|
10/26/2007 - MEN'S BASKETBALL
12 Days of A-Sun Basketball: Gardner-Webb
|
Print
Courtesy ASunPhotos.com
12 Days of A-Sun Basketball moves north to Boiling Springs, N.C. to preview of Gardner-Webb. The Bulldogs took a step back in 2006-07, winning just nine games following 18 in 2004-05 and 17 last season
Last season, The Bulldogs scored 38.2 percent of its points from beyond the 3-point stripe, tops in the Atlantic in 2006-07. Gardner-Webb, along with Belmont (36.2 Pct) and Lipscomb (33.9 Pct) were the only three schools in the league to score at least 30 percent of its points from the 3-point arc.
The Bulldogs ranked second in the Atlantic Sun Conference, and in the top 40 in the NCAA in 3-point field goals per game, making just over eight 3-point field goals per game. The Bulldogs had four of the most prolific marksmen in the league. Chris Gash (4th), Ricky McPhee (9th), Takayo Siddle (10th) and Jake Sims (15th) all ranked in the top 15 in made 3-pt FG. Only Siddle returns this season.
2007-08 Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs |
SEASON PREVIEW - (Courtesy Gardner-Webb Media Relations)
Heading into last season, Gardner-Webb coaches, fans and most followers of college basketball expected a drop off after the Runnin’ Bulldogs graduated six seniors from a program that had posted 35 wins in its previous two seasons – including an Atlantic Sun Conference regular season title in 2004-2005.
Not only would the program be young, but Gardner-Webb constructed one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the mid-major ranks, taking on the likes of No. 2 North Carolina, No. 4 Wisconson and MAC favorite Akron in addition to Texas Tech, NC State and Wake Forest. Head coach Rick Scruggs welcomed 11 newcomers into the program and, with only one returning starter from the previous two successful seasons, Gardner-Webb finished with a 9-21 record.
The good news came in conference play, where the Runnin’ Bulldogs captured seven of their nine wins and proved competitive most nights in the A-Sun. The ‘Dogs finished 5-4 at home in league play, including a 4-0 mark down the stretch in Paul Porter Arena.
The roster is littered with new faces again in 2007-2008, but a tougher collection of personalities on the court should help this edition of the Runnin’ Bulldogs to compete at a higher level against most anyone on the schedule.
Gardner-Webb was picked eighth in the preseason media poll conducted by the Atlantic Sun Conference, but hopes are much higher in Boiling Springs, with hyperkinetic forward Thomas Sanders (6-4, 210, Sr.) back as the team’s top returning scorer (11.0 ppg) and rebounder (7.0 rpg).
Sanders, who hails from Sugarland, Texas, and was a home-schooled star during his prep career, is an athletic, blue-collar player on both ends of the court. Blessed with a 6-foot-8 wingspan, Sanders plays much taller than his listed size, and shot better than 50 percent against both league and non-conference competition last season. In A-Sun play, Sanders boosted his averages to 12.4 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.
Sanders did not start for the ‘Dogs until a January 7 home game against regular season champion ETSU, and he responded with 14 points and eight boards. He netted a season-high 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting at Mercer just a week later on the road – and wrapped up the season with back-to-back double figures games, at Campbell and in the A-Sun Tournament quarterfinals.
The versatile Sanders is expected to man the three position more often in 2007-2008 and, as the team’s lone senior, provide needed leadership on a team still young in terms of senior college experience.
Other returning starters for the Runnin’ Bulldogs including point guard Takayo Siddle (5-11, 180, Jr.), shooting guard Grayson Flittner (6-0, 185, So.) and center/forward Matt French (6-7, 220, So.).
Siddle averaged 8.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and dished off a team-high 104 assists in 30 starts as the team’s lead guard last season, scoring in double figures 14 times and shooting a respectable 38.8 percent (50-of-129) from long distance.
Siddle’s best game came in a home win over Stetson in February, when he logged 31 minutes, scored a season-high 17 points and dished off six assists with only one turnover. The Eden, N.C., native nailed 3-of-5 chances from three-point range in that contest, one of seven games with three or more makes from that distance on the year.
Consistent play from Siddle at point guard could be the most important factor in Gardner-Webb’s hopes for improvement in 2007-2008.
Flittner came to Gardner-Webb as a walk-on last season, after leading the entire State of Indiana in scoring as a prep senior a year earlier at Tri-Central (Ind.) High near Tipton. The cerebral guard impressed during preseason workouts with his hustle, floor presence and overall basketball intelligence – and slowly started to work himself into the rotation when the season got underway.
By the season’s 15th game, a winter virus had four GWU starters sidelined for a home matchup with preseason favorite Lipscomb on January 18. Flittner finished that game with nine points and sparked a GWU upset of the Bison in Paul Porter Arena.
Flittner never relinquished his starting role and, in a February 8 win over Mercer at home, scored 11 points while helping harass A-Sun Freshman of the Year James Florence into the worst shooting, and scoring, night of his conference season.
French spent last season’s first two months as a seldom-used reserve as well, logging just 21 combined heading into A-Sun play. In the second game of the annual Jacksonville, Fla., road trip, the Australian import exploded – scoring 13 points off the bench in just 20 minutes of a lopsided Gardner-Webb win at North Florida.
