Men's Basketball 11/9/2016 6:25:00 PM Chris Myers

Men's Basketball Season Preview: Hungry Cardinals Expect 2016-17 ‘Next Step’ Season

WHEELING, W.Va. – With a taste of the national playoffs still fresh, the Cardinals are hungry for greater success. The talented Wheeling Jesuit men's basketball team expects to take the 'next step' in its 2016-17 season.

The Cardinals head into the upcoming campaign with greater expectations both internally and across the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region and national landscape. With four starters returning to the Mountain East Conference Co-Championship team, WJU enters as the No. 7 ranked team in the National Association of Basketball Coaches and No. 25 rated program in the D2SIDA Media Poll.

"Our guys expect to win and that's important," stressed WJU head coach Danny Sancomb. "How hard these guys have worked, they expect to win."

The Cardinals start their attempt to fulfill the expectations in the season-opening weekend this Friday and Saturday, Nov. 11-12, in the Clarion Hotel Conference Challenge at Shepherd University. WJU tips-off against Slippery Rock Friday evening and faces East Stroudsburg Saturday, both opponents of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, with each contest beginning at 5 p.m.

WJU has a hard act to follow with a year of many firsts it recorded a year ago in the first step of reaching its goals. The Cardinals (28-4) ascended for their first time to the No. 1 NABC ranking, Atlantic Region top seed, and MEC Regular Season title, while it posted a 22-game win streak covering over two months of the season.

Despite all of the firsts and progress made, coach Sancomb's team left some lofty goals on the proverbial table and return the players capable of accomplishing those high objectives. The Cardinals ended their breakout campaign with tough back-to-back losses in the MEC Tournament Semifinals and the disheartening Atlantic Region First Round upset against Mercyhurst, 66-65. WJU now has focused its sights on the 'next step' in the program's horizon.

"We want to get back to the NCAA Tournament and do damage there. And then, we want to move on to the Elite Eight. I love having a team not satisfied with the success we had last year and one that know how important every game is," said Sancomb. "Our returning players have done a good job of letting it go (the regional loss), but at the same time, they understand their disappointment and make sure our new players do as well. From this point, we have to continue to defend and rebound the basketball as key parts of taking the next step."

The Cardinals capability to reach their goals and take the 'next step' will rely upon the experienced players and top rebounders dotting up-and-down the 2016-17 roster led by All-MEC First Team junior Haywood Highsmith (Baltimore, Md./Archbishop Curley), 1,000-career point scorer, senior Kyle Ritz (Cambridge, Ohio/Cambridge) and 2015 MEC Freshman of the Year junior Pat Moseh (Springfield, Va./Bishop Ireton). The WJU forward trio return 39.3 points and 21.9 rebounds combined per night of production.

The three top performers join junior starter Drake Goddard (Fort Washington, Md./Maret School) along with four other seniors – Chase Lawson (Sardinia, Ohio/Eastern Brown), Matt Stewart (Pittsburgh, Pa./Norwin), Mark Winters (New Martinsville, W.Va./Magnolia) and Jordan Fair (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Hartley) – for the veteran team core.

The WJU extended core group aim for consistency and execution this season as their year challenges.

"We need to have consistent leadership throughout the 15-man roster. The talent is there and if they work together and play together we will have a successful season," pointed out Sancomb. "We have to be better in our half court execution and shoot the 3-pointers better this year."

With the solid returning contingent, WJU will have some of the similar team strengths down its hungry for more success roster.

"The team is hungry and our chemistry has been good, which is important," stated the WJU coach. "We will be a quick, athletic and very unselfish team that passes the ball very well. We have a good mixture on the team where we both are good shooting (the ball) and attacking the rim."

The Cardinals will again have a very difficult road they will face. WJU's docket includes three PSAC members – Slippery Rock, East Stroudsburg and Gannon – along with an early home contest against Point Park and road swings to Virginia Union and Alderson Broaddus. Including the six non-conference games, WJU sees a rugged MEC league, which placed four of the eight Atlantic Region teams, but lost many highly-potent players.

"Our league will be very good," firmly stated Sancomb. "They'll reload (the teams losing top players) as the conference is very strong. From top to bottom, the MEC is one of the best DII leagues in the country."

