The Wabash College basketball team was picked to finish sixth in the North Coast Athletic Conference this season in both the coaches and media polls at Tuesday’s NCAC Basketball Media Day.
Wabash earned 52 points in the coaches poll and 136 points in the media poll. Both rankings were identical in terms of team placement. Wooster, last year’s conference champion and the eventual third-place team in the Division III tournament, was picked to finish first in both polls. Wittenberg was selected second, followed by Ohio Wesleyan, Allegheny, and Earlham. Denison, Oberlin, Hiram, and Kenyon trailed the Little Giants in the preseason polls.
The Little Giants, coming off of a 16-10 season last year, lost its top three scorers to graduation. Gone are Joe DesJean, Brady Claxton, and Eric Buck, along with fellow graduates Jesse Burgess, Ryan Short, and Kip Chase. DesJean, a three-time First Team All-Conference and 2002 Conference Player of the Year selection, left as the seventh-best scorer, the number two rebounder, and the best shot blocker in school history. Claxton also topped the 1,000-point mark in his career.
But the Little Giants do return several players with varsity experience. Senior guard Matt Storm (Anderson, IN/Lapel) is back after missing all of his sophomore season and half of his junior year due to extensive knee surgeries. Storm returned to the lineup last year in January and averaged 6.3 points in 16 contests. Fellow senior Zeljko Gavranovic (Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina/St. Mary’s) played in 16 games last season and brings size and strength the Wabash inside game at 6-6 and 220 pounds. Juniors David Wagner (Belleville, IL/Belleville), Nate Bell (Ft. Wayne, IN/Concordia Lutheran), and Doug Ross (Littleton, CO/Highlands Ranch) have each seen varsity action. Wagner played and started in 22 games last season before missing the last four after suffering a concussion. The 6-1 guard averaged 4.1 points and had 46 assists last year. Bell played in 22 games and averaged 3.3 points coming off the bench for Wabash. Ross spent much of his season with the junior varsity team, but is battling for the starting three-guard position this season.
Sophomores Chris Waters (Gary, IN/Calumet), Kyle Medeiros (Indianapolis, IN/Ben Davis), Kyle Coffey (Greenwood, IN/Center Grove), John Dittmer (Crawfordsville, IN/Southmont), Adonis Joseph (Mishawaka, IN/Mishawaka), Caleb Lyttle (Sullivan, IN/Sullivan), Ian McGriff (LaPorte, IN/LaPorte), Jimmy Owens (Portland, OR/Jesuit), Alex Rinks (Indianapolis, IN/Beech Grove), and Michael Woods (Indianapolis, IN/Cathedral) will also be battling for starting spots. Waters and Medeiros spent most of their rookie campaigns as members of the varsity team. Waters played in 23 games for Wabash last year, starting seven and averaging 5.0 points per contest. Medeiros came on late for the Little Giants, playing in seven games and finishing the year with a 4.0 points-per-game average. Coffey and Joseph saw limited varsity last year. Fellow sophomore George Colakovic (Munster, IN/Munster) joins the team this season and will battle for a spot at guard, as well.
Seven freshmen make up the rest of the Wabash squad this season. Mark Bower (Bloomington, IN/Bloomington South), Wes Koch (Winchester, IN/Winchester), Rich McCracken (Orleans, IN/Orleans), Ronnie Ragains (Fredricksburg, IN/West Washington), Matt Shook (Kendallville, IN/East Noble), Ryan Stephens (Zionsville, IN/Zionsville), and Jake Turner (Waynetown, IN/North Montgomery) join the Little Giants this season.
Wabash opens the 2003 season on Friday, November 21 in the second game of the Little Giant Tipoff Classic at Chadwick Court against Kalamazoo College. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m., 30 minutes after the end of the first game between Olivet and Olivet Nazarene at 6 p.m.
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