2011 Tournament Team Profiles

[stag44]

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags - Claremont, CA

Record: 21-6 (11-3 in SCIAC) - SCIAC Regular Season and Tournament Winners (A bid)

Starters:

Chris Blees (6'5 Forward)
Mike Bagby (6'4 Guard)
Pat Lacey (6'6 Center)
Joey Anderson (6'5 Forward)
Jason Toney (6'3 Point Guard)

Top Reserves:
Conner Faught
Shane Davis

Key Wins: @ Chapman (Early december)

Season summary/tournament outlook:
The Stags coming off a SCIAC championship in 08-09 started the season off shaky - Losing at Willamette and at home vs St Olaf. After the Winter break though, they rattled off a 14-1 streak. After clinching the #1 seed in the SCIAC tourney, they went on to lose their last 2 SCIAC games, to finish 11-3. In the SCIAC tourney, they came on strong defeating OXY and PP in both Hotly contested games.

[T990]

Colby College Mules
Waterville, ME

19-6 (6-3 NESCAC, 7-4 including tourney, 3 of the losses coming to top 6 natl ranked teams)
...
NCAA selection com. are you serious??

Amen, booyakasha.

[GoQuakers]

Guilford College, Greensboro, NC

26-2 (14-2  ODAC)

ODAC conference Champions

Starters:
34 Rhett Bonner
10 TC Anderson
11 Clay Henson
32 Martin Stevenson
15 Tyler Sanborn

Top Reserves:
40 Brad Monroe
21 Josh Pittman
5 Gabriel Lowder
45 Tobi Akinsola

Key Wins:
4-1 against Tournament teams:
Maryville
VWC (twice)
RMC

Key Losses:
EMU (by 27pts)

Season summary/tournament outlook:
Guilford College clinched its second Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Men's Basketball Tournament title in three years with an 81-65 victory over Randolph-Macon.

With the win, the Quakers (26-2) earn the league's automatic bid and will make their fourth consecutive national playoff appearance. Ranked fourth in this week's D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll, Guilford improved to 100-18 over the last four years.

[nescac1]

Weak participation on this thread ... bring it, folks!

[Greek Tragedy]

Bringing this forward.

[mailsy]

Cabrini College, Radnor, PA
22-5 (16-2  CSAC)

CSAC Champions

Starters:
44 Dom Farello
30 Cory Lemons
24 John Boyd
21 Fran Rafferty
32 Goran Dulac

Top Reserves:
5 Lamar Fisher
55 John Miller
10 A.J. Williams

Key Wins:
3-1 against Tournament teams:
Gwynedd Mercy (thrice)

Key Losses:
Scranton

Season summary/tournament outlook:
Cabrini clinched back to back conference championship.  Winning regular season and AQ.

Regionally ranked 3rd. No top 25 at all this year. Got votes in top 25 selections

[Bombers798891]

Ithaca College Bombers, Ithaca, N.Y.

20-6 (13-3 in E8)
Pool C bid

Starters

Phil Barera, Sr. F 6'6 - Averages 17 PPG and 8.6 RPG while shooting 65% from the floor. E8 Player of the Year
 
Sean Rossi, So. G 5'11 - Leads the country with just under 10 assists per game. Also scores at a clip of 12.1 PPG.

Jordan Marcus, Jr. G 6'2 - Averages 16.4 PPG. Shooting 44% from beyond the arc (88-207)

Chris Cruz-Rivas, Sr. G 6'3 - IC's most versitiale player. Shooting 38% from beyond the arc, but can also get to the hole. Averaging 14.3 PPG and 8.4 RPG

Miles Grier, Fr. G 6'3 - One of IC's best defenders. Easily the most athletic player on the squad. Has grown offensively and now averages 8.5 PPG in only 18 minutes.

Key Reserves

Andrei Oztemel, So. F 6'6 - Essentially a three-point specialist. Shooting 41% from beyond the arc (87-213).

Christian Jordan, Fr. G 6'0 - Really the guy IC turns to when they need defense, but can hit a three at times. Aggressive defender, and will get in your face. Late in close games, the Bombers sometimes alternate him with Oztemel in a defense/offense rotation.

IC really only plays those seven guys. Eric Halejian saw a little bit of playing time at the point, and Sinjin Whitman will get some time if Barera is in foul trouble. The Bombers are small, but play up-tempo and launch a lot of three pointers. You can score on them, but if you're poorly conditioned, they can run you off the court.

[7express]

Western Connecticut (Danbury, CT).

