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LOCATION: Richmond, KY
CONFERENCE: Ohio Valley (OVC)
LAST SEASON: 3-23 (.115)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 2-16 (10th)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 3/2
NICKNAME: Colonels
COLORS: Maroon & White
HOMECOURT: McBrayer/Alumni Coliseum (6,500)
COACH: Scott Perry (Wayne State '86)
record at school 13-40 (2 years)
career record 13-40 (2 years)
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ASSISTANTS: Tom Souder (Bluffton College '78)
Walt Corbean (Xavier '91)
Mike McBride (Marian College '96)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 9-13-8-10-3
RPI (last 5 years) 242-220-275-211-303
1998-99 FINISH: Did not qualify for postseason.
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Scott Perry's second season as coach at Eastern Kentucky was a disaster. At the end of the 1998-99 season, Perry had a team depleted of scholarship players. It was a team that was not very competitive. "Last year we finished with six scholarship guys, and only two of them could really compete at this level," Perry said. After a Jan. 30 victory over Eastern Illinois, the Colonels didn't win again. Seven losses at the end of the season left the Colonels in the Ohio Valley Conference cellar with three victories for the entire season and out of postseason play. By then, two players who started the season weren't around. Two other signees sat out as partial qualifiers. Perry has a changed team this season and hopes that will change its fortunes. For the second straight year, the Colonels will open the season with 10 new players. "We'll have a whole new look, but we're much more talented," Perry said. "It will take time to bring the kids together. With the talent we have, we'll be better. We feel good about that this year and for future years."
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT C BENCH/DEPTH C
FRONTCOURT C- INTANGIBLES D
There needs to be stability in a college basketball program, and Eastern Kentucky just doesn't have it yet. Maybe a year from now, the Colonels will be on more solid ground, but that will depend on these new players sticking around. Sure, Perry has landed a big class of recruits, but they are unproven at the Division I level. "We'll be a better basketball team without a shadow of a doubt," Perry said. The new Colonels might be a talented bunch, but they need to be a team. They must stick with the program to make it work. Look where the 10 new players from last year's team got the Colonels. Robinson is one of the more talented players in the league, but he needs some help. Maybe the horde of newcomers can provide that help. We'll see. |
One reason Perry can feel good is the return of two starters, 5-11 sophomore guard Whitney Robinson and 6-8 senior forward Darick Mattox. As a freshman last season, Robinson (17.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 72 assists) was third in the OVC in scoring and in three-pointers (73). Robinson played point guard and shooting guard last year, shooting 38 percent from the field, 37 percent from three-point range and 78 percent from the free-throw line (fifth in the OVC). He was chosen to the OVC's All-Newcomer team and earned honorable mention All-OVC honors. After sharing the point-guard duties with Darius Acuff, who would have been a junior but has departed, Robinson will take over as the starting point guard this year. That doesn't mean Robinson will quit lighting up the scoreboard. "He was really the only guy we had last year who could score from outside," Perry said. "We expect him to become more efficient this year. We still expect him to score, but he's got do do it with less attempts and more efficiency." The Colonels' other returning starter is Mattox (10.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg), the team's third-leading scorer and rebounder. Mattox, who shot .438 percent from the field, played small forward last season and could play both forward spots this year. He is one of three seniors on the team. "We'll ask a little less of him because of the new bodies we have," Perry said. "Darick is a slasher who runs the floor extremely well. He's a transition player. He's a live body, can tip the ball in and rebound. He's long. With his experience, we expect him to help us." The only other returnee is part-time starter Keanan Weir, a 6-6 sophomore forward. Weir (3.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg) averaged 21.8 minutes and started eight games a year ago, but is questionable for the season because of a knee injury. Perhaps the top newcomer on the roster is 6-8 sophomore forward Sam Hoskin, who was academically ineligible last season. Hoskin is one of five EKU players from Detroit, Perry's hometown. As a senior at Detroit's Bishop Borgess High School two years ago, Hoskin averaged 20.6 points and 11.4 rebounds. He's a big guy, 240 pounds, who can play power forward or center. "He's a front line player," Perry said. "Normally he'll play four (power forward), but he's skilled enough to play three (small forward) and big enough to play five (center). I really think he'll be one of the better big men in the league. He reminds me a little bit of Charles Oakley at this stage of his career. Sam can shoot the 17- to 18-footer you see Oakley make. He can put the ball on the floor a little too and he's got good skills." Will Morris, a 6-4 sophomore swingman, also sat out last season because he was academically ineligible. Morris averaged 10.1 points and 4.2 rebounds two years ago as a member of Maine Central Institute's 36-0 team. One of the Colonels' top athletes will be 6-3 swingman Lavoris Jerry, a transfer from Compton (Calif.) Community College, where he averaged 15.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists last season. Jerry will play shooting guard or small forward. "He's a super athlete," Perry said. "He can play three because he jumps so well, but he's more of a (shooting guard's) size. He's just very athletic." Darcel Williams, a 6-5 junior forward, was a summer signee out of Erie (N.Y.) Community College, where he averaged 21.2 points and 11.4 rebounds. "He can score and he can shoot the ball," Perry said of Williams. Another late signee was George Selden, a 6-7 junior power forward who completed his associate degree at Phoenix Community College, but didn't play ball there. He played one year at Foothills (Calif.) Community College, averaging 13.5 points and 10.5 rebounds. The other junior-college signee is 6-2 junior guard John White, another Detroit native. White, who also played high school ball at Bishop Borgess HS, averaged 10.2 points and 5.3 assists at Pensacola (Fla.) Junior College last season. He can play either guard spot. Eastern Kentucky's five freshman signees are 6-7 forward Ricardo Thomas of Communication Media Arts School in Detroit; 6-10 center Chris Garnett of Mt. Zion Christian Academy in Tucker, Ga.; 6-10 center Tim Volpenhein of Holy Cross HS in Taylor Mill, Ky.; 6-6 swingman Brad Borgman of Jac-Cen-Del HS in Osgood, Ind.; and 6-2 guard Philippe Langlois of Montmorency School in Varennes, Quebec, Canada. Garnett averaged 15.4 points, 12.2 rebounds and 3.5 blocked shots last season. "He's got size and a presence," Perry said. "He's a little raw, but he has the ability to block shots and rebound. As he learns, he will be an asset to our program." Thomas averaged 16.3 points and 12.2 rebounds last year, while Borgman averaged 24.3 points and 8.2 rebounds. "Borgman is a big-time shooter," Perry said. "He'll help us. . . . Thomas will be an excellent player at this level. He has very good skills and at 6-7 can handle the ball and go inside. He's got to get used to the speed and pace of the Division I game." Langlois averaged 19.3 points and 9.4 rebounds as a high school senior.
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