Lander Basketball 1 - Lander University

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Bearcats add depth, are more athletic in 2011-12 Asked what the Lander men’s basketball team needs to improve on the most in the 2011-2012 season, Bearcats thirdyear head coach Jeff Burkhamer gave a one-word response. “Offense,” he said. Lander has more experience, depth and versatility this season than last. The Bearcats hope this will translate into more scoring and more victories. “We have to do a better job scoring,” Burkhamer said. “We have guarded people pretty well. We have stayed in games with our defense. We just haven’t been good enough offensively.” “This year, we have added some proven scorers,” said Burkhamer “If we are able to score more points and continue to guard well, it’s going to help us in those close games. “We will be better able to finish some of those close games instead of losing by one or two possessions, now we can win by two or three possessions.” The Bearcats have seven returning players this season and six new players, most of whom also have significant college playing experience including several with All- Conference honors at their previous schools. The seven returning players are seniors Jermel Kennedy (Malton, Ontario) and Darion Canty 6 Lander Basketball Coach Jeff Burkhamer’s Prospectus 2011-12 Coaches’ Preseason Poll (fi rst place votes in parenthesis) 1. Georgia Southwestern (10) 141 2. UNC Pembroke (1) 118 3. Augusta State (1) 115 3. Clayton Statete (1) 11515 5. Montevallo 97 6. USC Aiken 90 7. Georgia College 84 8. Francis Marion 64 9. Columbus State 58 10. Armstrong Atlantic 50 11. Lander 35 12. North Georgi a 34 13. Flagler 13 (Summerton, S.C.), junior David Pruett (Sugar Hill, Ga.), and sophomores Darius Carrier (Charlotte, N.C.), Stefan Tabasevic (Belgrade, Serbia), Mac Mitchell (Charleston, S.C.) and Cody Waterworth (Snellville, Ga.). Newcomers include seniors Dwight Tolbert (Tifton, Ga.) and Dennis Rumph (Lake Worth, Fla.), juniors Corey Wright (Harlem, N.Y.), Patrick Powell (Columbus, Ga.) and Michael Lowe (Greenwood, S.C.) and freshman Scott Elder (Perth, Australia). “We are excited about the seven guys we’ve got back, and we are excited about the seven new guys we’ve brought in,” Burkhamer said. “We have experience coming back in all the positions, because the returning players played valuable minutes last year. And we have a lot of experienced kids who played at other places joining our returning players. “We have a good group to work with, we have depth this year, and we are going to be able to do some different things on both ends of the floor. There is not a lot of difference in talent from top to bottom, so we will be able to play more people. We are long, quick and athletic. We aren’t extremely big, but the league (Peach Belt) is probably a little smaller than it has been in the past.” With the exception of Elder, 12 of Lander’s 13 players have college experience. Last year, the Bearcats only had one returning player in senior Tovi Bailey. “We started over last year and decided to build from the ground up with a solid foundation of young players,” Burkhamer said. “We got a lot of experience. We lost a lot of close games with those young kids. That experience will pay off this year, with knowing how to prepare, battle and win in this league.” Pruett and Kennedy were Lander’s statistical leaders last year and will be relied upon heavily in 2011-2012, as will former All- Peach Belt transfer Dwight Tolbert, who last played at Armstrong Atlantic State three seasons ago. “Pruett, Kennedy, Tolbert … you start with those three because they have been successful in the league, and you build around them,” Burkhamer said. Pruett, a 6-foot-4 wing, led the Bearcats in scoring (15.5 points per game), 3-point shooting (64-of-164, 39 percent) and free-throw percentage (89-of-107, 83 percent) last year. He ranked fourth in the PBC in three pointers made per game and was seventh in scoring and free throw percentage. The sharp shooter scored 25 or more points in a game six times, including a career-high 34 points versus Southern Wesleyan. The two-time PBC Player of the Week also finished the season strong, averaging 23 points over the last five games. “David has got to be one of the best shooters in the country,” Burkhamer said. “He is a really good catch-and-shoot guy, and he has added being able to get his own shot off the dribble.” Kennedy, a 6-6 post, was a double-double machine for Lander, scoring and rebounding in double figures in the same game nine times last year. He totaled 10.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, scoring a career-high 22 points at Francis Marion. Kennedy was was third in the PBC in rebounding and led or shared the team high in rebounds in 20 of 26 games, including 36 rebounds in a two-game stretch (19 versus Clayton State and 17 against Armstrong Atlantic) in February. “Jermel Kennedy is a real athletic, active post player,” Burkkhamer said. “He is not real big weight-wise, but his ability to be quick and play against bigger guys has been good for us. He had a great summer. I think he is getting better offensively and we know he will be active on the boards.” A member of the last Armstrong Atlantic State team that Burkhamer coached three years ago (2008-09), Tolbert led the Pirates to a 23-7 record and an NCAA Tournament berth when he averaged 15.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game and was the PBC Player of the Week once. The first-team All-Peach Belt selection scored in double figures in 22 games. Continued on next page
