Oct. 22, 2008

 

2008-09 NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Season Preview

 

Heading into the 2008-09 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Division I Men's Basketball season, numerous teams are, once again, in contention for the 72^nd Annual Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship trophy in Kansas City, Mo. The Championship is the longest continuous national collegiate tournament in any sport across any division and this year, will have a new look. The Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC), once members of NAIA Division II, was accepted into Division I recently and will host the 2009 Championships at Municipal Auditorium.

 

Since 2000, eight of the nine national champions have been crowned from different schools. Last season, Oklahoma City won its second straight ring. The last six championships have been decided by fewer than 10 points, including last year's OCU 75-72 win over Mountain State (W.Va.). Typically, a No. 1 seed has one of the less challenging paths in the tournament, however, that has not been the recent trend in the NAIA. In fact, the No. 1 team in the tournament did not make the title game in the last four Championships.

 

Oklahoma City, which won its NAIA record sixth title last season, will have to reload without its head coach and over 80 percent of its scoring gone from 2008. Kevin Morrissey takes over the coaching reins and looks to guide OCU to its fourth straight Sooner Athletic Conference regular-season title. The Stars went 31-7 and were the first No. 7 seed to win the national championship since 1957. Gone are three All-Americans including First Teamer Ollie Bailey who went for averages of 18.7 points and 8.3 rebounds last year.

 

"There are high expectations at OCU," said Morrissey. "What Coach Harper (former head coach) and Coach Wade (former assistant coach) did was very remarkable. It will be difficult to repeat that. We have talented players, but we lost a lot from last year's team, and we play in a difficult, competitive league."

 

Georgetown, a heavyweight the past few seasons, went 35-0 before bowing out in the 2008 Semifinals. NAIA Honorable Mention All-American Demetrius Guions (15.1 ppg; 7.1 rpg) is expected back for the Tigers, who look to win at least 25 games for the 18^th straight season. Head coach Happy Osborne knows that even with four players back from the Semifinal squad last year, there are big challenges to repeat that performance.

 

"We must be able to rebound and replace our four seniors from last year to be able to pick up where we left off.  It was a special year last season and we will work hard to try to duplicate it. David Graham, Guions, Jerry Turner and Kyle Saxton are key players for us. They have been through the wars and know what it takes to win."

 

Robert Morris (Ill.), which made it to the Quarterfinals, is high on everyone's list to return to the Championship. The Eagles finished 28-4 last year and head coach Al Bruehl is expecting big things from NCAA Division I transfer, DeAndre Thomas, who came from Indiana. The most notable void is Othyus Jeffers, who was first among the regulars in scoring (22.2), rebounding (9.1), field goal percentage (60.2), steals (79) and blocks (22).

 

Mountain State (W.Va.) is another team that always seems to be in the mix. The Cougars came up short in the 2008 title bout and went 34-3 last season. MSU will have to move ahead this year without NAIA First Team All-American James Spencer, who averaged better than 24 points last season. The prize recruit, according to head coach Bob Bolen, is St. Petersburg (Fla.) Community College transfer, Marcus Hunter, who averaged around 23 points last year. Bolen, who is 343-102 entering his 15^th season, talks about the following keys heading into 2008-09.

 

"Although we have a lot of new faces at MSU, our expectations remain the same - to have this team ready to compete for a national championship in March. We know that we have a tremendous amount of work ahead of us. Although we don't have any big name Division I transfers, we feel that we have a great group of guys that are willing to work hard enough to be able to compete at the highest NAIA level."

 

Four starters are expected to return for Lee (Tenn.) from a 33-2 club, including Elmar Kuli-Zade (12.1 ppg, 3.6 apg). The surprise team from last year, Campbellsville (Ky.), welcomes back six veterans including Zach Allender. Allender earned NAIA Second Team All-America honors in 2007 before sitting out 2008 with a knee injury. Oklahoma Baptist is another strong program under head coach Doug Tolin. Making eight straight national tournament appearances, the Bison will need senior Brent Jones, a NAIA Honorable Mention All-American who averaged 16.3 points and 3.8 assists, to continue his 2007-08 form.

