Cluess, Machado lead Iona to 20-win year

Tim Cluess loves point guards. His uptempo offense relies on a dedicated distributor, a special talent who is willing to do anything and everything to make those around him play better.

This philosophy served Cluess well when he was on Long Island, helping him build powerhouse programs at St. Mary's of Manhasset and C.W. Post. But when Cluess took over at Iona last spring, he ran into a potential problem. The Gaels had a talented point guard in Scott Machado, but Machado saw himself as more of a shooter than a passer.

"I needed him to change his game," Cluess said. "I knew I was asking a lot of him. I also knew he could do it."

The reason for that was because Machado was no stranger to Cluess. He had coached him for one season when Machado was a freshman at St. Mary's and had been impressed by his potential. Still, he had no idea that Machado would become a virtual assist machine, prolific enough to lead the nation for part of this season.

Machado, a junior, finished the regular season No. 3 on the NCAA assist leader board with an average of 7.4 to go along with his 13.7 points and 4.0 rebounds. His 222 assists broke a 22-year-old school record, and helped him earn All-MAAC first-team honors.

They also helped the team come together at the right time. Iona (20-10) enters this weekend's MAAC Tournament in Bridgeport, Conn., as the No. 2 seed after having won seven straight games, including its regular-season finale last weekend over top-seeded Fairfield.

"I feel really good about the way we're playing," Machado said.

That wasn't always the case.

Machado wasn't sure how to feel when he first found out that Cluess was going to be his coach again. In looking for a replacement for Kevin Willard, who left to take the coaching job at Seton Hall, Iona athletic director Pat Lyons had played his cards pretty close to the vest. No one even knew that Cluess was a candidate, so quite a few jaws dropped one evening in early April when the team was called to a meeting in their locker room and Cluess was introduced as its new coach.

"I was just shocked," Machado said.

Though Machado didn't play much with the varsity at St. Mary's, he did practice with the team and knew something about Cluess' five-hour practices. He had come to St. Mary's because he wanted to play for Cluess. His mother was upset when Cluess, who was having differences with some new school administrators, decided to leave St. Mary's after Machado's freshman year. Machado eventually left the school, too, when his family left Long Island, and he played his senior year for St. Benedict's Prep in New Jersey.

"His family was very nervous when I first came," Cluess said. "His family is very religious, and they went to take a few days to pray about it. They came back with the feeling that this had happened for a reason and this is something that was meant to be."

Machado struggled with his new role at first, until he began noticing that in the games the Gaels were losing, he wasn't recording as many assists as he normally gets.

"When I'm more of a playmaker, it opens up everything else for me," he said. "And for the rest of the team."

Opens it enough that the Gaels are averaging a whopping 13 points more a game this year than they did last year. With an average of 79.1 points, Iona has the 12th-highest scoring offense in the country and is considered by many to be the most dangerous team in the MAAC.

Since the Gaels won the MAAC Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2006, they have lost their first game of the conference tournament four straight times. With a first-round bye, they play the winner of Siena-Manhattan Saturday. If their luck this year is different, a player and coach who first met on Long Island will have a lot to do with it.

Said Cluess: "I'm just happy to have a chance to coach him finally. I felt like I left some unfinished business back at St. Mary's . . . I think this is something that was supposed to happen."