High hopes for NU hoops Cadet men, women open seasons today
Toolbox
By Anna Grearson Times Argus Staff - Published: November 15, 2008
Both the men's and women's basketball programs at Norwich University have a lot to look forward to this winter, which for both of them starts this weekend.
Men's coach Paul Booth has assembled the tallest team he's had in some time while women's coach Mark Miller returns all of his stars from last season an addition to a six-player recruiting class full of Vermonters.
Both hope those are the keys to an NCAA Division III tournament bid in March, and both make it very clear to their teams the best way to achieve that is with daily improvement.
"Our goal is to improve every day, and it's a process," Booth, who is entering his 16th season at Norwich, said. "If we do that, it'll be a successful year."
"For me and our team, our goal is to get to the NCAAs," Miller said. "But more importantly, that every single day we get better.
"We made it my first year, and I start every year with that being the ultimate goal," Miller, now in his third year, continued. "It's what I tell recruits, it's what I tell the team, about trying to get to the NCAA tournament."
The men added Vermonter Kyle McQuarrie, a 5-foot-10 guard from Proctor. McQuarrie joins returning 6-6 center Mike Filipek, a 6-6 center and former Mount Mansfield Cougar, as the only Vermonters on the team.
Booth also added 5-10 guard Joshua Cabrera, 6-1 guard Andrew Menzie, 6-1 guard Kyle McConnell, 6-1 guard Leland Brunswick, 6-6 forward Antonio Davis, 6-10 forward Robert Thurman to the mix.
"Something that we've not had an abundance of in the past is height," Booth said. "Now we have several guys on our roster who are 6-5 or 6-6 or bigger, and that's going to help us in the long run."
The Cadet men, who went 12-12 overall and 8-10 in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference last season and fell to Lasell in the conference quarterfinals, will return forwards Filipek and guard Tim Fico, both seniors, and sophomore guard/forward Jaren Jeffcoat. Filipek, who averaged 10 per night, was third on the team in scoring and Jeffcoat was fourth at 8.2.
"Mike is our senior co-captain and a four-year starter," Booth said. "He really, really improved his game last year and became the focal point in the post. In our last home game he had a double-double and really started to establish himself as a presence in the post."
Fico started and played in all 24 games Norwich played last season and will continue to anchor the Cadets on defense but "can knock down the open shot when need be," Booth said. He led the team in assists last winter with 72 and committed just 33 turnovers.
Booth will look to Jeffcoat to step up offensively, especially in the absence of Jerrold Williams, a senior last season who led the Cadets with 15.3 points per game.
"He's a hardworking kid who certainly put in his time over the summer," Booth said. "We'll look to him to shoulder more of the scoring. He's a leader out on the court."
The men open the regular season this weekend in a tournament at St. Michael's College against the hosts on Saturday evening and Middlebury College on Sunday afternoon. The GNAC schedule starts Dec. 3 at St. Joseph's (Maine) after the Cadets travel to North Carolina for a pair of non-conference games at a North Carolina Wesleyan tournament Nov. 21 and 22.
"Our non-conference schedule is probably the toughest it's been in years," Booth said. "We'll be tested right out of the gate (with Middlebury and St. Michael's).
"The North Carolina trip will be a kind of homecoming for Eric Williams (a Chapel Hill native) and is a chance for us to go out of region and play good teams to help us prepare for our conference season."
The men play their first home game Nov. 18 against Plattsburgh State College at 7 p.m.
The women, who also open this weekend at a tournament at Plattsburgh State College, only lost a non-starter to graduation and will return all of their big names this winter.
Ally Daniels, who is also a standout on the women's lacrosse team, led the team in scoring (10 points per game), steals (33 total), blocks (16) and was second in rebounding (6.9 per game) last season as a sophomore.
"She's a complete player," Miller said. "She can defend, score, rebound; she does everything you need her to do. Along with Erica Rate, who was Second Team All-GNAC last year, those are two people with lots of experience, and with Kayleigh (Shappy, the Cadets' lone senior), I expect all three to have great years."
Rate was second on the team in scoring followed by Shappy, a Burlington native, Laural McWilliams of Swanton, Daniels' younger sister Christine, Jess Jaggars of Vergennes and Natalie Marchese of Rutland and Mount St. Joseph Academy. Marchese led the team in assists with over 100, while Jaggars was the Cadets' top rebounder with near 8 per game.
Miller added six freshmen to his roster, including Vermonters Kayla Whitman of defending Division I state champion Mount Anthony, Kelsey Knapp of Otter Valley and Shelby Budziak from Lake Region.
"It's a big freshman class," Miller said. "I'm really excited about them. There are some good players who are going to help us; some will help quickly and others will help us down the road.
"This is the deepest team I've had. They play hard, and there's a lot of competition for minutes that we haven't had in past years."
Joining Miller on the sidelines this season is first-year assistant coach Nikki Flores, who replaced former player and assistant coach Allison Flynn, who is now on the coaching staff at St. Michael's College.
"She's been a great addition," Miller said of Flores, who is coming off a storied playing career at Division I Marist College. "The kids respect her and what she's done as a player. She's come in with a coach's mentality which is great for our guards.
"She went to the Sweet 16 her junior year and was in the NCAAs three of her four years. She's been outstanding, to be honest."
The NU women, who went 12-14 over all and 10-3 in the GNAC last winter and fell to Suffolk in the GNAC semifinals, are expecting a highly competitive conference schedule this season, though GNAC play does not begin until Jan. 3, 2009, at Mount Ida.
"We're one of those teams who can't take anyone lightly," Miller said. "Everyone's good on our schedule. The GNAC is going to be very, very competitive, and with such a young group, that's a challenge to get everyone ready every single night. It's a tough schedule, but we've got a great mix of seasoned veterans and some freshmen who are hungry."
The Cadets' first home game is slated for Dec. 5 against Maine-Machias at 6 p.m.
42