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A look at the upcoming season

2001-02 season

Catholic
Catholic enjoyed a dream season a year ago, capturing the first team national championship in school history. The dreaming should continue in 2001-02, although waking up to the same happy ending will be difficult.

“Last year was wonderful,” said Cardinal Coach Mike Lonergan prior to his 10th season at CUA. “While we can draw strength from all the tough games we played, we can't just expect to show up and win. If anything, it will be tougher for us because everybody gets up to play the champions.”

The Cards begin the season without the five seniors that won 100 games during their illustrious careers. The biggest losses are in the backcourt, where All-American Pat Maloney, defensive specialist Tim Judge and clutch shooter Andy Rice wreaked havoc for opponents. Maloney finished as CUA's sixth all-time scorer (1,648 points).

“Pat, Tim and Andy played key roles in our drive to the title, but we have to go on without them,” Lonergan said. “Fortunately, we return our two starting big men (junior Matt Hilleary and sophomore Will Morley) and a number of top reserves. Our play in the backcourt will be critical to our success.”

Juniors Kevin Wise and Craig Avallone return on the wings in CUA’s three-guard offense. Wise was sixth on the team in scoring (4.4 ppg) and hit 83.3% of his free throws. Avallone played in every game and averaged 2.5 points. The pair will be starting regularly for the first time. Maloney’s successor will be diminutive freshman Bobby Henning, who is more of a traditional pass-first point guard than Maloney.

Sophomore Adam Dickman and rookie Tim Burke will vie to be Henning’s principal backup. Although Dickman saw limited action last season, his success-filled past includes leading his team to a Maryland state championship as a junior. Sophomores Kyle Hyland and Ben Gibson will join freshmen Nick Mimmo and sharpshooter Jimmy Dominkewicz in providing depth.

Hilleary and Morley are two of the top post players in the conference. Hilleary posted career-high averages of 12.5 points and a team-leading 6.7 rebounds. His 53.4% shooting percentage led the club for a second straight year. Morley became a starter early in his career and responded by averaging 10.7 points and 4.4 rebounds. He possesses a soft touch for a big man and led the CAC in free-throw shooting (84.1%). He needs to increase his rebounding.

In 33 games last season, sophomore Blair Mills (2.4 ppg, 1.9 rpg) showed flashes of his tremendous potential. He’ll have to work hard to turn his potential into production. Juniors Chris Altenburger (56.0 FG%) and Ryan Sheehy will be counted upon to give CUA tough minutes off the bench.

Jeff Baccash, a 6-7 freshman center, could work his way into the rotation. Rookie forward Will Jawando will have to wait until at least January to display his toughness and playing ability after breaking his left foot in practice on Nov. 1. He’ll compete for time at small forward.

CUA will once again attempt to navigate a tough schedule. The season opener is a national title game rematch at William Paterson on Nov. 16. The Cards are 1-1 on the Pioneers’ homecourt. After an exhibition matchup with the most recognized team in the world, the Harlem Globetrotters, CUA hosts perennial regional power Scranton. CAC play begins three days later at York (Pa.) and continues at home with Goucher. Up next are tough games with Haverford, Western Maryland, Lebanon Valley and Lycoming.

The Cardinals will welcome North Carolina Wesleyan, Edgewood and Swarthmore to the DuFour Center for the 15th-annual CUA Pepsi Classic on Jan. 5-6. The Cards travel to Salisbury, Md., for a CAC encounter with the Sea Gulls on Jan. 9. After a home date with Gallaudet, the club heads to Baltimore to play at Johns Hopkins. It’s all league play after that with 10 games before the CAC Tournament in late February.

“Playing a tough non-conference schedule has prepared us well for the rigors of the CAC and the NCAA playoffs,” Lonergan said. “I’m convinced that our Division I games last year with Columbia and Albany (N.Y.) steeled our confidence when we played tough opponents in the postseason.”

King's
On the heels of its most successful season since winning the inaugural MAC Freedom title in 1994, the King's College men's basketball team will begin a new era under the guidance of an unlikely leader. Former University of Scranton all-American player and assistant coach J.P. Andrejko will begin his first season as King's head coach where he hopes to continue the Monarchs resurgence in the MAC.

