Page 62 - Phoenix2001-02

Wednesday, November 14,2001 - Page 10 SPORTS Men's basketball embarks on a new era at WMC GREG LEDERER rugged 6'4 forward, will need to make a in assists. ketball, Dull replies, "l love when a team Spor/sEditQT needs to compete to survive. Basketball is heavy contribution to make up for the loss At shooting guard, the team isn't expect- The theme of this year's Western Mary- of recently graduated forward Michael ing a sophomore jinx from Sam Anstead. the ultimate team sport, where you must land College Men's basketball team is that Furey. The 6'4 guard was second on the team in work as a team to survive and stay on top." of the unknown. "They have both been sidelined by inju- scoring last season (10.8 ppg) and hauled Last season, head coach Brook's style of Since head coach Darrell Brooks com- ries, but they are fighting through it," says down 81 rebounds. fast breaking and wide open offense led to a pleted hi's ftrst season as the head coach of Dull. The team is excited to begin this season. conference best mark for three point shots the team last winter, things have changed The frontcourt looks to be strong this sea- "We are looking to step it up this season and made per game, but didn't translate into a dramatically. son, led by sophomore Alan Hoyt. In his hopefully make the playoffs," says junior winning season for the team. Dull promises Gone is Brooks who left to take an assis- first season, Hoyt led the team in scoring swingman Michael Paesani. a more balanced inside and outside attack tant coaching job at George Washington Uni- with 11.5 points per game and was also the The team has set many goals for the 200 I that will hopefully bring more wins for the versity and taking his place is new head man, team's best three-point shooter, with a siz- Green Terror. Jay DulL zling 43.9% from behind the arc. "We want to be competitive in every "I believe that you have to play defense Dull, a graduate of the University of With the loss of tough forward/center game and have a winning season, but most and use a balanced attack to win champion- Iowa, brings to the Green Terror bench 21 Furey, a committee of players will have to importantly, we want to get our players to ships." years of coaching experience and is excited step up to make up for this presence on the individually overachieve," said Dull. "If you "You win and lose with the three point about the opportunity to lead the program. boards. get the players to play better than they think shot, and with a more balanced inside out- "I'm very excited about the potential of the Junior centers Jon Pearson and Andrew they can, you are going to have a strong team. side offense we won't be one dimensional team and the program," said Dull. Slye made strides last season and along with The Green Terror will need to come to anymore," said Dull. So far, early season practices have been football star receiver Teron Powell is ex- play every game, due to a tough conference Coming off a 7-17 season last year, the tough for the Green Terror. pected to contribute heavily on the interior. and non-conference schedule. program's IIth losing season in a row, there "We haven't had a full healthy squad The backcourt is the brightest spot on the On the slate for this season, is a home is enthusiasm and a new spark in the team. practice yet, which makes it harder for us to team with many seasoned players who made visit from the defending division three na- "Everybody has a better attitude than last evaluate the learn at full potential," said Dull. strong contributions for the team last sea- tional champions Catholic University on De- season," said Anstead. "We actually believe Dull adds that despite the injuries he has been son. cember 8 and a road game against Di vision that we can win and that should be the dif- impressed with "the team's response to the The point guard spot is manned by expe- one foe Princeton University on January 28. ference this season." adversity by working through the pain." rienced juniors Desmond Esteves and Greg Along with the usual Centennial confer- The coaching staff has many young re- The team is looking for leadership from Hill. ence games, the team will receive tough turning athletes at their disposal and with a senior guard Jack Kowalik and forward Esteves led the team in assists last year competition in the winter season. new mind set (0 compete in every game, it Shawn Minnier. A 6'1 shooting guard, with 96 and tied for the team lead in steals A tough competitive schedule seems to should be a exciting season for Green Terror Kowalik tied for third on the team last year with 26 thefts, while Hill is a deadly three fit the profile of coach Dull. When asked b-ball in 2001-2002. with 9.3 points per game while Minnier, a point threat and finished second on the team what he loves most about the game of bas- Rick's Column: College Player profile: Teron tween the offense, defense, and special Basketball Preview 2001-02 Powell continued teams is great and it was at its best in the win over Jacksonville." the national championship," states Powell. When asked ifhe would like to play pro- "We haven't met this goal yet, but we are fessionally after he graduates this year, RICK GRAMS with national title hopes is the Illinois Fight- S/(}.ifWrirer ing lIIini. Lastyear'sBigTen Player of the working towards it." Powell answers without hesitation. "Most Lost in the shuffle of one of the most Year returns in point guard