By: By RICKY WEBSTER
The 2010-2011 men's basketball team will rely on plenty of new faces this season to fill some large voids.
Head coach Kevin Moore, entering his 10th season as the court general for the Blue Devils, lost seven seniors from a year ago, and will also be without projected starting center
Julius Bryant for the first semester of the season. Bryant is sidelined with a leg injury until the second semester.
The Blue Devils open their season 8 p.m. Tuesday against Penn State Behrend at the Steele Hall Fieldhouse.
The Fredonia State women meet Nazareth at 6 p.m. in the first game the doubleheader.
Among the seven seniors lost last year from the men's team was leading scorer Brad Cooper, a two-time All-SUNYAC selection and 1,000-point scorer. Cooper will stay with the team as a student assistant. “Coop was a one of a kind player and had a great worth ethic” Moore said. “He will provide experience as a player to our new guys.”
To make up for the losses, Moore and assistant coach Lester Harbin brought in seven new faces. Junior college transfer
Kevin Mitchell, brother of former Blue Devil Kyle Mitchell, will look to provide key minutes.
Adam Smith and
Branden McKenney are also transfers. All three should bring in some much-needed size to help compete in SUNYAC play. Smith stands 6-5, while Mitchell and McKenney go 6-4 each.
The Devils also have added two cousins from Fleming Island, Fla., freshmen
Curtis Fluker and
Adam Dawson.
The Blue Devils are not without experience.
Joseph Monahan played starters minutes last season and will carry at 6.2 points per game scoring average into his sophomore season.
Bryant, elected captain of the team along with
Leonard Smith, will not be easy to replace during the first semester. “I still believe,” Moore said, “Julius will be an all-conference guy even with a shortened season.” Sophomore Adam Laquier will fill in for Bryant in the interim. Laquier appeared in only five games last season.
Smith missed much of last season with a leg injury. His return will help fill some of the leadership void.
Moore sees the SUNYAC conference this year as very competitive. “The conference as a whole is wide open,” he said. “We're still looking to contend for a top four spot to reach the conference tournament.”
Coming off an 11-14 overall record and 9-9 in the conference with a sixth-place finish, Moore sees defense as a crucial aspect to the season. “It's important to get back to our defensive success,” he said. Moore also sees a balanced offensive attack this season, looking for four to five players to reach double figure scoring status while playing a more up-tempo style of basketball.
The Blue Devils play eight of their 24 games during the first semester, and six of the first eight are at home, including SUNYAC contests vs. Oswego and Cortland on Dec. 3 and Dec. 4, respectively.
