Gwynedd-Mercy 2011-12 men's basketball preview
In the 2011-2012 season , Gwynedd-Mercy will be looking to build off of an NCAA Tournament appearance, their first as an at-large bid, and a return to a sixth CSAC Championship game. GMC Head Coach Baron, now in his 10th season, has a positive outlook for the new season, "We have a good balance of upperclassmen and newcomers that make our practice very competitive. I am excited about our team chemistry and attitude towards a winning season. "
Senior guard Dan Delconte (Blue Bell, Pa./Wissahickon), the team's leading returning scorer averaging 13.2 points per game with a second team All-Colonial States Athletic Conference selection last year, will look to be the general in the backcourt. Delconte also buried 48 three pointers and averaged 4.4 assists per game last season. He will look to his backcourt mates in sophomore Brandyn Wims (Philadelphia, Pa./Cardinal Dougherty) who averaged 8.8 points per contest and dished out two assists per game and junior Doug Berzins (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) who averaged 5.4 points per game and was voted to the CSAC All-Sportsmanship Team. Junior Brendan Stanton (Harleysville, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) will look to make his mark as a scoring threat from downtown.
In the frontcourt, junior Frank Champion (Northfield, N.J./Mainland) will be a big presence inside for the Griffins, as last season he averaged 9.4 points per game and pulled down 6.2 rebounds per game with a team-leading 24 blocks. Seniors Brandon Sharp (Hammonton, N.J./St. Joseph's) and Brandon Williams (Philadelphia, Pa./Philadelphia Electrical) will look to continue their positive production from last year. Williams averaged 3.7 points per game and Sharp 3.4 points per game, respectfully.
The Griffins also have eight very talented newcomers looking to find their way onto the floor. They will be led by 6'8 sophomore forward Tom McKeefery (North Cape May, N.J./Lower Cape May Regional) and 6'1 freshman guard Justin Knight (Mays Landing, N.J./Oakcrest). "I am excited about our new group of guys; anyone of the eight could be mentioned here. The future is definitely bright with this class," adds Baron.
Opening tip-off for the Griffins starts November 19th at Ramapo College the site of last year's NCAA tournament game. The Griffins will start their season facing a national powerhouse, Middlebury College, who is a preseason top 5 team and Final Four last team a year ago. The Griffins will face host Ramapo, another NCAA team, or Yeshiva the following day.
Also in the first half of the season the Griffins will have five league games hosting Rosemont, Baptist Bible and arch rival Cabrini. They will travel to Neumann and Philadelphia Biblical.
In non-league action Gwynedd-Mercy will also host Penn State-Berks and Rowan. The Griffins will travel to the Harold J. Brodie Tournament in Rochester, N.Y. on the weekend of December 9th and 10th. Gwynedd will finish the final 13 games on their schedule against Colonial State Athletic Conference opponents including Marywood, Centenary, Immaculata and Keystone. The regular season ends on February 15th with the conference playoffs kicking off on February 18th.
The team spent a portion of their preseason with a trip to Costa Rica. The team was able to visit a low-income child care center for single mothers and also a handful of team activities from zip lining in the jungle to taking a hike through the mountains and whitewater rafting, while scrimmaging two top local professional teams.
