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Posting Up - Scoreboard - Top 25 - Features - Notables - Team of the Week - Live Audio |
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A look at the upcoming season 2001-02 season |
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Carthage On Wednesday, Nov. 28, Carthage travels to the Crown Center in Chicago, Ill., to take on the University of Chicago. The Redmen open at home by playing host to the Friday-Saturday, Nov. 30-Dec. 1 LeMay/Carthage Classic at the Carthage Physical Education Center in Kenosha, Wis. The Redmen play Dominican University (Ill.) on Friday, preceded by Lakeland taking on Savannah Art & Design in the other first-round game. Carthage went 24-5 in 2001 (11-3, 2nd College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) and advanced to the Elite Eight before bowing out at Ohio Northern 66-64. Forward Jason Wiertel is listed as a D3hoops.com preseason first-team All-American. Wiertel led last year's team in scoring with a 17.5 points-per-game mark and 6.9 rebounds. Wiertel is now a three-time first-team All-CCIW honoree, and he heads into his senior season ranked eighth on Carthage's career scoring list (1,542 points) and needing just 326 points to become the Redmen's all-time scoring leader. First-team All-CCIW forward Rob Garnes averaged 14.7 points 7.8 rebounds with a .599 field-goal percentage. Third-team All-CCIW guard Greg Ktistou averaged 14.9 points and 4.2 assists with a .439 three-point field-goal percentage, and third-team All-CCIW guard Antoine McDaniel had a 13.8 scoring mark with a .421 three-point field-goal percentage. Jim Oboikowitch moved into the starting lineup for postseason play. Millikin "I like all the kids we have, and I'm pleased with the work they've done so far in the preseason," he said. "I'm encouraged by what I've seen, with the players doing the extra things to get better." And getting better is what Littrell expects the team to do this year. Coming off a season where the team went 10-15 overall, 3-11 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW), the team has been working hard in the offseason to improve on last season's mark. The team lost some big contributors from last season. Brad Skowronski, who led the team averaging 8.3 rebounds and 15.8 points per game, Mike Steers, who averaged 7.8 points a game, and Jason Rader, who earned three varsity years. Junior Robby Dobbs, who averaged 6.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game chose not to return this season. "We did lose some significant players in terms of statistics," Littrell said. "But I think that this team will be a better balanced team and I think some kids will step up as a result." Senior Jeff Love is one that looks to take a leadership role on the team. The 6-0 guard averaged 9.0 points a game last season and will move to a shooting guard position. Love along with the rest of a strong group of returnees look to improve on last season. Mike Dunn, a 6-1 senior, returns at the guard position, after leading the team with 42 3-pointers last season. Brock Brannon, a senior, was a pleasant surprise for Millikin last season. Brannon, a 6-5 center who came on strong for Millikin towards the end of last season, is expected to have similar success throughout his senior season. Junior Tim Tolle is expected to return at full strength this season after being weakened by an illness last season. Tolle, who according to Littrell never really recovered from the illness, averaged 5.8 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. "He's without question our best post shooter," Littrell said of Tolle. "He should help us in terms of extending the opponents defense." Trey Evans, a sophomore, moves up to varsity after playing on the junior varsity team last season. Littrell looks forward to his contributions on the varsity team. Sophomore Arian Rios, who saw significant varsity time last season as a freshman, is another who should see some quality minutes. The 5-10 point guard should provide relief for the Big Blue at that position. "He provides valuable experience at the point guard position, and he needs to take advantage of that," Littrell said. "He has the tools to become a quality point guard for us." Another sophomore who saw time on varsity as a freshman is Rob Klemm. Klemm, a 6-9 forward, averaged 3.5 points a game. Along with a strong returning base, the Big Blue has picked up two transfers that will help the team. Brett Love, Jeff’s twin brother, returns to Millikin after playing at the College of DuPage. Brett played with Millikin in the 1998-1999 season. For those familiar with Decatur high school sports, Kin Yanders is a familiar name. Yanders, who was a standout at MacArthur High School, returns to Decatur after two years at Chicago State. While the team will not be the tallest or the strongest in school history, it should respond with its speed. Fans should not expect a slower, more calculated pace, but should expect the run-and-gun style that suits it. "We don't have the luxury of size, so we expect we'll play at a faster pace," Littrell said. Thomas
