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DATE: Thurs., Nov. 17, 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Men's basketball

Guards take charge

FREDONIA, N.Y. -- A change in offensive style has given rise to optimism among the Fredonia State men’s basketball team.

“We’re going to be much more deliberate in the half court,” head coach Kevin Moore said. “It’s a Princeton type offense with lots of screening, cutting, and moving.

“It will allow the players we have to play to their strengths.”

The Blue Devils are coming off an 8-16 season (4-12 SUNYAC) that was wrought with tragedy, injury, and defection. Before the season began, starting center Mark Buckenmeyer was stricken and died. That preceded an injury to the team’s other experienced big man, Nate Sanzo, which sidelined him for the entire second semester. The mid-season defection of a third starting player sent the Blue Devils into a tailspin.

“We had a lot of players out of position,” Moore said, “and we never really put it together.”

The end result was a guard-oriented offense, and more of the same is expected in 2005-06. Junior point guard Taha Alassari (Brooklyn/Sweet Home) and senior shooting guard Chris Donahue (Olean/Olean) are the top two returning scorers at 12.5 and 10.8 points per game, respectively.

Donahue is one of five seniors who return for their final season. Moore said the quintet has taken up the pledge of improving on the past two seasons following a promising freshmen season in 2002-03.

“The senior class,” Moore said, “has committed themselves to go out with a successful campaign after disappointing sophomore and junior seasons.”

The Blue Devils open their season Friday vs. Emerson of Boston, Mass., in the first round of the John K. Adams Tip-Off Classic at Rutgers-Newark (N.J). The championship and consolation games are Saturday.

Moore will again be assisted by Kaine Kelly, Steve Hout, and student intern Nick Bertrando. Hout will also coach the Fredonia State junior varsity team.

Here’s Moore’s position-by-position breakdown of the team:

FORWARDS - 6-foot-3 senior Devin Watkins (Franklinville/Franklinville) is a projected starter. Top reserves are 6-4 junior Kevin Reichlmayr (Rochester/Aquinas) and 6-3 sophomore Adam Smith (Fredonia/Fredonia). Chris Donahue (Olean/Olean), who played guard a great deal last year, will start at the small forward position.

Moore expects the combination of Watkins and Donahue to complement the guard-oriented offense. At 6-3 and 6-1 respectively, both are somewhat undersized for the frontcourt, but are legitimate threats on the perimeter. Donahue connected for a team-best 47 threes last year while Watkins drained 26 field goals from beyond the arc.

With their shooting range, both have the ability to create match-up problems.

Reichlmayr showed some flashes last year that indicate he should be ready to contribute this season. Smith, who spent last season on the JV squad, has gotten a lot stronger and shown improvement in the pre-season.

CENTERS - The main man in the middle for the Devils this season will be sophomore Kyle Gordon (Canandaigua/Canandaigua). He was thrown into a starting role last season and showed signs of promise. He shot a perfect nine for nine from the field in his first start, followed by a seven of eight performance the following game. For the season, he topped the conference in FG% at 59.1% (75 of 127).

However, Gordon needs to stay out of the foul trouble he ran into last season to be more productive this year. “His ability to stay in the game is going to be important for our success,” said Moore.

6-6 Freshman Dave Mack (West Henrietta/Rush Henrietta) has great hands, good size and comes from a great program. He will see his time behind Gordon this year.

GUARDS - Alassari and senior Tim Anderson (Jamestown/Jamestown) provide an experienced and steady tandem that will run the offense. Alassari will be moved from the point to shooting guard this year, which Moore hopes will free him up to do more scoring. He has great quickness off the dribble and was one of the top three-point shooters in the conference last year.

Alassari has also been a staunch defender - his 2.21 steals per game ranked second in the league a season ago.

Anderson will be moved to the point to run the offense. At 6’3’’, he was one of the team’s top rebounders (5.8 per game) last year.

Donahue will also see time at the guard position. He is the team’s best three-point shooter, according to Moore, and will excel under the new system.

Senior Chris Kensy (Cheektowaga/Maryvale) is the team’s best defender and a team leader. He will back up at the point.

Senior Mike Kelly (Corning/Corning East) rounds out the lineup. After spending two seasons on the JV squad and waiting his turn last year, he showed that he was capable of lighting things up quickly. He led the team in three-point percentage 38.6% (34 of 88) and saw his role increase as the season moved on.

The Devils are anything but one dimensional when scoring from the outside. Four players -- Donahue (47), Alassari (36), Kelly (34) and Watkins (26) - each connected for 26 or more three-point buckets last year.

2005-06 Schedule
November
18 - vs. Emerson at Rutgers-Newark, 5:30; 19 - vs. TBA at Rutgers-Newark;. 22 - at D’Youville; 29 - at Buffalo State (*).

December
2 - at Cortland (*); 3 - at Oneonta (*); 6 - St. John Fisher, 7:30; 8 - at Pitt-Bradford, 7:30; 10 - at Penn State Behrend.

January
4 - at Houghton, 7:00; 7 - Thiel; 10 - Oswego (*); 14 - New Paltz (*), 4:00; 20 - Potsdam; 21 - Plattsburgh (*), 4:00; 24 - Brockport (*); 27 - at Oswego (*); 28 - at New Paltz (*); 31 - at Geneseo (*).

February
3 - Oneonta; 6 - at Thiel, 7:30; 10 - at Plattsburgh, 11 - at Potsdam, 4:00; 17 - SUNYIT; 18 - Cortland.

All games 8 p.m. unless noted
(*) SUNYAC game
All home games in Bold

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