Oct. 27, 2003
The Chaminade University basketball program is looking to get back to their winning ways in 2003-04. The Swords are coming off a less than stellar 12-15 finish in 2002-03, but with the addition of six junior college transfers, Chaminade may have their deepest team yet. Entering his fourth year at the helm of the CU basketball program is head coach Aaron Griess. In his first two seasons he guided the Swords to their first back-to-back winning years since 1984-86, with consecutive 16-11 finishes.
"If we're fortunate enough to stay healthy throughout the entire season, this group has tremendous potential to achieve great heights," says Griess. "I've been really pleased with our work ethic so far. These guys seem to have a good perspective of what they are trying to get done as a group. As with any season, we need to really concentrate on the details, because we've got the personnel to compete night-in and night-out."
The Returners
Chaminade returns a strong contingent of guards who benefited from valuable playing experience in 2002-03. They are led by a second team All-Pacific West conference senior Roy Stigall III. On the season Stigall averaged 12.1 points and 4.3 assists at the point guard position. He shot 43% from the field and 41% from long range. Stigall started the year by scoring 18-points and dishing out 3-assists in the opening round of the 2002 EA Sports Maui Invitational against the University of Virginia. He had a season high 23-points versus Hawaii-Hilo and 8-assists on five separate occasions last season. Stigall also led the team in minutes, averaging just over 32 per game. A tenacious on the ball defender, Roy will be looked upon to pressure opposing guards from the opening tip while controlling Chaminade's offensive attack.
Honorable mention All-Pacific West selection Bryon Sykes averaged 11 points and 2.9 rebounds on 44% shooting and is expected to play a major part in the Swords quest for a conference championship. The 6'1" senior played 27-minutes per game for the Silverswords and led the team steals with 42 on the season. Bryon started 9 of the 27 games he played in for CU in 2002-03. He scored 20+ points on 3 occasions last season. His best 2 game-performance came in a home sweep of Western New Mexico University when he scored a combined 47 points on 16 for 23 shooting including 10 for 13 from long range.
Kashif Reyes returns to the Silversword lineup after a season-ending injury forced him to the sidelines after the first game of the 2002-03 season. As a junior (2001-02) Reyes was a second team All-Pacific West selection after averaging 10.3 points and 3.2 rebounds per game from the point guard position. He shot 44 percent from the field and 88 percent from the free throw line while dishing out a team-high 71 assists on the year. Kash was also the Swords most accurate long-range threat, connecting on 37 percent of his attempts from behind the arc. While those numbers are impressive, in league play, Reyes became even more dangerous. Over the fifteen game league schedule, he shot 49 percent from the field, 43 percent from 3-point range and 90 percent from the free throw line. The 5'10" senior from Reading, Pennsylvania is poised to make his final year one to remember.
"Kash is a very good shooter and is versatile enough to handle different duties for us, depending upon the situation," said Griess. "He's an emotional player that can really give us a lift in tough times. Down the stretch is when Kash really plays best. I don't think we've seen the best out of Kash yet."
Donald Rogers had an impressive junior campaign, nearly doubling his productivity in 2002-03 from the previous year. In 2001-02 he averaged 8 minutes per game and scored 3.4 points while appearing in 18 games. Last season Donald appeared in 25 games, averaging 18 minutes per outing. He scored 6 points, grabbed 4.2 boards and dished out 2.1 assists per game. He shot 57% from the field and 76% from the free throw line. Donald scored in double figures on five occasions, his highest being 17-points against Montana State-Billings. He grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds against Northwest Nazarene and tallied 8 assists against Western New Mexico.
"Donald has really worked hard on his game this year," said Griess. "He has a knack for being around the ball and also has an excellent mid-range game. He will be a factor in the line-up for us this season."
