2011-2012 William Penn Men’s Basketball Preview

William Penn University Athletics

2010-2011 record: 14-16 (6-10 MCC, 6th)
Starters returning/lost: 2/3
Letterwinners returning/lost: 2/13

Notable returners:
Alan Douglas Sr. Champaign, Ill.
(First-team all-MCC, 13.3 points/game, 5.9 rebounds/game)
Blake Walker So. Rose Garden, Ga.
(Honorable-mention all-MCC, 11.7 points/game, 5.4 rebounds/game)
Brandon Beasley Sr. Indianapolis, Ind.
(Letterwinner, 13.0 points/game, 6.3 rebounds/game)

Notable losses:
Nick Coffey
(Four-time letterwinner)
Huzie Hambrite
(Letterwinner)
Wiebe Goodyk
(Letterwinner)

Notable newcomers:
Austin Emerson Jr. Des Moines
Arman Rasul Jr. Chicago, Ill.
Toress Roundtree Jr. St. Louis, Mo.
Keith Steffeck Jr. Marion

A three-headed monster of returners figures to be the focal point of the William Penn men’s basketball team seeks to get back to the top of the conference mountain.

The Statesmen were just 14-16 last season (6-10 MCC), its first losing season since 2002-2003. Head Coach John Henry is as competitive as they come so it is no surprise he and his staff spent the offseason to remedy last year’s problem.

“Quite honestly, we did not see last year coming,” Henry said. “It was very disappointing to have losing records overall and in the conference. That does not mean that some good things did not take place, but unfortunately more bad things happened than good. Our only four varsity returners all gained valuable experience, so it was certainly not a total loss.”

Alan Douglas (Sr., Champaign, Ill., Lakeland CC) is one of the major assets back on the hardwood for William Penn after earning first-team all-Midwest Collegiate Conference honors last year. Blake Walker (So., Rose Garden, Ga., Campbell HS) garnered postseason recognition as well with an honorable mention, while Brandon Beasley (Sr., Indianapolis, Ind., Columbus State CC) only played part of the year, but proved to be one of the top players in the league when he was on the court.

Ross Howe (So., State Center, West Marshall HS) learned the collegiate game better in 2010-2011 and will have a larger load as a sophomore.

“Those four guys have been leaned on greatly since last spring for leadership and experience,” Henry said. “We have been thrilled with how they have handled their roles.”

Point Guard

Newcomer Austin Emerson (Jr., Des Moines, Southwestern CC) has positioned himself as the frontrunner up top, but Henry says that Walker may also see time at point guard.

“Austin has had a really good fall and has established himself as our #1 point guard, Henry said. “Blake is incredibly athletic and can score in many different ways, but he is also a great ball-handler and he will get a chance to show that as he did late last year. Blake’s versatility gives us many different lineup possibilities.”

Walker averaged 11.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.7 assists last year.

Trae Hill (Jr., St. Louis, Mo., McCluer HS) and LaBradford Williams (Jr., Kokomo, Ind., Brown Mackie) will add depth at the point guard slot.

“What both Trae and LaBradford lack in height, they make up for in heart and desire,” Henry said.

Wing

Although he has the skills to be at the point, Walker will likely spend most of his time on the wing alongside Douglas.

Douglas owned a 13.3 scoring average in addition to pulling down 5.9 rebounds and dishing out 1.8 assists per contest.

“Alan has all the tools and leadership to be on the William Penn greats,” Henry said. “He is primed for a huge senior year.”

Taylor Stoutner (Jr., Keota, Keota HS) and Davis Spielbauer (Jr., Wapello, Wapello HS) have both been in the program for quite some time and each have made their own interesting trips to the varsity level. Stoutner has been on the junior varsity team the past two years, while Spielbauer has been sidelined for three straight seasons with foot injuries.

“Taylor has been on the JV the last two years, but has really transformed his body and game and is ready to make the transition to the varsity,” Henry said. “It has been a long road for Davis the past three years and we are excited to see his abilities on the court. A lesser person would have quit, but he has stuck through it all and that says a lot about his character. Both of these young men will add perimeter shooting that we missed at times last year.”

Beasley and Keith Steffeck (Sr., Marion, Marion HS) will be utility players who possess great athleticism in large, lengthy packages.

Beasley played in just 13 games, but scored 13.0 points per game and was second with 6.3 rebounds. He also blocked 11 shots in his shortened campaign.

“Both Brandon and Keith will go between forward and guard,” Henry said. “Brandon is far more focused than he was a year ago, personally, academically, and as a teammate. With their length and height, Brandon and Keith will cause problems for opposing guards so we would like to exploit that as much as possible. Keith is a long, rangy player who can step outside and hit the jumper as well as get the job done inside.”

Kevin Fay (Jr., Hennepin, Ill., Illinois Valley CC) and Toress Roundtree (Jr., St. Louis, Mo., State Fair CC) may also be activated at semester, depending on how what position the Statesmen are in after the holiday break.

“It is very tempting to play these two amazing players this year, but I also have to think about what is best for them and our program’s future,” Henry said.

Post

Beasley and Steffeck will join up with Howe and Arman Rasul (Jr., Chicago, Ill., Illinois-Chicago) in the blocks to give the team individuals who can score in the paint.

Howe played in 29 games, averaging 2.2 points and 2.9 rebounds in 11 minutes of action per outing.

“Ross is a blue-collar, lunch pail player who has rededicated himself to conditioning,” Henry said.

Rasul is projected to push for time or potentially a starting role.

“Arman works very hard,” Henry said. “He plays above the rim and is buying into our style of play more and more every day.”

“To have versatile posts like we have helps us open up more of a running style,” Henry said. “There will be teams with much more height than us, but they will have to match up with our athletic ability.”

Lamonte Jenkins (Fr., Vine Grove, Ky., LaGrange HS), Logan Alexander (Fr., Eddyville, Eddyville-Blakesburg HS), and Tyler Sass (So., DeSoto, Des Moines Area CC) will all add depth at practice as they are redshirted this year to improve their academic status and gain experience on the varsity level.

Schedule

The Statesmen begin their season on November 2 by traveling to St. Louis, Mo. to face Harris-Stowe State. The non-conference slate then takes a friendly turn back home with seven of nine November games in Oskaloosa. Including league contests, the navy and gold play in William Penn Gymnasium 17 times this year.

“We are excited about our non-conference schedule, especially the fact we are at home so much,” Henry said. “We take on several solid NAIA programs like Jamestown, Graceland, and Bellevue as well as take on Grinnell, which is always a wild time.

Conference

Henry views the MCC race to be quite open with almost everyone having a legitimate chance of hoisting hardware at year’s end. The Statesmen have been preseason picked to finish sixth in the league.

“Every team in our conference has great players and all of the coaches are well-prepared,” Henry said. “While we received a preseason MCC ranking of sixth with two first-place votes, opinions and preseason picks are silly and all that matters is what we do in January and February.”

“This team has worked as hard as any I have had to prepare for this season,” Henry said. “We are going to open up and run even more than we have in the past. Win or lose, hopefully win, it should be exciting to watch.”