Monday, November 09, 2009

SEASON PREVIEW - (Courtesy Mercer Media Relations)

The Mercer Bears will look to go Back to the Future this season in an effort to secure the program’s first Atlantic Sun championship since 1985. They took a big step forward in Bob Hoffman’s inaugural campaign posting a 17-15 mark overall and 11-9 record in the A-Sun. It was the first winning season since 2004-05 and only the fifth in the last 15 years. Only three Mercer squads (1981, ’85, and ’03) over the past 29 years earned more victories.

“We have talked about Mercer’s last NCAA banner came in 1985,” said Mercer head coach Bob Hoffman. “We want competing for a championship to become the norm every year. That’s when you become a program, not just a yearly team. I think we are close to becoming a program.”

Similar to the ’85 team, led by Georgia Sports Hall of Fame inductee and NBA veteran Sam Mitchell, this year’s edition has a strong nucleus of seniors. This year’s squad will be guided by James Florence, Daniel Emerson, E.J. Kusnyer, BeJay Corley and Brendan Walker.

Also back are juniors Brian Mills and Mark Hall, sophomore Marquisse Jackson and red-shirt freshman, Jake Gollon. Among the underclassmen, Mills was the only one to see starting time last season.

“I am excited about how hard our guys have worked since the end of the 2009 season,” Hoffman said. “Our returners have put in countless hours of preparation and I know it will have a great outcome.”

Joining the Mercer roster for the 09-10 campaign are nine new faces. They are junior college transfers Brandon Moore, Jeff Smith, Michael Jenkins and Ridas Pulkauninkas along with freshman Tevin Swann, R.J. Miskimon, Ted Price, Chris Smith and David O’Shaughnessey.

Returnees

Florence sits on the threshold of breaking many Mercer records this season. The 6-1 guard from Marietta’s Wheeler High School is already the standard in the Top 10 in numerous categories in the Mercer record books. The All-American candidate is first in 3-point field goals made (1st-185), and 3-point field goals attempted (1st-638). He ranks in the Top 10 in scoring (5th-1,737 points), points per game (4th–19.1), field goals made (8th-571), field goals attempted (4th-1,491), free throws made (4th-410), free throws attempted (4th-572), assists (3rd-294) and assists per game (7th-3.3). Defensively, Florence is Mercer’s all-time steals leader with 168, surpassing Kenny Brown’s 147.

“James is well grounded and his teammates do a good job of keeping him there,” Hoffman said. “His humility of wanting to win is more important than the individual stuff. His main focus is playing for a conference title.”

On the block, the 6-8 Emerson is one of the grittiest players in the Atlantic Sun. He pulled down 343 boards last year, second-best single season mark in Mercer history, set a University Center (UC) record with 19 rebounds against Piedmont and a career best of 20 rebounds against conference rival, Campbell. He trails only Steve Moody (1963-67) for best career rebounds per game average. The St. Mary’s, Ga. native posted 14 double-doubles as a junior and one that included a career high 23 points at FGCU.

“Danny has been through a lot,” the second-year coach said. “He has overcome injuries, transferring and different styles of play. He came to Mercer because he wanted to be part of the legacy his brothers (Scott and Will) had built. Danny has equaled that in his short time here.”

Kusnyer displayed a smooth stroke from beyond the arc while starting all 32 games as a junior. The 6-5 shooting guard led Mercer in three-point field goals made and attempted (83-226) and is 10th all-time in 3-point field goal percentage at .367. His 83 three-pointers was second-best in the A-Sun last year.

“In my coaching career, E.J. has spent more time shooting on his own than anyone I’ve ever coached,” Hoffman said. “He is a self made player.”

Corley and Mills join Emerson to give the Bears an experienced frontcourt. Corley started 14 of 32 games last year and finished with the team’s best field goal percentage (.667). As a sophomore, Mills was third on the team in rebounds (3.9), scored 6.5 per game and started half of the Bears’ 32 contests.

Coming off the bench, Walker and Hall provide quality depth at guard. Both saw plenty of action combining for a total of 60 games played. Hall returns as the Bears fifth leading scorer (5.3) and third best assist distributor (1.5).

