Senior David Pruett - Lander University

Coach Jeff Burkhamer’s ProspectusContinued from previous page2006. They went 11-7 in the Peach Belt, qualifying for the tournamentwhere they lost in overtime at the host school ColumbusState. Lander went 4-8 on the road.‘We went on the road and competed,” Burkhamer said. “Ourroad record wasn’t as good as we wanted. But it was still okay. Itkept us in the hunt and got us in the tournament. That’s an areawhere we hope to get better.It’s difficult to go onthe road and win no matterwhat league you are in,and we have to find a wayto create that toughness togo on the road and find away (to win).”After facing Allen inthe season opener, theBearcats visit Mars HillNov. 17 and play in theBluefield State CollegeCurrence Classic Nov.23-24 in Bluefield, W.Va.,against Bluefield State andWest Virginia Tech.Lander also plays MarsHill at home, as well asLenoir-Rhyne and SouthernWesleyan in nonleaguegames at Horne Arena. The PBC opener is Dec. 8, at homeversus Augusta State.“West Virginia Tech won 21 games last year,” Burkhamer said.“Lenoir-Rhyne is always well-coached. I think we have a prettysolid non-conference schedule that will prepare us for the PeachBelt.”Burkhamer expects the PBC to be loaded with talented teams.“I think Augusta State has a terrific team coming back and theyhave added a couple guys that are very good,” he said. “Pembrokeshould be good again. They have some returning players. Ithink Columbus State has a chance to be an excellent team. USCAiken always has good players.“Montevallo has two or three guys back off the nationalchampionship game team. They lost their big guys. They are alot smaller this year. But they have tough kids. Young Harris is anew addition into the league. They won 20-plus games last yearand I’m sure they are going to be very competitive right from thestart. It will be a very, very tough conference as it is every year.”Lander has a roster full of newcomers this year, includingjunior guard Carlos Trotty (Decatur, Ga.), junior guard/wingJareal Smith (Savannah, Ga.) and junior post Mario Pendarvis(Summerville, S.C.). Smith (Division I Radford University) andPendarvis (Spartanburg Methodist) are transfers.Dermaine Smith (Columbia, S.C.) is a versatile sophomorepost who transferred from Walters State Community College,and freshmen include point guard Jamal Branco (Hudson, Fla.)and wings Chidozie Omile (Woodbridge, Va.), Courey Sirmans(Savannah, Ga.) and Nic Cody (Perth, Australia).The tallest player in the program, 7-foot-1 freshman MathewSchulz (Epping, Australia), will be red-shirted.“Mathew will get great experience in practice,” Burkhamersaid. “He’s a big kid at 7-foot, 270 pounds, and he’s got a chancebecause he has unbelievable work ethic and a great attitudetoward getting better. We like the opportunity he presents for thefuture.”All the newcomers areexpected to contribute,starting with Branco as abackup point guard.“Jamal Branco is afreshman out of Floridawho has been reallysolid in practice. He isa bigger point guard at6-2, a strong athletic kidwho seems to understandthe game, understandshis role, handles the ballwell, gets the ball to theright people and doesn’tmake a lot of mistakes.He is probably one of ourbetter defenders. His olderbrother (Jarrod) plays atFlagler. If he can comein and be solid for a fewminutes to give Corey a rest each half, that would really help us.”Trotty is also an option at point guard.“Carlos Trotty is a transfer who was going to Clemson whojust wanted to play basketball,” Burkhamer said. “He was on twostate championship teams in high school (in Decatur, Ga.). He isalso a kid who understands how to play and would be a good guyto bring in off the bench.”Jareal Smith will likely play a key role on the team after playingwell at Division I Radford University, where he made the BigSouth Conference All-Freshman team two years ago. Last year,he scored 25 points against Winthrop and 22 versus Cincinnati.“Jareal Smith is a bigger guard who can score, can get to thebasket and take hits and maybe get to the free-throw line,” Burkhamersaid. “We need Jareal to score and play a big role for usthis year.”Sirmans will likely have a role as a guard coming off thebench.“Courey Sirmans is a very good shooter. He is a guy who cancome off the bench to make shots. That’s probably the best thingthat he does,” Burkhamer said.Omile, Cody and Tabasevic are versatile players who will havea chance to contribute.“Chidozie Omile is a big wing that I think has a chance to be agood player,” Burkhamer said. “He is a big, strong kid, he shootsthe ball well from 3-point range, and he could probably play thethree, the two or the four. He is a freshman who can help us thisyear.Continued on next pageLander head coach Jeff Burkhamer leads the team during the 2012 Homecoming gameagainst Francis Marion.Lander Basketball 7