Pool C bid, LEC co-champions

Usual starters:
11) David Addy- sr
22) Wilburt Jarrett- sr
23) DaQuan Brooks- jr
24) Gary Robinson- jr
25) Mark Redding- jr

Normal bench rotation:
2) Jengodji Gates- fr
3) Rob Bentil- jr
4) Ryan Pellitier- so
12) Russell Payton- fr
14) Jon Phillips- sr

[nescac1]

Williams: Pool C, NESCAC runner-up

Staters w/ key stats:

Troy Whittington, center, 6'6 Sr., 17 ppg, 9 rpg, 2 bpg, 2 apg, .73 fgp, .77 fta
Harlan Dodson, forward, 6'8, Sr., 5 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 32 of his 51 made fgs from three
James Klemm, forward/guard, 6'3, So., 11 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 76/98 fgs from three
Nate Robertson, guard, 6'3, So., 7 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1 spg, .5 bpg, .56 fgp
James Wang, guard, 6'0, Jr., 18 ppg, 5 rpg, 4 apg, 1 spg, .50/.45/.85 shooting, 70 threes

Reserves:

Brian Emerson, forward/center, 6'8, Jr., 6 ppg, 4 rpg, 1 bpg, 17 threes
Hayden Rooke-Ley, guard, 6'2, Fr., 6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.5 apg
Taylor Epley, forward, 6'4, Fr., 6 ppg, 2 rpg
Jordan Mickens, forward/guard, 6'3, So., 3 ppg, 1.5 rpg

6'9 first year Michael Mayer, a very promising talent, provides depth up front and will play vs. certain match-ups or when there is foul tor injury trouble, he averages 4 ppg and 2 rpg.  

With Williams, everything starts with Wang and Whittington, who are both all-American caliber players.  Nate Robertson is the third key player, a facilitator / glue guy, and tremendous defender, who makes everyone around him better and whose contributions can't be measured by stats.  He has an ankle injury but hopefully should be back at some point fairly soon.  James Klemm runs hot and cold, but can provide a potent third scoring option (season high of 31 points) when he is in a groove.  The rest of the players are solid role-players and all can shoot, led by sixth man Brian Emerson who has been playing more in recent weeks and provides a little extra size / bulk on the interior plus another shooter, and combo guard Rooke-Ley, who backs up Wang and Robertson and will play big minutes  if Robertson's inury lingers.  

Williams does not shoot the ball at close to last year's historic levels, but they are a bit deeper, more athletic, and tougher defensively and on the boards, which has made up the difference.  Last year Williams had tremendous luck with injuries, while they have been banged up a bit this year, but otherwise the teams are fairly equal overall.    

[Titan Q]

Illinois Wesleyan (Bloomington, IL) - Midwest Region, College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin

19-8 overall/9-5 CCIW

Pool C entrant

Starters
G Eliud Gonzalez (5-9/170, Jr.) - 3.5 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 1.9 apg
G Sean Johnson (6-1/185, Sr.) – 15.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.3 apg (2nd Team All-CCIW)
F Jordan Zimmer (6-5/190, Jr.) – 11.6 ppg, 2.2 rpg (3rd Team All-CCIW)
F John Koschnitzky (6-6/200, Jr.) – 8.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg
C Doug Sexauer (6-7/225, Sr.) – 13.8 ppg, 6.1 rpg (1st Team All-CCIW)

Top Reserves
C Ryan Connolly (6-9/275, Jr.) – 6.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg
G Matt Schick (6-4/200, Sr.) – 5.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.4 apg

Notable Injuries
G Travis Rosenkranz (concussion) - senior PG, 4-year starter, 3rd Team All-CCIW as JR


Notes
Illinois Wesleyan makes its 20th appearance in the NCAA Division III tournament in 28 years of affiliation.  The Titans are 42-19 (.689) in tournament play, including Final Four appearances in Salem, Virginia in 1996, 1997, 2001, and 2006.  IWU won the national championship in 1997.  Last season IWU advanced to the Elite 8, losing @ eventual national champion UW-Stevens Point.

The 2010-11 Titans are a very experienced squad, featuring 2 seniors and 3 juniors in the starting lineup.  IWU is a very balanced offensive team, led by senior low-post player Doug Sexauer (13.8 ppg), senior shooting guard Sean Johnson (15.7 ppg), and junior wing Jordan Zimmer (11.6 ppg, 43-101 3-pt).  The Titans average 74.5 points per contest.