The Monarchs return three starters and a host of players from last season's squad but must replace all-time leading scorer Corey Dickerson (2,059 points) who is now playing professionally in Ireland. The top returning player from King's 19-9, ECAC Southern Region championship squad is senior power forward Dennis Hobbs who averaged 15.4 points, a team-high 6.9 rebounds, while shooting a stellar 60.0 (156-260) % from the field.

Also back is junior forward Kasim Holloman who averaged 12.4 points and 5.3 rebounds. Another key returnee is versatile sophomore guard-forward Brian Horgan who averaged 8.2 points and 5.0 rebounds and was second on the team with 58 steals despite not starting a single game last season. Senior Emmet Donnelly returns at point-guard where he averaged4.5 points and 3.3 assists.

Reserve players who will be counted on to step up their level of play will be sophomore guard Dannie Evans who averaged 3.6 points as a back-up to Dickerson and saw increased minutes in the latter part of the 2000-01 campaign. With a 40-inch vertical leap, the 5'9" Evans can dunk a basketball and is a solid three-point shooter. Sophomore guard Jamar Stokes averaged 2.4 points and is extremely athletic and an explosive leaper. Junior center-forward Steve Hite averaged 2.2 points and 4.1 boards.

"I am very pleased with the attitude and work ethic of the players and feel we have the ability to enjoy a real nice season," Andrejko stated. "Obviously replacing Dickerson will not be easy but there are some young kids who are anxious for that opportunity. We are stable at point-guard with Donnelly but the two-guard spot is wide open. Evans and Stokes are both athletic players with talent and should compete. Horgan could also see time at off-guard while Holloman returns at small forward. Dennis Hobbs is an absolute force inside for us and is extremely talented and hard-working. We have a good base of players and once they learn a new system, I feel we have a good chance at having another successful season."

Pitt-Greensburg
After suffering through a difficult season last year, Pitt-Greensburg will look to rebound this season and build upon the extraordinary early successes of the program. However, with a young team, that will be no small feat.

Head Coach Karl Radday notes, "The UPG program has developed quickly and is already well-known and respected. What we want to do is solidify our position as the premier Division III program in Western PA."

Only senior Clint Roche remains from the agical 1998-99 & 1999-00 teams that won back-to-back Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Championships. This season, the team will be very young and "will be a very different team than anything that UPG has seen," says Radday. "We will again lack experience and size but will take advantage of our youth and athleticism."

A number of freshmen will see minutes this season, especially in the backcourt. The coaching staff is extremely excited about the incoming class. With only five players returning from last season, the freshmen will be expected to contribute right away.

The Bobcats went back into Pittsburgh to look for players of the caliber of Clyde Manns (‘00) and landed Nate Watkins from Schenley High School. Nate is an athletic player who helped lead Schenley to the PIAA AAAA Finals. Also from the WPIAL is Nick Tomsko. Nick was the Point Guard for Montour High School that spent much of last season in the top ten in AAAA.

Perhaps the most heralded recruit is Kevin Conlon from Bellwood-Antis High School. Kevin is a 6-3 Point Guard who led his team in every statistical category last season. He scored over 1,200 points in his High School career and holds numerous High School records including most points in a season (633) and most assists in a game (17).

Radday and his staff also expect big things from John Pulley. Pulley is "an extremely fundamental player who looks to pass first and then shoot."

One of the most important recruits did not come until late when Phil Grenda, from Mt Pleasant, choose UPG. Grenda took last year off after graduating from high school. He is 6-4 and athletic enough to play at the guard or forward position for the Bobcats.

Radday notes, "Last year, we slowed the game down towards the end of the season. We are definitely going to get up and down the court this season, and one thing is certain, we will be exciting to watch."

A great deal of the burden this season will fall on sophomore Scott Winfrey. Winfrey had an outstanding freshman campaign and repeatedly made big shots for the Bobcats. Radday notes that Scott "gained valuable experience at both guard positions and must be the leader in the backcourt." In the frontcourt, the Bobcats will look to Adam Bowser, Garrett Treese and Mike Dudek. All three saw their first substantial minutes last year and will be keys for UPG inside.

