2007-2008 Men’s Preview

Clarion head basketball coach Ron Righter begins his 20^th season directing the Golden Eagle Men’s Basketball tradition on Friday, November 16^th at the Pitt-Johnstown Basketball Tournament. Clarion opens on Friday against West Liberty at 5:30pm, then plays host Pitt-Johnstown on Saturday at 7:30pm.

The master architect of a fabulous 19-year record at Clarion of 312-200 (61%), which includes PSAC-West titles in 1997, 2000 and 2005, plus a PSAC crown in 2001, along with ten trips to the PSAC Playoffs in the last eleven years, and its easy to see why Righter is so highly respected among his peers and loved by his hometown fans.

And so the 2007-08 season is upon us and coach Righter is ready to weave his magic for yet another campaign. What will the year have in store?

"I’m excited about our team’s potential, especially if we can stay healthy," said the veteran mentor. "We have talented players on this team, but we also have a number of question marks that still have to be answered. So to answer you honestly, we’re hopeful for a good season, and we think we’ll be a better team in January than we are now, but we have a lot of growing up to do between now and then."

The last couple of seasons have certainly been trying ones for coach Righter and company due to the injury bug. In 2006 the Golden Eagles were13-13 overall and 5-7 in the PSAC-West. That was a remarkable accomplishment since Clarion lost five players for the year with injury, and an additional starter for 7 key PSAC-West matchups.

Last year, in spite of 2 key injuries, the Eagles posted another strong 13-15 overall record and a 6-6 mark in the PSAC-West, qualifying the Eagles for the PSAC Playoffs for the tenth time in eleven seasons.

All the while losing All-PSAC forward Ricky Henderson for the season after 5 games, and center Chris Buchanan for 11 games in the second half of the season. Clarion rallied winning 8 of their last ten regular season games to put an exclamation point on a great comeback.

Righter, the 2005 PSAC-West "Coach of the Year", led the Golden Eagles three years ago to a 19-9 overall record and first place in the PSAC-West with an 8-4 record. The Golden Eagles went an unbelievable 13-0 at home in the regular season. Righter has a Clarion record of 312-200 in 19 seasons and a 21-year overall collegiate record of 336-224.

Righter’s teams have put together an outstanding record of 195-109 over the last eleven seasons, an average of nearly 18 wins per season, including a quality 80-52 record in the PSAC-West. Righter has led Clarion to three PSAC-West titles (2005, 2000, 1997) and its first PSAC crown in 2001.

In 2001 Clarion was 19-10 overall, 7-5 in the PSAC-West, won the PSAC title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1981. Clarion’s PSAC title win came in an 80-77 overtime victory over West Chester (at Edinboro).

Clarion also won the PSAC-West title in 2000 with a 10-2 league mark and a 20-7 overall record. In 1999 the Eagles were 19-8 overall and 7-5 in the PSAC-West, while notching a 20-7 slate in 1998 with an 8-4 West record. In 1997 Clarion won the PSAC-West with a 9-3 mark and were 22-7 overall as the PSAC runner-up, narrowly missing the NCAA Playoffs. The 2003 Eagles were 19-10 overall (7-5 in the PSAC-West), 15-10 in 2002 (7-5 in PSAC-West) and 16-12 (6-6 in PSAC-West) in 2004.

The 2007-2008 season? "I’m excited about getting this season underway and see how far we’ve come in the last month or so," said Righter. "We have good veteran leadership on and off the floor, and the team has a variety of talented players that give us different strengths depending on our lineup. But we also have a number of freshmen and newcomers who still have to define their roles. Chemistry is a very delicate thing," continued Righter. "There are a lot of intangibles yet to be determined. We have talent on paper, but I’ve always been a big believer in team chemistry. Each one has its own flavor. If we can mold a special team chemistry, a unit that is very unselfish and only looks at the results and not at their own box score, we could have something special by year’s end. If we stay healthy, we’ll have depth at the guard spots, increased strength inside, and an ability to score points. Strong defense will ultimately be the key, and that will take unselfish play."

Clarion returns three players with starting experience including forward Ricky Henderson (Sr. Detroit, Mi.), center Josh Yanke (Jr. North Canton, Ohio) and point guard Demetrius Graham (Sr. Detroit, Mi.).

Henderson played the first five games of the 2006-07 season, but a broken hand put him out for the year. He was averaging 10ppg and 10.2 rebounds in those first five contests. He had a career high 17 rebounds against PSU-Beaver. Henderson joined the Eagles in December of 2005 and earned second team PSAC-West honors as a junior. Ricky led the team with 16.1ppg and 9.4 rebounds while shooting 53% from the floor. Contributing 30 assists and 20 steals, he is truly a quality all-around player. Henderson had 8 double-doubles and had a single game high of 24 points vs Lock Haven and 16 rebounds versus West Chester. He ranked 11^th in the PSAC in scoring and 2^nd in rebounding and blocked shots.

Yanke took over the center spot last season and finished the year averaging 10.9ppg and 5.7 rebounds per contest. He had 14 assists and 18 steals, but he shot 51.4% from the floor and 85% from the free throw line. With four double doubles, he had single game highs of 24 points vs Columbia Union and 14 rebounds versus East Stroudsburg. He transferred to Clarion from Gannon.

Graham, the Eagles spark-plug point guard, played in all 28 games a year ago, dished out 84 assists and plucked 40 steals, while averaging 4.1 points per game. He had game highs of 12 points versus West Chester and 10 assists against Slippery Rock. Graham came to Clarion as a junior from Wayne County Community College, as did Henderson.

