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November 8, 2002

2002-2003 Men's Basketball Preview

Rich Mills knows it won't be easy taking over for a legend. He has been around basketball long enough to know that winning enough games will help the process, though.

Mills, named interim head coach in July, returns three seniors, two juniors and one sophomores from a team that finished 14-14 a year ago.

“I'm eager to get this season started,” Mills said. “This is a great opportunity for me. I'm going to do the best I can and take it one game at a time. It's not easy replacing a coach who averaged 18 wins a year for more than 30 years. The expectations here are high and my staff and I look forward to the challenge.”

The Huskies did lose five players from the 2001-02 team that finished fourth at 6-6 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division but are optimistic with six upperclassmen.

Tom Barlow (Dresher/Upper Dublin), Adam Bohman (Sussex, NJ/Vernon Township) and Ryan Luckman (York/York Catholic), all seniors, have been named tri-captains for the 2002-03 season and will be counted on to provide leadership, scoring and toughness in Mills' initial campaign. Barlow averaged 11.5 points per game 6.5 rebounds per game last year. Bohman, a center, pulled down 7.5 rebounds per game and averaged a team-leading 16.2 pints per game Luckman averaged 7.4 points and 6.8 rebounds last year.

“We need to improve our defense and our rebounding,” Mills said. “We have three starters back and they are seniors and captains They have been in the program for a while and have a track record of success. We're going to rely on those three to be good players, good students and good leaders for the eight new faces to our program.”

Barlow, Bohman and Luckman have been in the program for at least three years and should be contenders for postseason accolades. The three will also need to increase their scoring to try to make up for the loss of almost 30 points a game from graduates Aaron Carter and Jay DeShields.

Last year, the Huskies were 7th in the PSAC in scoring offense with 72 points per game, 30 of which came from DeShields and Carter.

A year ago, Bloomsburg led the conference with a free throw percentage of 75.5%, were fifth in field goal percentage at 44% and 5th in three-point field goal shooting at 36%.

FRONTCOURT

Bohman, a first-team All-PSAC selection, is a fifth-year senior and knows the Bloomsburg system well. He can shoot, has good post moves and rebounds well. His leadership will be important and he will be a key factor in the success of the Huskies. Bohman was in the top-10 in four different categories last year. He was 9th in the league in points per game (16.2), rebounds per game (7.5) and defensive rebounds per game (4.96) and 8th in the PSAC with 1.12 blocks per game.

Sophomore Seth Scott (Mont Alto/Waynesboro), who can play both forward and center, earned some experience as a freshman and should log a lot of minutes this year. He gives the Huskies an inside presence and has worked extremely hard in the preseason. Ryan Hewitt (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) also earned letterman honors last year and as a junior will be counted on to contribute scoring and rebounds.

Matt Jefferson (Philadelphia/Engineering and Science), a freshman from Philadelphia, was an all-star performer in high school and will have to elevate his game to the college level. He played just two years of high school basketball but has shown a lot of potential in the preseason. Jefferson is a good rebounder who runs the floor well. A bit undersized at 6-6, 190 pounds, his athleticism should contribute to his on court success.

Matt Fisher (Cogan Station/Jersey Shore), a sophomore who transferred from Lycoming College, is a hard-worker with size and strength at 6-7, 220 pounds and should see significant time this year.

Freshman Bob Nenstiel (Nuremburg/Weatherly), an all-state selection in high school, will have to make the big adjustment from high school to Division II college basketball game but is a good shooter with a lot of potential.

BACKCOURT

The Huskies have two returning starters in the backcourt, Luckman and Barlow who are both good shooters and run the floor well. Luckman was third in the PSAC last year in assists-to-turnover ration with 137 assists and 78 turnovers. He was sixth in the league with 5.88 defensive rebounds per game. Barlow, a three-year starter, was 19th in the league last year with 6.5 rebounds per game. He is a threat in the paint and from the perimeter, where he made 37% of his three-point field goal attempts.

“Ryan is excellent with the basketball,” Mills said. “He is a good decision maker who sees the floor well. He will be an extension of the coaching staff as our point guard. Tom is a leader who is very athletic and a very good rebounder.”

Luckman and Barlow will be counted on to make up some of the scoring that was lost to graduation.

Jason Benson (Pittsburgh/Schenley), a transfer from Penn State-New Kensington, scored over 1,100

points in his two years at junior college and should provide a scoring lift. He is one of the team's best defenders and can play both guard spots. He is the brother of former Bloomsburg standout Jeff Benson.

Bill Reed (Pottstown/Upper Merion), a returning letterman who saw limited time last year, is a good shooter who should see an increase in minutes.

Justin Scott (Philadelphia/Engineering and Science), a freshman who went to high school with Jefferson, is a solid shooter with excellent ball handling skills. His defensive skills should earn him some time this year.

Todd Schweitzer (McKees Rocks/Montour) is a freshman point guard who uses both hands well and is a good shooter.

Jaren Burdine (Reading/Reading), who had a very good high school career at Reading, drives the lane well and has a good mid-range jumper.