Preview: Men’s basketball aiming for another CSAC title

By Anthony Foley
November 7, 2011

With the men’s basketball season just around the corner, the Cavaliers were honored with the No. 14 spot on the D3hoops.com Preseason Basketball Poll. The Cavs finished last season with a final record of 24-6 and also reached the Sweet Sixteen.

Losing defensive threat Lamar Fisher and forward Dom Farrello, both seniors last year, will be an obstacle for the team to overcome this year. Farrello averaged 17.8 points and 8.0 rebounds per game last season.

Cory Lemons, junior business administration major, averaged 6.5 assists per game along with 17.3 points per game last year. Lemons was also a member of the D3hoops.com Preseason All-America Third Team.

“I feel honored to be on the All-American list but I only am on there because my coaches put me in a position to be successful,” Lemons said. “We are preparing very hard to stay on top of our game and we lost a lot with our seniors but our returners, including myself, have to step up and the freshman will help out a lot. We just have to stay as a unit and I will lead this team by doing whatever it takes to win and I have a lot of help.”

Senior John Boyd, sophomore Fran Rafferty and juniors A.J. Williams and Goran Dulac will help lead the younger players. Rafferty, last year’s star-studded freshman, had a lot to say about his team.

“Coming off of last year, we lost two big pieces in Farrello and Fisher but we have a strong young group coming in,” Rafferty said. “It’s extremely hard to come off a strong season from last year and expect the same result but we return four of five starters and a strong bench that I think can get us back to the Sweet 16 and maybe even further.”

According to Rafferty, the new additions to this year’s team will help the team continue to succeed on the court.

“Jeremy Knowles will play a role on the wing for us and the freshman class is headed by Brima Rogers and Sean Mayo. Alex Lorenzo and Connor Quigley will also step in and look to help us build on our success from last season,” Rafferty said. Rafferty averaged 8.6 points per game and 4.0 rebounds in his freshman season. Even as a sophomore, he is viewed as a leader on this year’s team.

“As far as being a leader of the team, I plan on leading by example,” Rafferty said. “I’ll be there to pick guys up if they’re having a bad game or something like that but primarily I just want to lead our team back to the CSAC Championship and eventually deeper into the NCAA Tournament. Being ranked 14th is a great honor for this team. It just shows how hard we’ve worked and what we carry over from last year’s run. Our team is excited. We believe we can really make a run this year.”

Other members of the team are also optimistic about the season and are prepared to work hard.

“We are just trying to get in the best shape we can,” Jon Miller, sophomore center, said. “I am just trying to work on my defense and the whole team is working hard on defense. Dom [Farrello] leaving really is making the team step up and replace his role on the team. He was our go-to guy.”

The Cavaliers will begin their 2011-2012 season on Tuesday, Nov. 15, with a home game against the Haverford College Fords.

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Anthony Foley

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