Returning to the Golden Eagles and expected to contribute this season are forward Lamar Richburg (Sr. Queens Village, N.Y.), guards Lonnell Jones (Sr. Brooklyn, N.Y.) and David Blanks (Jr. Erie - Strong Vincent) and forward/center Brent Nelson (Sr. Detroit, Mi.).

Richburg saw plenty of time last year in Ron Righter’s lineup at the #3 and 4 spots. A player that can bring defensive pressure, or run an up-tempo floor, Lamar averaged 6ppg, handed out 24 helpers, made 16 steals and shot 57% from the floor. His top game was 17 points and 11 rebounds against Columbia Union. He came to Clarion from Hagerstown Community College.

Jones, a multi-dimensional player, contributed 5.3ppg, 35 assists and 15 steals a year ago. He had single game highs of 23 points vs Lock Haven, and 9 rebounds and 5 assists against Millersville. He came to Clarion from Herkimer C.C.

Blanks, a 2-year player with the Eagles, brings depth to the point guard position. He scored 39 points a year ago, but made three, three-pointers at Edinboro for a career high 9 points.

Nelson, who came to Clarion 2 years ago with much promise but has suffered through 2 injury plagued seasons, returns for his final year. Last year he contributed 106 points (3.8ppg) and 123 rebounds, while shooting 46% from the floor. His 11 rebounds against Wayne State was a personal high. He also came to Clarion from Wayne C.C.

The Golden Eagles have added a plethora of talent in newcomers Ron Hollis (Jr. Cleveland, Ohio), Mike Sherry (Fr. Pgh - Chartiers Valley HS) and Shameel Carty (Fr. Queens, N.Y.) at guard, along with forward Damon Gross (Jr. Pgh - Westinghouse HS).

Hollis, a transfer from Gannon, will likely sit out the first three to six weeks of the season with an injury. When healthy however, he is expected to be an impact player. A two-year starter at Gannon, he was on the GLIAC "All Rookie" team as a freshman in 2006. He started 27 games, scored 239 points, nailed 46% from three point land (51 of 111) and had 45 assists. Last year he averaged 7.5ppg with 53 assists and canned 39% (33 of 84) from three point land.

Sherry, an impact freshman, comes to Clarion from Chartiers Valley High School, where he scored 768 points in a single season, nailed 152 three pointers and was voted AAA "Player of the Year" in Pittsburgh and a second team All-State selection in PA.

Carty comes to Clarion from Queens, N.Y. and can play guard and forward. From Holy Cross High in the New York Catholic League, he averaged 15ppg, 6 rebounds and 2 steals. Voted HM All-Catholic League, Righter sees promising things on the horizon for Carty.

Gross, a powerful forward from Beaver County Community College, will see plenty of time for the Golden Eagles immediately. The team MVP last year at Beaver, he led the team to a Regional Title with 18ppg and 11 rebounds, plus led the NJCAA-II in field goal percentage at 67.3%. He played his high school ball at Westinghouse and averaged 20ppg.

Also looking for time this year will be guards Anthony Harvey (Fr. New Castle) and Greg Ford (Jr. Pgh - Langley) and center Peter Baschnagel (Fr. Clarion).

Harvey, from New Castle, averaged 19.9ppg and 4 assists for the Canes at guard.

Ford, a walk-on guard from Langley High, adds depth to the Eagle squad.

Baschnagel, a 6'8" center from Clarion High School, is a red-shirt freshman with the Golden Eagles. He averaged 11ppg and 12 rebounds his senior year at Clarion in 2006. He is a quality shot blocker and blocked 7.5 shots per game at Clarion. His father, Norb, was an assistant basketball coach at Clarion during Joe DeGregorio’s 8-year stint that lasted through 1982.

CLARION NOTES: Clarion needs to replace 5 graduated players from its 2007 roster ... Including Leon Kennedy (14.9ppg, 4.8 rebs), Chris Buchanan (7.6ppg, 5.8 rebounds), Justin Collins (7.6ppg), Bobby Franklin (7.3ppg, 120 assists) and Frank Torbert (5.2ppg)... Those five players departed with 3,068 career points, 1,013 career rebounds, 540 assists and 398 steals ... Righter has an unbelievable home record at Tippin Gym of 194-77, a 72% winning rate over his 19 seasons ... The last 10 years Clarion is 122-38 at home, a winning rate of 76% ...Dating back to 1971 (36 years), Clarion has an overall men’s record of 616-374, a 62 % winning percentage ... The Golden Eagles have won the PSAC-West 12 times including 1971, 73, 77, 79, 80, 81, 83, 84, 85, 97, 2000 and 2005 ... 1971 and 73 under Ron Galbreath, 77, 79, 80 and 81 under Joe DeGregorio, 83, 84 and 85 under Dr. Richard Taylor and the last three under coach Righter... Prior to 1981 Clarion went to the NAIA Nationals in 1976-77 when the team went 27-3 and in 1979-80 when the Eagles were 23-6... In the 1977 NAIA Tournament Clarion defeated Augsburg (88-84), then lost to Grand Valley (79-65)... In the 1980 tournament Clarion defeated Grand Canyon (83-75), Loras, Iowa (79-71), then lost to Huron S.D. 61-52... The PSAC went completely to the NCAA the following season and Clarion went to the NCAA Playoffs in 1981 ... The Eagles defeated Monmouth 80-78 in the semi final game, then lost 84-61 to Cal Poly SLO in the Regional Finals at Monmouth, New Jersey... All three tournament appearances were under coach DeGregorio ... DeGregorio won 159 games in 8 years and held the record for coaching wins prior to Righter ... Clarion’s 1952 team won the NAIB District title and went to the NAIB Nationals under Ben Kribbs and lost their first tournament game to Utah State 85-68.