D-I Independents 2007-08 Preview
Schools with no conference affiliation don’t have it easy. Their schedules typically include a number of road games, while they don’t have a real vehicle to get to the NCAA Tournament. Indeed, just getting to the NIT is rare without a conference, although Oral Roberts pulled it off a decade ago. Utah Valley State went 22-7 last season and didn’t play a postseason game.
A common thread in recent years among independents is new Division I schools, and that remains for now. Three schools are new to Division I this year, while New Jersey Institute of Technology just joined last season. Three more are expected to join next season, while one newcomer this time around, Presbyterian College, will leave for the Big South.
Only one independent school has a new head coach, as Chicago State fired Kevin Jones and hired former Tulane assistant Benjy Taylor to run the show. The program left the Mid-Continent Conference (now the Summit League) two years ago.
Top Independent Players
Kirk Williams, Jr. F, Longwood
Brian Burrell, Sr. G, Texas-Pan American
David Holston, Jr. G, Chicago State
Paul Stoll, Sr. G, Texas-Pan American
Ryan Toolson, Jr. G, Utah Valley State
Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners (15-14)
Projected Starters:
Sr. G Zack Grasmick (6.8 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.9 apg)
Jr. G Terrence Johns (junior college transfer)
So. G-F Trent Blakley (6.0 ppg, 3.4 rpg)
Sr. F Rick Robinson (5.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg)
Sr. F Demarcus Hall (3.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg)
Schedule Highlights: 14 home games are on tap for the Roadrunners, including two four-game homestands. They play home-and-home with Cal State Fullerton, Weber State, San Jose State, Utah Valley State, Long Beach State and Texas-Pan American. They play Fresno State, Oregon State and Utah State at home and Big West contender Cal Poly and Wyoming on the road.
Outlook: The Roadrunners have a long winning tradition in Division II and will try to carry that over into the Division I ranks. Their inaugural season is one where they bring back just one full-time starter, though Blakley, Robinson and Hall each started at least four games last season. Grasmick looks to be the likely point guard after starting 25 games last season, though not at the point, and Johns is his most likely partner, with Blakley and junior college transfer Ryan Brown likely to split time on the wing. Hall and Robinson have experience in the frontcourt, but don’t be surprised if junior college transfers Santwon Latunde and Donald Lee get a lot of minutes right away or even start. They also have more size with redshirt freshman Cory Brown, who needs to get stronger.
Chicago State Cougars (9-20)
Projected Starters:
Jr. G David Holston (15.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.4 apg, 1.5 spg)
Jr. G John Cantrell (12.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.4 apg, 2.0 spg)
Sr. G Kevin Jones, Jr. (4.8 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 1.8 apg)
Jr. F Tawrence Walton (junior college transfer)
Sr. C Chidozie Chukwumah (3.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.2 bpg)
Schedule Highlights: Ten home games are on tap, highlighted by a five-game stretch in January that includes a game against Northwestern. The Cougars will be in the College Basketball Experience at Michigan State, the Drake Regency Classic in Iowa and the Lou Henson Classic at New Mexico State. They play home-and-homes with Cal State Northridge, Binghamton, Summit League favorite IUPUI, Utah Valley State, New Jersey Institute of Technology and Texas-Pan American (whom they play in consecutive games). Road highlights include Illinois State, MAC contender Miami (Ohio), Indiana and Alabama.
Outlook: Benjy Taylor is the latest to try his hand with this program, one that has had a lot of struggles over the years, and this season doesn’t look to be any different. Chukwumah and Jones, Jr. (the son of the former head coach) are the only seniors on the roster, and they’ll need newcomers to play right away and especially up front. Holston and Cantrell are a good backcourt to start with, and there is some size among the newcomers like freshmen Carl Montgomery, Hajj Martin, Pawel Kielbasa and Nemanja Stankovic, all of whom stand at least 6’7″ and the latter two each at 6’10”.
Longwood Lancers (9-22)
Projected Starters:
Sr. G Brandon Giles (5.9 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 3.5 apg)
So. G Kevin Swecker (4.8 ppg, 1.5 rpg)
Jr. G-F Dana Smith (redshirt)
Sr. F Lamar Barrett (5.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.8 apg)
Jr. F Kirk Williams (10.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.1 apg)
Schedule Highlights: The Lancers will play 12 home games, including three straight to start the season and highlighted by a visit from Ivy League favorite Yale. They play home-and-homes with Navy, Liberty, High Point, Stetson, Campbell, Savannah State and New Jersey Institute of Technology. They will play in the Chicago Invitational Challenge at Indiana and Kent State, and road games of note include trips to Virginia, George Washington, Boston College and Hofstra.
