2008 Woodie Awards
Inexperienced Men's Basketball Team Ready To Go
Garvey, Todd
Issue date: 11/19/04 Section: Sports
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The duo of Mark Linebaugh '04 and Howard Blue '04 took with them many things upon their graduation. Among those, the most important were the 26.5 points per game, 8.8 rebounds per game, and 117 assists. When one adds to that loss the graduation of Josh Humphrey '04 and the loss of sophomores Kendall and Kyle Chones for the season, you find a very young and inexperienced Colgate men's basketball team. Those five players combined for 60 percent of the Raider offense last season.
Head coach Emmett Davis returns only two players, senior co-captain Andrew Zidar and junior Alvin Reed, who made significant offensive contributions last year. Zidar averaged 9.5 points per contest and led the league in rebounding last year, ahuling in 6.6 rebounds per contest. Reed scored 11.4 points per game, third best on the team behind Linebaugh and Blue.
"We've returned some very solid players, yet we are still very inexperienced," Davis said. The coach is not worried, however, feeling that the void left by Linebaugh and Blue created "an opportunity for other young players to step up."
With many players missing, there is no shortage of players ready to step up. Senior co-captain Keith Williams has been sidelined by injuries for much of his Colgate career, but this year he will need to play a legitimate leadership role as one of two seniors on the team. Sophomore guard Jon Simon, who played well in limited action last season, will see a much-increased role this year as one of the Raiders' top guards, while classmate Todd Checovich will contribute heavily on the defensive end. Two juniors will compete for time in the frontcourt as well, as Jon Foss will look to help Zidar on the defensive boards while Marc Daniels, a 6'9'' center, will attempt to give the Raiders a legitimate low post threat.
"We have some real good young players, and everyone has improved in different areas over the summer," Davis said.
But despite the improvement of the young players, the team's success will likely hinge on the performance of Reed and Zidar.