Frank Williams, ' The victory over Jacksonville, in which definitely." "If I'm blessed enough oppor- exciting World Series ever is the beginning along with shooting guard Corey Bradford. Powell scored a 29-yard reception showed tunity comes, I will definitely take it." of another great season - college basketball. Brian Cook and Sergio McChlin are also how much chemistry among teammates is But in the present lies the matchup with And this season looks to be a great one, back, but griuy Lucas Johnson begins the valued by Powell. Johns Hopkins and Teran has one goal for given you can tolerate Dick Vitale's bab- season injured. "This is some of best chemistry I've himself and the rest of the team. bling and hearing about how great Duke TWo SEC teams round out the preseason been a part of," mentions Powell "We've "Win outright, so we don't have to share University is no matter what game you are top five, the Florida Gators and Kentucky had a lot of injuries, but the chemistry be- the Centennial Conference championship." watching. Wildcats. Florida had the inside-outside Hamilton, Wrestling looks to defend Unfortunately, any college basketball combination of big man Udonis Haslem and preview this year has to start with Duke. Brett Nelson, and guard Justin The Blue Devils are the defending champs one of the nation's best defenders, is back The Gators also had one of the best re- their Conference crown and have the preseason player of the year, from a knee injury he suffered in January. guard Jason Williams. They return deeper than last year's learn, cruiting classes in the nation, even with the although they no longer have Shane Bat- loss of K warne Brown, who was the first RICK GRAMS tier. Vitale, the ultimate Duke fan, is al- overall pick in the NBA draft by the Wash- SrafJWrirer ready touting the backcourtofWilliams and ington Wizards. sophomore Chris Duhon as the best pair of Kentucky will give Florida a challenge The WMC wrestling team looks to de- turning." guards in college basketball history. ill their conference. Despite the loss of Ja- fend the Centennial Conference crown for With these ingredients, Macey said, "We Duke seems to be everyone's champi- son Parker to a season-ending injury, Tubby the second straight season, led by seniors can do even better than last year." onship team, just like they were in 1998- Smith's squad looks to be strong this sea- Vinny Pedalino, Rob Johns, and Chris Bill Bobbitt also placed second at the 99 (when they lost the championship game son. McNally who all went to the NCAA Cham- conference championships last year. Levi to UConn). Preseason All-American Tayshaun pionships last season. Western Maryland's McVey and Andy Chencbarik placed third in their first year on the squad. became Pedalino But this season will hardly be a Prince leads the Wildcats, and Keith All-American last season, Coach John Lowe is in his sixth year with cakewalk for Duke. Bogans, who flirted with the NBA, returns first ever two-time in the national tournament. the program. finishing seventh One of the teams that will challenge as well. Jules Camara, back from a year- He inherited a team that was at the bot- Duke this season is Atlantic Coast Confer- long suspension, will give the Wildcats an He wrestles in the I25-pound weight class. tom of the conference standings and has The recent of the team leads to success ence-rival, Maryland. The Terps played inside presence. lofty expectations. turned them into a team that has won three Duke close four times last year, losing three Other teams look to challenge these five, McNally said that the team looks to "send conference championships in four years of those games, including the infamous ten- including UCLA, Kansas and Missouri. ten wrestlers to the national tournament in (l998, 2000, and 2001). point blown lead in the final minute at home There "ate always dark horses thai make Scranton, Pa." According to Macey, the main competi- and blowing a 22~pointlead in the National noise in Match, and teams capable of play- Senior Mike Macey, a second-place fin- tion from within the conference is Ursinus Semifinal. ing that role are S1. Joseph's, Virginia, and isher at the conference championships a year and Muhlenburg. However, they were able to advance to a young Michigan State team, among oth- to knock Asked if teams will be looking tbe Final Four for the first time in school ers. ago, echoed these sentiments, saying that the off the two-time defending conference history. and the core of that team returns in However, when March rolls around, team looks to send everyone to nationals and Juan Dixon and Lonny Baxter, look for Duke to follow in the footsteps of do well there. He added that another con- champs, Macey replied, "Of course. Thai's Although they started off their season the 1998~99 team, as Maryland follows up ference championship is another goal of the the way it always is." to a young Arizona team, look for Mary- their first ever trip to the Final Four last year squad. McNally said, "This team is one of the land toeod the season inthe Georgia Dome with their first ever National Championship Macey also sald that there are "a lot of hardest working teams overall since I've in cbe Final Four. in another classic DukeJMaryland match- nice recruits coming in, along with a couple been here. We are capable of doing anything oAn!>tber lOam eonUaB into !be season up. of All-Americans and national qualifiers re- we put our minds to."