Men's Basketball Gears Up for 2009-10 Campaign

DEFIANCE, Ohio - As the Defiance College men's basketball team gears up for the 2009-2010 season, it will look to repeat its recent history of success, while also hoping to add a few lines to the resume. Over the past three seasons, the Defiance College Yellow Jackets have become one of the premier programs in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference and have piled up the accomplishments while doing so.

A change in leadership on the bench did little to disrupt that either, as head coach Kyle Brumett guided the Purple and Gold to an 18-9 record overall and a solid 12-4 clip in league action during his first year at the helm.

The 18 victories marked the third season in a row in which Defiance has won at least 17 games. With a thrilling, 69-68, victory against Hanover in the HCAC Tournament Quarterfinals, the Jackets also reached the Semifinals for the third time in as many years.

The victories have piled up, resulting in 54 total victories over the last three seasons for the program's best three-year clip since 1988-1990. The numbers are even more impressive inside the HCAC, where Defiance owns a 34-14 mark against league foes in the past three seasons, including a .781 winning percentage and 25 victories in its last 32 conference games.

Along with the lofty win totals, Defiance has received votes in the D3hoops.com national poll in each of the last two seasons and has racked up an impressive list of awards and accolades.

In the last three seasons alone, DC has garnered 11 All-HCAC honors, earned 10 HCAC Player-of-the-Week awards and six HCAC Male Athlete-of-the Month honors. The accomplishments do not end there, as Defiance athletes have also netted four all-region honors, three preseason All-American nods, one All-American award, one HCAC Player-of-the-Year selection and has seen two players join the school's 1,000-point club to push that group to 42 members.

DC boasts 72 winning seasons and a sparkling .609 winning percentage in its proud history on the hardwood and will enter the 2009-2010 campaign needing 16 victories to reach 1,300 in the history of the program.

Along with a chance at recording the 1,300th victory, the Yellow Jackets also have a shot at their fourth-straight winning season and could see Nick Sales become the 43rd member of DC's 1,000-point club. Sales and Mike Floyd will also enter the season with legitimate hopes of joining the program's long list of 22 All-Americans.

While Defiance would surely like all of those things to happen, the item at the top of its check list entering this season is to secure the school's 26th men's basketball conference crown and to reach the postseason for the 34th time and the first time since 2001.

That goal appears to be within reach once more for the Jackets, who were tabbed second in the HCAC Preseason Poll and who return four starters and 11 lettermen from its 18-win team in 2008-2009.

In order to live up to those heightened hopes and expectations, this squad will hope to lean on the experience of its six-man senior class to lead a group of 13 sophomores and freshmen throughout the upcoming season.

The Yellow Jackets will also look for increased consistency in all aspects of the game, while switching to a much quicker tempo with the hopes of fully utilizing a very deep and athletic roster.

The biggest key to DC's success this season could be how healthy it can keep its players, especially All-American candidates Floyd and Sales. With a healthy season from that duo, the Yellow Jackets could very well make the jump from being a consistently good team in recent years, to being a great team this season.

Along with staying healthy and getting more consistency up and down the roster, Defiance will need to improve its defensive abilities and find a way to replace the rebounding presence of graduated All-American Anthony Pettaway.

The Yellow Jackets ranked 10th in the nation one year ago by outrebounding the opposition by 7.7 boards per game and went 15-5 when winning the battle on the glass. DC also posted a 14-2 record when holding its opponent under 70 points.

Coach Brumett is hoping that a new full-court trapping press can provide the answer to both of those concerns, as it should help DC force more turnovers than it has in the past and decrease the rebounding opportunities over the course of the game.

When a rebound is needed, DC will rely on Sales, Nate Conley, Kevin Tietje and Kyle Tietje to commit to getting the job done, while also leaning on the strong rebounding skills of Mike Floyd and Eric Stolly out of the back court.

POINT GUARD
The point guard position should be in good hands with the return of two-time All-HCAC performer Mike Floyd. The senior play maker has led the conference in assists in all three of his seasons with the Jackets and is coming off one of the best seasons in the history of the DC program for a point guard. Floyd dished out 178 helpers for the fifth most in DC history and ended the year ranking 10th in the nation with 6.8 assists per game. Floyd will also enter his final collegiate season ranking second in school history with 367 career assists to his credit. While Floyd will see the overwhelming majority of time at the point, incoming freshmen Logan Wolfrum and Brandon Campbell will look to give the Jackets a safety net at the position and allow head coach Kyle Brumett the luxury of keeping Floyd fresh for the stretch drive.

SHOOTING GUARD / WING
The Yellow Jackets will feature several familiar faces on the perimeter along with Floyd, as returning seniors Eric Stolly and Heath Armstrong and rising sophomore Anthony Brown give DC a wealth of experience and talent in the back court. That trio has improved defensively and will be further bolstered by Wolfrum and Campbell, as well as sophomore Brandon Hoke, who will slide over from the point to better contribute away from the ball at his natural position. Armstrong, Stolly and Brown will provide plenty of firepower from beyond the arc, as the trio combined to net 20.8 points per game, while shooting 38.7 percent from three-point territory last season. The play of Armstrong and Brown has been lauded around the HCAC, with each being tabbed as Preseason Players to Watch, after Armstrong was named Honorable Mention All-HCAC at the end of his junior campaign.

POST
Similar to the situation with the point guard position, all eyes will look towards senior Nick Sales when the discussion turns to DC's post players. The two-time All-HCAC selection will be absolutely vital to how successful the Jackets can be in 2009-2010. Sales has reported to camp in tremendous shape and has assumed the leadership role, as he hopes to prove that he can carry the squad throughout the season. The numbers show that he can, as Sales averaged 16.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.7 blocks per game as a junior, all while turning in the second-best, single-season field goal percentage in DC history. The sizzling 63.8-percent rate topped all HCAC players and ranked Sales eighth in the nation. Like Floyd, Sales will enter his final season at Defiance with the chance to etch his name throughout the program's record books. The versatile forward will enter this year needing 70 points to join the 1,000-point club, ranking third in blocks and blocks per game and holding the highest career field goal percentage in DC history. It will not be all Sales in the paint however, as fellow seniors Nate Conley and Josh Stuckey will be leaned on for expanded roles, while sophomores Kevin and Kyle Tietje will also play pivotal roles, as each looks to build on solid rookie campaigns at the collegiate level. Both have reported to camp noticeably stronger and will need to contribute over the duration of the season to help DC reach its goals. Fellow sophomore Justin Morris could also see time in the paint, as he continues to develop and gain experience.

2009-2010 SCHEDULE
The Yellow Jackets will look to get out the gates quickly in 2009-2010 with the hopes of grabbing regional and national attention and establishing a strong resume for a potential at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. Along with an always-challenging HCAC 16-game slate, DC will face foes from several highly respected basketball leagues, including the Ohio Athletic Conference, Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, Old Dominion Athletic Conference and the North Coast Athletic Conference.

Defiance will get things started on Sunday, November 15 when it plays at Kalamazoo at 3:00 pm.