Jackson (sophomore) and Gollon got a taste of Division I play last year and will provide extra depth at the forward position. Gollon played in two games before suffering a season ending foot injury which qualified him for a medical hardship waiver.

Newcomers

Hoffman and his staff filled the roster vacancies with four junior college and one freshman standout. They are joined by four talented walk-ons.

“Last year, a couple of our weaknesses were being and playing physical and our athleticism,” Hoffman commented. “We didn’t play physical even though we had physical players and we were not as athletic as we needed to be even though we had good athletes. Our new players will make us better in both areas and increase the competition at practice to a higher level every day.”

Brandon Moore and Michael Jenkins will bolster an already strong frontcourt. Moore hails from Wallace State Community College where he helped lead the Lions to a pair of Alabama Community College Tournament finals. He earned an all-region selection last year by averaging 10.4 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.

Jenkins averaged 13.7 points, 10.2 rebounds at Walters State Community College and was the 4A South Carolina High School Coaches Association Player of the Year as a senior at Easley High School.

The guards offer a unique combination of skill and size with Tevin Swann (5-11), Jeff Smith (6-2) and Ridas Pulkauninkas (6-6). Swann is a speedy ball-handler and defensive stalwart who averaged 15 points and eight assists while earning all-conference honors for The Miller School last year. Smith, a former McDonald’s All-American, played with Moore at Wallace State and brings a career scoring average of 14.0 points to the Bears. Pulkauninkas is from Vilnius, Lithuania and helped lead Lon Morris Junior College to a 25-6 record, No. 23 national ranking and the 2009 Region XIV conference title. He was 31st nationally in three-point percentage at 44%.

Hoffman has always welcomed walk-ons to his program and this year is no exception as Ted Price, R.J. Miskimon, Chris Smith and David O’Shaughnessey seek to fulfill their Division I dream in a Mercer uniform.

Schedule

The Bears were road warriors and a little road weary after playing in six different states in November and December last year. Though the travel will not be as extensive in 2009-10, the opponents will be as formidable. The schedule includes seven opponents who reached the postseason in 2008-09 and five first-time matchups.

The slate includes contests with five schools from college basketball’s powerhouse conferences. Mercer will tangle with the Big East’s Providence Friars in the World Vision Tournament on Nov. 15. They will have road matchups with SEC foes Vanderbilt, and Alabama. Atlantic Coast Conference opponents include Georgia Tech and Florida State. Mercer will travel to Atlanta to face the Yellow Jackets and entertain the Seminoles, for Homecoming, on Saturday, Nov. 21.

“It is good for us to play those kinds of quality teams early with tremendous basketball history,” Hoffman said. “We will see all kinds of defenses from them and that will stretch us. It will put us where we want to be when we get into the heat of the conference schedule.”

As usual, the A-Sun will be a long, hard climb for any team to reach the championship pinnacle. Preseason publications, Blue Ribbon Forecast and Athlon, have chosen the Bears to finish second and third, respectively. Blue Ribbon has Mercer finishing second behind the 2009 A-Sun regular season champs, Jacksonville. According to Athlon, the Bears will trail Jacksonville and Lipscomb in the final conference standings.

“Jacksonville, Lipscomb, and Belmont will be tough,” Hoffman said. “ETSU’s athleticism will again be very good. When you look at the schedules of the teams in our conference and see who they are playing, it will make them better and make it tough for everyone to get wins.”

For the first time in its history, Mercer will host the Atlantic Sun Tournament. The Bears hope the home court advantage will pay dividends and yield an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The tournament takes place March 3-6 in the University Center.

11 Days of A-Sun Basketball Schedule
Oct. 28 - Kennesaw State
Oct. 39 - USC Upstate
Oct. 30 - UNF
Nov.  2 - FGCU
Nov.  3 - Stetson
Nov.  4 - Campbell
Nov.  5 - Belmont
Nov.  6 - ETSU
Nov.  9 - Mercer
Nov. 10 - Lipscomb
Nov. 11 - Jacksonville