 

"We obviously want to go farther (than last year)," said Tolin. "We've got guys on the team that we think can get us where we want to go, but this isn't fantasy football where you just choose your players and watch them go. This team could really be good, but this team hasn't done anything yet. Brent (Jones) has a different gear than most guys in the league... He's got to make other players better by using his ability to get in and get the ball to them."

 

The National Championship will be contested from March 18-24 from Kansas City's historic Municipal Auditorium. Considered the nation's toughest college basketball tournament, there will be 32 teams completing in 31 games in a seven-day span.

 

Highlights

·          Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) will serve as host of the 72^nd Annual National Championship from March 18-24, 2009 in Kansas City, Mo.

 

·          Players to Watch: Zach Allender, Campbellsville (Ky.); Demetrius Guions, Georgetown (Ky.); Jon Meriweather, Park (Mo.); Eric Palm, McKendree (Ill.); Mark Roussin, California Baptist

 

·          Georgetown (Ky.) owns the most Championship wins (49) of any NAIA program in history

 

·          Oklahoma City won its record sixth NAIA Championship and second straight in 2008. It was the first time since Life (Ga.) won back-to-back rings in 1999 and 2000

 

·          Campbellsville, unseeded in the Championship, advanced to the 2008 Semifinals and finished 26-10

 

·          The preseason NAIA Men's Basketball Top 25 Coaches' Poll will be announced on Oct. 27

2008-09 NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Season Preview

 

The 2008-09 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Division II Men's Basketball season is just around the corner and all 149 programs are in search of the 18^th Annual National Championship hardware. This year's tournament will again be held in Point Lookout, Mo., on the campus of College of the Ozarks (Mo.) from March 11-17. All teams have their eye on the prize but a few teams stand out during the preseason workouts.

 

A heavy favorite to make a run at the end is defending national champion Oregon Tech. The Hustlin' Owls took down No. 1 seed Bellevue (Neb.), 63-56 to win its second ever National Championship. That battle was a rematch of the 2004 Championship, won by Oregon Tech in its second Championship appearance. OIT finished 31-6 and senior Ryan Fiegi was honored as the NABC/State Farm Player of the Year. The product of Medford, Ore., averaged over 20 points and graduated second in career scoring (1,924).

 

Three seniors are back including posts Christian Cavanaugh (13.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg) and Josh Wetzler (9.8 ppg, 9.0 rpg). Junior transfer Justin Parnell, who arrives from NCAA Division II Northwest Nazarene (Ore.), put up averages of 12.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game last season.

 

Despite Fiegi's absence in 2008-09, head coach Danny Miles, who is entering his 38^th season with 847 career wins, mentions that his club is ready to defend the hardware.

 

"We return everyone but the national player of year. (We are counting on an) outstanding replacement at that position that should keep the Owls a serious national top 10 team."

 

The Red Raiders of Northwestern (Iowa), a team that has reeled off 10 straight trips to the Championship and 13 overall, are prepped for its 11^th straight appearance. Northwestern will be without two-time NAIA First Team All-American Chad Schuiteman and 2008 Second Teamer Curt Schilling. However, three-year starters Kale Wiertzema and Andrew Stimson return for head coach Kris Korver. Wiertzema is the lone double-figure scorer returning after he went for 13.3 points last year. Stimson posted 8.8 points and 2.5 assists.

 

Northwestern prides itself on free-throw shooting and holding a distinct advantage in points from the stripe. The Red Raiders set a Tournament record last season by connecting on 108 charity tosses (out of 137 attempts). As a team, it ranked No. 5 in the country last year in percentage (.894).

