Up-tempo Return has ACU thinking of post-season
10/22/2009 3:32:24 PM | Men's Basketball
ABILENE - Fifth-year ACU men's basketball coach Jason Copeland believes a return to an up-tempo style in 2009-10 will help the Wildcats return to the winning ways they enjoyed in 2007-08 when they reached the Lone Star Conference Post-Season Tournament semifinals.
Last season a slew of injuries helped to doom the Wildcats to a 10-16 record, and they cost ACU a serious chance to make a post-season run. ACU, though, did manage to snap a pair of long losing streaks as ACU beat Tarleton State (73-70 on Jan. 28 to snap a 15-game losing streak to the Texans) and West Texas A&M in the season-finale (62-61 on Feb. 28 to snap a 19-game losing streak to the Buffaloes).
Those two wins teased fans as to what ACU was capable of in 2008-09, but injuries to several key players both early and late in the season dropped ACU to a 10-16 season. With most of the Wildcats' scoring and experience having used its eligibility, Copeland and his staff went to work to replace the departed players.
Three seniors return in guards Riley Lambert and Kevin White and center Kendrick Johnson. Also returning from last year are forward Ben Warton and redshirts Dustin Heiman, Marcus Washington, Levi Gates, Dosh Simms and Sawyer Reed.
Copeland said the 6-5, 205-pound Simms has been one of the Wildcats' most impressive players through the entire off-season and should be a major contributor to this season's squad. Heiman played in a couple of games before an injury that forced him to miss most of the season.
Copeland said Heiman's athleticism at the point guard position will be the driving force behind a more up-tempo style of play.
Just as he did two years ago when he brought in a pair of standout guards in Corwin Ragland and Brandon Callahan, Copeland has brought in athletic guards in Preston Davis and Eddie Thompson, players who can defend the length of the floor and are solid offensive players.
Forwards Giordan Cole, Vladimir Gavranic and Abby Kabba give the Wildcats big, physical players in the post, something ACU lacked in 2008-09.
“We have a bunch of good players who might average 10 or 12 points, but with our depth and athleticism we could have a different group of starters on any given night,” Copeland said. “If we can stay healthy and away from injuries we can be very good defensively which will dictate our offense and allow us to create shots.”
