|
This year the roster is
dominated by freshmen players, as only five sophomores are on the
squad. "We have some very athletic kids on the squad, and we should
be able to defend people well. Right now our major concern is
rebounding and being able to fight through screens, as we don't have
a lot of big bodies," said McCullum.
The Lynx mentor continued: "A
key will be how fast we develop, especially in the post, and how
fast we accept our roles as individuals on the team concept. We
don't know who our go-to guys are right now, and much of our offense
will have to come from our defensive pressure.
"Our conference should be
well-balanced, as Danville is ranked fifth in the preseason poll for
the state in our division. Others in the conference who are expected
to challenge include Illinois Central, Parkland, and Lewis and
Clark. We were picked 16th; however, I think that is more a credit
to our overall program for the past few years, as we really don't
know at this time, due to all of the young players."
McCullum said, "Ryan (Lazzerini)
and Reuben (Trotter) will start in the post, while Michael
(Henderson), Nick (Malone), Andre (Mayne) and Jason (Moore) will all
be fighting for minutes. A lot will depend on who we are playing as
to which will see the most action. All are capable of helping us in
certain areas.
"Tony (Gulley), a redshirt
freshman, has been playing well at the point thus far, and he is
also capable of playing the 2-spot when we use Moore at the point.
Jeffrey (Carlson), Aaron (Williams) and Rodney (Williams) will all
see action at the guard spot.
"Others who could help include
Stevan (Nelson), who needs to understand the game a little more but
plays well when in the game; Nick (Boyd), who did not play high
school basketball but works extremely hard; Brad (Howell), who can
help us but may redshirt, depending on what he decides; and Patrick
(Ivey), who played for Rich Central, which made the final 16, who
has ability but may also redshirt."
[to top of second column in this
article] |
Quo'Vadis Harper, a
6-foot-5 player from Evanston, tore his ACL before practices began
and will miss the entire season. He will be a redshirt.
Lincoln College opens the
season Saturday at the Poplar Bluffs, Mo., tourney. The Lynx will
play two games in the tourney. LC will play its first home game of
the season Nov. 4 against Carl Sandburg.
McCullum begins his sixth season at Lincoln College and has won at
least 20 games in each of his first five years. He takes a 123-43
record into the season and needs 13 wins to overtake Norm Kaye for
the second most victories at LC. Allen Pickering, the current
athletic director, holds the record for victories at LC with 368 in
17 seasons.
| Player |
Ht. |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| Tony
Gulley |
5-11 |
S |
Peoria |
| Stevan
Nelson |
5-9 |
F |
Cuba |
| Jason
Moore |
5-11 |
F |
Chicago |
| Brad
Howell |
6-0 |
F |
Indianapolis, Ind. |
| Michael
Henderson |
6-5 |
F |
Chicago |
| Rodney
Williams |
6-3 |
F |
Peoria |
| Reuben
Trotter |
6-4 |
S |
Lincolnshire |
| Aaron
Williams |
6-2 |
F |
Peoria |
| Nick
Malone |
6-4 |
F |
Summitt |
| Jeffrey
Carlson |
6-4 |
S |
Chillicothe |
| Andre
Mayne |
6-5 |
F |
Evanston |
| Nick Boyd |
6-7 |
F |
Downers Grove |
| Ryan
Lazzerini |
6-9 |
S |
Rockford |
| Patrick
Ivey |
6-5 |
F |
Olympia Fields |
[Bill
Martinie,
Lincoln College
sports information director] |