 

"We have a lot of guys with tons of big game preparation, experiences and successes," said Korver, who is entering his eighth season. "We have guys with high levels of expectations. We have many individuals who have paid their dues the last couple of years---guys who have been faithfully preparing for the chance to showcase their talents. Our expectations are always high and we believe in this group of young men."

 

The national runners-up, Bellevue (Neb.), will attempt to make its seventh straight trip to the Championship. Finishing 33-4 overall last year, the 2008-09 edition will be without its top three scorers. Senior Jerrod Tucker is the highest returning scorer with a 7.9 average last season. The Bruins, who were picked third in the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference preseason poll, get it done with defense. They ranked in the Top 10 nationally last season in several defensive lists including fourth in scoring defense (61.4) and sixth in field goal percentage defense (.400).

 

Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.), picked No. 1 in the tough Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) over teams such as Northwestern and Morningside (Iowa), is a team that could be a national contender. The Tigers return senior Preston Broughton, a First Team All-American last season with averages of 17.9 points and 8.8 rebounds. DWU went 24-9 last year and qualified for the Championships for the third time overall.

 

Morningside, a No. 3 seed in the 2008 Championships which was bounced in the second round, has to replace seven seniors who graduated from a 28-3 club. Seth Atkins is the lone returner expected back as he averaged 12.6 points and a team-high 6.2 rebounds last year. Head coach Jim Sykes does not change his expectations despite a "re-loading" phase.

 

"Our expectations for each year do not change," said Sykes. "We want to win the conference championship. Sure, there will be some questions as we graduated seven seniors, but we are hoping by the end of the season those questions will be answered. (Atkins) has had a great off season and we look for big things out of him this winter."

 

A program with consistency on the national scale, Huntington (Ind.) looks to get back to the Championships after taking a year's absence. The Foresters finished 22-10 last year and missed out in the tournament for the first time in seven years. Expect big things from center Bobby Jolliff, a NCAA Division I transfer from Eastern Illinois University. Jolliff and teammates will have to fill the void of NAIA First Team All-American Doug Sheckler, who averaged 18.2 points and 1.6 blocks per game last year.

 

Another team sure to be in the national mix is the Championship hosts, College of the Ozarks. C of O has made it to nine straight Championships and owns the 2006 national championship ring. Finishing 27-6 overall last year and a Quarterfinalist participant, the Bobcats bring back the core of last season's team with senior starters Corey Stone (16.4 ppg) and Colt Blair (10.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg). Bruno Neves, a 6-8 sophomore from Brazil, joins the team as he transferred from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College.

 

The 32-team, single elimination Championships takes place in Keeter Gymnasium in Point Lookout, Mo. from March 11-17, 2009. A few notable teams will not be participating as the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) moved to Division I. The 2007 champion and runner-up from last season, MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), along with long-time Division II powers William Jewell (Mo.) and Evangel (Mo.) will not be participants.

 

Highlights

·          The Heart of America Athletic Conference has transitioned from Division II to Division I starting in 2008-09 - three teams typically make some noise in the Championships including 2007 national champion MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.).

·          NAIA First Team All-Americans expected back: Mount Vernon Nazarene's (Ohio) Ben Falkenberg (21.5 ppg, 111 assists); Northwood's (Fla.) DeSean White (17.6 ppg, 8.7 rpg); Dakota Wesleyan's (S.D.) Preston Broughton (17.9 ppg, 8.8 rpg).

·          The Championship hosts, College of the Ozarks (Mo.), have made successful Tournament runs the past several seasons including Quarterfinalist (2007 & 2008) and national champion (2006).

·          Oregon Tech won its second ever National Championship in 2008 with a 63-56 win over Bellevue (Neb.) -- the game was a rematch of the 2004 National Championship.

·          The 2009 National Championship will be hosted for the 10^th straight year by College of the Ozarks from March 11-17 in Point Lookout, Mo.

·          The 2009 Division II Preseason Top 25 Coaches' Poll will be announced Monday, Oct. 27.