Date Posted: 10/31/2007

12 Days of A-Sun Basketball makes its sercond stop in Nashville, Tenn. for a look at the Lipscomb Bisons. The Bisons finished the 2006-07 campaign with an 18-13 mark. Once again, they will be led by Eddie Ard. Last season the forward sveraged 15.0 PPG and 5.8 RPG. Both averages ranked in the top 10 in the Atlantic Sun Conference. He was one of four players in the A-Sun to rank in the top 10 in both categories.

in 2006-07, Lipscomb held 22 of its 31 opponents under 70 points. In those 22 games, the Bisons went 18-4. When allowing at least 70 points, the Bisons were winless in nine tries.

Lipscomb will serve as host for the 2008 General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Championship. The event will be held from March 5-8 at Allen Arena. The Bisons will attempt to be the first host to win the A-Sun Championship since 2001 when Georgia State, led by Lefty Driessel, defeated Troy at the GSU Sports Arena.

Coach Scott Sanderson on the Bisons

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SEASON PREVIEW - (Courtesy Lipscomb Media Relations)

Lipscomb basketball coach Scott Sanderson isn’t pulling any punches.

He is excited about both his players and their prospects for the 2007-2007 season. Entering his ninth season with the Bisons, he is excited not only about the prospects for winning this season, but the way his players are representing the program both on and off of the court.

“Our returning players are better,” Sanderson said. “The new guys we signed are really good. When you mix that together you are not really sure what you are going to get. We are still in the process of figuring that out, but I like our pieces. We have very good pieces to the puzzle.

“It’s up to us to move guys around, to help guys find their roles and to help them accept those roles. We haven’t won a game or lost a game yet, but they have bought into each other. All of our other teams have too, but this team has taken it to another level.”

Sanderson thinks the main elements of this season’s team are better than last season.

“The meat of our team is better than the meat of our team last year,” Sanderson said. “We might not have Trey Williams or Brian Fisk, but our players two through 11, 12 or 13 to whatever it is are better.

“We have one guy like Eddie Ard who might go out and get 30 points in a game, but we have seven or eight guys who can go out and get 10 or 15 points. Let me coach that kind of team any day of the week knowing that shots are going to be distributed throughout the whole team. They can key on Eddie, but we have several guys who are more than capable or willing to step up.”

The Bisons have won a regular season Atlantic Sun Championship and played in the National Invitation Tournament, but this season they want more.

“We still have unfinished business,” Sanderson said. “We want to win the Atlantic Sun Tournament and go to the NCAA Tournament.”

Youth will be served

Much of the excitement about the season centers around the five freshmen members of the team.

Guards Josh Slater and Jimmy Oden, forwards Brandon Brown and Brian Wright and center Adnan Hodzig are all expected to make significant contributions this season and beyond.

Oden, who spent a year in prep school before signing with the Bisons, is expected to get a long look at point guard.

“Jimmy has a feel for how to play,” Sanderson said. “You can’t teach that. He makes good decisions. He has to get better defensively. We are trying to speed up his development in that area so he understands angles and how to guard people.

“Offensively with the ball he is very unselfish. I will be shocked if he is not top five in the league in steals.”

Oden is not intimidated by any game situation. He goes out on the court expecting his team to win.

“It doesn’t matter if he is playing in front of 18,000 or 800,” Sanderson said. “He is like a sponge. He wants to learn. He has a great disposition.”

Hodzig honed his skills at North Central High School in Indianapolis, Ind., one of the top high school programs in the nation. He has shown a knack for scoring around the basket.

“In our first four days of practice he scored more points in the paint than we have scored in the last four years,” Sanderson said. “He can really operate in the low post. With his back to the basket he can score.”

Brown will get time at the No. 3 forward spot. Like Oden, he has basketball instincts that cannot be taught. Sanderson said that Brown reminds him of the type of players his father, Wimp, recruited at the University of Alabama.

“Brandon is one of the best movers on the team without the ball,” Sanderson said. “He is always in the right spot, plus he has great length like the guys my father recruited. He is good passer. He is also a surprisingly good rebounder. He just knows how to play. He could play No. 2, No. 3 or No. 4.”

Wright is working on his development in preseason practice. He will be penciled in for time at the No. 4 forward spot.

“He understands he needs to play the No. 4 position this season,” Sanderson said. “He can make 3-pointers and mid-range shots. He is very athletic. He can be out of position and make plays defensively. He is going to be really good.”

