It’s been apparent for months that this season of Rider men’s basketball has been one to forget. The end of a long, cold winter is finally in sight as the Broncs wrap up a season in which they’ll finish in the bottom three of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference this weekend with a pair of g ames at Iona and Siena. Along the way they’ve racked up a program record losing streak (12) and matched the program record for losses in a season (23) with those two games still to play. They didn’t beat a Division I opponent until a win over Iona on Jan. 14. “I’ve not been here, so it’s been very challenging,” coach Kevin Baggett said. “In life sometimes you learn from things. If I don’t learn anything than I’m a fool. You get humbled. You appreciate all the winning you did in the past. It’s a lot like life — you get back up when life knocks you down. You keep fighting, you don’t drop your head, you keep going and keep trying to persevere until you can get back on top.” This miserable season has come against the backdrop of the university’s financial strife. In December, president John Loyack, who was appointed in July of last year, announced his March to Sustainability Plan that brought drastic cuts across the board in an effort to keep the school open. Included in those cuts was a reduction all employees’ base pay by 14%, which included the head basketball coaches and their staffs. The university was also placed on probation by Middle States and an evaluation by Middle States in March will determine Rider’s accreditation status. Losing its accreditation would be a fatal blow to the school. Baggett, at least publicly when asked, said none of that impacted the ability to navigate the season. “I just had a job to do and try to do it to the best of my ability,” he said. “I could have done a better job.” On the court, everything that could go wrong did. A roster with 10 new players didn’t work and opening 0-6 in the MAAC — three of those losses they led at the under-four media timeout of the second half — was far too big of a hole to climb out of with this roster. Flash Burton and Zion Cruz are both MAAC-caliber guards whose line stats are decent — Burton is averaging 17.1 points and 3.4 assists in 18 MAAC games and Cruz is averaging 14.2 points in the 17 he played — but they operate in the same spaces, dribble the ball a lot and have a penchant for mid-range shots. Rider ranks last in the MAAC in field goal percentage (39.9), 3-point field goal percentage (28.1), 3-pointers made (119), 3-pointers attempted (424) and 3-pointers made per game (4.4). In years past, it made up for spotty — or downright poor 3-point shooting — by scoring in the paint and getting to the free throw line. Even that has been hard to come by this season with no established big man. Both Shemani Fuller and Davis Bynum had moments, but there was never a consistent post presence. Defensively, they couldn’t cover for it, ranking last in the MAAC in 3-point field goal percentage (36.8), 12th in field goal percentage (46.7) and 11th in scoring defense (75.1). Over and over it was the same “too many breakdowns.” Not communicating a switch, not getting over the top of a screen, getting beat backdoor, overhelping and leaving a shooter opener for what was always a backbreaking 3-pointer. “Definitely one of the hardest years to play basketball for sure,” Burton said. “You just got to be grateful to wake up every day. That’s how I look at it — wake up every day, come to practice and get better somehow.” It’s hard to know what this is going to look like into the future. The university’s financial situation certainly factors into any decision made about the head coach. If the school were to move on from Baggett, who is wrapping up his 14th season, it would have to enter into a long-term contract with a new coach, something that may not be palatable. Baggett indicated he’ll meet with athletic director Don Harnum after the season to figure out where this goes from here. He is 210-225 overall with a 142-128 conference record. He twice was MAAC Coach of the Year, won a regular-season title in 2017-18 and finished in the top four seven times, but has been felled by MAAC Tournament misfortune, reaching the semifinals just once. “I love this place, man. This is home for me. I’ve been here 20 years,” Baggett said. “Every day that I show up it’s not a job. This place has meant a lot to me and the people who have come through who I have been able to coach, the people who work here, the administration. The professors have been great, they are always behind us and supporting our players to try and help them out and get their education. “This is home. I’m right up the road. I grew up going to camps here. As long as they’ll have me, I want to stay.” ...read more read less