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2002-03 Season Outlook Cedarville University expects to continue the momentum in 2002-03 that was built by last year's ball club that rolled to a 21-16 record. Third-year head coach Ray Slagle has assembled a team that has all five starters returning, depth at every position, and a wealth of experience. "It's good to play with veterans and we want to build upon last year," Slagle simply stated. "I think we'll have more depth than most teams, we'll be fresh, and offense won't be a problem. "However, there are three goals this team needs to accomplish in order to be successful. We need to shoot more free throws than our opponents, we must improve upon our field goal percentage defense, and we want to be the best rebounding team in the conference."
Leading the way will be junior swingman Josh Gast. He averaged a team-high 15.4 points per game last winter while picking up his second straight team MVP award. Gast, who is close to joining the school's 1,000 Point Club, is known for his relentless style of play on both ends of the court. Barry Chamberlin was Cedarville's best player on the floor during the last part of last season and was the only Jacket to start all 37 games. He averaged 13.2 points, a team-high 9.5 rebounds, and produced 16 double-doubles. The 6-foot-6 forward can play inside, but is an outstanding shooter from outside the arc as well. Greg Guiler and Andrey Arkhipov are two other juniors who began work on the ground floor of the program when Slagle arrived two seasons ago. Guiler, a six-foot guard, is a two-year starter who supplied 9.4 points a year ago while Arkhipov, a 6-7 center, added 6.9 points and will provide solid support in the middle.
The quarterback for all that happens is 5-11 sophomore guard Jason Weakley. Having played at Worthington High School for Slagle was an advantage for him and he responded with 10.3 points a game along with being the team-leader in assists and steals. Weakley not only sets the tone on offense but on the defensive end of the floor as well. Justin Lower returns for his second season in the backcourt. The 5-11 sophomore came off the bench with instant offense as a rookie especially with his long-range perimeter shooting. Brad Kormash, the lone senior on the roster, can mix it up inside as well as shoot the three, and junior forward Brandon Lee is ready to make a bigger contribution after seeing action in 29 games during his first year in the program. The top newcomer is 6-9 redshirt freshman Drew Borton. He decided to sit out last year, but he became familiar with the CU system by working out with the team. Now he's ready to give the Jackets stability inside. Mugabe Thomas, a 6-4 freshman from Jamaica, brings unlimited potential to the team and is the best athlete on the squad. Sophomore forward Josh Zarrilli will be seeking some action upon transferring from Walsh University and freshman guard Guy Rathmell will sit out as a "redshirt" this season.
The Jackets normally won't have a problem scoring points. They drained an NAIA Division II national record 428 three-point baskets last season on a record 1,219 attempts. Slagle doesn't plan on going for the record this time around. "We'll shoot the ball when we're open, but we need our big guys to be more assertive offensively," he said. "That should help our offensive rebounding and will give us more chances to go to the free throw line." Slagle has Cedarville playing what is arguably the most demanding schedule in school history. Seven opponents are pre-season ranked in the Top 25 of their respective NAIA Division I or II polls. The assignments also include road dates at NCAA Division I Wright State and at perennial NCAA Division III power Wittenberg. "We could be under .500 by Christmas and be a pretty good ball club," Slagle declared. "We'll focus on the fundamentals early and work at accomplishing our three goals. The longer the season goes the better we'll be." | |||||||||||||||
