ALTOONA, Pa. -- As Robert Morris enters year three in the Horizon League, the Colonials are hoping the third year is the charm as they look to get back to playing winning basketball.
To do that, Robert Morris is going to be relying heavily on senior forward Kahliel Spear, who was the Colonials' best player during the 2021-2022 season.
Head coach Andy Toole and company will be looking for Spear to pick up where he left off last season, and to build on his experience.
"He had a great year. I think for him, if he increases from a statistical perspective, that's great," Toole said. "That'll be a tribute to his performance and his play."
While they'll need Spear, who averaged 14.7 points per game, to score and be a major part of the defensive equation, his presence will need to be felt in ways that might not always be visible on and off the court.
"I think the biggest impact he can have is making some of those little winning plays that maybe go unnoticed to the casual fan," Toole said. "Whether it's defensive rotations, or an urgency and a close out, or communicating as best he can to be making the game easier for some of his teammates that aren't as experienced as he is. Those things, I think, are areas that he can really help us in."
It's that type of involvement and play that the Colonials will need to make a run in the Horizon League for the first time in their short tenure as members of the league. Robert Morris showed improvement from year one to year two in the Horizon League in the standings, going 3-12 in 2020-2021 and 5-16 last year while also notching a Horizon League tournament win over Youngstown State.
The losses have been stacking up since joining the league, but it's not as though the Colonials are being pushed over or dominated, in fact, they lost 11 of those 16 games by 10 points or less last season, while n 2020-2021 they lost nine of their 12 games by 10 points or less. They've been right there, but it's those "winning plays" or lack thereof that have been an issue.
According to Toole, it's been a focus already just two weeks into summer workouts.
"The emphasis is on some of those winning plays," Toole said. "It could be an offensive rebound, it could be a defensive rotation, it could be a matchup and transition, it could be a decision from a turnover perspective, right? All those little things that make the difference to making that second, third or fourth effort. Those can be game-changing plays and game-winning plays."
Getting the team to embrace those things, though, hasn't been the easiest, especially last year. But with consistency and focus, it could be fixed rather easily for Toole.
"At times last year, we struggled to get guys to embrace some of those things, right?" Toole said. "You might have the long run on defensive rotation. And so I'm not going to get there anyway. So let's hope he misses. And that's the wrong mindset to have, and the wrong mentality to have if you're trying to win games.
"Working on that every day, being aware of those things, trying to execute those things on a daily basis in our workouts, in our practices, and then hopefully having that translate into the game, so that we can be more consistent in those areas. And hopefully that can allow us to win a handful possessions more per game that would then allow us to win the overall game," Toole said.
Breaking things down and winning those possessions could prove big dividends for Robert Morris as the Colonials work back to the championship caliber they achieved when they were in the Northeast Conference. That history and success of the program help push Toole and his staff to set goals that some outside the program might find out of reach, such as winning the Horizon League and getting back to the NCAA tournament.
"Our goal is to be in contention. Our goal is to be starting to establish ourselves as a program that's competing at a championship level, or threatening at a championship level," Toole said. "That's what we had always been in the Northeast Conference, and we have to figure out how to establish that in the Horizon League, and I think we have some pieces that certainly can help us do that and think we've added some guys that we believe have the potential to do that."
For now, the expectations and goals remain what they were in the NEC, but the results just haven't come to fruition just yet, though it does seem the time is on the way.
"Right now, unfortunately that hasn't played out yet. And we got a lot of work to do before we get to the point that it does," Toole said.
While there might be some work to do, it will be Spear leading the way, though it will be impossible and unfair for him to do it all himself. Getting more people involved will be his biggest test this season, and according to Toole, it seems like he's up for the challenge both as a player and as a leader.
"I think that's a perspective that as guys get older, and programs, they're more willing to embrace, and Khalil obviously is a great student, he's a great teammate," Toole said. "He's a guy who wants to win. Encouraging guys to be where they need to be and do what they need to do and help him set that tone every day. We trust he's going to be getting his points and his rebounds and those kinds of things, but can he hold the level of accountability high, so that he sets the standard for how everyone else needs to work and contribute?"
