NEWARK, NJ—It seems improbable that the NJIT men's basketball team could take another step forward in 2012-13 after losing the Great West Conference Player of the Year Isaiah Wilkerson… However, no less improbable than the program with the nation's longest losing streak coming within 20 minutes of a conference title just three seasons later.
                                                                                               
A season after his troops led at the half of the GWC Championship Game, fifth-year head coach Jim Engles has four talented seniors and a rich crop of new recruits that should only further the improbable progress made by the Highlanders in just their seventh season as a Division-I program.
 
“The progress we've made has certainly been noticed and has helped with recruits,” said Engles, CollegeInsider.com's 2010-11 GWC Coach of the Year. “These kids understand what they're getting involved in and are embracing the fact that the program is continuing to improve.”
 
When Engles took over the helm of the Highlanders for the 2008-09 season, the program was coming off an 0-29 season and held a 33-game losing streak. The streak snapped in his 19^th contest ending the 51-game skid for the lone highlight in a 1-29 campaign. But in the ensuing seasons, the Staten Island native has seen his squads improve to 10-21 with a conference tournament victory, to 15-15 in 2010-11 to 15-17 with two conference tournament victories en route to the title game last season.
 
But Engles is quick to point out that with progress, the expectations have risen quickly. “Guys need to realize that success is as hard to deal with as failure.”
 
The success of this year's team will depend heavily on the three most experienced players in the program – seniors Chris Flores, PJ Miller and Ryan Woods. Players that Engles expects to pick up a bulk of the team-high 16.2 points per game and 6.6 rebounds per game lost with the graduation of Isaiah Wilkerson. Plus, the losses of Lamar Kearse (transfer) and Arjun Ohri (graduation) will further challenge NJIT's ability to light up the scoreboard.
 
“Chris, PJ and Ryan have already shown that they can step up and take up the burden of the points,” said Engles.  “All three have been through the program and have all had very good preseasons.”
 
Flores, a three-time Second Team All-GWC performer, finished behind only Wilkerson on the Highlanders in both ppg (13.1) and rpg (3.7) while leading the team with 3.3 assists per game – a total that ranked fourth in the GWC. In addition, the guard had the best assists-to-turnover ratio in the conference (1.6). The Dorchester, Mass., native saved one of his best career games for the semifinals of the GWC Tournament last season, when he scored an NJIT season-high 27 points (which tied the tournament record) with a game-high five assists and three steals in an 88-78 OT victory vs. Utah Valley (3/9/12).
 
Engles expects big things from the co-captain and the program's seventh all-time leading scorer (1,577 points) who “now knows that it's his time to take a big step.”
 
The other co-captain is forward Ryan Woods, who will play his second season with NJIT after transferring from Division II Pace University. The Staten Island native was the Highlanders' third-leading scorer (9.7 ppg) while ranking third in the GWC in three-point FG percentage (.415). After getting a late start last season due to offseason shoulder surgery, Woods has been healthy in the preseason and is expected by Engles to pick-up on his strong finish from 2011-12.
 
Like Flores, guard PJ Miller has been a three-year starter. The Fort Washington, Md., native has shown an ability to be a solid all-around performer – averaging 6.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg and 2.1 apg last season. As the primary point guard, Miller also boasted more assists (62) than turnovers (61).
 
If the theme for the program continues to be “progress,” then the final senior -- Sean McCarthy -- could wind up as the poster boy for the 2012-13 season. Hampered by injuries throughout his career, the 6'10” center has been injury-free in the preseason and has a good chance to find himself in the starting lineup and playing major minutes after averaging just 7.0 minutes per game over his 13 contests last year.
 
“I've been really impressed by Sean,” said Engles of the tallest player he's had during his tenure in Newark. “He did a lot of conditioning over the offseason and is in the best shape he's ever been in. He's also showing great toughness in his preseason workouts.”
 
McCarthy's ability to have an impact on the defensive end was best displayed when he set an NJIT Division I record with nine blocked shots vs. Fairleigh Dickinson (2/1/11) in just 20 minutes of action off the bench. He also flashed his ability on the glass when he recorded a game-high eight rebounds in just 14 minutes at Seton Hall (12/6/11) last season.
 
