2010 Season Preview
November 25, 2009
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Men's
| 2008-09 Record - Overall - Conference Location: Demorest, GA Head Coach: Lee Glenn (Methodist) Gym (cap.): Johnny Mize Athletic Center (0) Conference: GSAC Region: South Team Page |
The Lions will put this returning experience to the test early as eight of the team’s first ten games are on the road, including the team’s opener at local rival Toccoa Falls College. Covenant College will be the opponent for Piedmont’s home opener on November 24th with the Lions returning the game at Covenant on December 12th. Highlighting the early portion of the schedule is a six-day trip to New York City where Piedmont will play in the 8th Annual Tournament of Heroes hosted by the College of Staten Island on December 29th and 30th.
The schedule balances out after the New Year with eight of the team’s first ten games at home in Cave Arena. In total, Piedmont will play 16 of its 25 games in the challenging South Region of NCAA Division-III including six contests in the Great South Athletic Conference. This year’s GSAC Tournament semifinals and championship game are at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta, GA, on February 27th and 28th.
Leading the group of returners hoping to win a GSAC Championship are reigning all-conference players J.C. Herebia and Michael Rubio. Herebia led the team in scoring last season at 17.7 points per game while shooting a team-high 60% from the field. His standout season earned him the Georgia Basketball Coaches’ Association Newcomer of the Year Award. Rubio will lean on his sharp shooting to help the Lions this season as he has led the team in three-point field goals made for each of the past two years. Piedmont will also need contributions from its other returners who help make up the 82% of scoring offense that returns from last season.
Senior point guard Sam Coppage is back from a knee injury that kept him out of the last six games in 2009 and will look to regain the form that earned him GSAC All-Conference recognition in 2008. Before the injury, Coppage was second on the team in scoring at 14.5 points per game and led the team in three-point shooting percentage at 47%.
Juniors Daniel Lampl and Phillip Sloan also return as upperclassmen for the Lions. Both averaged over 10 minutes per game last season and will have an opportunity for increased roles this year. Sophomores Mike Chatman, Josh Haymore, and Tracey Gardner will be counted on for significant contributions this season as well after the three combined to start 33 games in their freshman year. All three logged over 15 minutes per game with Gardner leading the team in rebounding. Other returners with an opportunity to increase their roles this year include sophomores Michael Gunsolus, Dee Smith, and redshirt freshman Josh Chapman who returns after a broken wrist earned him a medical redshirt last season.
Even with 10 of its top 11 scorers returning, Glenn was able to secure a group of four newcomers who will have a chance to contribute immediately. Sophomore transfer Peter Ricks will look to continue the success he had a year ago at Oxford of Emory where he averaged 23.1 points per game and was named an NJCAA Division-III All-American and the GABCA NAIA/JUCO Player of the Year. Freshman Tyler Arnold is another newcomer who could have an immediate impact for the Lions. Arnold averaged 20.5 points per game during his junior high school season before missing his entire senior campaign with a knee injury. Other freshmen this season include 6’9 center Jim Orr and point guard Jeremy Smith.
Early in the preseason, Glenn likes what he has seen out of this veteran group, “I like the combination of togetherness and effort that the team has displayed so far. Time will tell if we can adopt the notion of daily improvement for the duration. The competitiveness and effort have made for a refreshing preseason.”
“One of our goals is to improve every day that we “clock in” in this marathon race of a college basketball season. We want to approach each game with better consistency and less of an emotional up and down. We want to be mentally tough enough to play at a high level of emotion and energy for 40 minutes every night.”
The Lions will open their 2009-2010 campaign on Saturday, November 14th with a non-counting exhibition game at NCAA Division-I Troy University in Troy, AL. The host Trojans return four starters from a 19-13 team and were picked to finish second in this season’s Sun Belt Conference preseason poll. Since the game is scheduled before the Division-III official start date but after the official start for Division-I, the game will be the season opener for the Trojans while serving as a non-counting exhibition game for the visiting Lions.
A Piedmont/Troy exhibition game may be a bad sign for the Southeastern Conference as Piedmont’s exhibition opponent each of the last two seasons has immediately followed its game against the Lions with road wins over SEC opponents. In 2007, the Lions fell at Gardner-Webb just a week before the Bulldogs pulled off a much-publicized road win at Kentucky’s Rupp Arena. Last season, Piedmont’s exhibition host was Mercer who stunned both Alabama and Auburn on their home floors the following week. This season Troy will play at Florida a mere six days after squaring off against Piedmont and will travel to Auburn a few weeks later.
Piedmont fans can follow the Lions’ exhibition game at Troy through the Troy Network ISP’s webcast or through live game statistics provided online at www.TroyTrojans.com
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