Dudek, Bowser and Treese are somewhat undersized as post players but can face the basket and use their quickness against the bigger players.

While the points will come, it is important that the Bobcats defend and rebound the ball. Radday expects to press and use multiple defenses. He realizes, "although our forwards are small, our guards are big. We will need all five guys going to the boards on each possession."

The 2001-02 Bobcats will have a lot of work to do to try to match the past successes, but the team appears primed for the challenge.

Delaware Valley
The Delaware Valley College men's basketball team was hit hard by graduation as just one starter and two other letterwinners return from last year's 8-16 squad (5-9 in Freedom Conference play). However, second-year head coach Bob Simmons is excited about his returnees as well as a pair of transfers and the 11 freshmen from his first full year of recruiting.

Junior Tom Kochanski heads the trio of returnees. The sharpshooter started all 24 games last year and averaged 13 points per contest. Kochanski connected on nearly 40 percent of his 3-point attempts and led the team in assists with 92.

Fellow junior Jason Radic is back after the guard averaged 3.4 points and 2.3 rebounds in 18 minutes per game. His playing time should increase in 2001-02.
Another player who should play a bigger role this season is sophomore center Wade Lewis. The 6-7 Lewis started a number of games in the beginning of his rookie campaign and finished the season with averages of 2.8 points and 2.6 rebounds per contest.

Swingmen in 5-11 Gerry Rose and Issac Blount have transferred in from Lackawanna and Keystone Junior College respectively. Rose, who was an NJCAA Division III all-region selection, has already been named a team captain — along with Kochanski and Lewis) by his teammates.

Guard Randall Graves (5-9), 6-3 forward Richard Schmidt, 6-3 guard Kevin Wolf and 6-6 forward/center Josh Wurtz will play key roles in their first year with the Aggies.

Albright
New Albright men's basketball coach Rick Ferry comes to Albright having some things in place. He has a nice facility in the Bollman Center, good fan support, and the chance to succeed year after year.

Now, all he has to do is build a team.

Gone from last year's 16-9 team are three top players, along with former head coach Ken Tyler. Tyler is now at Shepherd College in West Virginia.

This is not new to Ferry. While at Juniata, he built a program that went from 3-21 his first year, to 13-11 last season. All throughout his year on College Hill, his teams were competitive.

This team should be more that competitive, and without any seniors, they will build a competitive foundation.

The base of that foundation will be junior forward Brendan Ferns. After sitting last season with a knee injury, Ferns used the off-season to become stronger and improve his game. A two-time All-Star, he averages 8.9 points, 6.9 rebounds in two seasons at Albright.

The second part of the foundations comes in the form of sophomore point guard Terron Buchanon. In his first season, he averaged 8.8 points and 2.1 assists per contest. An athletic guard, he earned Commonwealth Conference Rookie of the Year honors last season. He will see time as a point guard, but, could see time as a shooting guard.

Sophomore Steve Pidhirsky, standing at 6-9, is one of the strongest members of the team. Seeing limited time last season, he is currently battling for a starting spot. He is the third of the four members from last season's team.

The fourth, sophomore Bob Broderick, has also been battling for a starting spot on this year's squad. Only seeing time 21 games last season, he is another player that hit the weights in the offseason.

Junior Jim Miller joins the team after playing at Division II Slippery Rock for a year. After four years off from college, he is starting to regain his quickness. Ferry also sees him as a leader on the floor.

The rest of the players on the roster have one thing in common, they are all rookies. Cole Copley, Fenton Hatchett, Mark Kargman, Nick Lambros, Ian Houck, Corey Rich, John Ridenour and Shawn Swigart are all new to the team.

Albright is picked to finish fourth in the MAC Commonwealth Conference preseason poll. Widener, Elizabethtown, and Lebanon Valley are expected to compete for the top four playoff spots.

Of course, the Lions will be prepared for crunch time in mid-February. This year's schedule features national powers Wilkes, and Franklin and Marshall. DeSales, along with the College of New Jersey are also on the early part of the schedule.
Ferry's main goal for this team, and all his teams, is to get better every day. With the mix of talent and youth on this year's squad, that could be the recipe for success.

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