Nov. 15, 2007

MEN’S BASKETBALL: Lots of Potential as Lutes Open 2007-08 Season

THIS WEEK: Pacific Lutheran plays at the Northwest Lutheran Invitational Tournament, hosted by Concordia University in Portland, Ore., and sponsored by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. The Lutes open the men’s portion of the tournament at 4 p.m. Friday against Augsburg (Minn.) and they play again on Saturday with the time and opponent determined by the outcome of Friday’s game.

MORE ABOUT THE TOURNAMENT: This year’s tournament is the first annual of what both Pacific Lutheran and Concordia hope to be a long-running event. The plan is that the tournament will alternate between Concordia and Pacific Lutheran. The PLU men’s and women’s teams are scheduled to host this event next year. As mentioned, PLU plays Augsburg, while the other side of the bracket features Concordia-Portland against Concordia-Nebraska. The losers of those games play at 4 p.m. Saturday and the winners meet at 8 p.m. Saturday.

SEASON OUTLOOK: After struggling for the past few years, the Pacific Lutheran men’s basketball team appears to be approaching the light at the end of the tunnel. All five starters from last season’s group return this season, looking to lead the young yet talented 2007-08 team to its first winning season in six years. Four of the top five – including the top three – scorers from last year’s squad return: junior guard Josh Dressler (15.9 ppg), senior wing Jared Brandeberry (12.2 ppg), senior post Scott McDaniels (12.2 ppg) and senior guard Landon Heidenreich (9.2 ppg). McDaniels (7.5 rpg) and Brandeberry (6.2 rpg) led the Lutes in rebounding last year, while Heidenreich is a four-year starter at point guard (5.3 assists per game). Heidenreich and McDaniels earned honorable mention All-Northwest Conference honors last season. Sophomore guard Gabe Smith fills out the group of returning starters. Those five players were at or near the top of the Lutes’ leader board in virtually every offensive category last year, and they will look to build on that experience in the upcoming season. Head coach Steve Dickerson’s toughest task in his second season at the helm will be finding the best mixture of youth and experience on a team that could have six true freshmen vying for playing time. “We have a good mixture of experienced and new players,” Dickerson said. “Having all five starters return should balance out our overall youth on the rest of the team.” But the fact that all five starting spots are taken does not mean that Lute fans will not be able to see many of the new faces on the court. Dickerson plans to have 10-11 players in the regular rotation to keep everyone fresh with PLU’s pressing style, and he expects the freshmen to contribute quite a bit. “We recruited everyone with the idea that they will add depth to the team, not to develop them for a year before expecting them to contribute,” Dickerson said. “They all have their strengths and we just have to figure out exactly where they all fit. Four out-of-state recruits join two Washington natives as newcomers to this year’s team. Kyle MacTaggart and Kell Duncan are both outstanding players from Arizona, earning the scholar-athlete award as well as being captains on their respective teams. Victor Bull, a 6-7 post player from San Francisco, Calif., will add an “excellent inside presence,” according to Dickerson. Gregory Bogdan joined the class in late June after helping to lead Portland’s Grant High School to the Oregon 6A state tournament. Tommy Begalka from Richland and Curtis Trondsen from Shelton will also push the starters for playing time. “Everyone’s working hard and we intend to have a good year,” Dickerson said. “We plan on making a lot of progress and getting this program back to where it once was.” The Northwest Conference preseason coach’s poll expects the Lutes to finish fifth behind Lewis & Clark, UPS, Whitworth and Pacific. The top three teams in the conference make the NWC tournament at the end of the season.

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