New Kids on the Block

SELINSGROVE, Pa. — When the Susquehanna University men’s basketball team takes to the court for its season opener against Elmira in the Pepsi/Weis Markets Tip-Off Tournament
on Nov. 19, the squad will have a radically different look than the unit that took to the court for the 2003-04 season finale against Albright.

With the graduation of four senior starters who combined for 3,499 points in orange and maroon, head coach Frank Marcinek will begin his 16th season looking for the right mix of
returnees and newcomers to make a push for a Commonwealth Conference playoff spot.

The Crusaders missed the postseason last year after being the unanimous preseason pick to win the conference regular-season crown for the second straight season, and are picked for sixth in this season’s preseason coaches poll.

“This is a very inexperienced team. It will be an interesting puzzle to put together,” said
Marcinek. “Right now, that’s what our challenge is.”

BACKCOURT
With the graduation of three-year starting point guard Chris Zimmerman and four-year starting shooting guard Nick Griffiths, Marcinek will turn to a pair of sophomores to fill the
gap in point guard T.J. Parry and shooting guard Chad Lauer.

Parry (Dalton, PA/Lackawanna Trail) saw action as Zimmerman’s backup last season and finished with 23 points and 11 assists in 123 minutes of playing time over 21 games, while Lauer (Elysburg, PA/Southern Columbia) joined the team in midseason after transferring from Division I Monmouth and averaged 3.0 points and 1.6 rebounds in the Crusaders’ final five games.

A pair of transfers will add depth in the backcourt in junior Davon Glover and freshman Brad Okonak.

Glover (Oxnard, CA/Hueneme) comes to Susquehanna after playing two seasons at San
Diego Mesa College, while Okonak (Lebanon, PA/Lebanon) briefly attended Division II
California (Pa.) before enrolling at Susquehanna in January. His brother, Rob, played three
seasons as the backup point guard for the Crusader varsity before graduating in May.

Additional support will be provided by sophomore Mike Hilton (Lewistown, PA/Lewistown), who saw action in two games for the varsity last season, and freshman Moose Marshall (Pottsville, PA/Nativity BVM).

FRONTCOURT
The team’s lone returning starter is senior Bubba Mills (Reading, PA/Reading Central Catholic), who averaged 11.7 points and 6.6 rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the field last season.

Mills, a two-year starter, enters his senior season with 627 points (8.4 ppg) and 341 rebounds (4.5 rpg) in 75 career games while shooting 53 percent from the field.

Junior Walter Fowler (Dingmans Ferry, PA/Delaware Valley) has been slowed in preseason
by a knee injury but has been productive in scrimmages. Last season, Fowler averaged 6.6 points and 3.4 rebounds in 14.4 minutes per game off the bench, and led the team with 45 blocked shots to increase his two-year total to 111 rejections.

Freshman Mike Malko (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) is projected to be in the opening-night lineup at a forward spot for the Crusaders.

A standout scholastic player, Malko averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds per game as a high school senior and was named Somerset County Player of the Year.

Senior Rob Dombroski (Branchville, NJ/High Point Regional) entered the substitution rotation late in the season and averaged 0.7 points and 0.6 rebounds in 14 contests in 2003-04.

Another freshman who could contribute is 6-5 Kyle Laird (Manasquan, NJ/Manasquan), who was a key part of his high school’s run to the state playoffs last season.

Junior Matt Effler (Rye Brook, NY/Blind Brook) brings his 6-8, 280-pound frame to the Crusaders after transferring from Muhlenberg.

Senior Mark Prusch (Shamokin, PA/Lourdes Regional) has appeared in 10 games during his first three seasons and will provide depth in the post.

SCHEDULE
After opening the season in the Pepsi/Weis Markets Tip-Off Tournament, the Crusaders
tackle a busy December slate that includes games against 2004 NCAA tournament teams Elizabethtown (Dec. 1) and Lycoming (Dec. 11).

The Crusaders will travel across the country to play in the Tom Byron Classic at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, CA on Dec. 29-30, facing the hosts in the opening round before facing one of two potential Top 25 teams in Lewis & Clark or Lawrence.

After competing in the Radisson Invitational at The University of Scranton in early January, the Crusaders play their final 12 games against conference foes, finishing with Albright on Feb. 19 at Houts Gymnasium.