Slater is making strides defensively in the early going, but is having to work on the offensive side,

“Josh guards people with his length,” Sanderson said. “He is very long. He is hard to throw around. He is kind of rangy. He understands his positioning. Nine times out of 10 he is in the right spot defensively.

“Offensively, he is always one play ahead. The best thing he does is he has great vision. In college he has more options and more weapons to pass the ball to than he did in high school.”

Returning starters have improved

Forward Eddie Ard has been named a preseason member of the All-Conference team. He is expected to be the backbone of the Bisons, coming off a season when he led the team in scoring with 15 points per game and rebounding with 5.8. He spent part of the summer playing with the Reach USA team in China.

"We have had team meetings and individual meetings with our players," Sanderson said. "The one main theme from everybody was that `I hope he is our leader...I hope he evolves into being our leader.

"Eddie is an easy guy to follow. He is going to do all the things necessary to be a better player. He is going to lift weights. He is going to practice hard. He is going to work out in individual workouts. The guys want to follow his lead, but he has to learn to be a more effective leader. That is one of the things we are working through right now."

Senior center Jason Hopkins brings veteran presence underneath the basket, demonstrating a maturity beyond his years.

“Jason reminds us of the way Shaun Durant improved between his junior and senior year,” Sanderson said. “He can cover up our mistakes defensively and take charges down low. He has really improved.”

Hopkins averaged six points and 5.3 rebounds per game last season. He would like to increase his points total, but Sanderson rates Hopkins on a different level than just how well he scores.

“Jason doesn’t have to score to be effective offensively,” Sanderson said. “He is a very good screener. He understands the angles. He understands how to make passes. He can benefit us in more ways that just scoring.

Veterans expected to step up

The coaching staff is looking for Michael Lusk, a junior guard known for his abilities to play defense and not make turnovers, to have breakthrough year on the offensive end of the floor.

“Michael is in a battle right now,” Sanderson said. “The first two years his role was to fit and he fit very well with the pieces that we had. This year’s role is a little bit different. We want him to do more and take his game to another level offensively.

“I know he can take it to another level defensively. If he can do that both offensively and defensively he will make our team better.”

Lakory Daniels, a senior guard, has made vast improvements heading into the season. He spent part of the summer playing in the.Dominicna Republic with the SCORE Team.

“Lakory is going to be a major contributor,” Sanderson said. “His preparation this summer and the summer tour have helped him take his game to another level. He is improving. He is making shots. He is better defensively.”

Center Thomas Pfaff also was part of the SCORE trip to the Dominican Republic. The extra plying time has also paid dividends for him as well.

“Thomas can also cover up our mistakes defensively,” Sanderson said. “He has a better offensive package than he had last season. He has slowed down a little bit and has a better understanding of what we are doing.”

Junior center Ryan Daniel played sparingly last season, but appears to fit into the new offensive system.

“Ryan has closed the gap because how we are going to play offensively better suits him,” Sanderson said. ‘He understands what we are doing. He understands screening and screening angles which will allow him to play more.”

But sophomore No. 2 guard Devon Seaford may be the player who has made the biggest strides.

“Devon is not even the sane person he was last season,” Sanderson said. “He is more like the guy we recruited. He has closed the gap on a lot of people who were ahead of him last year.

“Devon understands the intensity that we play with. He has shot the ball better than anybody on our team. He has always been a good shooter, but last year he didn’t have a lot of confidence. His defense has gotten a lot better. But the biggest thing is he is playing with confidence.

Depth is important

Senior guard Nick Hodge joined the Bisons last season during Christmas break. He saw very limited playing time last season but could be a valuable asset this season.

“If Nick cuts down on his dribbling and works on his off-ball defense he could get into the equation,” Sanderson said. “He is a good shooter and a good decision-maker.”

Junior guard Will Mantlo also returns providing depth as well as enthusiasm in practice sessions.

“Will is an absolute 100 percent great teammate,” Sanderson said. “He is a guy who can really shoot the ball and understands how to play. He is a great fit for our program.”

One of the most surprising additions to the team this season is Clayton Osborn. As a freshman he shot the game-winner at the buzzer from approximately 65 feet to defeat North Texas 75-74 in the first game played at Allen Arena Nov. 27, 2001.

Osborn left school the next year to pursue the missionary requirements for the Morman church. He also played basketball at Cal-Poly before returning to Lipscomb as a walk-on guard this season.

“Clayton is learning what we are doing offensively and defensively,” Sanderson said. “He has maturity which is in his favor. We are a different team than we were in 2001.”

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

Related Links:
 • Interview with Scott Sanderson
 • Team Photo Gallery