Wow, I can’t believe that the season is over. Overall, I am very proud of our guys and how they have grown over this past year both on and off the court. We had some great games this past year which included series sweeps of Fredonia, Oneonta, and Potsdam; which garnered our team the #8th seed of the SUNYAC Tournament. This marked for only the 2nd time in the program’s history that we qualified for the tournament 3 consecutive years. Not bad for a team of 9 student-athletes!

On this past Tuesday, we faced the #1 Seed and 14th Ranked Oswego State in the first round of the SUNYAC Tournament. Although we started the game down 15-4, we countered with our own 15-5 run and battled them even the entire rest of the way. There were a couple times during the course of the game that I thought we could have completed our run if we had a couple of the 50/50 balls go our way and gathered a couple more rebounds. However, for whatever reason that was not the case. The boys  gave a tremendous effort and only turned the ball over 8 times in an 11 point loss in the SUNYAC Quarterfinals.

The loss marked the end of the careers of 3 seniors in Harris Wichard, Jermain Wallace, and Jamal Lis-Simmons.  Their leadership, character, and basketball talents will be sorely missed by our program. Harris finished his career with 1,512 points, which ranks fifth all-time in program history and is looking towards a future in sports journalism and looking to play professionally. Jermain is looking forward to coaching high school basketball after this year and will be a great mentor. Jamal will also be looking to the coaching world in possibly soccer and basketball. His experience and leadership will lead his teams to great successes. I am extremely lucky to have such a great group of seniors for my first year at the helm. 

The future looks bright and I am already excited for it to be October 18th already. We return four starters for next season. Which  includes two of our three leading scorers, in Matt Devine and Nick Taldi. Matt made great strides this season as he lead the entire SUNYAC in scoring and was 2nd in rebounding. Nick was one of the conference’s best shooters from behind the arc and developed his overall game immensely. The growth of players like Shalik Jenkins, Alan Siergiej, Matt Pierson, and Josh Engler will help the team achieve new heights next year and I look forward to coaching them already.

As always thank you for your continued support and GO HAWKS!

Coach Rejniak

Hawk Nation,

We are now entering our third week of practice and I can not begin to express our progress. Don’t get me wrong we still have a long way to go but the players are really buying in to the new direction of the program. They are valuing the basketball and more importantly their academics.

The practices have been longer than anticipated due to the great amount of teaching that has had to take place with Coach Woerner and myself. We have worked to focus on the teaching of the game rather than just the finesse portion of it. Fundamentals are going to be the key to any team’s success…especially ours.  Overall, we are getting better everyday and come November we will be ready. Our first game is against Centenary (NJ) at the University of Scranton on November 18th in the Radisson Invitational.  Below is a link to the video from the first few days of practices. I will keep you up to date as the season grind continues.

http://www.nphawks.com/index.aspx?path=mbball

Go Hawks,

Coach Rej

My name is Mike Rejniak and I have been named the new Head Men’s Basketball Coach here at SUNY-New Paltz. I am certainly excited to lead the basketball program to new heights and experiences. My top priority is to build a tradition of excellence here at New Paltz. 

Coming from Amherst College in Massachusetts, I had the pleasure of coaching 11 professional players, 6 All-Americans, 1 2x National Player of the Year, and won a significant amount of games while being at one of top academic schools in the entire country. In my opinion, there is no reason why this tradition of excellence can not be similarly established here at New Paltz.  With our demanding academic standards, sophisticated facilities, and forward-thinking front office leadership, I believe the Hawks are a sleeping giant here in the SUNYAC.

I look forward to filling you on our future endeavors as our team continues to grow and work together both on and off of the court.

In Basketball,

Coach Rej

Hey Hawks Fans!! My name is Michael Haney. It’s my first year as an assistant here under Coach Dagan Nelson. I’m excited and thankful for this opportunity to work for a great University and great basketball program. I’m from Kentucky. I attended E

astern Kentucky University and had a successful college career before having the opportunity to play overseas since graduating in 2005. I played one year in Switzerland and just recently finished my third season in Australia.
The holiday season finds the hawks sitting at 5-3 (1-1 in SUNYAC). We have had some exciting games which would have to be highlighted by the double overtime victory Novemebr 29 at Keene State. The guys have been working hard and we are seeing benefits from there work each and everyday! We play a exciting up-tempo style that seems to be a great fit with the players

we have.
We return to action on January 8th on the road at Geneseo and 9th at Brockport. Our first home games of the new year will come on Jan 15th and 16th. We welcome in Buffalo St and Fredonia for some important conference games.

CALLING ALL ALUMNI!!!
January 16 we our having the Alumni Basketball Game at 11am. We would love for everyone to come out for a game or a laugh! Hope to see you soon! Happy Holidays from the Hawks family.

Coach Nelson and Harris Wichard (NP ’12) travel to Italy, Bosnia, and Croatia with USA Athletes

June 2009 – Venice, Italy

As an incoming freshman last year, I had very high expectations for Suny New Paltz as a basketball player and as a student. This past year I had a great time doing both of those things. I learned a lot in a very short period of time, and grew up fast. I felt I really matured as a person both on and off the basketball court.

After the basketball year was over, Coach Nelson asked me to be a part of a basketball team that would play overseas. He was selected to coach a United States Athletes international team for college players. Our team consisted of division two and three players from throughout the country.

Team USA and Italian Team after US Victory

I was very excited that I was going to get the opportunity that very few get, representing your country and your school. We played games in Bosnia, Croatia, and Italy. Not only was the competition very good, (we played some professional players) but also the cultural experience is something I will not forget. Everyone should get the opportunity to experience something like this. I was excited to do something that I was not used to doing. It really helped broaden my horizon and help me grow as a person.

The trip was an overall success. The team went 4-2 against some of the top teams in their respected countries. Coach Nelson is going to take a team to Spain next year and I am certainly interested in going. As an incoming freshman you never know what kind of opportunities may arise as a basketball player at Suny New Paltz. This year we are playing an exhibition game against a division one program in Norfolk State. And in the future an overseas trip is possible for the New Paltz program. I had high expectations as a player at New Paltz and right now my after year one the expectations have been exceeded.

Harris Wichard Class of 2012

Coach Nelson and Harris in Venice

Coming out for the 2nd half against the Italians

Gondola Ride

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for Team USA

<div><span style=”font-size: x-small;”>Being a college basketball player at SUNY New Paltz, and competing in the SUNYAC was a privilege. Although we did not reach our goal from a wins and losses stand point, our team did a great job o

ver

coming adversity and competing every night. I could not be more excited for the 2009-2010 season. We have a very talented group of players ready for competition next season. November 2009 could not come soon enough. The 2008-2009 season just ended and I’m already looking for ways to make myself a more complete player for next season. Great players are made during the summer. The amount of work you put in during your off-season training often shows during the season. I will be spending a lot of my time this off-season in the weight room and on the basketball courts. Also in June, I will be making a trip overseas to Italy to represent the United States in an international basketball tournament. Coach Nelson will coach the team. This mexican pharmacy online is an experience I am defiantly looking forward to.</span></div>
<span style=”font-size: x-small;”>Next season is right around the corner. Our basketball team is ready to take the next step and contend for the SUNYAC title.</span>

 Harris Wichard Class of 2012

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