Men's Basketball Primed For Another Great Season

Men's Basketball Primed For Another Great Season

The La Roche College men's basketball team approaches the start of the 2013-2014season with high expectations. The Redhawks return three starters and thirteen players to a team that won a share of the AMCC regular season championship and made it all the way to the AMCC Tournament Semifinals. La Roche also welcomes five new faces to a team already rich with veteran talent.

La Roche is led by one of the most successful senior classes in program history. The seniors have made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament, won an AMCC Championship, won two AMCC Regular Season titles, and have more victories in their first three seasons than any other class in team-history. Seniors Lionel Perkins, Andre Flanigan, David Jackson, Neal McKown, Joe Dice, Daron Tabron, and Jean Freeman all figure to be major contributors this season. 

"It all starts with the senior class this year, said Coach Carmichael. "They have been through so much in their three years so far. It is their last time to shine and help take our program to the top again".

Juniors Nick Herman and Oneal Brown return as do sophomores Zaire Redding, Torin Smith, Jared Richardson, and Jimmy Hawley. Along with senior Daron Tabron, Herman(Jr) and Smith(So) were selected as captains and will be looked to for veteran leadership throughout the season. 
 

New to the team are Christian Perkins, Evan Bonnaure, Peter Washington, Sterling Henry, and Mikal Boykin. Perkins, Bonnaure, and Henry are all local products while Washington hails from the Cleveland and Boykin from Northern Virginia.

"We have a great mix of talent at each class, but talent only gets us so far. If we find a way to all trust in each other and all buy in to what the program is all about hopefully we can get back to where we want to be again."

Also returning to the Redhawks is former AMCC Player of the Year and captain Nathan Wojciechowski. Wojciechowski played for La Roche between 2006 and 2010 and helped the Redhawks win the 2010 AMCC Championship and clinch a berth to their first ever NCAA Tournament. Wojciechowski will assume a role on the bench as one of the three assistant coaches.

La Roche kicks off the season with the first day of their annual TGI Friday's Tip-Off Tournament on Friday, November 15 when they host Hiram. The Redhawks will welcome St. Vincent to conclude the Tip-Off on Saturday, November 16.

The out of conference schedule is highlighted by a trip to Cleveland State on December 23. The Vikings are a NCAA Division I team out of the Horizon League and have a history of upsetting top-ranked teams.

"We are extremely excited to make a trip to Cleveland to play against a great program in Cleveland State. We would like to thank their coaching staff for making it work this year. We are very excited to get a game over in Ohio for a handful of our players are from that area."

The defending AMCC Champion Medaille Mavericks will come to the Fitness Center on December 7 and Penn State Behrend will arrive on campus on January 18. Other games on the conference schedule to add calendar are February 8 against Pitt-Bradford (Alumni Day) and February 22 against Hilbert (Senior Day).