More Thomas More spent the offseason soul searching after last years 4-20 season. This year’s team, even after the departure of the talented Corey Grace, will have a new vision as the Saints will feature a well balanced team with great leadership from it’s junior class. Guard Mark Klein, who averaged 9.7 points per game to compliment 3.3 assists per game, Dustin Mulberry and Kyle Booth have been through the roughest of times in their first two seasons, but are ready to take this team to the next level. Mulberry set a school record for three-pointers made in a single-season last year with 61 and averaged 10.8 points per game. Booth joins Mulberry as the team’s two leading returning scorers, respectively, from 2000-01 as he averaged 12.6 ponts per game while finishing second behind Grace in rebounds at 3.7 per game. Seniors Jason Haggard and Mike Cleves also look to provide leadership through experience and example as they and Klein are the captains for this year’s team. Add to these five a strong group of sophomores that will add stability to a roster that will feature seven freshmen, all of whom are from the local area who were highly regarded coming out of high school. The Saints will strive to make the next step in the basketball ladder of evolution. Last season, Thomas More went from an up-start program to possible contenders as its average margin of defeat was by just eight points. The goal for this season is to go from a contender to a winner as the team looks to revitalize the reputation of the program and bring it back to prominence. Although this is a relatively young group of athletes, the Saints are equipped with a load of talent that should make them highly competive by continuing to play an up-tempo style of basketball while adding pressure defense all over the court. Terry Connor and his staff feels this freshman class is the best that Thomas More has ever had. Several of these freshmen will be counted on to make an immediate impact, including Chad Wachs, Corey Myers and Terry Johnson. This is an exciting time for the Thomas More men’s basketball program as they look to improve by leaps and bounds and get back to its winning ways. Benedictine The Eagles’ returners, with substantial experience, are expected to continue the tradition. Senior Andy Cosme will be expected to be a major contributor both offensively and defensively. Bill Chura, another senior, could be the best offensive player the Eagles have. Last season, Chura had game-highs of 22 and 23 points. Chura was a NIIC all conference honorable mention at the conclusion of last season. Sophomore Bryan Uselding saw plenty of time off the bench, and played a major role in the success of last year’s team and is expected to step up and contribute more this season. Senior Mike Lind and junior Ron Welkomer who saw plenty of action last season, will both compete for starting positions. Senior Scott Davis and junior Jim Bowen round out the Eagles’ returners. Davis saw limited action last year and Bowen, who was a redshirt, could provide some inside help this year. Junior Varsity players from last year that also will be competing for playing time are junior Nick DiForti and sophomores Brett Dankowski and Andy Voelz. Newcomers who will look to help the Eagles are 6-7 freshman Adam Hanson and Junior College transfer Charles Litt. "This is a season where we could have a lot of players competing for playing time. We will see who rises to the top," says Coach Bunkenburg. With four of the six seniors lost being starters, the other two heavy contributors off of the bench, you might think the Eagles will struggle. Five of this season’s returners were players that saw plenty of action and know what it takes to be successful. No one expects the kind of season Benedictine had last year except for the coaches and players of this year’s team. "We try to create an environment for our players to succeed both in the classroom and the basketball court. Our proof is with our seniors, four of who have a GPA over 3.2 and are on track to graduate. In the past two seasons we have had 11 seniors graduate. I challenge any program in the country that has had that kind of success with their seniors those last two seasons," says Coach Bunkenburg. "Seniors are the ones who make any program successful and hopefully this won’t be any different." Opening the season with eight road games won’t be easy for the Eagles, who have never been shy about playing some of the best competition in the country. Added to this year’s schedule is NCAA Division I National Tournament qualifier Eastern Illinois, along with many formerly ranked NCAA Division III teams. "We consider ourselves a nationally respected program and I have always had the philosophy of playing the best teams we can. This season is no different," coach Bunkenburg states. "The goal never changes, win the Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference and compete for a National Title." |
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