French had earned his first start. Against ETSU on January 7, the 6-foot-7, 220-pounder erupted for a season-high 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting as Gardner-Webb nearly pulled off the upset against the Bucs. French wound up starting 14 games down the stretch, and finished with respectable averages of 5.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.
“We do have four starters returning from last year’s team, and they helped us compete pretty well against conference opponents on most nights,” said GWU head coach Rick Scruggs, who will enter his 13th season at the helm in Boiling Springs this year. “We still had to go out and recruit several players who should push these young men for both playing time and starting positions. Our team will be more athletic when the ball goes up in November, and we hope to get out and run, and score, more effectively.”
Other key reserves for the ‘Dogs including center Auryn MacMillan (6-8, 235, So.), forward Jesse Wheeler (6-5, 205, So.), forward/center Samba Fall (6-8, 215, Jr.) and guard Brandon Jackson (5-11, 185, So.).
Fall missed the second half of last season after starting two games during the first semester, and will be one of the team’s top shot blockers with a 7-foot-1 wingspan and excellent athleticism around the basket. He averaged 6.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in his two starts last season, which came against Western Carolina and High Point.
Jackson will not join the basketball team until at least Nov. 18. The quick, two-sport performer is a starting running back/receiver/kick return man on the Bulldogs’ football team in the Fall. Jackson spent last season as the Bulldogs’ top reserve at point guard from January until the end of the season.
MacMillan started nine games as a true freshman last season, and flashed signs of brilliance early in the season. The big Australian averaged 3.8 points and 2.3 rebounds per game (28 games played), but has the potential to be a force inside. He netted 11 points, six rebounds and three blocks in a game vs. UNC Greensboro last November.
Wheeler is easily the team’s most athletically gifted player on the wing, with crowd-pleasing leaping ability. The former Duluth (Ga.) High star adjusted slowly last season to college basketball, but found himself on the court more often down the stretch. Arguably the team’s most improved player from last season, Wheeler is expected to develop into a viable option on the glass and in the scoring column as the 2007-2008 season comes into focus.
NEWCOMERS
Gardner-Webb’s incoming class of recruits was rated No. 1 in the Atlantic Sun Conference by Hoop Scoop, and will be asked to play a vital role in pushing the program back into the upper half of the league’s standings.
Headlining the group is third-team NJCAA All-America guard Aaron Linn (Lenexa, Kansas / Johnson County CC), a hard-nosed and competitive player on both ends of the court. The 6-foot-3 Linn averaged 19.1 ppg in Jayhawk League games last season, and is capable of scoring in variety of ways. The former All-State performer from the Kansas City metro area could also find himself playing point guard when needed.
Another Jayhawk Conference product who could potentially factor into the starting lineup is forward Lu Dovonou (6-5, 230, So.). A native of Cameroon who decided on Gardner-Webb during the summer months, Dovonou has unmatched power and athleticism in the post among the Bulldogs’ current players. A former All-State caliber defensive end in the Mississippi prep football ranks, Dovonou relocated to the Houston area after Hurricane Katrina and finished his career starring at Cypress Community Christian School alongside current Connecticut center Hasheem Thabeet.
Dovonou chose Gardner-Webb over a host of Division I programs, including Big East member South Florida.
Gardner-Webb also added scoring punch by signing Collin County (Texas) Community College star Quincy Sarpy (6-4, 210, Jr.) – a first-team All-League selection who averaged 13 points per game as a sophomore. Sarpy also gained valuable international experience over the summer, pouring in nearly 17 ppg game for a Texas All-Star team during the 2007 Global Games in Dallas, Texas. Sarpy scored 20 points against the Argentina’s national team in that event.
Nate Blank (6-5, 220, Fr.) was a well-publicized addition to the GWU roster last recruiting season, and for good reason. The Terre Haute (Ind.) North standout averaged nearly 20 points per game in one of the Hoosier State’s toughest basketball conferences, and played himself onto the prestigious Indiana Senior All-Star Team over the summer. Blank was rated the nation’s No. 79 small forward prospect by ESPN.com, and is expected to be a major force in his first season with the ‘Dogs.
The only other high school signee for Gardner-Webb is Dillon Boggs (6-0, 175, Fr.), who averaged 20.0 points and hit 50 percent of his three-point chances (50-of-100) as a senior for Marietta (Ga.) Pope last season. Boggs, a combo guard, is very capable of making an impact with GWU early in his career.
The lone member of last year’s freshman class to redshirt has come along quite well, and could find himself logging minutes based on size alone. Matt Maden (6-11, 270, RFr.) hails from Roth Well, Queensland, Australia, and provides the GWU frontcourt with a very nice combination of size and bulk. Maden’s quickness and agility have improved steadily since his arrival on campus a year ago, and his exposure to college basketball during the course of last season in practices has paid off.
“This is a solid, athletic group of recruits,” said Scruggs. “We have a nice mix of junior college and high school players, and a few guys who can come in and player very quickly for us.”
12 Days of A-Sun Basketball Schedule
Oct. 22 - Belmont
Oct. 23 - Campbell
Oct. 24 - ETSU
Oct. 25 - Florida Gulf Coast
Oct. 26 - Gardner-Webb
Oct. 29 - Jacksonville
Oct. 30 - Kennesaw State
Oct. 31 - Lipscomb
Nov. 1 - Mercer
Nov. 2 - UNF
Nov. 5 - USC Upstate
Nov. 6 - Stetson
