Benson, Eagles open 2011-2012 season with exhibition at Tennessee on Thursday night
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - The Carson-Newman Eagles begin their second season under head coach Chuck Benson with the hopes of improving on last year’s 11-16 mark and fourth place finish in South Atlantic Conference play.
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - The Carson-Newman Eagles begin their second season under head coach Chuck Benson with the hopes of improving on last year's 11-16 mark and fourth place finish in South Atlantic Conference play.
Carson-Newman will see its first game action of the 2011-2012 season on Thursday night when it faces the University of Tennessee in exhibition action at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville. Tipoff is at 7:00 p.m. The regular season opens Nov. 11.
After being named the Eagles' head coach early last summer, Benson settles into his second season after his first full year on the job and his first recruiting class. The goal for 2011-2012 campaign will be continuing to improve an Eagle program building for the future.
"We're in the building part of the process," Benson says. "This was our first full year and is our first true recruiting class. I like some of the pieces we have in place for the coming season, and this is a very close-knit group of guys with positive attitudes."
Carson-Newman has two cornerstones already in place to begin building upon. Sophomore guards Ishmael Sanders and Kevin Leatherwood return for their second season and give the Eagles a proven scorer and an established defender to build around at guard.
As a freshman, Sanders reset the SAC record books, scoring 51 points in a February game against Mars Hill, the league record for points in a game. The All-Freshman team selection a year ago averaged 15.4 points per game and shot 42 percent from beyond the arch in league play.
Leatherwood will draw the toughest defensive assignment each night. He improved offensively last season as the year went on, averaging just under seven points in SAC play.
"Expectations are high for those two," Benson says. "Ish cannot hide from anyone after what he did last season, but he continues to improve as a player. Leather gives us a toughness and solidarity on the defensive end we have to have to be good on both ends of the floor."
A pair of veteran forwards will give the Eagles experience in the top half of their rotation. Forwards Kevin Hare and Colin Crane will rotate to start the season. Hare, the Eagles' lone senior, averaged 9.2 points per game in 21 games last season. Crane averaged 4.5 points in 18 starts.
A pair of newcomers could instantly solidify the Eagles starting lineup. Sophomore swingman Antoine Davis and junior point guard Marcellous Perez instantly solidify the Eagles backcourt. Davis has the ability to score on the block, off the dribble, and can shoot with range, while Perez gives the Eagles a three-point threat at point guard, opposite Sanders. It's a duo that has Benson excited.
"(Perez and Davis) completely change the dynamic of our team," Benson says. "Antoine gives us the versatile scorer we needed, while Marcellous will keep the floor spread. They are big additions for us."
True freshman Jared Johnson and sophomore Tyler Smith will also play at the point. Johnson is a physical guard the likes to play "grind-it-out" style basketball, while Smith played in 17 games for the Eagles last season and provides experience. Sophomore Ray Likely played in 12 games last season and will contribute on the wing.
In the post, freshmen Kennedy Eubanks, who is pushing for a starting spot, Elliott Pope, and Julian McBee, along with junior Joe Meady give Benson a slew of inexperienced, but big, athletic bodies to turn to on the bench.
Eubanks is a talented, athletic freshman forward who can score from the wing and on the block, while Pope is the Eagles' most-skilled and physical post, and can face up and shoot mid-range. McBee redshirted last season.
Meady averaged 3.9 points per game in 27 games, but will have to become more consistent in his 6-foot-9, 250-pound frame.
Freshman Corbin Jackson is battling a hand injury, but will be an instant contributor with his athletic, 6-7 frame when he returns to the lineup. Freshman forward Brandon Kelley is a tough, physical freshman and will likely redshirt.
The Eagles open with exhibition games against the University of Tennessee on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. and against East Tennessee State on Saturday at 4 p.m. in Johnson City.
Carson-Newman opens its regular season on Nov. 11 at the SAC/Carolinas Conference Challenge in Harrogate, Tenn.
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