By Philip Dragovich
The Purchase men’s basketball team made playoffs for the first time in three years and new head coach Jack Dignan played a big role in their successful season.
“Freedom within a structure” is how Dignan described his offensive approach, explaining that this concept allows the entire team to be in positions to succeed throughout the game.
“The more you understand it the more freedom you feel that you have,” says Dignan, because his offensive system revolves around making players feel comfortable playing without the ball in their hands, putting themselves in position to score efficiently. “A lot of high school guys, you’re the best player, so you have the ball in your hands, go and make a play.” The emphasis in college turns into making the right passes and movements on the court, which Dignan made sure to drill into his players’ minds.
“Guys came up big and they started to embrace roles other than the ones they are used to,” explained Chad Duke, a junior guard. He credits his new coach’s “free and less panicked” system to him and his teammates playing whatever role was needed out of them on any given night.
Duke was a player who saw his fair share of starting time and bench minutes throughout the season and was a key factor in many victories over the course of the season, including a hail-mary buzzer-beater three to take down Farmingdale state in overtime on Jan. 25.
In addition to a free-flowing offense, Dignan brought in a great defensive mind, leading Purchase to be a top 20 defensive team in the nation at the Division III level, something he will aim to keep in the identity of the team next year.
Dignan comes from a successful background as a coach, having assistant roles at Colby College, Clarkson University, and Skyline Conference rival Sarah Lawrence College. His 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons were spent as the head coach at Alfred State College, where he was named the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year, and led Alfred State to its first-ever playoff win.
“The commitment defensively from this group where they really bought into scouting and preparation and took a ton of pride in keeping the ball in front was the reason we were able to win some of those really ugly games,” said Dignan. There were several games this season where the final few minutes were decided by the defense of the Panthers. Desmond Ward, a junior forward was adamant about this being important. He also made sure to mention the impact Dignan has had off the court.
“He made sure we were staying on top of our schoolwork, and he encouraged us to be more involved on campus. He also helped instill confidence in my abilities after an ankle injury at the start of the year,” said Ward, who will return next year as a senior that Dignan will turn to to maintain the base the team set throughout the season. There was more to Dignan’s off-the-court impact than school, however, says senior Matt Phillips.
“He is a player’s coach, someone who brings energy on and off the court, and is easy to talk to in both spaces,” explained Phillips, saying there were numerous times that he and his teammates were able to lean on Dignan. Dignan credited Phillips as a leader and stated that his role as a “more traditional center” will be especially missed defensively and rebounding next year, but it will be a gap the whole team will have to come together to fill.
In addition to filling this void, next season the Panthers will aim to improve their play on the road says Dignan. Purchase this year showed out at home with a 10-2 record, while only posting a 4-10 record on the road.
“We have to find a way to handle adversity,” explained Dignan, with the adversity being the differences in routine that a road game can present, as opposed to the same routine for every home game.
The Panthers will aim to make a deep playoff run next year, after losing to eventual Skyline Conference champions Yeshiva in the first round of this year’s playoffs, with a strong foundation and culture for Coach Dignan and the returning players to build off.
Comments