Illinois Wesleyan has had to overcome several significant injuries this season.  Both returning starting forwards from 2009-10, 6-5 Jordan Zimmer and 6-6 John Koschnitzky, missed most of the non-conference season.  Returning senior PG Travis Rosenkranz missed 9 CCIW games (including the conference tournament) -- 4 games early in the CCIW schedule due to an ankle injury, and the last 5 with a severe concussion suffered at Wheaton.  He is out indefinitely and has been replaced in the starting lineup with junior Eliud Gonzalez

The Titans open the NCAA tournament at the St. Thomas regional.  IWU will face UW-River Falls, with the winner taking on either the host Tommies or Northwestern (MN).

[ScotsFan]

College Of Wooster Fighting Scots, Wooster, OH

NCAC Regular Season and Tournament Champions
26-2 (14-2 in NCAC)

Starters:

Ian Franks - sr - G - 6'4" - 18.3 ppg (Two-time NCAC POY, All-America candidate and finalist for the Jostens Trophy for DIII POY)
Nathan Balch - sr - G - 6'1" - 12.9 ppg (First team all-NCAC, best 3-point shooter percentage wise)
Justin Hallowell - jr - F - 6'7" - 11.5 ppg (Second team all-NCAC, most 3-pointers made on the team)
Bryan Wickliffe - sr - F/C - 6'5" - 9.9 ppg (Second team all-NCAC, plays bigger than he is; thrives on taking on bigger players inside)
Matt Fegan - jr - G - 6'1" -  6.5 ppg (plays the point)

Key Reserves:

Justin Warnes - jr - G - 6'2" - 3.2 ppg (more of a defensive stopper than a scorer)
Josh Claytor - so - F - 6'7" - 4.4 ppg (usually spells Wickliffe)
Jake Mays - so - F/C - 6'8" - 4.1 ppg (also in Wooster's rotation of big men)
Ryan Snyder - fr - G - 6' - 3.2 ppg
Mike Evans - jr - F - 6'4" - 2.7 ppg (thought to play a more prominent role until a pre season injury sidelined him for over half of the season;  has been struggling to find more minutes)

Notes:

Wooster just completed their 7th straight NCAC regular season championship and 3rd straight NCAC tournament championship.  They are making their 20th overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament and their 9th consecutive trip to the dance.  Wooster has also qualified for the tournament 19 of the last 21 years!  The Scots' all-time record in the tournament stands at an even 20-20.  They 13-5 in games played at Timken Gymnasium (which is where they open tournament play this weekend   ), 6-5 at neutral sites, and 1-10 in true road games   . Wooster has advancexd as far as the Sweet 16 six times over the last 12 years (including last year where they bowed out @ Guilford who made it to Salem), and reached the Final Four in both 2003 and 2007.  

If we are talking trends, Wooster should be due to make another run to Salem.  Seeing as how their last 2 appearances were four years apart in 2003 and in 2007, 2011 would follow precedent for Wooster to make it back to the Final 4!  

[mass_d3fan]

Worcester Polytechnic Institute Engineers (Worcester, MA) - Northeast Region, New England Women's And Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC)

22-5 Overall/11-1 NEWMAC

Pool C entrant

Coach
Chris Bartley – 10th Year (173-45) – NEWMAC Coach of The Year

Starters
G Kyle Nadeau (5-8, Sr) – 7.1 ppg, 2.4 apg
G David Brown (6-4, Jr.) – 1.8 ppg, 1.1 rpg
F Ben Etten (6-5, Sr.) – 5.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.6 apg
F Joe Wesoloski (6-6, So.) – 2.6 ppg, 1.6 rpg
C Matt Carr (6-7, Jr.) – 12.2 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.7 bpg (1st Team All-NEWMAC)

Top Reserves
G Jeff Robinson (6-3, Sr.) – 15.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.5 apg (NEWMAC Player of the Year)
F Fernando Perez (6-4, Jr.) – 6.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg
G Jaime Shannon (5-10, Jr.) – 4.6 ppg, 2.1 apg
F Jerome Stewart (6-5, Jr.) – 5.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg
F Fernando Perez (6-4, Jr.) – 6.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg

Remainder of Roster
G Ryan Stock (6-2, Sr.) – 0.7 ppg, 0.4 rpg
C Jameel Galloway (6-7, So.) – 1.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg
G/F Ricardo Bonhomme (6-3, So.) – 1.6 ppg, 1.5 rpg
G Mike Byron (6-0, So.) – 2.1 ppg, 1.0 rpg
G Craig Melillo (6-0, So.) – 1.9 ppg
F Ryan Kolb (6-5, Fr.) – 2.7 ppg, 1.9 rpg
G David White (6-0, Fr.) – 2.9 ppg, 1.3 rpg


Notes
WPI is appearing in its 6th NCAA Tournament in the last 7 years. The Engineers reached the Sweet 16 in 2005. This year the team went 22-4 in Division 3 placing as high as 10th in the D3Hoops National Poll.  They finished third behind Williams & Middlebury in the final NCAA Northeast Regional Rankings.