Jason Walters and Donald Makupson round out the returners for the Silverswords. Walters, a 6'5" senior appeared in 22 games for the Swords, averaging just over 19 minutes per game. He scored 6.3 points and pulled down 3.5 rebounds per contest while shooting 41% from the field. Jason will be looked upon to add depth at the guard and forward positions. Donald Makupson, the CU elder statesman, logged 47 minutes on the season while appearing in 10 games. He scored 11 points and grabbed 7 rebounds last season.
The Newcomers
With the strong nucleus of returning guards, the task at hand in the off-season was to find tough, blue-collar players to fill the front line for the Swords and add an extra punch at the wing and point guard positions. According to coach Griess, the Swords have done just that. "We had specific areas we really wanted to improve upon for the upcoming season and I'm confident we succeeded. The men we brought in are from solid programs who understand what it takes to win. More importantly they're willing to do whatever it takes in order to make the program better. It may take awhile for everyone to understand their role here at Chaminade, but once we're there, this group has great potential."
The biggest gap on the roster was left when first team All-Pacific West Conference forward Leon Ballard graduated. Ballard averaged 18.3 points and 8 rebounds per game last season while shooting 53% from the field. Filling his shoes will be the combination of Sam Henning and Scott Metcalf. Henning a 6'5" junior from American River College in Sacramento, California scored 9.5 points and pulled down 11.9 rebounds per game in 2002-03. He was a first team all-conference selection and finished 4th among rebounding leaders in the state. Scott Metcalf, comes to Chaminade from Citrus College in Glendora, California. The 6'6" guard/forward averaged 10.7 points and 8.3 rebounds while helping his team to a 19-12 record. Scott was an honorable mention all-conference selection last season.
For the first time in recent memory, the Swords will have two legitimate post players vying for time at the center position. Nick Frey attended West Valley College in San Jose, California where he was an honorable mention all-conference selection. The 6'9" sophomore averaged 12 points and 6.1 rebounds while shooting 59% from the field. Nick is no stranger to the Pacific West conference. He played his freshman year at Western New Mexico University where he averaged 10.9 points and 5.1 rebounds in just under 20-minutes per game. Dustin Mittelsteadt averaged 18.0 points and 14.1 rebounds per game at Vermilion Community College in Ely, Minnesota during the 2002-03 season. He shot 62 percent from the field and 78 percent from the free throw line to help the Ironmen to a 17-11 Record. Dustin was named to the all-conference, all-state and all-region teams as a sophomore.
In addition to the frontline, Griess also added two guards to the Silversword roster. Chris Acker, a 6'1" junior, comes to CU from the College of the Desert in Palm Springs, California. As a sophomore, Chris led his team in scoring (19 ppg.) and assists (5 apg.) while pulling down 3 rebounds per contest. Chris was a second team all-conference selection.
Zack Whiting, a 6'3" 205 pound combo-guard begins his Chaminade career after playing one season at Feather River College in Quincy, California. The sophomore will have three years of eligibility remaining after averaging 11.5 points, 7.7 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game while leading the Golden Eagles to a 23-9 overall record in 2002-03. He was named to the Golden Valley All-Conference team.
The Schedule
The Swords begin the season with the much-publicized EA Sports Maui Invitational against Villanova University live on ESPN, nation-wide. This year marks the 20th anniversary of college basketball's most prestigious in-season basketball tournament. The 2003 field also includes: Central Michigan, Dayton, Hawaii, Ohio State, San Diego State and Santa Clara. After a home game against Alaska-Anchorage, CU hits the road for a game with Cal State-Los Angeles before playing two games in the Cal-Bakersfield tournament. The Swords return to Honolulu after Christmas to face non-conference foes Chapman and Doane before beginning conference play. This year's Pacific West conference schedule is loaded with exciting action including two games at Hawaii-Pacific and Western New Mexico. The Swords will host BYU-Hawaii, Montana State-Billings, and Hawaii-Hilo, each for a pair of games at McCabe Gymnasium.
Look for this year's edition of Chaminade Basketball to be as exciting as ever as they try to renew the excitement that has inspired underdogs everywhere to perform miracles just like Chaminade versus Virginia in 1982!
