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Show 2 Tempered optimism abounds for Thunderbirds The optimism is still there, but now its tempered optimism that the Southern Utah State College basketball team is espousing, head according to second-yeacoach Bob Schermerhorn. We got pretty high on our recruiting success, and we are still optimistic, but we all got together the other night and decided that talk wasnt enough; now we have to get down and prove how great we are on the basketball floor. We r still have optimism, you always have to have that, but now we have optimism tempered with the reality of what lies ahead, Schermerhorn says. Schermerhorn will be working with a squad which will have five players back from last year. That means working with a handful of new players, and the process of blending talent from a variety of programs takes time. think well be a good team this year, Schermerhorn confides, but think we could struggle some in the early part of our schedule. Some of our I I toughest games will come in December. Schermerhorn is quick to remind that Grand Canyon, which SUSC will host November 24 to open the season and then meets again in Phoenix December 6, is always strong; that Western New Mexico, the second team on the schedule, will be one of the favorites in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference this year; and that after those two opponents, the Thunderbirds embark on an road extended California-Nevadtrip which includes two tough NCAA Division teams (U. of Cal Irvine and U. of Nevada Reno). Now if we get through that a I kind of a schedule with an impressive record, the rest of teams on our schedule had darn well better watch out, Schermerhorn grins, half seriously. The transfer talent is impressive, and Schermerhorn figures that from the looks of things in the preseason drills three of the new players could easily start, and a fourth could break into the five. starting The three potential new starters include guard Derrick Johnson, a ; senior transfer from Cal forward Trent Scarlett, a junior transfer who last played at the University of Nebraska- and forward Russell Otis, a junior transfer from Cerritos College. 6-- State-lrvine- 1 6-- 6 - 6-- 4 averaged 9.0 points and 5.5 rebounds last year; Benson was the second leading scorer on the squad with an 11.0 average. He also chipped in with a creditable 3.0 assists per contest. Still far from out of the race for starting positions are returning guards Maz Trakh, a junior, and Bill Rohnkohl, a senior. Trakh worked himself into a starting role late last season and finished the year with a 7.0 scoring average. Rohnkohl proved himself plenty capable off the bench. He has three years in the SUSC program. Todd Jeffs, a senior letterman, had spot starting calls last year and ended up with an average of 16 minutes playing time per game. He accumulated a 6-- 0 6-- 1 6-- 5 SClSCs crop of transfer students is giving Coach Bob Schermerhorn plenty of reason to feel good about the 1984-8season. 5 We are very excited about all three of them, Schermerhorn said. Scarlett is getting into shape rapidly after a year away from basketball (while he attended Weber Statp College but did not play) and really is becoming a major factor on the team. Johnson is an outstanding athlete who proved his ability on our Malaysian trip, and Otis did so well in the southern California summer leagues that was sincerely worried that one of the major schools would attempt to recruit him away from us. Veterans John Pierce, a senior, and Eddie Benson, a choices as senior, are the odds-othe other two starters. Pierce 1 6-- 8 6-- n 0 7.0 scoring average and turned in several sterling games. Right now, really look for Trakh and Rohnkohl and Jeffs to contribute heavily off the bench. They are the types of players you can use with confidence when some of the other people need some rest, Schermerhorn indicated. A fourth transfer who is a major threat to replace someone in the starting lineup a little later in the Brad Guess, a season is transfer from Orange Coast JC in southern California. Guess is overcoming the effects of knee surgery (orthoscopic) this summer, but should be 100 percent by tipoff of the first 6-- 8 game, according to Schermerhorn. We are also looking at Mark Frazier, who plays tight end on the football team, to provide us some depth at the post position, Schermerhorn said. "Mark is a good athlete, but he hasnt played collegiate basketball; we still need to assess his strengths. We expect that he will be able to contribute to the effectiveness of the team. Another relative unknown is Jeff Stormzand, freshman walk-oa guard from Lowell, Michigan. Stormzand tried out with the team, and Schermerhorn was impressed enough with his ability to offer him a spot on the squad. James Clark, a junior transfer from Utah will become eligible and Schermerhorn 16, January figures he could contribute probably from off the bench with his excellent jumping ability and quickness. The general feeling around the n 6-- 1 6-- 4 Tech-ProvoOre- Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is that Mesa College, the defending conference champion, is the most likely team to win this years chase. Also figured to be tough are Southern Colorado (with new head coach Dick Drangmeister, who led Western New Mexico to four consecutive RMAC titles), Western New Mexico, and New Mexico Highlands. Western New Mexico has some good people back this year, and Highlands was a young team last year which should be much improved this season, Schermerhorn says. honestly think that we should also be right up in the thick of the chase for the title. I |