The Highlanders other two returning players are sophomores Daquan Holiday (2.5 ppg in 13 G) and Odera Nweke (2.1 ppg in 12 G) – both of whom Engles reiterates are extremely talented players who are still adjusting to the NCAA level.
 
With only six returning players, NJIT will have to get significant contributions from its crop of new recruits – and this is an area that has excited the entire coaching staff.
 
“We have a lot of new guys who bring a different way about them,” said Engles. “They've got energy and enthusiasm. They're always in the gym. They've done more than what's asked of them, which makes it easier on us as a staff.”
 
One of the newcomers who figures to make an immediate impact is 6'6” freshman forward Terrence Smith. A Broward All-County selection last season after averaging 16 ppg and 12 rpg at Dillard (FL) High School in Fort Lauderdale, Smith was ranked as the 53^rd best prospect in the state by floridahoops.com.
 
“Not only is Terrence very athletic, but he is also extremely bright,” said Engles. “He's picking things up quickly. He's active with a great motor and we think he'll be a very good player for our program.”
 
Another newcomer in the frontcourt is junior Quentin Bastian, a transfer from Hillsborough (FL) Community College. Last season, he was selected First Team All-Suncoast after ranking 18th in the NJCAA in rebounds per game (10.1) and ranked 3rd in Florida (FCSAA) with team-high 12.5 ppg. He previously played one-year at Division II Lander (SC) University in 2010-11 (4.2 ppg and 4.3 rpg).
 
“Quentin can be a big asset for us rebounding,” said Engles. “He's got great hands and is talented offensively.”
 
Smith won't be the only freshman getting major minutes for the Highlanders. Guards Mitch Farrell, Ky Howard and Nigel Sydnor all figure to have an ample opportunity to carve out a niche in the Highlanders backcourt.
 
Howard, who Engles feels could develop into “a good all-around player in the mold of Jheryl Wilson,” is coming off an honorable mention All-New England selection after a season at St. Thomas More (CT) Prep School. The versatile 6'3” guard graduated from The Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, Pa. -- where he left as the program's all-time leading scorer (1,261). His father, Maurice, was drafted as a second-round pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1976 Draft out of Maryland and played two seasons in the NBA.
 
Farrell, who arrived in Newark from Brechin, Ontario, Canada (two hours north of Toronto), could be considered an interesting story, a tremendous talent and a terrific find for NJIT. Considered one of the top guards in Canada for the 2013 class, the 6'3” Farrell declined his fifth year option to join the Highlanders in 2012-13 earlier than expected.
 
“Although Mitch is still young, he's a tough kid with an unbelievable work ethic,” said Engles, “He can shoot the lights out.”
 
Sydnor – a “physical specimen who plays hard” according to Engles -- spent last season at Marianapolis Prep in Thompson, Conn., where he averaged 20 ppg, 9 apg and 5 rpg. The 6'2” Baltimore native turned down a scholarship to University of North Florida to go the prep school route after his selection as 2010-11 Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) Player of the Year at St. Paul's School for Boys. Interestingly, his father Ray played football and basketball at University of Wisconsin and was selected in the 1980 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
 
There are also two transfers who appear on the roster, sophomores Emmanuel Tselentakis (Saint Louis University) and Winfield Willis (Clarion University), who will not play this season due to NCAA Transfer rules.
 
So with all the new faces, what will it take for NJIT to take another step forward?
 
“Get back to how we play defensively,” said Engles. “It wasn't quite where I was expecting last season. I'd like to see us take away a couple of possessions a game and lower opposing field goal percentages a couple of points.”
 
There are other challenges the coaching staff knows it faces for the 2012-13 season, but nothing like those Engles inherited when he 'took the wheel' on April 10, 2008.
 
“The progress is fun; but we're still far, far away from where we want to be,” he said.
 
A distance certainly no longer than 'The Losing Streak' left in the dust.
 
Write-up Courtesy Matthew Provence