BASKETBALL PREli
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AJ MANDEIi I STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Junior guard Steven Santa Ana practices before the 2017-18
season. Santa Ana led the Phoenix in blocks last year with 37.
Head coach Matt Mathen/ talks to his huddled team during preseason practice on Oet. 27. Matheny enters his ninth season at the helm for theThTeiiix* ™""
Familiar names lead Elon men’s basketball
Elon returns all of its top-five
scorers from last year
Erik Webb
Sports Director I @[rikWebb[lon
The Phoenix finished last sea
son with a 18-14 record. 10-8 in
the Colonial Athletic Associa
tion (CAA). Head coach Matt
Matheny says his team is in form
for the new season.
“Preseason is an interesting
time because you’re not judged
on winning or losing a game,”
Matheny said. “You’re evaluat
ing constantly - did you have a
good practice or a bad practice
or are you getting better? That’s
subjective. Winning or losing is
not subjective; but subjectively, I
think we’re doing well.”
For the ninth-year head coach,
this team brings something
unique to the
court.
“The thing
that stands out
the most is we’re
getting great
upperclassmen
leadership, and
I think we’re
getting better.”
Matheny said.
“It’s good to be
back out on the
court. We’re
tweaking some
things, but I love
our leadership.
That’s the thing
Tm most im
pressed with.”
The team will look fairly sim
ilar with all five of its top scorers
returning from last year. Junior
Tyler Seibring led the Phoenix
last year, averaging 14.4 points
and 6.9 rebounds per game. The
forward looks ahead to getting
back on the court.
“Practice has been going re
ii
WE HAVE A
FOUNDATION SET
FROM THE YEARS
PREVIOUS. WE’RE
LOOKING TO BUILD ON
THAT.
TYLER SEIBRING
ally well.” Seibring said. “We’re
bringing a lot of guys back who
have a lot of experience, so things
are running pretty smoothly, but
we re still working hard every day
to get better.”
I think there is a confidence
that our team has because we have
so much experience,” Matheny
said. “But I think there is also an
understanding that this is a brand
new year. And as much as we have
a lot of guys back, it’s still a brand
new team.”
When it comes to returners,
Seibring agrees with his coach;
but while it makes a difference to
have experience, building off of
last year will be the key to success.
“It definitely helps,” Seibring
said. “We have a foundation set
from the years previous. We’re
looking to build on that. We have
new guys who are going to be able
to contribute, and with the expe
rience we’ve had, it’s been easier
to build on that
and have them
integrate pretty
easily.”
After falling
in the first round
of the CAA tour
nament last year
71-66 to the
College of Wil
liam & Mary,
the Phoenix be
gins this season
picked to fin
ish third in the
conference. For
Matheny, there
is one thing that
matters most.
“I’m looking forward to today’s
practice because the season is
long,” Matheny said. “I’ve begun,
in the past several years, to really
appreciate the process. If we can
get better today, then that puts us
in a position to be better when
the games start. 1 love today’s op
portunity for improvement.”
Coming into his third year.
MEN’S BASKETBALL 2016-17.REC0RD
OVERALL
HOME
AWAY
NEUTRAL
ALL GAMES
18-14
10-4
6-8
2-2
CONFERENCE
10-8
7-2
3-6
0-0
NON-CONFERENCE
8-6
3-2
3-2
2-2
Seibring understands his role on
the court, and will do what he
can to help with the improvement
Matheny mentioned.
Just kind of doing what I
have to do to help out,” Seibring
said. “It might not be scoring
that much this year, who knows.
It could be whafs required on a
pme-to-game basis, and it could
be whafs in the flow of our team
and our offense,”
“We focus on the process of
getting better and being the best
ITIT Matheny said
Thats why we talk a lot about
this year’s team and building this
year’s team. We want to be as
pod as we can be. One thing that
I personally am focused on and 1
think our team has always had a
goal on is enjoying it.”
As the season starts, there is
something that is in the back
of the minds of the players and
coaches This season will be the
Ust basketball season in Alumni
Gym before the program moves
o the new Schar Center across
the street.
Cvm"^''!!*^ 1950, Alumni
Gym has hosted Elon basketball
for decades. After renovations to
upgrade the facility in 2010 the
current facility has a capacity of
2016-17 STATS
1^332 PEOPLE 18
PEOPLE
Average attendance per game
WINS
Most wins inttieCAAera
2403pom 75.1
POINTS
Second-most points in CAA era
PPG
more than 1,600. Elon has sold
pt Alumni Gym 15 times un-
rrn “y- mcluding a record
crowd of 1,876 on Feb. 28, 2015
prsus University of North Caro
lina at Wilmington.
cmo-
lonal. particularly at the end be-
Gym for years has
fnd fr “mments
pd feelings, but for years has
been viewed as less than because
of how small it is. It’s become an
Second-highest points per
game in CAA era
incredibly intimate place for our
team, our program and plapuS
here. Before the renovations and
since the renovations, the rela
tionship this facility allows us to
have with our fans is something
really special.”
For the men, that last, emotion
al season will begin tonight, Nov. >
in Alumni Gym when the Phoenix
plays its only preseason exhibit'’
game against Randolph College- ip
off is scheduled for 7 p.m-