Nov. 3, 2009
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - For the first time this 2009-10 season, the LMU men's basketball team will take to the hardwood, playing Hope International in an exhibition contest at Gersten Pavilion, Wednesday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. The Lions are playing Hope International in an exhibition for the second straight season and the game, like all contests this coming season, can be heard live of KXLU 88.9 FM.
What seems like decades ago was actually only one year and a day that the Lions opened the 2008-09 season with an 81-51 win over Hope International at Gersten Pavilion on Nov. 3, 2008.
What a difference a year (and a day) makes. The Lions will feature a roster with 18 players compared to a roster of just 12 a year ago. Three seniors were on last year's team, while this year's team has none. A year ago the top returning scorer and rebounder, Tim Diederichs, couldn't play and missed the entire year after shoulder surgery. This year the Lions return its top four scorers, three of which are like Diederichs - sophomores.
Leading the way for the Lions is preseason All-WCC selection Jarred DuBois. The sophomore became the first freshman in LMU history to score more than 400 points in a season. While DuBois provides spark at the perimeter, fellow sophomore Kevin Young returns to man the middle. He became the first freshman in LMU history to have more than 200 rebounds. A third member of the returning sophomores is LaRon Armstead, who would have set the rebounding record if it wasn't for Young, getting 158 a year ago.
"We have a lot of players who did not play much or at all for us last season," said Head Coach Max Good. "With redshirts able to play and our freshman on the roster, we are so much deeper than we were a year ago. We are dealing with the standard bumps and bruises of the early season and guys playing for the first time in over year, but once we work out the rust, our depth will be a big asset this season."
What's more, the Lions return junior Vernon Teel, while transfers Drew Viney and Larry Davis will be able to play this season. Teel was the team's leading scorer at 14.6 points per game while Viney will see his first action since transferring from Oregon. Davis, a Seton Hall transfer, suffered an Achilles heal injury last April and while he has been cleared to practice, will probably not play Wednesday.
The Lions brought in four players into the program on scholarship and also added four walk-ons who did not play last year. Given Kalipinde, Alex Osborne, Quincy Lawson and Edgar Garibay will play huge roles for the Lions in their first year and are joined by walk-ons Kevin Berardini, Daniel Latimer, Kelsey Chine and Brandon Gumaer.
Lawson will not play on Wednesday due to a hip injury, while redshirt freshman Ashley Hamilton, who earned a medical redshirt last season after missing all but eight games with a back injury, will also miss the game due to a knee injury.
"I just want us to get better every day. We have been watching tape everyday and working on cleaning up our down areas," said Head Coach Max Good. "This is a process, and in the end I want to see consistent improvement and I want us to get tougher mentally. To be good you have to be mentally tough."
For Hope International, they already have two games under their belt. The NAIA school located in Fullerton, Calif., went 4-24 a year ago and returns eight players with a new head coach, Bill Czech. They are 2-0 already this season with a 60-50 win over California Maritime on Oct. 30 and a 69-56 win over Bethany on Oct. 31.
Among the eight returning players is the team's leading scorer from a year ago, senior Marcellus Cullors, who averaged 14.6 points per contest. He had 11 points against the Lions a year ago. He has averaged 14.0 points in the two games this season while senior Marko Torovic, who had nine points last year against LMU, is leading the team with 14.5 points and 7.0 rebounds.
In that game, Vernon Teel led the Lions with 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, while Kevin Young had 11 points and 12 rebounds for an unofficial double-double.
"This will be a good exhibition game for us," said Good. "They will force us to play technically sound basketball and with having two games already, they will challenge us in how well we take care of the basketball."
The Lions will officially start the 2009-10 season at the University of Montana Tournament, Nov. 13-15. The Lions will open with Boise State on Friday, Nov. 13 at 4:35 p.m. (PST).
- GO LIONS -
