Wendy Haun
There are some drastic changes coming for the Eastern Kentucky University basketball team.
Of course, the changes were expected, since the team’s leading scorer, Mike Rose — who also is the second-leading scorer in school history — exhausted all of his eligibility.
The Colonels have been using several different lineups during scrimmages, as they prepare for their season-opener against West Virginia Wesleyan (8 p.m. Saturday at McBrayer Arena).
“We’re trying to figure out exactly which pieces go where and which combination works best,” Neubauer said. “In our first scrimmage, we literally played 21 different lineups. That’s a sign that the coaching staff needs to figure how these pieces work together. Our challenge, just like every season, is finding new guys to step up into leadership roles, find new guys to step up into scoring roles and also to adjust our defense to make it fit the personnel we have.”
In replacing Rose, Ryan Wiersma and Jorge Camacho, Neubauer has needed people to step up, including transfer Spencer Perrin and freshman Willie Cruz. Three key players who saw significant minutes who have been impressive in the preseason are Papa Oppong, Josh Taylor and Justin Stommes.
Oppong, who started 12 games and played in 26 of the 31 games last season, averaged nine points and five boards. Taylor played in all 31 games as well and was the second-leading scorer on the team, averaging 11 points per game. Stommes also averaged in double figures, with 10 points per game and a team-high 82 percent from the free-throw line.
Taylor said the team has worked on becoming more balanced overall.
“We’re a really unselfish team,” the senior forward said. “No one goes out and shoots the ball every time. We find our open teammates. I think that’s what’s really special about us — everyone can pass and shoot. We’re not going to get see someone shooting a tough shot over the defense if there’s an open player.”
With big games on the road at Maryland and Pittsburgh, as well as two holiday tournaments — the Colonels are playing host to the Legends Classic shortly before Thanksgiving and the Dr. Pepper Classic in Chattanooga, Tenn., after Christmas — EKU will be seeing competition from all over the country.
The Pittsburgh game (on Nov. 19) will be special for Taylor, who will have his first opportunity to play in his hometown.
“Playing teams (of this caliber) is something that comes along with being a Division I basketball player,” Neubauer said. “We’ve had opportunities to make a statement and we’ve come up just short, but we always look at those games as opportunities.”
One player who has been in Colonel uniform, but may be unfamiliar to EKU fans, is Josh Daniel. Daniel was redshirted last year and provided crucial help during game preparation. He played in every game during both his freshman and sophomore campaigns. His career-best was 15 points his freshman year against SEMO.
“Quite honestly, the biggest surprise here in the early season has been how much Josh Daniel has improved,” Neubauer said. “He’s played with us for three years already and has done a great job of just stepping things up. He’s always been a great shooter and a great basketball player, but he really is moving much differently than he’s ever moved. He’s going to be a great contributor to our team.”
Other key returners for the Colonels are Josh Jones and Dayvon Ellis, who should be splitting time at point guard, Mike Lewis, Robin Mestdagh, Antonio Gilkey and Cordaro Ellis.
One of the strongest players towards the end of the season, Camacho, will not be returning for at least the first semester after running into problems with immigration. The native of Hermosillo, Mexico, tried out for the Mexican Junior National team and was not allowed to return to the states afterward. He played in all 31 games last year and averaged six points per game.
The Colonels were picked to finish sixth in the OVC in this year’s preseason poll.
