2002-2003 CUNY / Con Edison Men's Basketball Preview

Young League Is Up For Grabs!

Coming off the City University of New York Athletic Conference's best men's basketball season in years, the 2002-03 league will be drastically different from its predecessor. From the defending champions, College of Staten Island to Brooklyn College, it's going to be different. The scales have evened out with Staten Island graduating five starters and the likes of Brooklyn and City Tech emerging as players in the race for the CUNY elite. Therefore this year's preview is more speculation than usual, as the true maturity test won't take place until well after fall final exams.

One school dealing with change is Baruch College (18-10, 8-5 CUNYAC in 2001-02). In September the school opened the brand new Vertical Campus on East 24th Street and Lexington Avenue, the state-of-the-art Athletics & Recreation Complex (ARC) and changed the school nickname to Bearcats. Besides, the coaches predicted Baruch to win the CUNY North Division, as the college prepares to host the 38th Annual CUNY / Con Edison Basketball Championships.

Head Coach Ray Rankis, the Dean of the CUNY Coaches, returns six key players and three starters, but is really excited about the prospect of playing his first home game in his 20-year career at the helm of the team. "The facility has been wonderful for the students," said Rankis, who has played at nearby Xavier High School since 1984. "It's upbeat to practice in a first rate facility. The teams and the staff are psyched about it and anticipate great support. It certainly will generate a better feeling on the campus.."

On the heels of his fifth straight postseason appearance, Rankis will rely on senior guard John Alesi (Xaverian / Staten Island, NY) to lead the Bearcats. Alesi (11.7 ppg, 2.7 apg) will take over that role from departed seniors Lou Pento (13.6 ppg, 13.1 rpg) and Ernie Cappello with a great cast around him. Senior Daniel Guilford (Christopher Columbus / Bronx, NY) and junior Joe Longobardi (Moore Catholic / Staten Island, NY) will provide veteran stability in the backcourt. Longobardi averaged 8.5 ppg (53 three-pointers), while Guilford at 6'2" started at the three-spot chipping in 6.9 ppg and 4.3 apg. In the frontcourt, the Bearcats will look to two sophomores and one junior for output, Shaun Applebaum (Xaverian / Brooklyn, NY), Šime Marnika (Archbishop Molloy / Long Island City, NY) and Gary Etienne (Holy Cross / Jamaica, NY). Applebaum led the trio last year with 10.4 points and 5.2 rebounds.

"When you have returning players with that much experience," continued Rankis. "There's a definite comfort factor. You know that something positive will happen because the players know what to expect."

Slated for second in the poll is Lehman College (17-10, 8-5), which also returns three starters following an ECAC Tournament appearance in 2002. Together, seniors Chris Bowman (St. Raymond's / Bronx, NY) and Michael Patrick (John F. Kennedy / Bronx, NY) return 11.1 points and 12.5 rebounds. But the Lightning's top scorer should be junior Edgar Lugo (William Taft / Bronx, NY) who will look to improve upon the 17.1 average (54 three-pointers) he had since joining the team during the break last year. Head coach Steve Schulman also expects improvement from juniors Marc Domin (DeWitt Clinton / Bronx, NY), Amil Hector (Hunter / Bronx, NY) and sophomore forward Mike Turner (Harry Truman / Bronx, NY).

New faces at the APEX will be 6-7 freshman Grady Thompson (Gorton / Yonkers, NY) and sophomore guard Robert Naggie (John F. Kennedy / Bronx, NY). Naggie is an impact guard who has size and speed.

"We have potential on this team," said Schulman, last year's CUNYAC Co-Coach of the Year. "I think that we can improve on last year's success if the players believe in themselves and the program this year."

The third North Division team to finish 8-5 in conference action last season is John Jay College (18-8). Now in his fourth season, head coach Guy Rancourt is trying to deflect the hype that he used to crave for his program. Is it because he graduated three starters, or is it because he knows that this year's team has vast potential, as much is unknown about the Bloodhounds. The Bloodhounds return three key players from last year's squad, guard Pablo Palma (Norman Thomas / New York, NY), who scored 6.6 ppg, forwards David Barry (Archbishop Molloy / Queens, NY) at 6.3 ppg and Tim White (Archbishop Molloy / Queens, NY) who added 6.8 points and 2.9 rebounds. Also expected back from two seasons ago is forward Omar Malcolm, who would step right in and contribute. Meanwhile, newcomer Bobby Potts (St. Agnes / Bayside, NY) could help the team right away.