Coach Jeff Burkhamer’s Prospectus Bearcats have more depth and are more athletic in 2011-12 Continued from previous page “I think Dwight will be one of the top five players in the league,” Burkhamer said of the 6-5 senior. “He is so versatile. He will be our starting three (wing), but can also play the four position because he is strong enough to do that. “He can shoot it from 3-point range (42 percent in 2008-09), can drive it, can post up, goes to the offensive glass, gets to the foul line and makes free throws. It may take a while to get him back into game shape, but skillwise and talentwise, he is as good as anybody in the league.” In addition to Pruett and Kennedy, Burkhamer welcomes back five more players including Canty (6.5 points per game last season), Carrier (4.5 points), Tabasevic (3.5 points), Mitchell and Waterworth. “Canty is a guy who just brings intensity every day,” Burkhamer said of the 6-3 wing. “He is our most vocal leader. Darion does not have great size, but he seems to be able to play in our league because of his activity.” Carrier and Tabasevic, along with Elder, are Lander’s tallest players at 6-8. “Carrier has gotten bigger and stronger,” Burkhamer said. “He had a great summer and is continuing to improve skillwise. “Tabasevic has gotten bigger and stronger over the summer,” Burkhamer said of the versatile wing-forward. “We need him to be a guy who can play the three or four and stretch defenses because of the way he shoots the ball.” Mitchell and Waterworth received valuable playing time last season. “Mitchell got bigger and stronger, and will be able to really help us at the point,” Burkhamer said. “Cody Waterworth lost about 20 pounds over the summer. He is moving and shooting a lot better. He has improved his game.” The newcomers bring plenty of promise to Lander, including the 6-foot Wright who played 31 games as a freshman at Division I Long Island University before transferring to Broward Community College in Florida. He averaged 15 points and 5.2 assists per game while making the All-Conference team at Broward. Powell is a 6-foot wing who led all Alabama junior colleges in scoring in the 2009-2010 season with 20.4 points per game at Northwest-Shoals Community College. He sat out last season. Rumph played one season at Allen County Junior College, one at Gannon University and one at Palm Beach Community College. At Allen County, the 6-6 Rumph was named to the All-Jayhawk Conference team after averaging nine points, eight rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots per game. Joining Rumph in the post is Elder, who played at Marianapolis Prep School in Connecticut last year where he averaged 8.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Prior to Marianapolis, Elder played for the Western Australia State team and competed in the Under 16 and Under 18 Australian National Championships. Lowe returns to his hometown after spending two years at Spartanburg Methodist College, where he averaged 3.0 points and 1.5 rebounds per game last season. He scored a career-high 24 points against Mississippi Elite. The regular season schedule features a road game at rival Erskine College, and games against Young Harris College (home and away), Lenoir-Rhyne, Allen, Southern Wesleyan, and the College of Coastal Georgia, in addition to a tough PBC slate. The first Peach Belt game is Nov. 30 at Francis Marion. Program Goals and Objectives • To graduate 100 percent of our student-athletes. • To win the PBC regular season and PBC tournament championships and compete in NCAA postseason play. • To have the most productive recruiting class in the region and conference. • To instill life skills in our student-athletes. • To prepare our athletes academically, athletically and socially for life after graduation/basketball. The Bearcats’ Game Plan The Lander University men's basketball program has entered a new era under the leadership of Coach Jeff Burkhamer. “We are looking for fine young men with the desire, work ethic and ability to move our program to national prominence in NCAA basketball in years ahead.” Tough man-to-man pressure defense and an up-tempo, fast-breaking-style offense will characterize the Bearcats style of play in 2011-12. Burkhamer adds, “Our success will depend on how quickly our players adjust to our system of play and their ability to come together as a close-knit team.” We will build a successful program at Lander with good people. We have high expectations of our players as students, as role models in public and as competitors on the court. Our goals are higher than 10 feet!” Lander Basketball 7
Page 1 and 2: Lander Basketball 1
Page 3 and 4: Table of Contents Lander Team Photo
Page 5: Lander Athletics Personnel Jeff May
Page 9 and 10: Continued from previous page Burkha
Page 11 and 12: Meet the Players Personnel Breakdow
Page 13 and 14: 12 Darion Canty Senior • Wing 6-3
Page 15 and 16: 3 David Pruett Junior • Wing 6-4
Page 17 and 18: 10 Mac Mitchell Sophomore • Point
Page 19 and 20: 15 Cody Waterworth Sophomore • Wi
Page 21 and 22: 5 Michael Lowe Junior • Wing 6-0
Page 23 and 24: Media Information Basketball Suppor
Page 25 and 26: Spirit Teams The 2011-12 Lander Dan
Page 27 and 28: 2010-11 Peach Belt Conference PBC A
Page 29 and 30: Lander University has been providin
Page 31 and 32: Residence Life Lander’s residence
Page 33 and 34: Academic Support and Lifetime Lesso
Page 35 and 36: The Finis Horne Years 1968-97 Finis
Page 37 and 38: Post Season Honors Geoff Brower MVP
Page 39 and 40: Lander All-Time Records Individual
Page 41 and 42: Scores from the Past USC Aiken ....
Page 43 and 44: Scores from the Past 1996-97 (15-12
Page 45 and 46: Lander All-Time Top 10 Lists MOST P
Page 47 and 48: Lander All-Time Top 10 Lists MOST P
Page 49 and 50: Lander All-Time Player List Abell,
Page 51 and 52: Horne Arena - Home of the Bearcats

Lander Basketball 1 - Lander University

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