By
Joel Welser
The three previous times that
St. Mary’s
has reached the NCAA Tournament, the head coach has split for
greener pastures immediately after. That didn’t happen when the
Gaels reached the NCAAs last year. Coach Randy Bennett signed a
new contract through the 2009-2010 campaign. While the coaching
stability is nice, the loss of four seniors with starting
experience hurts.
Who’s Out:
Paul Marigney led the Gaels with 16.8 points per game, but the
loss of point guard E.J. Rowland might prove to be the most
painful. Rowland averaged a team high 3.9 assists per game and
added on 11.0 points. Jonathan Sanders, a 6-7 wing, started 33
games, averaging 7.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists.
Frederic Adjiwanou, a 6-8 power forward, started 17 games and
was a solid force under the basket. Adjiwanou averaged 8.0
points and 6.6 boards.
Who’s In:
Wayne Hunter might find himself running the point. The combo
guard averaged 13 points, four rebounds and four assists at
Bridgton Preparatory School in Maine last year. The California
native has good size at 6-4, 200 pounds, but could ideally use
some time to adjust to life in the WCC. John Winston will likely
take over that starting point guard role once he is eligible at
the semester break. The UNLV transfer averaged 13.0 minutes,
scoring 1.4 points and dishing out 1.9 assists per game in
2003-2004. Kevin McCaughey, who redshirted last year, will add
some more depth to the backcourt. Forwards Ian O’Leary and
Diamon Simpson will work their way into the frontcourt rotation.
O’Leary missed his senior season of high school due to an
injury. The 6-7 Woodland, California product can shoot, drive
and rebound and is a nice pickup for Coach Randy Bennett.
Simpson averaged 20 points and 14 rebounds as a senior at
Haywood High School in Hayward, California and should get an
opportunity for quality minutes from the get go.
Who to Watch:
Daniel Kickert averaged 16.6 points and 6.6
rebounds as a junior last year. Without fellow scoring threat
Paul Marigney on the floor, defenses will be able to key in on
Kickert if nobody else can step up. Kickert, a 6-8 245 pound
Melbourne, Australia native earned First Team All-West Coast
Conference honors for two straight years and should make it a
third in 2005-2006. Kickert isn’t just a big body. He has a
great outside shot, making 53.8% of his shots from the floor and
nearly 50% of his 4.1 attempts per game from behind the arc.
Projected Conference Rank:
It’s a wide open race for the coveted spot
behind Gonzaga. St. Mary’s loses a lot of talent and has major
questions at the point, but a 2nd place finish isn’t
out of the question by any means. Players like Reda Rhalimi,
Daniel Waddy, Todd Golden, Erik Bond and Rafael DaSilva, who all
averaged less than ten minutes a game last year, need to step up
and play a bigger role off the bench.
Projected Post-season Tournament:
NIT
Projected Starting Five:
Wayne Hunter, Freshman, Guard, DNP last season
Jason Walberg, Senior, Guard, 4.2 points per game
Brett Collins, Junior, Forward, 6.4 points per game
Daniel Kickert, Senior, Forward, 16.6 points per game
Blake Sholberg, Junior, Center, 3.2 points per game
