Each day from October 23-November 3, there will be a blogger/fan previewing their team in this space. For previous previews and the future schedule, click here.
Under eighth
year head coach Larry Hunter, the Catamounts return a total of seven players
from last season’s squad that won
seven-straight games in making a run at the Southern Conference Basketball
Championship title before falling in the thrilling double-overtime loss by 2
points to Davidson at the US Cellular Center in Asheville last March.
All-tournament selections Trey Sumler, 6-2 /
175 (red shirt junior - guard) and Tawaski King, 6-8 / 245 (junior - post)
return, as well as four of the top six leading scorers from last season return
to Cullowhee, led by Sumler (13.5 points per game) and Brandon Boggs, 6-5 / 190
(junior – guard -10.0 ppg).
Absent of any seniors on this year’s team, the large
returning junior class of Trey Sumler, Tawaski
King, Brandon Boggs (guard), Preston Ross, 6-5 / 190 (forward), Tom Tankelewicz,
6-4 / 180 (forward) are both talented and athletic. James Sinclair, 6-3 / 180 (Sophomore – guard)
and Kenneth Hall, 6-7 / 210 (sophomore – forward) round out the returning
seven.
New
Faces
Mike
Brown, 6-3 / 175 (freshman - guard) from West Charlotte HS. Brown scored 775 points in his first three
high school seasons including a career-best 512 as a junior, helped guide West Charlotte
to the North Carolina 4-A State Championship with a 28-2 overall record in
2011, earning Most Valuable Player honors.
Rhett
Harrelson, 5-10 / 170 (freshman – guard) from Enterprise
Alabama. Finished high school career with 2,322 career points, a 16.0 point per
game average. All-time leading scorer in Alabama 6-A history and 16th best in
state history at all levels, ranking fourth best in career free throw
percentage (87%), seventh-best in single-season free throw percentage (88%) and
eighth-highest career 3-point percentage (38%), also averaging five assists and
3.5 steals per game.
Torrion
Brummitt, 6-7 / 240
(freshman – forward) from Columbus, Georgia. Averaged 12.1 points and 9.0
rebounds per game as a junior for the Raiders and head coach Anthony Jenkins
... As a sophomore, was named Defensive Player of the Year and team MVP.
Brandon
Littlejohn, 5-11 / 175 (freshman – guard) Two-sport athlete that plays for the
WCU football team and is expected to join the men's basketball squad after the
season.
Justin
Browning. 6-4 / 175 (freshman – forward) A two-star
recruit by Rivals.com, Browning has averaged 12 points and eight rebounds per
game through his first three years as a prep, adding a 1.5 assist per game and
three steals per contest average and claimed the state 5-A high jump
championship as a junior with a leap of 6-foot,4-inches
Josh
Mendenhall (junior forward) Sat
out the 2011-12 season after transferring to Western Carolina in the fall prior
to the season. Took a redshirt and enters 2012-13 as a redshirt junior with two
years of eligibility.
2012-13
WCU Basketball Schedule
In the upcoming season, the Catamounts will
play 13 games in the friendly confines of the Ramsey Center, where the
Catamounts have an 82% winning percentage.
The 2012-13 schedule includes hosting an ESPN BracketBuster game, as
well as, road trips to the likes of Tennessee, Georgetown & Illinois.
Seven 2012-13 opponents saw action in
post-season play last year, five in the NCAA tournament, and one each in the
NIT and College Basketball Invitational.
The Catamount non-conference schedule also includes four games against
teams that make their home in Western North Carolina, including a home and home
with mountain-rival UNC Asheville.
Playing in the "Mayan Division," the
Catamounts open in the 2012 Cancun Challenge by visiting Wichita State (Nov.
15) and Western Kentucky (Nov. 17) on the road before traveling to Mexico for
two additional games tournament. Once in Cancun, the Catamounts will play
Austin Peay on Nov. 20, and will face either Howard or Gardner-Webb the
following day.
"We have assembled another top-notch and challenging schedule for our players and fans," said head coach Larry Hunter, talking about the 2012-13 schedule. "The start of the year should be as exciting as any we have had in recent years. We need our students, faculty, season ticket holders, alumni and supporters to quickly get fired up about basketball because our rivalry game with UNC Asheville (Nov. 9) and home-opener two days later tip-off our season." He added, "This is a schedule that will afford our team room for growth and development as we prepare for the rigors of the Southern Conference season."
THREE QUESTIONS
1. What effect, if any,
does not having any senior leadership have on the team? Can the large and talented junior class step-up and provide
the leadership that Harouna
Mutombo and Keaton Cole provided for last years team? This role will probably fall to Trey Sumler
and Tawaski King.
2. Can
Hunter replace Mutombo
and Cole? Most likely Mutombo &
Cole’s role on the team will be filled again by Sumler and King. According to reports, King has made great
strides in this game during the off season. The play of Sumler and King
will be the key to the Catamount success this season
3. Which
freshman steps up for another “freshman of the year” type season? In the last five seasons, the Cats have
produced two freshmen of the year (Mutombo & Sumler),
is there another on waiting in the wings? Freshman
Rhett Harrelson has the potential for an outstanding season,
however the new face on the team that may make the most noise this season in
the Catamount line up just may be junior transfer Josh Mendenhall.
Head
Coach Larry Hunter is entering his eighth season guiding the Catamounts and is
excited about the prospects of the upcoming season. Over the last five seasons,
the Cats are 42-9 at home - an 82.4% winning percentage - including 32 of its
last 39 SoCon games Coach Hunter has succeeded
in making Cullowhee one of the most difficult places in the SoCon to pick up a
win by visiting teams.
"We
have good basketball players in our program. Skill wise, athletically, they are
very strong.” Hunter said. "We're excited to have some potential depth on
our team, and hopefully it can all come together and we can play some solid basketball."
"Even though we are not exceptionally big, we have a lot of talent,
experience and character on our team. It will be fun to see how it all comes
together during the season," added Hunter.
By Jerry Love, Purple & Gold
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