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LOCATION: Denver, CO
CONFERENCE: Sun Belt
LAST SEASON: 10-17 (.370)
CONFERENCE RECORD: N/A
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 2/3
NICKNAME: Pioneers
COLORS: Crimson & Gold
HOMECOURT: Magness Arena (7,200)
COACH: Marty Fletcher (Maryland '73)
record at school 17-37 (2 years)
career record 230-258 (17 years)
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ASSISTANTS: Todd Rinehart (Bowling Green '90)
Byron Jones (Central Oklahoma '93)
Anthony Barone (Texas A&M '94)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 18-22-14-7-10
RPI (last 5 years) N/A
1998-99 FINISH: Won final regular season game.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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If anyone should know what it takes to compete in the Sun Belt Conference, it's Denver coach Marty Fletcher. The veteran coach led Southwestern Louisiana (now known as Louisiana-Lafayette) to an average of 18 wins per season from 1985-97, including four 20-win seasons and two trips to the NCAA Tournament. In 1992, Fletcher was voted the conference's coach of the year, and he enters the season ranked sixth in all-time league victories (58). He is among an elite group of coaches who have five or more seasons in the Sun Belt and have posted a plus-.500 league record. So yes, Fletcher is well-acquainted with Sun Belt Conference, which accepts Denver as its newest member this season, the culmination of the program's move up from Division II this decade. "I always felt to win the Sun Belt you needed guys on the team who could start in the Southeastern Conference," said Fletcher, who coached at Virginia Military (1982-86) before Southwestern Louisiana. He started his career as an assistant to Norm Sloan and later Jim Valvano at North Carolina State. "Right now, we need to find players who can start in the Sun Belt," he said. "And we think we have some of them now, but recruiting to that in the next few years is crucial."'
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT C+ BENCH/DEPTH D+
FRONTCOURT D+ INTANGIBLES C
In coach Marty Fletcher, the Denver program has a solid leader who knows what it takes to be competitive in the Sun Belt. It's all about athletes, and Fletcher has proven to be an outstanding recruiter through the years. Fletcher has a blueprint for success at the private school. And that included signing television and radio contracts in the city and making the program a legitimate part of the Denver sports landscape. The school seems to be providing Fletcher with strong support for the program's move up the ladder. It's most evident with the unveiling this season of the brand new on-campus Magness Arena that is part of the expansive Ritchie Center for Sports and Wellness. Denver also joins New Orleans and Florida International (in Miami) in very marketable metropolitan areas in which to recruit. It will take a while for the Pioneers to reach the upper half of the league, but under Fletcher, they promise to be competitive sooner than most think. |
Just where Denver fits in the scheme of Sun Belt things this season is hard to figure, said Fletcher. "It's difficult to assess because the league traditionally has so much changeover in personnel from one year to the next. Schools are always adding new players, so it's hard to get a real assessment." One barometer could come from last season, Denver's first at Division I, in which the team went 1-5 in home-and-home games against three Sun Belt teams. The Pioneers split the series with Arkansas-Little Rock, but lost both games to Arkansas State and New Orleans. "The games on the road (against Sun Belt teams) were pretty much blowouts," Fletcher said. "And it showed we have a long way to go. But we think we have increased our talent with the guys we have brought into the program." That doesn't mean that the veteran Pioneers, including three returning starters, aren't talented. It's just that Fletcher has put an emphasis on recruiting the athletic type of player that it takes to compete in an athletic league. "The Sun Belt has always been known for great athleticism, particularly on the perimeter," Fletcher said. "That's the kind of players you have to have." One of those kind of players at Denver is 6-3 junior shooting guard Arthur Ireland (17.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg), who went from averaging only 4.4 points and 2.1 rebounds as a freshman to a go-to scorer and leader for the Pioneers. Not only was he the team's top scorer, but he also tied for the team lead with 29 steals and ranked second in rebounding and free-throw percentage (.775). "Arthur is a player with excellent athleticism and a tremendous shooting touch, although his shooting percentage (.352) was not what we would have liked," Fletcher said. "But he can really shoot the basketball, and he can rely on the athleticism that it takes to play in the Sun Belt." Ireland's running mate in the backcourt at point guard 5-10 senior Ty Church (6.1 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 5.1 apg) returns to run the show. The junior college transfer didn't take long to take over floor leadership for the team, handing out 10 assists in the team's opener against Colorado. His 138 assists were ninth-most for a season in school history, and his assists-to-turnover ratio of plus-2.42 showed dependability. "Ty plays very hard and is a good, steady ballplayer," Fletcher said. "And he will only be better this season with one year of Division I competition under his belt." The other returning starter is 6-6 sophomore forward Wahhab Carter (12.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg), who scored in double figures in 18 of 27 games as a freshman. He only got stronger as the season progressed, scoring in double digits in the last 14 games and averaging 20 points the final three. Carter, a former top recruit from Oklahoma, was chosen the 1999 Pioneer Freshman Sportsman of the Year for all sports at Denver. A former Colorado Mr. Basketball, 6-5 sophomore Tom Starkey will start at small forward and is expected to provide instant offense. He sat out last season but practiced with the Pioneers after transferring from New Mexico, where he averaged 1.2 points and 1.1 points in 11 games as a freshman two years ago. Three players are vying for playing time at the post, although all three will relieve Carter at power forward. Returning is 6-8, 225-pound junior Brandt Wilcox (2.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg), who played in all 27 games and started three. He was the top reserve in minutes played at 11 per game. Two newcomers 6-9, 225-pound Steve Simmons (Treasure Valley (Ore.) JC) and 6-9, 215-pound Jamaal Ramey (Eisenhower HS/Lawton, Okla.) will split time in the post. Denver's biggest player, Simmons led the Scenic West Conference last season at 8.8 rebounds per game. He also averaged 10 points and 1.4 blocked shots for Treasure Valley, where he was a teammate of current Denver players Church and Wilcox. Ramey is the third Oklahoma recruit to enter the Denver program the last two seasons. An all-state honorable mention and first-team all-conference pick, he averaged 14.2 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocked shots as a senior while shooting .533 from the field. Besides Wilcox, the Pioneers have three other returning players 6-3 junior guard Matt Paul (3.0 ppg, 1.3 rpg), 5-10 sophomore guard Tyrone Turner (1.8 ppg, 1.1 rpg) and 5-11 sophomore guard Phillip Heath (1.0 ppg, 0.5 rpg) who will contribute significant minutes in the backcourt. Slowed early last season with an ankle injury, Paul played in all 27 games and was a decent outside shooting threat, finishing second on the team in three-point field goal percentage (.359). Turner played in 18 games and is a key backup at point guard. Heath played in 24 games and is a backup shooting guard. Other newcomers include 6-2 freshman guard B.J. Pratt (Converse Judson HS/Schertz, Texas) and 6-7 junior forward Kevin Overton (Seminole (Okla.) JC). Pratt was first-team all-state in Class 5A and the San Antonio Player of the Year after averaging 21.1 points, 4.5 assists and 2.0 steals. He also shot .860 from the free-throw line. Overton was an all-region juco pick after averaging 14.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, two steals and two assists per game. He shot .590 percent from the field and .710 from the foul line.
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