play ball coach Beaury will find you,” Saint Rose freshman Dallas Jones said.

The opportunity to compete in the postseason and stay close to home was what drew Jones to Saint Rose.

“Its fun being at home,” he said. “You get the best of both worlds, you get to stay at home and you get to play ball.”

The Catholic Central graduate competed against teammates Josh Pelletier and Malcolm Williams in the Big 10 conference in high school and feels the Capital District is a hotbed for talent.

“There’s good players here,” he said. “We’re always competitive, we’re always competing with the city schools and out of town schools.”

Having a chance to win an NCAA championship for their hometown is something that drives the local players on Saint Rose.

“We’re looking to get on a run,” Malcolm Williams said of his team in the postseason.

“It would be terrific to bring the championship to Albany. I think Albany gets overlooked a lot of times. With us and Siena playing in the postseason, it’s always a great opportunity to just bring some excitement to Albany.”