Njavan Stewart faced a conundrum as the Newton native readied to return to the Assumption University men’s basketball lineup after missing seven games due to injury: retake his spot in the starting lineup back and potentially “ruin some chemistry,” or shove any ego aside and come off the bench.
The 6-foot-5 graduate student guard chose the latter in early December and is thrilled he did. A 2020 Newton South graduate, Stewart still led the Greyhounds in scoring enroute to the team’s best season in a half-century, which came to a close Tuesday night following Assumption’s loss to Nova Southeastern NCAA Division II men’s basketball Elite Eight.
“Every good player wants to start, but I felt as though it was a better decision to show everybody that the unselfish approach is good,” Stewart said. “Everybody can eat. I felt that was a good approach to winning basketball and it really worked out for us.”
A few weeks ago, Assumption (22-10, 14-6 Northeast-10) appeared on the outside looking in on the NCAA Tournament after falling in the first round of the league tournament on a buzzer-beater. But they earned an at-large bid, conquering Southern New Hampshire and New York-based schools Dominican University of Saint Thomas Aquinas along the way.
Located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Nova Southeastern (34-1, 19-1 Sunshine State Conference) won the national championship two years ago and finished as the runners-up last year.
“No matter the seed we have or the team we play, as long as we’re the best versions of ourselves, we should not lose a game, or at least give ourselves a chance to win,” Stewart said. “The biggest thing is to not treat this game any bigger than it is and not get ahead of ourselves.”
Stewart did not compete for Assumption in the academic year after graduating from Newton South due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and instead received a redshirt year. Stewart started in half the games his first year with Assumption, scoring just under 10 points per game. Stewart entered the starting lineup his second year and averaged a career-best 13.8 points per game. He scored 12.5 points with career-highs in rebounding (6.5 per game) and assists (3 per game) in his third year. Assumption failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament all three years.
He started the first game of this season, but sustained a right ankle injury in the second half, which cost him the remainder of that contest and seven more games. In response, Assumption expanded its rotation from seven to eight to a five-in, five-out approach, winning the six games preceding Stewart’s return.
Team above self, indeed
Team above self is an overused sports cliché, but not with Stewart. “Obviously he was our best player coming into the year and he’s capable of doing special things — we know that,” Assumption coach Scott Faucher said. “It showed his maturity, and he’s at the point where he wants to win. He’s fully embraced it and had a lot of success in his role.”
Stewart said this team is the “most connected” he’s ever been on. They compete incredibly hard in practices but also spend countless hours hanging out in the locker room afterwards. In the past, teams were more cliquey. This year, all 19 players bonded.
Leading a balanced scoring team at 11.3 points per game, Stewart plays the third-most minutes and, Faucher said, is more efficient than ever. Before this year, the program last made the NCAA Tournament in 2013. They made the Elite Eight 50 years ago.
Stewart, who has an undergraduate degree in economics and is working on his master’s in the same subject, plans to play professionally. He’s glad he chose to come off the bench. Otherwise, his college career might’ve been over much earlier.
“Showing the guys that the team comes first is the most important thing,” Stewart said. “After that decision, I really felt that we took another jump… it’s crazy how it really worked out.”
