They landed in Dayton in the early afternoon, carrying the March Madness banner for New York City.
Undermanned, but underdogged, and undaunted.
Your Wagner College Seahawks at the Big Dance.
Howard on Tuesday night, for the privilege (gasp) to play No. 1 seed North Carolina in Charlotte on Thursday in the West Region.
The surprise champions of the NEC sounded every bit like all the Cinderellas of yesteryear, all the Davids who get their One Shining Moment against Goliath, and in rare instances, more than one.
Seven young men left standing from a team ravaged by injury, seven Wagner Seahawks who somehow forced their way against all odds into this First Four game.
“We’re on a small island in New York, so it’s definitely good to put on for our community, our school and just the island,” Brooklyn’s 6-foot-5 junior guard Tahron Allen said. “And just to be here representing from New York for our families and just for our school, it means everything to us.”
It has been 21 years since Wagner appeared in its lone NCAA Tournament, an 87-61 loss to Pittsburgh in the Round of 64.
Wagner Seahawks guard Melvin Council Jr. (center) and teammates react as they record with their phones after they were selected. Bill Kostroun“Nobody knows where Wagner is and stuff like that,” 6-4 junior guard Melvin Council Jr. said. “So for us to put Wagner back on the map is a blessing.”
Wagner (16-15) can be found at 1 Campus Rd., Staten Island, N.Y.
“A small island,” 6-1 junior guard Javier Ezquerra said, “and we’re here back after 21 years.”
It was only a year ago when Farleigh Dickinson of the NEC defeated Texas Southern at the University of Dayton Arena, and two days later staged the greatest upset in NCAA Tournament history over East Region No. 1 seed Purdue.
Wagner Seahawks guard Javier Ezquerra passes the ball during NCAA Tournament First Four Practice at UD Arena. Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports“We all know what FDU did,” Allen said. “I’ve got some guys over there, we know a couple of guys over there. So definitely it was cool what they did. But I felt what gives us more inspiration is what we’ve done, what we’ve overcome throughout the whole season. I continuously say this on every interview or anything with us in general, all the adversity we’ve been put through throughout the season is preparing us for this big moment now. So that just really gives us the hope for us to make a run, just come out here and do what we do best.”
The Seahawks are 3 ¹/₂ -point underdogs. Just the way they like it.
“Underdog, you know, it’s Wagner,” Council said. “Low Division I program. So it’s going to be an underdog regardless. But where we come from in practice and stuff like that, the way we carry ourselves, we don’t look at us as underdogs at all.”
Their coach, Donald Copeland, has a mantra of toughness that permeates the program.
Wagner Seahawks head coach Donald Copeland walks the court during NCAA Tournament First Four Practice at UD Arena. Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports“When we step on that court, there’s no underdog,” Ezquerra said. “It’s 0-0, we’re humans, and we gotta battle. Like Coach said, toughness wins.”
Council (team-leading 14.6 ppg), asked what his favorite part of this season and this team has been, said: “My favorite is playing against the coaches in practice because they’re always yelling at me. So when they’re on the floor, I get a piece that I can, like, shut them up and stuff like that.”
Next Man Up College.
“And the last thing that’s been different is we’ve got more coaches than players,” Allen said.
Howard (18-16) is led by guard Bryce Harris (16.6 ppg) of Brentwood, L.I. Wagner is eighth nationally allowing 62.6 points per game.
“They have three guys on their team that were recruited at the high major level and played at the high major level,” Copeland said. “It’s gonna be a big test for us.”
Copeland absorbed the invaluable lessons learned under legendary St. Anthony High School coach Bob Hurley. He became the dream coach for the Seahawks players. They became his Dream Team.
“Our last live practice, I lost a guy to injury,” Copeland recalled. “And then that’s when I said we can’t practice anymore. And it was constant changing and understanding — are you doing this the right way? Or, should we be doing this? Because I was really concerned about the live contact, not having live contact in practice. And now these guys have to play in the game. That was difficult, but you know what? I put more focus into who we are as a program, doing the right things, making sure the gym sounds a certain way, looks a certain way.
“So I would say if there was a group to have seven players with, I’m probably lucky it’s these guys, honestly.”
He was asked about FDU’s magic March night and said: “Anybody has a chance.”
