GEORGETOWN, Texas – After one of their best seasons ever the Southwestern men's basketball team hits the court once again to kick off the 2010-11 season on Monday. Three seniors highlight this dynamic team and will be the catalysts for an exciting season.
"We are going to be as good as our seniors and the leadership they provide," says Head Coach Bill Raleigh about his senior class comprised of Jonathan Brown, Nick Caputo (pictured) and Robbie Hanley. "With their leadership we are going to go as far as they can carry us."
Brown and Caputo were All-SCAC selections last season. Brown led the team averaging 13.7 points per game and was also tops in shooting percentage at 54.5% , blocked shots with .8 per game and rebounds, pulling down 5.2 per game. Caputo's outside threat kept teams from collapsing down on Brown. Caputo shot 37% from three point range last season and averaged 12 points per game, second most on the team. He also had a commanding presence on the boards averaging 4.7 per game, third most on the team last season.
Hanley was a solid player off the bench for the Pirates last season shooting 51.1% from the floor and 46.2% from long range. He averaged 2.4 points and 2.7 rebounds per game last year.
Beyond the senior class the Pirates return five additional players that will be vying for playing time along with the 11 newcomers on the roster. "We have a lot of questions to answer and we have some good, talented young players," states Coach Raleigh. "I am interested to see who is going to step up for us this season. Versatility will be the key to our season as we have a lot of interchangeable parts and once those cogs begin to move in sync with one another we have a chance to make some waves in the conference; it will just take some time to get to that point."
Coach Raleigh anticipates this team continuing to play an uptempo style but will also be focusing on the defensive side of the ball, forcing teams into mistakes and capitalizing on those in transition. "We need to play solid defense in order to get out and run," says Coach Raleigh. Last season Southwestern was fourth in scoring defense, holding teams to 61.3 points per game and third in field goal defense keeping teams shooting 39% from the floor.
The Pirates are predicted to finish fourth in West in 2010-11 according to the SCAC pre-season poll, just three votes behind Austin College and Colorado College who tied for second.
To open the season Coach Raleigh returns to the University of Dallas, where he coached for three seasons before coming to Southwestern, for SU's first game on November 15th. Tip-off is set for 7:30 pm. SU hosts their first home contest on Friday, November 26th, taking on Wisconsin-River Falls at 3:00 pm before opening up SCAC conference action against Trinity at home on December 3rd at 8:00 pm.
