Stopped at Iona today to see the Gaels beat Western Michigan 67-62, their fifth win in the last six games … a streak that was almost unfathomable considering last year’s 2-28 record and this year’s 0-6 start.

Maybe they’ve got something going over there under new coach (former Louisville assistant) Kevin Willard, who, as Mount Vernon senior Dexter Gray said, has one rule: You play defense or you don’t play. The Gaels defended, rebounded, hustled and worked awfully hard, very well, against a team that came in much better than its own 5-6 record. WMU had played two ranked opponents and a very strong mid-major schedule, and Willard said it was the toughest team, easily, that the Gaels had played other than North Carolina.

Iona finally has Gary Springer back for his junior season—he missed all of last year with a preseason knee injury, and the start of this season with an ankle sprain. It has Gray, who sat out after transferring from St. John’s then sat out again with academic problems he has solved. It has Kyle Camper, who was counted on to do big things last year and was injured. There were plenty of times last year when Iona had only seven players in uniform, and when it had four or five walk-ons on the floor at the same time. It had also been stripped bare by the graduation of five senior starters from the MAAC championship team the year before.

So, if coach Jeff Ruland—who was bought out at the end of the season—had done a fabulous job, the Gaels would have been what, 6-24? 8-22?

Now comes Willard, who told the team the day after his introductory press conference that he had studied the rest of the MAAC and that, if the Gaels wanted it badly enough, they could win it this year. It seemed like a pipe dream. But Iona has already beaten Loyola, which was considered one of the top two teams in the league.

The Gaels hit Louisville and then Vanderbilt for a post-Christmas trip, and come home for another MAAC power, Niagara, then go to Loyola for a rematch. This is a stretch that will tell a lot about how real this team is—but don’t judge it by the record (there ain’t much chance of winning in Louisville, is there?). Judge it by how they play, and how it prepares them for the league season.

As for the future, the Gaels got a verbal committment from point guard Trinity Fields of Cardozo High in Queens today. They have already signed Keon Williams of Hackensack High and Kyle Smyth of Don Bosco Prep, and they have three players sitting out this year ready to play in ‘08-09: Seton Hall transfer Kashif Pratt (a 6-4 guard out of Rice), Louisville transfer Jonathan Huffman (a seven-footer) and injured Alejo Rodriguez.

I wrote a column about the Gaels and how this season is so different than last season, for The Journal News and LoHud.com tomorrow.