The Allegheny College men’s basketball team closed out the 2008-09 season by winning five of their last seven games and became the first seven- seed to beat a two-seed in the history of the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament. During their late season run, the Gators recorded wins over three of the top four teams in the NCAC and won twice against second-place Ohio Wesleyan in a four-day stretch.
The 2009-2010 edition of the Allegheny basketball team, which returns nine letterwinners and four starters, is looking to build on the last season’s momentum and return to the top of the NCAC. Rob Clune, in his eighth year as head coach, is optimistic that a strong senior class combined with talented newcomers can help reestablish the Gators as one of the conference’s elite teams.
“We have a lot of veteran players returning this season who have seen significant playing time over the last few seasons,” said Clune. “The seniors in particular have really had to be major contributors since their sophomore year.”
Despite the large number of returning players, Coach Clune says this year’s Gators will have a noticeably different look to them than in the past few years.
"In recent history, our frontcourt players were our strongest players, and our perimeter guys were just good enough for us to compete,” said Clune. “We’re going to be a much more balanced, more aggressive and faster-paced team offensively than we have been in the last three or four years, although ultimately, the success we have this season will still come down to how well we defend and rebound.”
The Frontcourt
The Gators’ frontcourt this season is led by senior George Raftis. Raftis averaged 15.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in 2008-09 on his way to earning first-team All-NCAC and third-team All-Great Lakes Region honors.
Allegheny relied on Raftis to be their top scorer and rebounder. He was also expected to defend opponents’ best inside players. Improvements in the Allegheny backcourt forced other teams to key less on Raftis and more on the perimeter scorers.
“We were able to take some of the pressure off of him,” said Clune. “We are really expecting big things from him.”
Senior Michael Bittner and sophomore James Ness are also expected to contribute this season in the post. Bittner, who has seen limited playing time in his career, shot .545 from the field last season. Ness played 9.7 minutes per game and was .607 from the field.
“Bittner is an undersized post player with a good mid-range jump shot,” said Clune. “He has had some bad luck in the past with injuries, but is finally healthy and ready to contribute. Ness is a good athlete who finishes well around the rim.”
Daniel Schlossberg will also add depth to the Gators’ frontcourt.
The Backcourt
While Allegheny’s depth may be limited in the frontcourt, the backcourt’s depth will be the team’s strength this season. As many as nine players could see playing time on the perimeter. Leading the way will be a trio of seniors: Craig Devinney, Charlie Jaicks and Henry Heeter.
Devinney ranked second on the team in scoring and was the third-best rebounder last season, averaging 11.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. He was also one of the top free-throw shooters in the conference, finishing with .806 percentage from the charity stripe.
“Devinney was our best perimeter scorer last season, as well as our starting point guard,” said Clune. “He was responsible for defending the opponent’s best player.”
Jaicks finished third on the team in scoring, averaging 8.0 points per game. He also led the Gators in assists (2.3 apg).
“Jaicks really improved this summer, not only his strength and skill, but has really matured mentally as well,” said Clune. “The offensive system we’re running this season really plays to his strengths.”
Heeter was the top three-point shooter on the team last season, going .453 from beyond the arc. Over the Gators’ last six games, he averaged 10.8 points per game and earned All-NCAC Tournament honors.
“Heeter is easily our hardest-working guy and it has shown in his growth as a player since he got here,” said Clune. “By the end of last season, he had turned himself into one of the best perimeter players in the NCAC.”
Clune expects three other players to see major minutes on the perimeter. Senior Peter Jones, sophomore Donte Briscoe and freshman Devone McLeod are all expected to have a big impact in the Gators’ rotation.
“Those three will all have to play big roles for us this season,” Clune said. “They all have a unique skill-set that we can utilize a lot of different ways, which allows us to do some things with lineups that we have not been able to for a while.”
Both Jones and Briscoe saw significant playing time last season off the bench. Jones averaged 3.8 points per game while shooting .353 from three-point range. Briscoe was the Gators’ fourth-leading rebounder (3.1 rpg) and was one of the team’s best defenders. Both are expected to make bigger contributions this season as the Gators move to a more perimeter-oriented scheme.
Hailing from Jersey City, N.J., McLeod comes to Allegheny from St. Anthony High School where, as a junior, he helped the Friars to a State and national championship in 2007-08. While at St. Anthony, McLeod played for coaching legend Bob Hurley.
Expected to see time in the backcourt for the Gators are junior Seth Eisner and freshmen Kyle Murphy and Alex Vargo.
The Schedule
The Gators open their season at the Westminster Classic with games against Westminster and Emory & Henry on Nov. 20 and 21, respectively. Allegheny will also host its own holiday tournament on Nov. 28 and 29. It will take on Montclair State while Case Western and Wilmington are other participants. Over the winter break, the Gators will travel to Daytona Beach, Fla., and face Wartburg and Carroll in the Land of Magic Classic. As always, the schedule features 16 games in the North Coast Athletic Conference.