Newspapers / St. Andrews University Student … / Oct. 31, 1986, edition 1 / Page 10
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October 31,1986 The Lance Knightsquest 1987-Men's Basketball Seek Submitted by the Office of Communications In 1982 the St. Andrews Presby terian College men's basketball team won the Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title and was ranked first in the nation at the end of the season. First-year coach Mark Simons is in a quest for that glory of old with 1986- 87 version of the Knights. "Our goal is to win 20 games, compete for the DIAC title and ad vance to post-season play," Simons said. "Our guys are hungry; they've shown me that in the last month." But the basic ability and potential to win are in the new team,' Simons said. "It's just a matter of getting player leadership and game fun damentals instilled in the players." That would be a heady improve ment for a squad that was 9-5 in the DIAC and 14-13 overall last year under former coach Doug Riley. Simons was the assistant coach at Saginaw Valley State College in University Center, Mich., where for the past five years, the Cardinals had a record of 107-45 and three NAIA District 23 championships. His St. Andrews team has physical capabilities equal to any NCAA Divi sion III squad he encountered in his years at Saginaw Valley, Simons said. The NCAA Division III Knights will look to physical strength in their quest for victories in 1986-87, Simons said. Man for man, St. An drews may be one of the strongest basketball teams in the DIAC-one of the Knights' point guards benches well over 200 pounds. Simons has incorporated weightlif ting as a principle part of his condi tioning program. He said this aspect of basketball has been overlooked in the past at St. Andrews; it was a mat ter of personal practice on the part of individual players. We hope to be much stronger than our opponents," Simons said. "The game of basketball has become increasingly physical in recent years strength is essential to winning basketball games.'' Height will also come at all posi- ^'^drews players are 6 4 or taller and eight weigh over 190 pounds. But perhaps the team's most important player is one of its shortest. Five feet, ten inches, 163-pound Randy Baker was one of the Knights most important offensive catalysts last season. Baker is a junior guard from Fairmont, N. C. who last year averaged 9.3 points ner game, 5 assists and 2.3 rebounds. Joining Baker as top returners are 6'3", 178-pound Vernon Jacobs and 6'7", 180-pound Spencer Cheak. jacobs, a senior forward from Louisville, Ky. averaged five re bounds and five points per game last year. Cheak, a junior center from Owensboro, Ky. averaged two re bounds last season. Baker, Jacobs and byron Russell all made over 65 percent of their free throws last season. Baker led the team at the free-throw line, making 83 percent of his attempts. Jacobs nnade 81 percent and Russell, a e'S"", 187-pound senior forward from Jacksonville, N. C., made 69 percent of his free throws. Key new players for the Knights in clude: David Zarieff, a 6'5", 220- pound freshman forward from Detroit, Mich; Daran Edmonds, a 6'7", 190-pound freshman center from Walled Lake, Mich.; David Simons, a 6'8", 200-pound sophomore forward from Mount Pleasant, Mich.; Latroy Williams a Page Former Glor i 5'9", 167-pound freshman guar from Jacksonville, Fla.; and Ca Moeller, a 6'0" freshman fror Farwell, Mich., where he was an Al State Player in high school. This is a very skilled group o athletes," Simons said. 'They'n here because they were attracted t( this school's superior academics saw that they had a better chance o playing on this level and wer overlooked by bigger schools." Beginning with a game at Franci: Marion College in Florence, S.C., Simons Knights will be tested earl> with their first games against top flight NAIA, NCAA Division II pro grams. "We're going to play the toughest non-conference schedule possible to prepare us for conference play," Simons said. "With the group of kids we have, winning the conference is a relizable goal." Photo by Rooney Coffman Photo by DurreM Bishop
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Oct. 31, 1986, edition 1
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