"We want to make progress each and every season, and the next step forward is to make it to the final," said Rancourt. "I hope that this is the year."

Hunter College (10-16, 5-8) was one of those teams last year that were in every game, even extending five contests into overtime (going 1-4). This season, head coach Bill Healy believes that experience via four returning starters will bring the Hawks back to the glory days of the 1990's.

Junior point guard Lorcan Precious (Staples / Westport, CT) leads the way with 14.7 points and a CUNYAC high 6.0 assists while being tabbed as the Preseason Player of the Year. "We will rely heavily on Lorcan this season," said Healy, as he enters his fourth season at the helm. "Fortunately for us, we have good depth in the backcourt."

Junior forward Daniel Wuebben (Creighton Prep / Omaha, NE) will lead the frontcourt with 8.1 ppg and 5.7 rpg with the departure of forward Darryl Munroe (17.4 ppg, 7.7 rpg), a four-year CUNY all-star. The addition of junior Ricardo Reimers (Martin Van Buren / Queens Village, NY), a two-time all-star at Kingsborough Community College, will really soften the blow of losing Munroe.

Besides Precious, the backcourt is stocked with sophomore Donte King (John Adams / Long Island City, NY), junior Samir Pepic (Bryant / Long Island City, NY) and swingman Jeremy Asgari (Hudson / Weehawken, NJ) all expected to play major minutes. The trio averaged nearly 18.9 points last season, while shooting 79 three-pointers.

The City College of New York (11-16, 5-8) had a tough time defending the school's first CUNYAC Championship in 21 years last season, but head coach Andy Stampfel is more optimistic about this season than he was about that 2001 championship team.

Senior forward Edwin Caceres (John Bowne / Corona, NY) returns 14.3 points and 10.6 rebounds, as he joined the Beavers mid-year after transferring from St. Francis College. Another transfer, 6'2" guard Dana Warner (Manhattan Center / New York, NY), transferred to CCNY from Slippery Rock University, where he was a potent scorer and defender. Warner may have a familiar name to CUNY hoops historians, as his late father Ed Warner was on City's 1950 NCAA and NIT Championship teams.

Two sophomores will fill key roles for the Beavers, forward Darryl France (Martin Van Buren / Queens, NY) and guard Avain Guardine (Manhattan Center / New York, NY), who averaged 10.5 and 6.0 points respectively.

"It's a tough task to have to replace our two leaders, Aki [Trent] and Obinna [Efobi]," said Stampfel, who relied on the duo for 31.4 ppg and 13.9 rpg last year. "But Caceras and Warner are up to the challenge."

In the CUNY South Division, York College (13-14, 7-6) was picked overwhelmingly to win the division and it was a complete surprise to the Cardinals themselves. The Cardinals appeared in the tournament semifinals for the 11th straight season, but had their first losing mark in eight campaigns.

"I look forward to this season and thank my fellow coaches for thinking so highly of York College," said head coach Ron St. John, who has 199 career victories in 14 seasons at the helm of his alma mater. "It is going to be a challenge this year, we don't have size this year – that's a difference than usual and a fantastic challenge for us."

The only player on the Cardinals roster over 6'5" is 6'9" junior center Marvin Gray (Pacific / Jamaica, NY), who will look to improve on his 2.3 ppg and 3.5 rpg with increased playing time. Senior guards Jason Daniel (George Wingate / Brooklyn, NY) and Donell Singletary (Martin Van Buren / Queens, NY) return to lead the backcourt. Daniel, a three-year starter at the point is the top returning starter at only 7.9 ppg and 4.7 apg.

Sophomore forward Kwesi Liverpool (Holy Cross / South Ozone Park, NY) is expected to contribute heavily along with returning forward Michael Thompson (Albany HS / Jamaica, NY).

