Gannon University Athletics

What a difference a year makes. One year ago, the Gannon men’s basketball team was running down the region’s top teams and trying to make a name for itself. One year later, Gannon now represents the team with a bull’s eye on its back.

Gannon returns four starters and every player except one from last year’s team that finished 26-5 overall. The Golden Knights won the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) South Division with a 15-2 league mark and recorded their first NCAA Tournament victory since 1995 with a convincing 73-56 decision over Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) champion Drury (Mo.) in the first round.

So, one year after being picked to finish last in the GLIAC Preseason Poll, Gannon is now on top of the NCAA Division II basketball world. The Golden Knights are ranked No. 3 in NCAA Division II, according to the Sporting News preseason poll. Division II Bulletin tabbed the squad 16th nationally in its preseason poll.

However, the national publicity hasn’t changed fourth-year head coach John T. Reilly’s perspective. “We are happy that our student-athletes are getting recognition for the hard work they put in and happy that it puts the University in the national spotlight,” said Reilly. “But the preseason polls really mean nothing in the long run. We are the same team that was picked to finish last in 2007-08. The players and coaches know last year is over. We don’t expect any miracles and don’t expect anything to be handed to us. We know we have to work. Everyone knows every team can beat us, so we have to have that edge to us.

“Everyone always wants to beat Gannon. It’s always been that way and it’s not going to change whether we’re in the GLIAC or PSAC. There are going to be great rivalries in the PSAC. In order to be successful again, we need to be good defensively. We need to be unselfish and be balanced offensively.”

It appears the players didn’t need a cue from the coaches in regards to being humble. “The players were right back in the gym the Monday after the tough loss to Findlay in the NCAA Tournament,” noted Reilly. “We never had to organize individual workouts or anything. They came to us and initiated everything. They continued to play and work hard in the weight room. We have a hard-working group that wants to be the best they can be. We are a hungry team.”

GUARDS
All the names will be familiar to Gannon fans in the front court and back court. And most of the roles have not changed from last year’s NCAA Tournament team.

Seniors Joe Lindsey and Cory Knight will log the majority of minutes as Gannon’s floor leaders at the point. Both players led the GLIAC in assists per game in consecutive seasons with Knight ranking No. 1 in 2006-07 and Lindsey topping the charts last season.

Lindsey will mostly hit the floor during starting lineup introductions, but both will continue to play major minutes. “We consider both of those players as starters,” noted Reilly. “Neither one is tall in stature, but their play was off the chart last season. We played both at the same time quite a bit down the stretch last season and it improved our team. They are good friends and how they have meshed is a credit to both of them.”

Lindsey led the GLIAC and ranked 26th nationally in assists per game (5.4) last season. A GLIAC all-defensive selection, Lindsey averaged 10.2 points per game.

Knight posted the GLIAC’s best assists per game average (5.38) the previous season while ranking third in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.02).

Tyler Batts, a junior transfer from the Community College of Beaver Country, will also see playing time at point guard.

Gannon also returns starters at the other two guard positions. Pierre Howard returns as the starter at shooting guard after starting every game last season, averaging 11.8 points and 3.8 rebounds. Considered one of the team’s best defensive players, Howard was named Porreco Cup MVP after hitting 18-of-23 shots in two tournament games. The senior was Gannon’s third-leading scorer (11.8) and ranked 30th among GLIAC players.

Sophomores Preston Harris and Corey Dotchin will compete for playing time behind Howard. Harris saw action in 19 games last season after redshirting during his first campaign at Gannon. Dotchin played in four games as a true freshman in 2007-08.

Tyler Stoczynski is the projected starter on the wing for the third consecutive season. The redshirt senior came into his own last year as the player who does all the little things needed to win games. He ranks eighth all-time at Gannon in three-point field goals attempts (290) and ninth in three-point field goals made (100). Stoczynski was the GLIAC’s 10th-leading scorer in 2006-07.

True freshman Malcolm Woodbury should compete for playing time at the third guard position. He averaged 10 points, six rebounds, and five assists as a senior at Granby (Va.) High School.

Two players are expected to see time at both shooting guard and on the wing - George Johnson and Robert Buckner. Johnson averaged 2.4 points as a true freshman last season, but played significant minutes down the stretch. He netted nine points in 24 minutes against Findlay in the NCAA Tournament second round.