Cardinals Position Breakdown:

The forward position holds the team core strength. The Highsmith, Ritz and Moseh trio forms a top-notch group. Highsmith became of the most prolific MEC players a year ago. The 6-7 junior increased his production by 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 11 blocked shots. Highsmith returns as the Cardinals' leading scorer (14.5 ppg), rebounder (9.4 rpg) and shot blocker (46 blocks). The high-flying third-year player also connected on better than 56-percent of his field goal attempts with 13 double-doubles, including a 17-point and 20-rebound game against Notre Dame College.

"Haywood scores in every way possible. He shoots, drives, rebounds and runs the floor," noted Sancomb. "He practices extremely well, rebounds and defends very well."

Ritz enters the 2016-17 season as the Cardinals lone 1,000-career point scorer with 1,007 points in 89 games (11.3 ppg). The 6-7 frontline player contributed 12.9 points and 6.7 rebounds, while he had a .620 shooting percentage, a MEC best.

"Kyle has stepped up and become a leader in the program. He really shoots the ball and attacks the rim for us," added Sancomb.

After earning the league's top 2015 freshman honors, the 6-6 small forward aims to have an unstoppable third year. One of the top inside drivers, Pat dished 102 assists, while he averaged 11.9 points and grabbed 5.8 boards.

"Pat is much-improved shooting the ball and goes to the basket very strong," pointed out the Cardinals director. "He is a great on ball defender and improving his off the ball defense. We need him to rebound well this year."

Seniors Stewart and Winters along with sophomore Dominique Tham (Arlington, Va./Wakefield) provide quality depth inside. Physical player Stewart looks to have a big final season after he added 3.2 points over 12 minutes of action a year ago.

Greatly-improved Winters brings more hard-nosed physical play to the Cardinals' inside game. Mark does the little things from winning loose balls to taking charges.

Tham finished his first year on a big contribution upswing. The 6-5 forward averaged 6.0 points and 2.7 rebounds during WJU's three playoff games. With a chance for an outstanding year, Tham made over 68-percent from the field where he made contributed 2.6 points and 1.9 caroms.

In the backcourt, Goddard and Lawson project into prominent roles. The two experienced players have to replace the two over 1,500-career point producers Eric Siefert and Justin Fritts. Goddard started all 32 games at the point position a year ago. The junior handed out 48 helpers and scored 86 points.

Lawson can light it up from beyond the arc. The shooting guard hit 45 triples of his 71 field goals made. He averaged 6.3 points off the bench.

"Drake has a good understanding of the offense and creates well for others. He has worked hard in the offseason and shows great leadership on the floor," said Sancomb. "Chase shoots the ball as well as you can shoot it. He is improving on doing other things such as slash to the basket, driving and kicking."

Joining Goddard and Lawson, junior transfer Jarin Hilson (Fairmont, W.Va./St. Marys Ryken (Md.) and local area freshman Preston Boswell (New Martinsville, W.Va./Magnolia) are set for playing time. Hilson has good quickness with the ability to create for himself and others. He helped Shelton Community College to a 23-11 record where he handed out 176 assists (5.3 apg). The 6-0 point guard registered a 2.2 assist to turnover ratio, while he scored 13.2 ppg and hauled in 3.2 rpg.

Boswell, a creative player, possesses the ability to score in a lot of different ways. The three-time All-West Virginia First Team player shoots the 3-pointer well and finishes at the rim. He scored 2,519 career points for Magnolia High and averaged 34 ppg as a senior.

Senior Fair rounds out the projected back court rotation. The senior has improved this season due to a great work ethic. He is a slasher to the basket, rebounds well and a quality on ball defender.

The young guards of Curtis Perz (North Huntington, Pa./Norwin), Zack Duffy (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver Falls) and Zach Collins (South Riding, Va./Freedom) will battle for court time. Redshirt freshman Perz and sophomore Duffy take outstanding daily work ethics to practice. Perz is a laterally quick guard where Duffy knocks down the open shots and runs the team offense well. True freshman Collins brings another good ball defender to the WJU bench.

-GoCards-

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