Outlook: The Lancers lose their top two scorers, including do-everything wing Maurice Sumter, and will have to be more balanced. Giles is a capable floor leader and will have to score more, while Smith started out well in the first three games before suffering a season-ending knee injury. Junior college transfer Ryan Bogan looks like the best of the newcomers on the perimeter. Williams and Barrett are an effective frontcourt, one without a lot of proven depth or size. Freshman Jeff Ryan could get some minutes right away, as could Brandon Evans.
New Jersey Institute of Technology Highlanders (5-24)
Projected Starters:
Sr. G Kraig Peters (11.0 pg, 3.6 rpg, 1.3 apg)
Sr. G Courcy Magnus (2.7 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 1.0 apg)
Jr. F Kyle Edwards (redshirt)
Jr. F Nesho Milosevic (8.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg)
So. C Dan Stonkus (5.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.4 bpg)
Schedule Highlights: The Highlanders will play 12 home games, four of them off-campus at the Prudential Center in Newark. Highlighting the home games are America East contender Vermont, Rutgers, Ivy League contenders Columbia and Cornell, and MAAC contender Loyola (Md.). They will play home-and-homes with Chicago State, Texas-Pan American, Longwood and Utah Valley State. They also play in the NIT Season Tip-Off at Washington and the UCF Holiday Classic, and also hit the road to play at Fordham and Ivy League contender Penn.
Outlook: The second Division I season for the Highlanders figures to include more growing pains, as they have just three seniors on the roster and lost their top scorer from last season. Peters is a good starting point on the perimeter, but after him there are questions as Magnus will be pressed into a larger role and the point guard spot is up for grabs among newcomers like freshmen Brendan Lyn and Tyler Epps. The frontcourt won’t have the same questions, as Edwards returns from an injury and Milosevic and Stonkus should hold down the fort inside for the next couple of seasons.
North Carolina Central Eagles (13-15 in Division II)
Projected Starters:
Jr. G J’Mell Walters (redshirt)
Jr. G Bryan Ayala (9.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 4.5 apg, 2.2 spg)
So. F Joshua Worthy (2.1 ppg, 1.6 rpg)
Fr. F Calvin Wright
Fr. F Marius Vaskys
Schedule Highlights: Seven home games are on tap, including the RTP Hilton Classic that they host in late December and half of a home-and-home with Coppin State and Utah Valley State. They will travel for another tournament, the Drake Tournament on November 30 and December 1. The road slate is murderous: Duke, Rutgers, Florida, North Dakota State and Wake Forest just before they come home, then they later go to Davidson, MAC contender Akron, Sun Belt favorite Western Kentucky, Creighton, Nebraska, MAC favorite Western Michigan and North Carolina State.
Outlook: The first season in Division I figures to be a long one for the Eagles, as they play a brutal schedule and have just one senior on the roster and one starter returning. Ayala is the best returning player, though Walters played well in two games before being forced to redshirt. Vaskys is thought to be the best of the newcomers, and he along with the other four newcomers should have plenty of opportunities right away.
Presbyterian College Blue Hose (20-9 in NCAA Division II)
Projected Starters:
Sr. G Ryan Lamb (2.3 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 1.8 apg)
Sr. G Pat Kiscaden (6.7 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 1.0 apg)
Jr. F Travis Sligh (4.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg)
Jr. F Bryan Bostic (9.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.8 apg)
Sr. C Martynas Versinskas (7.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg)
Schedule Highlights: The Blue Hose won’t play a full Big South schedule this year, but will play five games against Big South opponents, only one of which (Radford) is at home and is part of a home-and-home. All told, they play five home games, three of which come against non-Division I opponents. The rest of the schedule is simply brutal. Early on, they play in the BTI Invitational at New Mexico. Highlights on the schedule are road games at Nebraska, Clemson, UCF, Ohio State, Fresno State, Georgia, Wake Forest, North Carolina State, Georgia Tech, Winthrop, Auburn, Mississippi and Tulsa.
