Grinnell 2011-12 men's basketball preview
The Grinnell College men's basketball team finished the 2010-11 campaign with a flurry, reeling off 10 consecutive victories before falling to St. Norbert College in the Midwest Conference Tournament championship game.
With many key players back, the Pioneers are looking to feed off that late-season momentum in the 2011-12 season. That is backed up by the fact that league coaches tapped Grinnell as the preseason favorite to win the MWC crown.
Among the returnees are three seniors, 6-4 guard Matt Skelly '12, 6-2 guard Xander Strek '12 and 6-1 guard Matt Chalupa '12. Skelly is the team's second-leading returning scorer with a 12.2 per game average, while Chalupa averaged 11.8 per contest and Strek 3.2. Chalupa also ranked among the team's top 3-point shooters with a 36.5 percent success rate.
"Matt Skelly is one of the most gifted athletes on campus," said Pioneer assistant coach David N. Arseneault '09, a former Grinnell standout who will take over as interim coach second semester when his father and head coach, David Arseneault, is on sabbatical leave from the College. "Matt has a chance to be all-conference in a couple of sports (Skelly also stars in baseball at Grinnell). He is a great jumper and has been a major contributor since he stepped into the program. His leadership this off-season has been great.
"Matt Chalupa is one of the deadliest outside shooters in the history of our program," Arseneault added. "If you give him an open look from 30 feet, he's going to knock it down. Xander Strek brings a lot to our program, as well. He's a strong, athletic person who can shoot the ball. Our senior class is small in terms of number of guys, but their contributions have been amazing."
Among the junior returnees is 6-4 All-Midwest Conference guard Griffin Lentsch '13, who ranked among the nation's leaders in 3-pointers per game (3.9) and points per game (18.3). "Griffin was able to put up a high scoring average despite playing just over 15 minutes a game," said Arseneault. "Of anybody on the team, he's put in the most work over the summer and we're hoping he puts up big numbers this year."
Other juniors are 6-4 guard Dominique Bellamy '13 (8.2 ppg), 6-5 guard/forward Marques Valdez '13, 6-6 forwards Brian McManamy '13 (3.7 rebounds per game) and Jack Adams '13 (2.6 rpg), 6-4 guard/forward Jesse Ney '13 (9.8 ppg), and 6-0 guards Garrett Nitz '13 and Joe Rogers '13.
"Dominique is an outstanding defender who has developed a nice outside shooting stroke," said Arseneault. "He is now able to put the ball on the floor and create his own shot. Marques can do a little bit of everything and I would rank him as the toughest player on the team. Defensively, he is relentless. Brian had off-season surgery on his elbow, but he's got one of the highest basketball IQs on the team. He understands the game and spacing, and is a good passer for his size.
"We're getting Jesse back after he missed the second half of last season," Arseneault continued. "He's kept himself in great shape throughout the year, and has matured into one of our most versatile inside-out players. Garrett finds a way to get the job done. He's a blue-collar type of player with good quickness. Joe is the ultimate role player and doesn't have to have the ball in his hands to be effective. He does a great job of getting other players open and understands that role. Jack really came on down the stretch last year and started knocking down some outside shots. He's become more comfortable at the back of the press and is capable of blocking shots (he led the team with 1.1 per game last year)."
The sophomore class was hurt by the recent loss of Aaron Levin '14, who was expected to play a key role this season but is sitting out after undergoing surgery. Pat Maher '14, a 6-4 guard, and Joel Pollick '14, a 6-0 guard, round out the returnees in that class.
"Pat is our lead point guard this year and a smart player who has gotten stronger in the weight room," said Arseneault. "He can do a lot of things with his length and athleticism.
"Our top newcomers are 6-0 guard Evan Johnson '15, 6-0 guard Luke Yeager '15, 5-10 guard Dylan Bartuch '15, and 6-7 forward Tague Zachary '15," said Arseneault. "The two things with this recruiting class we were looking for were to add quickness and basketball IQ, and we accomplished that. They understand how to play the game and come in with the right attitude. That will help them develop more quickly."
Rounding out the roster are 6-0 guard Gabe Kringlen '13, 5-11 guard Cody Olson '14, and 5-10 guards Aamir Walton '15, Santiago Paredes '15 and Hayes Gardner '15.
Arseneault is hoping all of the facts mentioned help the Pioneers accomplish their goals after a season in which they went 12-6 in the league and 18-7 overall.
"We return nearly all of our top scorers, so depth will be a strength," said Arseneault. "We're going to be long and athletic and can do a lot of different things. I think making it to the conference tournament last year will aid us from the experience factor alone. They learned how it is to play against a nationally ranked team in that type of atmosphere.
"The biggest question mark is how our team chemistry will play out. We have a great group of guys and we hope that we're able to match the chemistry that we had last year."
What the team gets, Arseneault is hoping, is a MWC title and NCAA Division III National Tournament berth. "In my opinion, this team has a chance to be something special," he said. "We certainly don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves, but I think winning the conference and making the NCAAs is the ultimate goal for everybody involved in this program."
