Andy Toole emphasizes importance of mid-majors, low-majors in NCAA Tournament

As his team was preparing to play in the NCAA Tournament on Friday, Robert Morris coach Andy Toole wanted you to believe there’s value in the little guys.

So, please, he implored, don’t minimize them at any cost.

“One of the reasons that people watch this tournament is because of the mid-majors and the low-majors. Hopefully, we don’t lose sight of that,” Toole said Thursday.

His mid-major No. 15 seed Robert Morris (26-8) opens play with an East Region first-round game at 12:40 p.m. Friday against Power Four Conference opponent No. 2 Alabama (25-8) at Rocket Arena in Cleveland.

It’s a heavy helping of the stuff that this annual showcase is made of, and Toole doesn’t want to see it diminished.

But, while the debate over further expanding the field of teams generally heats up in March, this year, it seems to be intensifying.

“Usually, when there’s a small groundswell of expansion talk, that usually means it’s coming down the pipe,” Toole said. “We’ve got to get ready for it. I just hope that they keep the opportunity for mid-majors and low-majors to be a part of it. When you win your regular season (and/or) your conference tournament championship, it’s different than when you come in sixth place.

“My fear is that most things that are getting decided are what’s best for Power Four (conferences). For some reason, these games (Thursday and Friday) — the 15-2’s, 14-3’s, 12-5’s — draw the eyeballs of people that don’t watch basketball the other 363 days a year, and that’s a real unique thing we can’t lose.”

Recalling ‘Five-Star’

Alabama coach Nate Oats, a Wisconsin native and former Buffalo head man, could take you to Robert Morris’ Moon campus without a map.

He’s been there many times.

“Spent a lot of time on Robert Morris’ campus working ‘Five-Star,’ ” Oats said, referring to the iconic former Five-Star Basketball Camp from 1966-2008. “I was there every summer. I spent weeks and weeks there. I’m familiar with the (Robert Morris basketball) program.”

Toole and Oats have a bit of history, as well.

“We’ve got a tough team in Robert Morris that’s got a lot of confidence,” Oats said. “They’ve won a lot of games, and coach Toole does a great job. They play hard. They’re good. I played them twice (in 2016 and 2017) when I was at Buffalo and split with them.”

Cleveland proud

Cleveland native and Robert Morris junior Amarion Dickerson didn’t win the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year Award in his first season in Division I for nothing.

The 6-foot-7 Dickerson ranks among the nation’s leaders in blocks.

“He defends with such pride,” Toole said. “He takes the defensive side personal.”

As the Colonials were preparing to face Alabama on Friday, Toole might have been thinking of another reason for which to remember Dickerson.

“When (his) career is over, there’s a good chance, or if he hasn’t discussed it, he should work for the Cleveland city of tourism, the Visitors’ Bureau,” Toole quipped.

“There is no more prideful Clevelander, if that’s even a word, than ‘Mar.’ He will argue with you about the Browns until death. When we come here to play Cleveland State, he’ll go through his list of favorite restaurants and all the attractions that make Cleveland what it is.”

When the team learned it would be playing in Dickerson’s hometown, it raised some eyebrows.

“Of course, we knew what was coming next,” Toole said. “We were going to get the long version of all the attractions of Cleveland.”

‘Bringing the culture back’

It’s no secret in Moon and beyond that Robert Morris had struggled to be relevant in the Horizon League since joining in 2020.

While the Colonials’ current breakthrough season has energized the township, the players are hoping the momentum will snowball into the rest of the region heading into next season.

“Just being in Moon Township, a small city, I feel like us being here brings back that recognition that they had,” said Robert Morris guard and Alabama native Kam Woods, the Colonials’ leader in scoring and assists. “With coach Toole recruiting, that’s the first thing he wanted, bringing the culture back, starting the era back, because he’s a winner.”

Dickerson took it further. The pride for his hometown of Cleveland isn’t likely to waver, but he’s connected to Western Pennsylvania now, as well.

“We’re just bringing back the fire and the competitiveness that Robert Morris has been missing over the last couple years and just establishing ourself within the college basketball community,” Dickerson said. “Just an unbelievable feeling knowing that it’s a whole community behind us and not just a community.

“Western Pennsylvania, they’re behind us, too.”

Added sophomore Alvaro Folgueiras, the Horizon League Player of the Year: “The job is not finished. We have a great chance to keep making history, and we’re on that.”

Watch party scheduled

Robert Morris will hold a watch party on campus Friday at UPMC Events Center. Doors open at noon.