The Kutztown University
men’s basketball team returns three players who started in all 28
games last season, including the last two Pennsylvania State
Athletic Conference East Rookies of the Year.
Junior Dave Ben and sophomore Stephen
Dennis, both earned the PSAC’s top freshman award in their
respective first years. The duo, with senior center Sean McKeon
are KU’s returning All-PSAC East performers.
The three Golden Bears, who
started every game last season, led KU to a 17-11 record and an even
6-6 mark in the PSAC East. Five of the six losses were decided by
five points or fewer. KU qualified for the PSAC playoffs, but fell
79-63 to Cheyney in the quarterfinals.
The 2005-06 PSAC Rookie of the
Year, Ben, led KU in scoring with 18.9 points, earning All-PSAC
first team honors. Ben also led the team with 55 3-pointers, but
shot only 31.3 percent from beyond the arc — an area in which KU
head coach Bernie Driscoll believes his team needs to
improve.
McKeon, who also was named to
the All-PSAC first team, shot 48.7 percent from the field and 38.6
percent from 3 while posting 14.8 points per game. He set a
single-season KU record with 117 blocked shots, leading Division II
with 4.2 blocks/game. He also pulled down 8.6 rebounds per game.
Dennis averaged 15.4 points
per game en route to his Rookie of the Year honors. Dennis also was
named to second-team All-PSAC east honors and the Division II
Bulletin All-Freshman team. He dished out 90 assists and
averaged 35.9 minutes per game. He dropped in a career-high 28
points against District of Columbia on Feb. 21. The 6-foot-5
sophomore scored more than 20 points in six games, while shooting 47
percent from the field.
Andre Woodlin had the
best shooting percentage of players who started in more than 10
games last season at 49.1 percent, but his season was cut short
after 12 starts with a leg injury. Woodlin, a junior who averaged
10.8 points per game, returns healthy to the Golden Bears and will
battle with Nate Edwards for the starting nod at the two-guard.
Edwards, a sophomore, started in 12 games and played in 28 last
season, scoring 8.8 points per game and leading KU with 62 steals.
Two newcomers, forwards Dan
Lewis (so. Centre Hall/Penns Valley) and Maurice Stallion
(so. Upper Marlboro/), will vie for starting time at the
four-spot. Lewis, a 6-8 sophomore transfer from New Jersey Institute
of Technology, played in 22 games at NJIT and scored more than 1,000
points in his high school career. Stallion averaged 13 points per
game at Columbia Union College before transferring this season.
Other newcomers include
Steve Coffey (fr. West Lawn/Wilson), Ryan Nemetz (fr.
Wilkes-Barre/Bishop Hoban) and Mike Connolly
(Harleysville/Souderton). Coffey, a transfer from Liberty
University, will back up Dennis at point guard, and Connolly, who
returns from knee surgery, will back up Ben at guard. Nemetz will
redshirt this season after suffering a knee injury over the summer.
Senior Kevin Hafera
will return to KU to back up McKeon. Mark Bower, a 6-7
junior, also will battle for minutes with Lewis and Stallion at
forward, and sophomore Max Foye will return at guard. Foye
started in two games and played in 26, averaging 13.4 minutes per
game and 4.2 points per game.
The Kutztown University
men’s basketball team returns three players who started in all 28
games last season, including the last two Pennsylvania State
Athletic Conference East Rookies of the Year.