Sydnor is named MAAC Rookie of the week for the third time.
WENDELL CRUZ / COURTESY
Karen Flores, Senior Writer
For the third time this season, Jaspers forward Will Sydnor claimed the MAAC Rookie of the Week award.
The Bronx native is a freshman finance major and has had quite the debut season for the Jaspers. He told The Quadrangle that the reason he decided to commit to Manhattan University was due to the coaching staff and the sense of family he felt with the team.
“I decided to come to Manhattan [University] because of the coaching staff, everyone made it feel like it was a family,” Sydnor said. “I knew that the team would push me to be better no matter what because they see the best in me.”
Head coach of the men’s basketball team, John Gallagher, recalled the first time he watched Sydnor play basketball.
“It was during the first week of January last year when I went into the gym in the Patrick School in New Jersey,” Gallagher said. “I loved his shooting ability, his skills, his versatility. It just jumped off. And we were very excited from the beginning about having him on the team.”
Gallagher said that when trying to help young student athletes transition from a high school team to a collegiate level team, collaboration and consistency are key.
“It’s really the consistency of doing instead of just knowing that is important and that is how we can help them,” Gallagher said. “That’s the collaborative process, embracing the process and focusing on that, not the result while staying consistent.”
Anthony Doran, assistant coach for the men’s basketball team, emphasized the importance of the players being like sponges and absorbing all the knowledge around them. He explained that this is key for making a smooth transition.
“We tell them to just be a sponge, be someone that wants to learn from the older guys, listen to the coaches,” Doran said. “A lot of freshmen when they come into college basketball, it’s a culture shock. They are starting all over again, learning new offenses, learning new coaches. So it’s just trying to be a sponge and learn from the older guys and learn from everyone else.”
Sydnor said that while the transition has at some points been hard for him, what he has learned so far from his experience is to take his team into account and ask for help if he needs it.
“One of the things I learned fast was to not do it for you, but do it for your teammate, the person next to you, and do it for your coaches,” Sydnor said. “If I feel stressed, I talk to my family a lot, pray a lot and talk to my coaches a lot. Whenever I have an issue or I don’t know what to do or I’m questioning things, I’ll just make sure to go to somebody, speak to somebody who knows more than me and just learn.”
Sydnor mentioned that his upperclassman teammates have played a pivotal role in his ability to grow on the team.
“They tell me that no matter what, if there’s a bad practice, a bad game, keep going,” Sydnor said. “It’s gonna get better, no matter what. It’s gonna be tough, but my teammates, my vets, always tell me not to stress about the bad things, because the good things are coming.”
Doran said he can see the growth in Sydnor and that with consistency, he can continue to get stronger.
“He works hard and wants to be good,” Doran said. “There’s some stuff he needs to clean up but he deserves it. If he pushes to be more consistent, instead of him winning three, [he] may win six. But it’s a great honor for him to get and he just needs to keep pushing.”
Gallagher shared similar sentiments and said that Sydnor has adapted well into the team.
“His transitions have been unbelievable,” Gallagher said. “He’s really grown, and he’s growing every day, and that’s why each moment we have to embrace everything. That’s the growth mindset. There’s no losing, there’s just learning. That is something we work on with him and the others. [The recognition is] just a sign of how good he is and the talent he has, and how lucky the Jaspers are to have him.”