Outlook: The Blue Hose make their Division I debut this season fresh off a nice season last year. They lost five seniors from that team, one of whom is now on the bench as an assistant, but still have some experience. Bostic and Versinskas look to be the top players, while Kiscaden and Lamb will now be pressed into starting roles in the backcourt. This season will establish a base for the team going forward, and it will be quite a challenge with just five home games and a slew of very difficult road games.
Savannah State Tigers (12-18)
Projected Starters:
Sr. G Joseph Flegler (10.1 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.4 spg)
So. G Patrick Hardy (5.8 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1.3 spg)
Jr. F Chris Linton (4.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg)
Sr. F-C Bjorn Bohley (2.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg)
Sr. F-C Lazarius Coleman (5.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg)
Schedule Highlights: The Tigers have ten home games scheduled, including three in a row in late November. They play home-and-homes with Jacksonville, North Florida, High Point, Stetson and Longwood. Early on, they play in the American Youth Classic, which includes three games at Wisconsin that include the host and Colorado. Other road games of note are at Creighton, Northwestern, Nebraska, Marquette, Maryland and Kansas State.
Outlook: The Tigers lose their top two scorers, one of whom also led in rebounding, so they’ll look to be more balanced with a team that has nine juniors and seniors. Flegler is the go-to guy and the point guard, and he’ll need to cut down on turnovers after having more of those than assists last season. Hardy will get a chance to develop off the ball, with classmate Jovonni Shuler right there to back him up and junior college transfer Joel Davila in the mix as well. The frontcourt has veterans who all need to get better for this team to win games, especially against the brutal schedule they play. Most concerning of all, only senior Alvin Edwards had more assists than turnovers last season and the Tigers gave the ball away 19 times per outing.
Texas-Pan American Broncs (14-15)
Projected Starters:
Sr. G Paul Stoll (7.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 5.3 apg, 1.9 spg)
Sr. G Dexter Shankle (7.9 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 1.2 apg)
Sr. G Brian Burrell (15.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.4 spg)
Sr. F Julius Allgood (4.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg)
Sr. F Zach Trader (7.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.1 apg)
Schedule Highlights: The Broncs are in five in-season tournaments, starting with the Missouri State Tournament in November, followed by one at Montana State two weeks later, Drake a week after that, the Las Vegas Tournament (starting at Alabama) and the UCF Holiday Classic at the end of 2007. In between them, they will play ten home games, including half of a home-and-home with Texas State, Western Illinois, Chicago State, New Jersey Institute of Technology and Cal State Bakersfield. Other road games of note are at Tulsa, Missouri State (outside of the tournament, as they might not face the Bears in it) and Northwestern.
Outlook: Last season was a good step forward in Tom Schuberth’s first year at the helm, as the Broncs were close to .500 and were over .500 halfway through February before losing four of their last five. This season, they have seven seniors and should start an all-senior lineup. Stoll is a solid floor leader and Burrell is their go-to guy, and he is also their leading returning rebounder after finishing second on the team in that category last season. Sophomore Adinson Mosquera should get good minutes in the frontcourt, giving them some size, while Trader’s younger brother Jacob could get into the mix after redshirting last season. Some improvement defensively could push them over .500, as last season they allowed opponents to shoot over 46 percent from the field. Schuberth looks to have this team heading in the right direction.
Utah Valley State Wolverines (22-7)
Projected Starters:
Jr. G Josh Olsen (3.4 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 2.1 apg)
Jr. G Ryan Toolson (15.5 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.8 apg)
Sr. F Richard Troyer (7.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg)
Sr. F Jordan Brady (6.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.2 spg)
Sr. C Joe Walker III (5.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.1 bpg)
Schedule Highlights: The Wolverines have 12 home games on tap, highlighted by Boise State and San Francisco, both of whom they also play on the road. They also play home-and-homes with Arkansas State, Troy, Cal State Northridge, Chicago State, Cal State Bakersfield, North Carolina Central and New Jersey Institute of Technology. Noteworthy road games are at Marquette, Big West favorite UC Santa Barbara and Southland favorite Lamar, and they will participate in the Gossner Foods Classic at Utah State, opening with the host Aggies.
Outlook: Four starters are gone from last season’s team, but a couple of key reserves return, including Toolson as he came off the bench to lead the team in scoring. Olsen will need to take over the point, while Troyer and Walker look ready to be productive as starters after coming off the bench last season and Brady should anchor the frontcourt. It’s unlikely that the Wolverines will repeat last season’s 22 wins, but they have good class balance and enough experience returning to expect that they can at least top the .500 mark again.
