Top Pick Gavin Adler 'Can't Waste Focus on All Those Accolades'

Memorial Day Weekend in Ithaca was sunny and warm. On Thursday, May 25, actor Ken Jeong of “Community” and “The Hangover” fame spoke at the 2023 Senior Convocation. The commencement for the Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences — a milestone 155th — took place two days later. Over the course of the weekend, the school said 3,900 undergraduates and almost 5,000 graduate students earned their degrees.

Gavin Adler was not present for the festivities.

Instead, Adler was about 160 miles west at the University of Albany, getting a new education at Premier Lacrosse League training camp.

The first pick in the 2023 College Draft knew what was at stake, and missing a day, even for a monumental occasion such as a college graduation, was not an option.

“That just speaks to the competitiveness of the league,” he said. “Even though I was the first overall pick, I wasn’t showing up three days late thinking I had a spot for myself.”

The Atlas owned the top pick in the 2023 PLL draft. On several occasions, new head coach Mike Pressler mentioned the team needed depth at the midfield spot; surely, the team seemed set at defense with Tucker Durkin, Michael Rexrode and Cade van Raaphorst down low and Craig Chick and Koby Smith at LSM. Even if the Atlas wanted to get one of the top poles in a deep defensive draft, the team had the third overall pick as well and could snag one of four players with first-round potential.

Adler said he had talked to Pressler a couple days before the draft, but he did not give him any confirmation he was going to select him with the top pick. He found out at the same time as everyone else while watching the draft with his Cornell teammates. Two picks later, the Atlas dipped into the defensive well again by taking Maryland defender Brett Makar.

The Atlas selection of Adler was only the second time in professional field lacrosse history a defender was taken with the first overall pick. The first time came in the very first draft in 2001, when the Rochester Rattlers took Princeton defender Ryan Mollett heading into the league’s inaugural season.

At the time, Mollett was coming off a championship season with the Tigers. After he was taken first, his teammate, goalie Trevor Tierney, was taken second by the New Jersey Pride.

Every year, Mollett was surprised another defender had never been taken first overall, and when Adler finally broke the streak, he was not only happy but relieved.

“I was hoping with me getting taken number one, it wasn’t like a big mistake, and no one ever took a defenseman ever again,” Mollett quipped. “I thought I had a pretty good career.”

Mollett played seven years in Major League Lacrosse, and he was selected to the All-Star Game in 2003. Additionally, he won gold in the World Lacrosse Men’s Championship with the U.S. in 2002.

The former Ivy League Player of the Year recognized why defenders aren’t typically taken with the first pick, as well as why Adler was a great exception to what had become the rule.

“There’s lockdown defensemen, and that’s important, but you know in the MLL, everybody’s a great player,” he said. “So, OK, you can lock down one star, but there’s five other superstars that are sitting on offense, and so, I think what makes that position valuable, and what makes the players unique, is the ability to pick up ground balls, the ability to create transition, the ability to get the ball to the offensive guy.”

Like Adler, Mollett didn’t find out he was going to be the top pick until the night of the draft. He remembered attending the draft with his parents and the Tierney family. He said Rattlers management pulled him aside and said they were interested in taking him first but wanted assurance he was willing to play in Rochester. Mollett was going to be working in New York City, but he was excited by the opportunity and told them if they picked him, he would make it work.

He admitted he felt some pressure to perform and was concerned about how he matched up against players he looked up to like Mark Millon and Gary Gait. His attitude changed in the first quarter of his first game. He remembered teammate Ric Beardsley scoring a goal, throwing his stick on the ground, pantomiming swimming, and then jumping on the stick as if he were surfing. He remembered the crowd going crazy, and it helped him realize how much fun he could have playing with and against the best in the world.

Adler went into training camp feeling like there was going to be expectations placed on him because of his draft position. He’s never been one to want attention, and he tries to tune out the noise by focusing on what he can do to get better.

“I can’t let it get in the way of my focus, the inputs, and how hard I work every day,” he said. “I always want more and am willing to do whatever it takes to get there. It’s all about what’s next, and I can’t waste focus on all those accolades or ever let it get in the way of the work I put in. … When we step out on the field, nobody cares about who I am or what I have done.”

