Season Preview: Sea Gulls add height to the front court, ready to bounce back in 2008-09
The Salisbury University men's basketball team rallied at the conclusion of the 2007-08 season and made it to the Capital Athletic Conference semifinal round. The Gulls have worked hard this offseason and made some key additions in preparation for a competitive 2008-09 campaign.
"From year-to-year there are always some new faces, but our leadership did a great job in the offseason and we're off on the right foot," said SU coach Steve Holmes, now in his ninth season at the helm for the Gulls. "This offseason was great, a lot of our leaders all stayed over the summer, worked out, and dedicated themselves to the program."
RETURNERS
One of those dedicated leaders is co-captain Greg
Palmer. The junior guard/forward knows all about hard
work. He went from playing 21 minutes his freshman year to emerging
as the team's leading scorer last season where he was named to the
All-CAC second team. Palmer played in 24 games last season and
scored 410 points in his first season as a starter. The
Salisbury, Md., native averaged just over 17 points, five rebounds,
and 1.8 assists per game last season.
"Greg's one of our lead by example guys," said Holmes. "Going from not playing much as a freshman to having an outstanding sophomore year, we're looking for more of the same from him. He's going to be a marked man throughout the league this year and defenses will be designed to stop him but we're confident he's up for the challenge."
Palmer finished the '07 season with a streak of 17 consecutive double-digit point performances, highlighted by his season-high performance against Marymount (Va.) University on January 19, 2008. He scored 27 points, 14 of which came in the second half, and added five rebounds, four blocks and three assists in a 72-70 win over the Saints. Palmer was the leading scorer in 12 of the maroon and gold's contests last season.
Senior Brandon Abney transferred into the program
last season and will continue to contribute to the program in
2008-09. The guard finished fourth in scoring with 246 points. The
quick-handed Abney led SU in steals in '07 as he caused 34
turnovers.
"Brandon is one of our most consistent players on both ends of the floor and he's probably our best one-on-one defender," said Holmes. "He guarded our opponent's best player game-in and game-out last season. This season we're looking to get him more involved on the offensive end but he comes in with great attitude and physical preparation."
Joining Palmer and Abney in the backcourt is junior Devin Jones who played for the Gulls in the 2006-07 season. The trio of Abney, Jones and Palmer are co-captains for the Gulls this season. As a sophomore, Jones finished third on the team in scoring with 282 points and led the team in 3-point field goal percentage, scoring on 40 percent (48-of-120) of his outside attempts.
Senior Sean Whittaker played in
26 games for the Gulls last season accumulating 124 points, 65
rebounds, and 11 blocked shots. The Delhi, N.Y., native finished
third on the team in three-point baskets made with 24.
"He's an underrated defender and can get streaky from the three point line," said Holmes of Whittaker. "Towards the end of the season Sean really stepped up when we needed him. He had a great game against Gallaudet."
Whittaker scored a career-high 22 points against the Bison in his first start in over a month time to help the Gulls snap a four-game losing skid.
Juniors Drew Dickson and Matt DeLizio made significant contributions to the Sea Gull squad in non-starting roles last year as sophomores. DeLizio played in all 27 games for SU and scored 69 points and grabbed 38 rebounds. Dickson scored 70 points and dished out 15 assists and pulled down 37 rebounds.
"These guys worked really hard last season. They did not log a lot of minutes but will make a contribution to the team this season," said Holmes.
NEW FACES
The Sea Gulls have added three transfer players to their
lineup featuring 6-foot-9 sophomore forward Chris
McGrew from Catholic University of America, Ryan
Hourihan a 6-foot-7 forward from Stonehill College and
guard Luther Weedon from Gallaudet University.
"All three of these guys are adjusting to the system and will have a combined benefit to our team," said Holmes. "We've upgraded size wise and added some depth to our team."
McGrew scored 118 points, blocked 16 shots (team-high) and grabbed 61 rebounds in 18 games as a freshman for the powerhouse Cardinal basketball program. The Burtonsville, Md., native attended Paint Branch High School.
"Chris had an impact on their squad but he looked for a change. He's a guy that I was looking at out of high school," said Holmes. "He played in the Landmark Conference, which is a tough conference, and we're looking for good things from him."
Hourihan adds more size for the Sea Gulls upfront as the 6-foot-7 forward transferred in from Stonehill (Mass.). Hourihan hails from Towson, Md., and is a graduate of Calvert Hall.
Weedon joins the Sea Gulls after playing a year and a half in the CAC for Gallaudet University. Weedon represented the USA Deaf Sports Federation in 2007 as he earned a bronze medal in the 2nd DIBF World Deaf Basketball Championships held in Guangzhou, China. Weedon was fourth on the Bison 2005-06 team in scoring (9.2 points per game) as he played in 26 games. He also had 43 rebounds, 23 steals and 12 assists. He led the team in 3-point shooting (47 percent) as he hit 54-of-114 attempts. He only played in two games during the 2006-07 season for Gallaudet.
When asked about the communication challenges involved with coaching Weedon, a hearing-impaired player, Holmes said it has "helped him become a better communicator."
"I'm taking the time to emphasize key points and that has helped the entire team," added Holmes.
The Gulls graduated three from their ranks at the conclusion of last season including leading three-point scorer Gary Ward, four-year letterman Jonas Vaitkus and forward Todd Ostrom.
"You hate to lose good players that know what to expect in or out of conference. They were solid guys and intelligent players that provided good leadership," said Holmes. "We've filled their spots but it's a work in progress. We have a lot of new faces but we'll certainly miss the outside scoring and quickness around the basket."
SCHEDULE
The maroon and gold will begin its season with the first six games
on the road. In that time Salisbury will spend a weekend across the
bridge at the Provident Pride of Maryland tournament hosted by
Stevenson University in Owings Mills, Md., during Thanksgiving
weekend (November 29 and 30). SU will also participate in the
Dickinson College tournament (November 21-22) plus a trip south to
face non-conference foe Virginia Wesleyan College to begin the
season.
"We try to build up the toughest non-conference schedule we can find. We want to be battle tested for the CAC stretch," said Holmes.
Salisbury's home opener will be December 3 when the Sea Gulls host conference foe University of Mary Washington to the Maggs Center for a 8 p.m. tip. SU will remain at home to host the 2008 Optimist Classic and will conclude its home stand for the fall semester against CAC rival York (Pa.) College on December 9.
The Sea Gulls begin the New Year with a home tilt against Washington (Md.) College on January 3. Four days later the Gulls will travel to St. Mary's City, Md., to take on the Seahawks, the defending CAC champions. This game kicks off a 14-game conference stretch. SU faced St. Mary's in last year's conference semifinal round in which SU had the ball with one minute left to go in a position to win.
"A few bounces this way or that and we're in the conference championship with a tough seven win record," said Holmes. SU lost the game 95-89 and ended its season at 7-20. The Seahawks handed Salisbury four losses in 2007-08.
The second to last home regular-season game for the Sea Gulls will mark the annual Coaches vs. Cancer night. Salisbury hosts Marymount (Va.) University at 8 p.m. on February 18. In keeping with tradition the coaching staff will don sneakers in support of raising awareness to cancer research. The CAC tournament will begin on February 24.
It is a new season for Salisbury men's basketball and the Gulls are poised to make a run in the CAC thanks to leadership, height, depth and teamwork.
2008-09 Salisbury University Men's Basketball