It's not often that a team coming off a 22-win season and an appearance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament isn't ranked at the top, but it's a whole new College of Staten Island (22-7, 10-3) team - including the coach. For the past 20 years, Tony Petosa was on the CSI campus. First he became the school's all-time leading scorer, and then he became the college's all-time winningest head coach. This season, while on a sabbatical from his teaching position at Lafayette High School in Brooklyn, he is taking the same one-year leave from CSI and volunteering his time as an assistant coach at Providence College. So continuing a trend at the school, in steps 26-year old Brian Gasper. Gasper also scored over 1,000 points at CSI and became an assistant at the school for the last four seasons. This year he will try to lead an extremely young team back to the championship.

"Its a lot more responsibility," said Gasper. "I'm experiencing what every head coach goes through in the beginning. I am going to make mistakes here and there, but as long as I get the message across to the players, it will be okay."

Gasper faces the daunting task of replacing five four-year players, including two-time CUNYAC Player of the Year David Paul, an honorable mention All-American. Three sophomores will be expected to step right in to leadership roles, guard Michael Stewart (George Westinghouse / Brooklyn, NY), forward John Smith (Bayside / Queens, NY) and center Mike Nebvlakis (Franklin D. Roosevelt / Brooklyn, NY) who combined for 18.5 points and 10.3 rebounds in their first season. Also back for the Dolphins are guards Robert Nguyen (Lafayette / Brooklyn, NY) and Stanley Etheridge (St. Peter's / Staten Island, NY), both of whom sat out last season. 6'5" forward Jason Coke (William Grady / Brooklyn, NY) could be an impact player for CSI this season.

After finally heading in the right direction, Medgar Evers College (20-9, 9-4) may have taken a step back this season. The Cougars appeared in the CUNY final for the first time since 1993 and made the ECAC Championships, but will have to go at it this season without the same head coach and with four new starters. Robert Holford, the team's skipper the last two years moved to CUNY's Hostos Community College (Bronx, NY) to become the school's first Athletic Director and Head Basketball Coach. His first assistant George Moore, formerly of Thomas Jefferson High School, moved over to the top seat on the bench.

"I'm excited about the prospect of coaching this team," said Moore. "But we have a tough task ahead of us. We want to get the returnees back in game shape and back to the final." Moore will look to a group of sophomores and juniors to carry the Cougars, instead of all-star guards Malik Copeland and Jebah Clayton, who may come back next semester. Leading that pack is 6'6" sophomore Raheim Lowery (Boys & Girls / Brooklyn, NY) with 9.4 ppg and 7.1 rpg, 5'7" guard Shaun Jerome (Abraham Lincoln / Brooklyn, NY) who averaged 4.5 ppg and junior forward Marcus Benjamin (Vessigny / Trinidad).

Continuing the youth theme of the South Division, Brooklyn College (5-20, 1-12) will look to climb the CUNY ladder this season. Senior forwards Daniel Weismuller (Madison / Brooklyn, NY) and Shakespeare Thomas (Midwood / Brooklyn, NY) will certainly lead the frontcourt, while sophomore point guard Jason Fulford (ICE / Brooklyn, NY) will return 15.5 points and 3.8 assists in the backcourt. Next to Fulford should be junior guard Aaron Goldstein (Springfield, CA / Brooklyn, NY), a two-year player at CSI, who transferred ‘home' borough.

"I am more confident in this year's team than last," said eighth-year head coach Steve Podias. "We have good backcourt depth and strong leadership in the frontcourt."

Rounding out the league is New York City College of Technology (6-18, 4-9), a program that has struggled since moving up from the junior college ranks three years ago. Unfortunately, after showing promise by beating CSI during the regular season, the team will be forced to rebuild once again with the departure of two-time all-star Sam Deadwyler, an explosive scorer who was only 159 away from 1,000 career points.

But the undersized Yellow Jackets do return guards Nkosi Hamilton (August Martin / Brooklyn, NY) who scored 8.3 ppg, Fady Awad (Richmond Hill / Queens, NY) and forward Lister Regis (John Jay / Brooklyn, NY). The good news for legendary coach Ray Amalbert, is that he assured of returning to the CUNY tournament since winning four straight titles with Hunter from 1992-95.

So stay tuned, it could be an interesting year for CUNY men's basketball. One thing that is certain is the CUNY final will be played on the last day of February and the winner of the 2003 CUNY / Con Edison Basketball Championship will once again receive and automatic berth to the 2003 NCAA Championships. Besides that- who knows. We'll see you at the games.

-- CUNYAC --