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What, us worry?
Saint Peter’s offered a collective shrug of its shoulders at the challenge that awaits the Peacocks on Friday night in Philadelphia.
Been there, done that.
Yes, 7-foot-4 center Zach Edey is a massive undertaking. So is dynamic guard and projected top-five NBA draft pick Jaden Ivey. Purdue, the Big Ten powerhouse and third seed in the East Region, is a 12.5-point favorite. But big, bad second-seeded Kentucky didn’t scare the Peacocks, and neither did No. 7 Murray State and its 21-game winning streak. The Boilermakers don’t, either.
“At the end of the day, it’s a basketball court and there’s one ball,” forward Hassan Drame said. “It’s five versus five. We always make sure when we step on the court, nobody dominates us.”
Doug Edert, the sharpshooting guard who has been one of the stars of Saint Peter’s stunning run, summed up the Peacocks’ attitude with two words.
“We’re fearless,” he said.
Edey, at 7-4 and 295 pounds, will be an incredibly tough task. The sophomore averages 14.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and shoots an absurd 64.7 percent from the field. Redshirt forward Jerry Ngopot, at 6-10, will emulate Edey in practice. The Peacocks aren’t big — their tallest starter is 6-8 freshman Clarence Rupert — but they don’t plan to treat this matchup any differently except for one minor tweak.
“Just play hard, just play harder and tougher,” the 6-7 Drame said. “I’m just happy to be honest with you, because I know there are a lot of surprises coming.”
This has become old hat for Saint Peter’s and Shaheen Holloway’s team has gotten used to being counted out before tipoff. The Peacocks seem to revel in this role.
“Like I said in the press conference last week, [when] everybody was saying how are you guys going to compete with certain guys’ physicality, and I believe it,” Holloway said. “When you have kids from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, the tristate area, this is what these kids are built for. I’m built for this. I coach that way. So we’re not going to be intimidated by anybody.
“It’s a great challenge for our guys. … Just going to strap up and play.”
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