The 2010-11 Engineers are a balanced veteran team. They have consistently one of the best defensive teams in the country all season.  They are 9th in the country in scoring defense, 20th in Field Goal PCT Defense, 7th in 3PT FG PCT Defense and 11th in scoring margin. They are led by NEWMAC POY Jeff Robinson and First Team All-Conference center Matt Carr. Midway through the season, Coach Bartley started using Robinson as the 6th man.  He is the team's leading scorer and assists man. He is at his best when he is mixing up his jumper with his ability to drive and get to the rim.  Carr is team's leading rebounder and second in scoring.  He is a very good low post player who can work well on either block.  He is also a very solid low post defender.  Ben Etten has been a 4-year contributor to the program as a top defender and rebounder.  He is usually lined up on the opposition's top scorer.  Kyle Nadeau and Jamie Shannon split the duties at the point.  Nadeau is a streaky 3-point shooter and is second on the team in assists.  Shannon is a very quick penetrator who can finish as well as find his teammates.  Joe Wesoloski has emerged this year as a solid defender at forward spot who can provide some offense when needed.  Fernando Perez is another good defender and rebounder who operates down low on offense.  David Brown is a defense specialist good passer at the guard position.  Carr suffered a sprained ankle in the conference semi-finals last weekend, but is expected to be fine for Friday.  Robinson was hit in the head late in the conference finals and received stitches for pretty good gash.  He too is expected to fully ready for opening game.

WPI is hosting on the opening weekend.  The Engineers will play Bridgewater State on Friday after the Amherst/Skidmore contest.

[pbrooks3]

Centre College (1,200 students)
Danville KY (population 18,000; 35 miles south of Lexington) geographic "centre" of Kentucky

In 2010, Forbes Magazine named Centre best educational institution of higher education in the South.  Centre hosted 2000 Vice-Presidential debate.

Record: 21-5 (13-3 SCAC); member of Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

Key Wins: Birmingham-Southern @ home; DePauw; Trinity; Oglethorpe
Key Loss: Transylvania

Centre defeated DePauw in the SCAC tournament final Sunday to earn the Pool A bid for a third consecutive year. The team finished 7-0 against Western Division opponents in the league.  The Colonels have been a solid performer on the road this year having lost only twice.  

This is Centre's 5th consecutive trip to the tournament. Last year the Colonels lost an opening round game at Eastern Mennonite. Centre got to the 2nd round in both 2007 and 2008. The team enjoyed a 25-game win streak during the 2007-08 campaign & was ranked as high as #2 in the country.

Starters:
P Alex Lloyd 6'8 1/2" Sr. (9.7 RPG; 9.5 PPG; 60 FG%; 1.4 blocks per game)
PF Greg Ross 6'4" Jr. (15.6 PPG; 6.8 RPG; 51 FG%; 86 FT%)
SF Donavan Whiteside 6'3" Fr. (8.7 PPG; 4.4 RPG; 47 FG%; 75 FT%; 1.4 steals per game)
SG Bryon Ellis 5'10" So. (8.2 PPG; 40 3PT% FG; 81 FT%)
PG Jeff Mullaney 6'2" Jr. (10.4 PPG; 3.7 APG; 75% FT%)

Bench:
SG Collin Lopez 6'2" Fr. (5.0 PPG; 71 FT%)
P Kyle Binder 6'6" Jr. (2.6 PPG)
PF/SF Taylor Newsome 6'3" Fr. (1.4 PPG; 2.1 RPG)
PG Matt Griggs 5' 10" So. (1.8 PPG; 35 3PT%)
PG Dee Smith 5'6" Jr. (1.8 PPG; 50 3PT%; 86 FT%)


Style of Play: Centre plays a half-court brand of hoops structured on superior passing for high percentage looks. This year's squad is balanced with inside scoring coming primarily from Ross and Lloyd.  Ross can drain open 3's.  Colonels lead the SCAC in rebounding and rebounding margin (+8) with Lloyd the conference rebounding champ.  Whiteside and Mullaney are the team's most athletic players who are capable of scoring in a variety of ways. Ellis is the 3-point artist with decent range beyond the arc. Defense is Centre's moniker as they hold opponents to 55.3 points per game and 39.1% FG shooting.  Lopez is the best scoring option off the bench.  

Centre plays against the host school, Marietta College in the opening round.

