Minneapolis — When it comes to getting coverage, Robert Morris men’s basketball head coach Mike Rice knows where his team stands.
“You have the (NFL’s) Steelers, then you have Pitt basketball which has been so dominating this season,” said Rice, who coached the Colonials to both the Northeast regular season and postseason championship. “The success and publicity we’ve had over the last seven days, you can’t buy that.”
For Rice, it appears the publicity his school has received will be enough to satisfy him when the experience is over.
In a tournament where almost every team feels it can win almost every game, Rice has taken a more pragmatic approach to his team’s game Friday against No. 2-seed MSU: He’s expecting to lose.
And because of that, he’s not filling his players’ heads with allusions of grandeur. Instead, he’s trying to inspire them with doses of reality that he hopes could spark them to a historic upset.
“I don’t talk about beating Michigan State, I don’t talk about the upset, I don’t talk about outrebounding them because, are you kidding me?” Rice said. “I talk about playing every four minutes as if it was your last four minutes, I talk about every time a shot goes up, rebounding and giving an effort like you’ve never given before.”
Guard Jeremy Chappell echoed his coach’s sentiments.
“This is gonna give the school a lot of attention,” Chappell said. “We play in Pittsburgh and Duquense’s shadow, but we’ve been working hard all season to give Robert Morris a name.”
Riding its star
If the Colonials hope to have any chance at beating the Spartans, they’ll need a big performance from Chappell, their best player.
Chappell was named the Northeast Player of the Year after leading his team in scoring (16.9 points), rebounding (6.3 boards) and assists (3.2). He also was named MVP of his conference tournament.
Several MSU players have spoken very highly of Chappell, saying he could play for almost any school.
Chappell has the full repertoire of offensive moves. He can score from the perimeter, beat you off the dribble, and pull up for the mid-range jump shot.
Without him, Robert Morris wouldn’t be in this position, Rice said.
“He’s versatile, he does it all,” Rice said. “Besides his scoring, he’s our best defender and does all the little things for us. He’s pretty valuable. How his game has developed the last few years has been incredible.”
Proving their worth
While some players are looking at this game as a way to put Robert Morris on the map, others are perceiving it as an opportunity to make the big schools regret not recruiting them harder.
“Our whole team never got recruited by the top teams,” forward Rob Robinson said. “So this is our time to make a national name.”
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