It is the middle of October, so it must be time for basketball.
Pittsburg State’s men’s and women’s basketball teams will open preseason camp today.
For the men, head coach Gene Iba enters his 14th year at the helm of the Gorillas and will welcome in nine fresh faces to accompany the nine returners from last year.
“We have a good feeling about this group of players heading into the preseason camp,” Iba said. “We do have nine new players, so it will take some time to see results, but this group has worked harder in the preseason than any team we’ve had. There’s always a good deal of enthusiasm at this time of year, but maybe there’s a little more this year. Hopefully that enthusiasm will be justified in January and February.”
Last season, the Gorillas missed the NCAA Division II National Tournament but do return a crop of players from last season’s 18-10 team.
Senior guard Carlos Taylor (9.5 ppg) and junior guard Spencer Magana (8.4 ppg) have the most experience among Iba’s veteran cast, while senior forward/center Justin McCoy (3.9 ppg) and senior forward Jeff Ivory (2.8 ppg) will look to mature beyond their role player status from a season ago.
The Gorillas’ veteran crew also included junior guard/forward Ivan Evans, a Division I transfer from Murray State University who joined the squad last January and redshirted in his first semester in the program.
Iba’s newcomers include three front court transfers — forwards Rodney Grace (Des Moines Area Community College, Henry Rogers (Hutchinson Community College) and TJ Stukes (Independence Community College) — and three back court transfers — junior guards David McKinney (Casper, Wyo., College) and Chris Wilson (Cosumnes, Calif., Community College) and junior guard/forward Lucas Lumb (Coffeyville Community College).
The Gorilla men will practice for the first time at 7 p.m. tonight.
Pitt State will practice at 2:15 p.m. Thursday and Friday, before conducting a 10:30 a.m. practice Saturday.
Pitt State opens its 2008-09 campaign with a home exhibition game on Monday, Nov. 17, at 7 p.m. against Livin’ the Dream. The Gorillas begin regular season play by taking part in the Missouri Southern State University Chris Tucker Memorial Classic on Nov. 21-22 at Joplin, Mo.
On the women’s side, head coach Lane Lord enters his second season at the helm of PSU.
He will see 10 players from a year ago as well as four new faces in camp today.
Lord returns a healthy stable of back court players in senior guards Brianna Buchanan and Caitlin Demarest, junior guard DePrice Taylor and junior guard/forward Marissa Poppe.
Buchanan averaged a team-leading 13.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per game a year ago, while Taylor averaged 10.3 points and a team-leading 3.5 assists per game. Poppe, who enters her third year in the program, contributed 7.0 points and 3.8 rebounds a game, while Demarest chipped in with 3.8 points and 2.3 assists per outing last season.
Senior guard/forward Candice Gilbert also returns after a year away from the program. Gilbert averaged a team-leading 12.8 points and 6.4 rebounds as a junior two seasons ago.
Sophomore forward Laura Glenn (6.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg) and sophomore guard/forward Bailey Waugh (3.9 ppg) also bring starting experience into their second seasons in the Pitt State program, as does redshirt freshman forward/center Larissa Richards, who has returned from a knee injury that cut short her freshman season.
The newcomers include Division I transfer Nicole McCombs, junior college transfers Whitney Conerly and Aubrey Jones and prep standout Amanda Orloske. McCombs, a junior forward, comes to Pitt State from Drexel University, while Conerly, a junior guard, joins the Gorillas’ from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College, where she was a third-team NJCAA All-American in 2006-07. Jones, a Pittsburg native, comes to Pitt State after two seasons at Independence Community College, while Orloske joins the Pitt State squad from perennial power Wichita Heights High School.
“Our staff and our players are excited to get started,” Lord said. “It’s a new year, and we feel like we have some young players who got a year’s experience in our system last season. We hope that will carry over into this preseason. We’re also excited about our new kids. We think we addressed some position needs and we’re anxious to see how it all comes together.”
The women will start practice at 4 p.m. today then at 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Pitt State opens its 2008-09 campaign with a home exhibition game against Livin’ the Dream at 7 p.m. on Nov. 5. The Gorillas begin regular season play by hosting the Chatters/Comfort Inn Classic on Nov. 15-16.
PITTSBURG —