Durkin has helped remind Adler to just play his game. Spoken like a team captain.

While he wasn’t the top pick, Durkin was the third pick in the 2013 MLL Draft by the Hamilton Nationals. He would go on that year to earn All-Pro accolades.

Now in his 11th season, spanning a career that’s included six All-Star selections and the 2017 Defensive Player of the Year honor, he’s taken it upon himself to mentor both Adler and Makar. He admitted, however, he hasn’t “had to do a ton.” He has been blown away by not only their talent but also by how much they prepare. He said his biggest task is reminding them to believe in themselves, advice he got from his first pro coach, the late Dave Huntley.

“There’s some of that that goes in your head as a rookie, that doubt or kind of being starstruck by certain guys,” Durkin recalled. “He was totally like, ‘Oh, this is no problem for you. I’ve watched you play every game at Hopkins. You’re going to have absolutely no issue here,’ and that just injected so much confidence into me my rookie year.”

Durkin said it is imperative to remind rookies how good they are — to instill confidence in them — because playing against iconic players can leave you humbled. Every pro defenseman has their “Welcome to the League” story.

Durkin remembered guarding John Grant Jr. and having the realization that “this is somebody that can do things nobody in college could do.”

For Mollett, his moment came at a much more inopportune time: the semifinals against the Long Island Lizards.

“There’s a weird play. The ball came over the line. Marshall Abrams slid up to get the ball. He checks someone. His stick shattered in half,” Mollett said. “Casey Powell came down on the break with Paul Gait and Gary Gait. It was a 3-on-1. It was me and [Rattlers goalie Brian] Dougherty against Casey Powell, Paul Gait and Gary Gait. I probably don’t have to tell you how that ended up.”

Adler said his moment happened in the first game against the Redwoods.

“I was in a rotation and got switched to Rob Pannell,” he said. “Rob got the ball, and I try to press out on him and get aggressive and take the ball from him. He just inside rolled me quick.”

Adler has otherwise been as advertised. According to a post from the PLL’s Twitter prior to the team’s Week 4 contest, opposing players shot only 14.3 percent when Adler was the closest defender. Pannell, leading scorer Ryder Garnsey, Michael Sowers and Zed Williams were a combined 2-for-14 shooting.

His play earned him a spot on the Rising Stars team for the 2023 PLL All-Star Game. Makar, who has played more at LSM for the Atlas, also earned a spot.

Durkin praised the Atlas newcomers.

“[Adler] is constantly disrupting guys, making those plays off the ball that don’t show up on the stat sheet, just plays with a ton of energy and is an unbelievable cover defenseman,” he said. “Brett, who’s adopted a different role for us than he had his previous years at Maryland playing long stick midfield, I didn’t realize how talented he was picking up ground balls, flying in off the wings, being super physical.”

Adler has lived up to the top pick by putting himself in the Rookie of the Year discussion. According to Action Network’s Hutton Jackson, Adler’s odds to win the award on DraftKing are +1200, which is the third-shortest odds behind only Whipsnakes midfielder Tucker Dordevic and Archers faceoff man Mike Sisselberger. Should Adler win the award, he would once again become only the second defender to ever receive the honor. Brodie Merrill won in 2005.

Adler again refused to acknowledge any hint of individual recognition, especially with the Atlas heading into Week 5 in seventh place with a 1-3 record. They’ve allowed the most goals of any team (62).

“There’s definitely been a lot of confusion and a little bit of frustration,” he said referring to the team’s struggles, particularly on the defensive end. “But the other day, a lot of our veterans said we don’t need to be playing our best lacrosse in early July. It’s about hitting that stride from August to September, and that’s really what we’re focused on.”

It’s that kind of focus and competitiveness that Durkin admires most about Adler. Those attributes are what he said makes him proud to work through the struggles together.

Adler compared his transition to the pros and learning what it takes to be successful at the next level to drinking water from a fire hose. He said his rookie season and all the attention he’s earned has been humbling, but it also has made him hungry. He’s not content with where he is, and he’s working to help his team improve.

“At the end of the day, anytime I ever need a reminder, I ask myself how many championships I have won, and the answer is zero,” he said. “The goal is always winning, and that keeps me going.”