Photo Credit – Ian Neadle
In both the USILA Coaches Poll and the Big East Coaches Preseason Poll, Denver U is predicted to be number 1 all around. Many of their players even make the all-conference teams. There’s more to the Pioneers that makes them so great.
#GrowTheGame
The obvious one is helping grow lacrosse in the west. Colorado has a huge lacrosse following these days, from youths to adults playing recreational and competitive leagues. That type of lacrosse lifestyle is also present in Oregon, Washington and parts of California. Great club teams exist out here: Colorado U, Colorado State, Oregon, etc. With Denver’s spotlight on success, it’ll only help the game grow from clubs to varsity (NCAA) statuses quicker.
Program Turnaround
How Bill Tierney went about turning around his program in the past 5 or so years is noteworthy also. He started by recruiting a few players from Canada in hopes they’d stick around Denver after college. He got that in Associate Head Coach Matt Brown.
Brown has entirely enhanced Denver’s visibility on the national scale. His coaching has led to players and different Denver teams (different years) to many optimistic predictions, coaches polls, All-Conference teams, and the obvious being numerous postseason appearances and wins.
The Associate Head Coach is also recognized locally with many youth programs, most notably Denver Elite Box Lacrosse Program which instills indoor skills in players mostly participating in outdoor/field competition.
Dynamic Roster
Roster building is another key to success at the NCAA level and Tierney constructed a very dynamic Denver roster.
Returning for his senior season is Erik Adamson who had multiple impacts with the team in their 2014 season. He’s projected to be one of the biggest impact players for the team in 2015 by me.
The Cannizzaro brothers (Sean – Sr., Connor – So.) are quality players all around. Last year, Sean had low shooting and scoring numbers for a midfielder, but does a lot in other spots on the field. For one, he can cause turnovers. To me, a midfielder that can play magnificent defense is a scary one because they can take off with the ball. He’s also a ground ball machine and has a presence all over the turf.
Jack Bobzien is a Colorado native and his brother Logan played at Ithaca a few years back and now runs the Colorado division of 3D Lacrosse.
I say all that to point out the diverse backgrounds and exposures to lacrosse Jack has, as well as all the Denver roster. Tierney recruits both locally and all around the USA. I rarely find a roster as dynamic as the Pioneers’.
Predictions
Heading into 2015, Denver is ranked #1 across the board. They’re expected to top the Big East with teams like Villanova, Marquette and St. Johns falling below (rankings respective to listing). Eight different players are predicted to make the All-Conference team (only 5 are seniors).
In the national picture, the Pioneers top all the traditional powerhouses: Syracuse, Hopkins, Duke, UNC, Loyola and even Notre Dame. However, the USILA Coach’s Poll shows the Fighting Irish and Pioneers going to the finals. I do not agree with their predictions entirely as I believe they fail to incorporate the new BIG10 Conference and the rankings coming out of that new conference. Denver will go all the way, I believe. Notre Dame won’t be #2 as in USILA and Maryland surely wouldn’t fall to #6 or lower.
Personal Analysis
I was at the Elite Eight and Final Four in 2014 and had multiple opportunities to watch Denver in action. They play a smart, controlled pace game. They do a fantastic job in finding shot opportunities, but also just as many chances to control ball possession and game time.
Their biggest flaw in their semifinal appearance was they couldn’t control the game against Duke as the Blue Devils continued to steal the ball away. That’s something I personally believe Tierney has worked on over the offseason, and preseason scrimmages seem to prove that correct.
In their 2015 preseason match against Johns Hopkins, a source at the event made observations regarding stick work/skills and ball control. They claim they’ve never seen skills this well-worked so early in the season. In other words, the caliber of skills demonstrated already match that of postseason play. If that observation carries over the season and becomes fact, it could be a fantastic insight into Denver’s success.
