Men’s Basketball Expects Success With New Style of Play
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – It’s back to the drawing board for the Moravian College men’s basketball team, and the 2013-14 board is filled with optimism, high expectations and a mix of seasoned experience and promising new talent.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – It's back to the drawing board for the Moravian College men's basketball team, and the 2013-14 board is filled with optimism, high expectations and a mix of seasoned experience and promising new talent.
The Greyhounds finished with a 14-12 record last season, which ended in the ECAC Division III South Quarterfinals. That version of Greyhound basketball featured an abundance of isolation plays for D.J. Strayhorn and Garrett Johnson, who accounted for 38 percent of last year's point scoring. With last year's leading scorers graduated, 35th-year head coach Jim Walker has formulated a new plan of attack for the Moravian men.
"We are stressing ball movement and a diversified attack," said Walker, who returns eight players and two starters from last year's squad. "We have a very good balance this year. We have six players who can play multiple positions, all with experience playing those positions over the years. We don't have to rely on two guys for all of our scoring; it can come from any one of six guys on any given day. That's hard to play against from an opponent's standpoint."
Two of those players will be captains Cameron Cullen, a senior center, and Izel Dickerson, a junior guard. Cullen is the team's leading returning scorer and rebounder with 10.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game a season ago. Dickerson scored 8.1 points per game from the two-guard position last season and expects to surpass his assist total of 44 as he takes over the starting point guard spot in 2013-14.
While the two captains will be looked to for productive stat lines, that's not the most important aspect of their game.
"Their leadership will be important to our success," Walker said. "Their scoring is important for us too, but we don't have to rely on scoring from two guys like we had to last season. Each guy can be a contributor, but these two are our captains and our most experienced players. Therefore, that leadership role falls on their shoulders and that will make us a better team."
The Greyhounds were picked seventh out of eight teams in the Landmark Conference preseason coaches' poll, and Walker admits the low vote total was expected after losing his top two point scorers.
The best way to prove the voters wrong, according to the Greyhounds' veteran headman, is to execute their new style of play through building depth and never ceasing to improve and progress.
"I think everyone starts out wanting to win the conference championship," Walker said. "The only way to do that is to make the playoffs, and being a playoff team is something we are expecting to accomplish. I don't want to say we're hopeful, because it's more than that. We believe we are a playoff team."
Sophomore guard Matt Bosch and senior guard Kenny Gula fill out the returning backcourt for the Greyhounds. Gula will be the first man off the bench this season after scoring 6.6 points per game last season.
Senior center Blake English (7.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg) and sophomore swingman Jarrod Dilts complete the experienced Moravian frontcourt.
Junior winger Garrett Kashmer has shown vast improvement during the preseason and after two scrimmages Walker is expecting Kashmer to take the next step this season.
"Another key to our success will be building depth," Walker said. "That's going to come from freshmen, or from upperclassmen who have progressed enough to be able to help us. Garrett has played pretty well through all of our practices and our two scrimmages. We're hoping he's one of those guys that helps give us some depth, allowing us to overcome injuries and to be able to retain a high level of play if we're in foul trouble."
Walker listed the team's strengths as rebounding and fast-break scoring thanks to some speedy legs on the transition. In contrast, the head coach sees room for improvement on defense, especially the team concept of working together to keep points off the board.
The main focus early in the season, however, is adapting to a brand new style of offense. While the names Strayhorn and Johnson are fresh in the minds of Moravian basketball fans, Walker is confident the memories will become a little more distant as this year's Greyhounds prove what they're capable of accomplishing.
That quest officially begins this weekend at the Johns Hopkins University Blue Jay Invitational as Moravian takes on host Johns Hopkins at 8 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 15. The Greyhounds' first home game of the year is slated for Tuesday, Nov. 19 when rival Muhlenberg College comes to Johnston Hall for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
