The 2007-2008 basketball season is approaching and recently the Panthers men’s head basketball coach Byron Rimm said what he expects from the team this season.
Rimm mentioned that two of the problem areas from last year were free throw shooting and rebounding.
He added that they were at the bottom half of the nation in percentage with 56 percent and were in the bottom half in rebounding. To combat the problem they added size for rebounding and shooters. By doing this, Rimm believes the guards will throw the ball inside and the post players will be able to kick the ball back out for open shots and the added size will help with the rebounding.
Rimm said that the key players this season will be 6’5″ guard Brian Ezeh, who was a second team all conference player from last season. He expects him to improve this season. He hopes that point guard Derek Johnson, who was sixth in the nation in steals last year, can improve on that performance as well. And 6’8″, 300 pound post player Terrance Moore, a junior from New York, New York, will bring much needed size to the team.
When asked how he felt the Panthers would do in conference play, Rimm answered that he plans to finish first. Rimm believes that the Panthers will be a team to be reckoned with. Rimm knows his team will be tough because they will be in the best shape and the hardest working of any team in the conference.
Rimm said the student body and everyone who comes to the Panthers’ games will see hard played basketball with players diving for loose balls. Rimm said that the team is trying to find out what style they want to play. But he said you can expect lots of threes if the opportunities are there and for the Panthers to really crash the boards.
When comparing last season to now, senior small forward Jonathan Dixon said “We have a big size difference this year. Everyone is very skilled in a different aspect of the game, and it’s up to us as a team to put the pieces together.”
The Panthers’ season opener is Nov. 10 against the Oklahoma State Cowboys and their first home game is Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. against Jarvis Christian College.