Gene Frenette: Dolphins' hoops in desperate need of turnaround to avoid missing ASUN tourney

An exasperated Jordan Mincy hit the game tape button in his office to replay a sequence from last week’s 74-65 loss at Queen’s College, illustrating why this Jacksonville University basketball team he loves so much is driving him crazy.

It showed point guard Gyasi Powell passing up a wide-open 17-foot shot to force an entry pass down low. The ball got poked away, leading to a Queen’s layup at the other end.

“Why didn’t you shoot this?” Mincy says, looking at the screen.

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That live-ball turnover is a microcosm of JU’s frustrating third season under Mincy, especially since ASUN Conference play started and some key injuries began to take a toll.

The offense-challenged Dolphins (13-14, 4-9) now find themselves desperately needing to win probably two of their last three home games — starting Friday night at Swisher Gym against North Florida — to avoid missing the ASUN tournament for a second straight year.

All that momentum Mincy’s program built in his first season two years ago, a 22-10 record, second-place ASUN finish and trip to the league championship game, is threatening to come undone.

Since going 9-5 in non-conference play to start this season, JU now sits in 11th place in the 12-team ASUN, needing to climb over one of four 5-win schools (Florida Gulf Coast, Central Arkansas, Kennesaw State or Queen’s) to make the league tournament.

This dilemma has arisen because JU’s offense is, in Mincy’s words, “awful.”

That’s a harsh evaluation from a head coach, but Mincy isn’t one to sugarcoat sobering numbers. JU is last in ASUN play in per-game totals for scoring (67.4 points), turnovers committed (12.7) and assists (9.38)

“At Queen’s, I felt like we just gave them the game,” said Mincy. “We got disinterested in the first half, started turning the ball over and got down 11 at the half.

“I ask myself, ‘Is that technique? Is that understanding? Is that experience? Is that lack of coaching?’ That’s what’s I’m trying to figure out. That’s my biggest question right now.”

JU better find some answers real quick. Otherwise, a loss to UNF puts the Dolphins’ season on the brink.

Struggling to adapt to attrition

Mincy thought bringing in five transfers would provide enough depth to absorb some injuries, but it turns out the young Dolphins lacked the maturity to handle so much lineup shuffling.

When the team’s most impactful player, 6-foot-7 forward Bryce Workman, was lost for 14 games due to a broken hand on Dec. 6 against UCF, it posed a bigger problem than Mincy envisioned.

Lack of continuity in the lineup became a major issue, which magnified when leading scorer Robert McCray (high ankle sprain) at 17.0 ppg went out for a couple games to begin ASUN play. That was followed by starting point guard Marcus Niblack sustaining a sports hernia a month ago, which could keep him out at least until the conference tournament.

The Dolphins haven’t had McCray, Workman and Niblack, their three top scorers, playing together since that UCF game.

“You’re depending on certain guys to be here, and in the blink of an eye, they’re gone,” said Mincy.

Getting Workman back two weeks ago seemed to settle things down as JU won back-to-back home games against Central Arkansas and North Alabama, but a horrific showing at the free throw line (7-of-18) cost the Dolphins in a 66-61 loss at Kennesaw State.

Then JU made the wrong kind of history in a sloppy showing at Queen’s, completing a winless conference road schedule (0-8) for only the second time in 26 seasons as an ASUN member.

While it can be argued that being forced to play 13 different starting lineups (sixth-most in Division I) is a mitigating factor, Mincy hates the idea of using it as an excuse because he expected his team to handle adversity better.

“If you had told me two months ago that we’d be 4-9 in conference, I would have lost my mind,” said Mincy. “I would have told you there’s no way, especially the way we were playing [in non-conference].”

The one saving grace — in stark contrast to last year’s team that finished 11th in a 14-team league and failed to make the ASUN tournament — is these Dolphins have stayed better connected.

“My team last year, at this point, was trying to figure out their pro options, what agent they were going to sign with,” said Mincy. “They were trying to get to life after [college] basketball as soon as possible.”

JU went from 5-5 in league play last season to losing seven of its final eight games, including five at Swisher Gym. That crash-and-burn prompted Mincy to make staff and personnel changes to instigate a bounce-back season, but it hasn’t quite materialized.

Seeking redemption against UNF

Workman believes the comfort of playing the last three regular-season games at Swisher gives the Dolphins a legitimate chance to redeem themselves.

JU is 10-1 at home this season, the only setback an 83-79 loss to Kennesaw State last month where the Dolphins led with under a minute to play.

“We kind of put ourselves in this position, but we’re not really too down about it,” said Workman. “The injuries took a toll on us, but I feel we’re in a good head space.

“I feel like we have a certain edge to us compared to last year. Dudes don’t want to just give up.”

The stakes in Friday’s 43rd edition of the River City Rumble are high for both teams. UNF (15-13, 8-5), locked in a three-way tie for third place, likely needs to win at least two of its last three games to ensure a top-4 seed and a home game in the ASUN tourney.

For the Dolphins, this is about salvaging the season and restoration of pride. Not getting to the ASUN tournament a second straight year would be a crippling blow, but so is the thought of getting swept again by JU’s crosstown rival.

A series once dominated by the Dolphins has completely flipped in the last decade. UNF has won 17 of the last 23 meetings, deadlocking the rivalry for the first time at 21-21.

Losing to the Ospreys could potentially eliminate JU from the ASUN tournament after a Febr. 28 game against Stetson, depending on the outcome of seven other league games in the next week.

Mincy clings to the belief that JU’s season is not lost. Baseball coach Chris Hayes told him the story last weekend of his Dolphins starting 0-13 in league play in 2021, but turned things around and rallied through the loser’s bracket to capture the ASUN tourney, earning an NCAA regional berth.

“Get in the tournament, that’s all I care about,” said Mincy. “We get in, we can make some noise, but we got to get UNF first.”

While it sounds unrealistic for JU, after losing all its conference road games, to be any kind of postseason threat, maybe hope is one important discovery away.

The Dolphins just got to find an offense.

Gfrenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-4540; Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @genefrenette  

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville University hoops had great start under Mincy, but momentum is fading