Buckner has taken the long road back after suffering a season-ending injury during the 2007 Porreco Cup Semifinals. The junior was a two-year starter until his injury. Considered one of Gannon’s top outside shooters, Buckner averaged 7.5 points in 10 games last season. He was named Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Rookie of the Year in 2006-07, averaging 11.6 points and 2.4 rebounds.

FORWARDS
Four returners and one newcomer form Gannon’s nucleus in the paint, including one of the region’s premier post players in Kyle Goldcamp. The senior enters the 2008-09 campaign as a Street & Smith’s Preseason All-American. His numerous 2007-08 post-season accolades included All-Region second-team, All-GLIAC first-team, and GLIAC All-Defensive honors.

Goldcamp led the GLIAC in field goal percentage (66.5) and blocks per game (2.55). He ranked fifth and 14th, respectively, in those categories nationally. The Pittsburgh, Pa., native recorded the second-highest single-season shooting percentage and the fourth-highest block total in school history.

Junior Alfonso Scandrett and redshirt sophomore Mark Demski are expected to see significant playing time behind Goldcamp at the No. 4 position. Scandrett saw action in 29 games last season after transferring from NCAA Division I Radford. He averaged 15.3 points, nine rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.8 blocks as a senior at Northwest Guilford (N.C.) High School.

Demski lived up to his reputation during his first season in uniform last season. He proved to be one of Gannon’s toughest players, seeing action in 28 games with three starting assignments. He shot 68 percent (23-34) from the floor.

Dave Wilson is the returner at the other forward position. The senior played in every game during his first season at Gannon in 2007-08. The Kennedy-King Community College transfer averaged 3.8 points and 2.8 rebounds while shooting 55.4 percent (46-83) from the field.

“Dave has made great strides since coming to Gannon,” said Reilly. “He is another one of the hard workers on our team and is in position to make a significant impact for the team. He is an excellent rebounder who runs the floor well.”

Ty Pace is the only newcomer among the post players. The junior transfer arrives at Gannon after playing two seasons at Northern Oklahoma College Enid, where he averaged 11.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 0.8 steals in 30 games last season. The Jets posted a 19-14 record and a Region 2 second-place finish in 2007-08.

Pace shot 63.2 percent (139-220) from the field and 62.2 percent (74-119) from the free throw line. He will not be eligible until the first semester ends due to transfer rules and regulations. The Buffalo, N.Y., native will begin the season as a practice-only player.

“All five of our post players are interchangeable,” noted Reilly. “They can all play either post position and we can do a lot of different things based on who is on the floor at any particular time.”

THE SCHEDULE
Gannon fans will have plenty of opportunities to see the nationally-ranked Golden Knights at the Hammermill Center this season.

Following the season opener at Urbana, Gannon plays nine consecutive games at the ‘Mill. The Gary Miller Classic is the start of a season-high nine-game homestand that puts 52 days between road games for the Golden Knights.

Gannon will get to see how good it is before the regular season even starts. The Golden Knights will play an exhibition game November 11 at the University of Dayton. The NCAA Division I program went 23-11 in 2007-08, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT, losing to eventual champion Ohio State in Columbus. The Flyers were nationally ranked throughout most of the 2007-08 season, rising as high as 14th in the Associated Press Top 25.

The 2008-09 schedule includes plenty of opponents who posted winning records last season. The Golden Knights’ 2008-09 opponents won 50 percent (269-265) of their games last season. Two of those opponents played in the 2008 NCAA Division II Tournament: California (Pa.) and Edinboro. The Knights will face both teams twice.

The marquee non-conference home game is arguably a unique local match-up with NCAA Division III Allegheny at the Hammermill Center on December 3. In league action, California (Pa.) arrives at the ‘Mill on Saturday, February 7 for a key PSAC West match-up. The Vulcans were ranked ninth in the final 2007-08 NCAA Division II national poll.

Gannon will also have a chance to host the PSAC Championships if it wins the Western Division. The top two seeds in each division host PSAC Quarterfinal games on March 3 with the Western Division’s top seed hosting the Final Four on March 7-8.