NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — One forward started his college career at Illinois State, then played at a Texas junior college. Another has a bachelor’s degree after a four-year career at Tulsa. The sharpshooting guard picked Canisius out of high school, then spent a year at Massachusetts.
Now they are all at Iona — two graduate students and a well-traveled junior — and a big reason the Gaels are headed back to the N.C.A.A. tournament.
Iona’s willingness to extend opportunities to players who did not stick elsewhere is helping its men’s basketball program enjoy extraordinary staying power. The 15th-seeded Gaels (20-13) will make their third consecutive N.