ALTOONA, Pa. -- In March of 2020, there was euphoria in Moon Township as Robert Morris had won the NEC Championship, the first in the brand-new UPMC Events and would be heading to the NCAA Tournament.
Fast forward to March of 2021 as the Colonials were bounced in the first round of the Horizon League tournament, their first in their new basketball conference. The game against Detroit Mercy was a microcosm of their season, competitive and successful early before falling late.
Robert Morris finished the season dead last in the Horizon League with nine of 15 losses coming by 10 points or less including four losses in overtime. The lack of success was far from a surprise with the jump in competition for the 2020-2021 season after leaving the NEC.
"As we changed leagues, we knew that there would be some things that we needed to learn and potentially some areas where we might be a little bit overmatched," head coach Andy Toole said in an interview with DK Pittsburgh Sports.
While the Colonials expected there to be some situations where they would be overmatched on the court, some did sneak up on them as the season progressed according to Toole.
"We knew it was a jump up, right. And we knew from a size perspective across the board, not only interior but also perimeter, it was a jump up," Toole said. " We didn't realize in certain ways, how much of a jump up it was, especially with some of the perimeter size, that was one of the things that our guards got posted all year long. We knew we'd be deficient with size in the front court, and then all of a sudden we became very deficient in terms of size in the backcourt. That made it a challenge."
Now, a season into playing in the Horizon League, Toole and company know what they need to do to get over the hump and get back to the winning brand of basketball that's kept Toole at Robert Morris since 2010.
"We got to continue to maybe target some guys with some size and some length or some more physicality to be able to help us in that regard," Toole said. "Those are things that we're looking at in the transfer portal, those are things we're looking at as we recruit junior colleges, high school kids, etc. Try and get guys that are going to be able to help us address some weaknesses."
For as bad as the record looked at the end of the season, the Colonials were able to do some good things along the way. With the 2020-2021 season behind them, it's now onto spring workouts to correct the issues that plagued them during the season.
"I think there were times where we played good basketball, it just wasn't for long enough, and there were not enough times. I think that's the challenge," Toole said. "Now, as we prepare for our second year, how can we get more for our guys? How can we play the right way for longer periods, so that we can be successful? How can we turn those games into wins? And now it probably changes the outlook of your season."
Those spring workouts will be focused on developing the guys who are currently on the roster and the developmental period necessary to not only compete but succeed in the Horizon League.
"We got to be able to help the guys that are on our roster continue to improve, whether it's getting stronger, make decisions quicker, be able to sustain their effort for longer," Toole said. "Those are the things that we're constantly talking about as we go through these spring workouts."
For a lot of the players Robert Morris had to rely on, the summer development didn't happen last year as a result of the pandemic, yet even with those limitations, there was a bevy of freshmen who the Colonials deployed more often than not last year.
"A number of those guys we had planned, whether it was Kam Ferris playing 20 plus minutes, Trayden Williams playing 20 plus minutes, Enoch Cheek playing 20 plus minutes, those guys were all freshmen who did't really have the typical prep, to be able to get prepared for a college season and they're out there playing half the game for us," Toole said. "Khalil Spear kind of coming on onto our team and learning our system and our style. All of those things were things that didn't work out in our favor, but hopefully, with those guys gaining some of the experience that they did, it will work out in our favor as we move forward."
Even with those things working against them, the starts and stoppages of the season and star player AJ Bramah leaving the team mid-season, the Colonials have a lot to look forward to in 2021. The youth they feature will be more experienced and they'll have a year under their belts playing at the Horizon League level. Though, as Toole says moral victories don't matter.
"I don't think there's anyway that you can take every moral victory you want, but those don't matter," Toole said. And so we've got to do better, we've got to be able to execute better, we got to be able to defend better. Those are the things that we're constantly talking about with these guys."
While it was a far from successful season for Robert Morris, there is a lot working in the favor of the Colonials next season, a season which undoubtedly won't be like their introduction to the Horizon League.
"It was not successful, obviously you are what your record is. And so we have a lot of work to do," Toole said. "I think that's something that's got to motivate us, as we go through this spring and summer, as we go into next fall, we've got to get better, we've got to figure it out, we got to be able to understand what we need to address as a team to get better.