[Pinecone_Curtain]

Forgive me if someone else posted one for Whitworth, but I looked and had not seen one yet.

Whitworth Pirates

Record: 26-1 (overall), 17-1 (NWC, including playoffs)
Coach: Jim Hayford

Starters:
G- Wade Gebbers (8.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 3.4 apg)
G- Clay Gebbers (6.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.1 apg)
G- Michael Taylor (19.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.5 apg, 53% from 3)
G/F- David Riley (16.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg)
F- Felix Friedt (12.4 ppg, 7 rpg)

Key Reserves:
F- Jack Loofburrow (12.4 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 46% from 3)
G- Chase Ramey (2.3 ppg)

Key Wins:
Neutral Site vs. Carthage 81-69
@Lewis & Clark 77-60, vs. Lewis & Clark 79-52
@CMS 79-64
Neutral Site vs. Ripon 76-65

Key Loss:
@Whitman 82-79 (Whitworth was up 21 at one point in the 2nd half)

Season Summary/Tournament Outlook:
At this point, pretty much everyone knows everything about the No. 1 seed heading into the tournament. They rely on two scorers: Michael Taylor (Brewster) and David Riley. They have plenty of role players who know and play their roles well: The Defender (Clay Gebbers), The Bruiser (Felix Friedt), The Sparkplug (Wade Gebbers), and The All-Around Guy (Jack Loofburrow). But this team only goes about six-deep, though their bench guys have played well in garbage time against other team's starters.

The Bucs beat some early season favorites including a preseason top five team (Carthage) and three others receiving votes (Ripon, Loras, CMS), then took out Lewis & Clark on the road who bounced in and out of the top 25. Though they lost one game to Whitman when they let up on the gas in the second half, they have not otherwise been truly tested this year. On paper this team is as talented as any in the country, but an injury or a close game could really test this team. But overall, this team is just plain efficient on both ends of the court.

[frodotwo]

UW-Stevens Point Pointers

2010-2011 overall record  24-3 (13-0 home  -- 7-3 road -- 4-0 neutral)
WIAC Conference 14-2 (1st) Conference tourney champion third straight season
Current win streak at 12 games and 19 of last 20

Signature wins:    Beat #20 Ramapo 85-74 (N); Beat #10 River Falls 86-70 (H);
         Beat #22 River Falls 79-56 (H)
Losses:   At #42 River Falls 73-60; at #7 St. Thomas 61-54; at Platteville 57-56

Offensive averages      80.0 ppg   52.6 fg pct       22.4 ppg scoring margin
Defensive averages      57.6 ppg   39.8 fg pct       +4.6 turnover margin
23-1 in games decided by more than 10 pts
Currently #3 in D3Hoops.com poll and defending NCAA DIII National Champion

Starters - Jerrel Harris So 5'10" G    15.3 ppg    54% fg pct    82% ft pct
          Louis Hurd    Sr 6'5"  F      11.4 ppg    52% fg pct    4.7 rpg
          Nick Krull      Sr 6'7" F          5.3 ppg    56% fg pct    4.8 rpg
        Scott Hoelzel Sr 6'6" F         7.0 ppg    66% fg pct    5.0 rpg
          Tyler Tillema So 6'3" G        9.7 ppg    52% fg pct    2.4 apg

The Pointers have 10 players that average over 13 minutes per game and no one over 27. Those same players all average over 5 ppg and only 3 shoot less than 52% from the field. The availability of 6'4" Dan Tillema (9.9 ppg 4.0 rpg) is in question due to an elbow injury that caused him to miss the last six games. Top subs include 6'8" Jordan Brezinski (7 ppg 70% fg pct), 6'2" Vinny Ritchay (5.3 ppg 59.5% 3pt pct) and 5'11" Jordan Giordana (5.3 ppg 48% 3pt pct). Krull, Harris and Hurd were all recently named first team All-WIAC

Point plays a tough man-to-man help defense, is #6 nationally in scoring defense and #31 in FG pct defense. Krull is the defensive stopper, and has guarded SG, SF, PF and C as needed  They lead the country in shooting pct, and have shot less than 48% in only 3 games all year. Point will always look to score inside, but will take shots from outside when open, shooting almost 40% (#15 nationally) beyond the arc. Are very disciplined and unselfish on offense and have a 1.27 A/TO ratio, are +5 in rebounding margin and +4.5 in TO margin. Hurd has stepped up his play since D. Tillema went out with the injury and has become the go to player on the team, much like Matt Moses did last year at tournament time. Harris continues to amaze with his ability to go to the hoops against taller players inside, but also has filled up the hoop from the outside.