Staten Island, NY - The College of Staten Island Men's Basketball team is more than ready to get back on the basketball court. After a year of much dismay, the Dolphins team will look to make waves in their first official year against Division II opponents in the East Coast Conference (ECC) as they enter their third and final provisional period. Thus, CSI will not be eligible for the postseason at the end of this season, however, the Men's Basketball team is looking forward to the challenge. Entering his first year with the Dolphins, is Interim Head Coach Nicholas Doran, who was appointed in April of 2021 following former Head Coach TJ Tibbs appointment as Interim AD. He brings back fellow assists under Tibbs, Orin McKay Jr. and Kurt Manesy. "After being off for 2 years our team is more than excited to get back on the court. Through that year I think these guys truly understand and value the opportunity to play a sport they love on a daily basis", said Doran who will lead the team through their first full ECC DII opponent schedule this season.
 
The Dolphins last played in 2019 where they played against mostly Division III opponents in the CUNYAC while entering their first provisional year as a DII program, finishing their season with a 9-16 overall record (5-8 in CUNYAC). CSI played six games against DII opponents, including two ECC member schools, in 2019. CSI won one of those six games, it was the game against NYIT where CSI won, 82-63 at home. CSI had their small sample size of what DII competition will look like and even took a game from NYIT that gave them their first DII win ever. A pandemic later, alongside a suspended 2020-21 season and CSI is now in their third and final provisional year as an ECC member school playing a full DII opponent schedule.
 
They will kick off their 2021-22 campaign as part of the CSI Athletics Annual Tournament of Heroes at home in the Sports & Recreation Center this Friday, November 12. The tournament will be in remembrance of former CSI student-athletes Terrance Aiken, Scott Davidson, and Tom Hannafin, three former men's basketballers who perished during the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.Three teams will visit the Dolphins home court. First on Friday, at 5:30 PM your CSI Dolphins will battle the Chargers of New Haven University, then at 7:30 PM the Golden Knights of the College of Saint Rose will face the Saints of D'Youville College (a fellow ECC member school of CSI). The tournament will wrap up on Saturday, November 13 with D'Youville taking on New Haven at 1:00 PM followed by CSI battling it out with the College of Saint Rose at 3:00 PM. All games can be found live on CSI SportsNet or in-person at the Sports & Recreation Center, however, fans please be sure to view and follow our winter spectator policy HERE when entering our facilities.
 
The Dolphins bring back four players from the 2019-20 roster, lone senior Austin Mick who played 23 games back in 2019 starting 22 with career averages of nearly 20 minutes per-game and six points per-game with a 36% clip from beyond the arc. Juniors, Chris Velasquez and Bryan Gomez and Sophomore Justin Cardenas also return and hope to bring a wealth of CSI basketball experience to the Dolphins young core of players. Many of the Dolphins top-tier players were unable to return, thus, recruiting was key as the coaching staff brought in 10 new faces. "This year for our young group is to focus on growth and player development. We look to play a fun style of basketball and should put on a show for our fans every time we step on the floor.  Excitement is an understatement for this group of players and coaches" said Doran when asked about his thoughts on the number of young and new players on the team. Nine of the 10 new Dolphins on the team are above six feet in height, five are over 6-5, giving the Dolphins the size they will need to compete in Division II competition.
 
A couple of weeks ago, the ECC posted their yearly pre-season polls for the 2021-22 Men's Basketball season. St. Thomas Aquinas was number one in the ECC pre-season poll, followed by Daemen College. The full story can be found HERE. It comes to no surprise that CSI came in at tenth out of the ten ECC member schools since this is their first year playing a full ECC DII schedule and will not qualify for the playoffs this season. However, expect CSI to compete utilizing their size and defensive schemes as the coaching staff expects great things from this group of players this year.