MACOMB, Ill. - The Western Illinois men's basketball team opened practice Friday evening, continuing preparation for their 2012-13 season.
The Leathernecks will look to
take last season's success and build on it in 2012-13. Head coach Jim Molinari enters his fifth season at
the helm of the Leathernecks' program after leading Western to its first winning
season in over 10 years. After being picked to finish ninth out of 10 teams in
the Summit League preseason poll, Western finished 2011-12 with an 18-15
overall record, went 9-9 in Summit League games, and earned the fourth-seed in
the conference tournament. Western's winning record marked the first of its
kind in 12 years, and the team's 18 wins was the most since the 1996-97 season
when the Leathernecks went 19-10.
Western took part in the 2012 College Basketball
Invitational presented by Zebra Pen, the program's first-ever Division I
postseason appearance, after making an exciting run in The Summit League
Tournament. The Conference tournament run included wins over fifth-seeded North
Dakota State and top-seeded Oral Roberts, before a heartbreaking, overtime loss
to South Dakota State in the championship game.
Under the guidance of Molinari, three Leathernecks earned
Summit League honors, led by senior Ceola Clark III who was tabbed 'Defensive Player of the Year' for the second time
in his career (2010 and 2012), as well as Second Team All-Conference. Clark is
the only player in league history to have earned the honor twice. Junior Terell Parks was named Honorable
Mention.
Compared to the rest of the nation, Western concluded the
season ranked in the top-30 of four national categories, including: 11th in
personal fouls per game (15.0), 12th in three-point field goal percentage
(39.5), 22nd in scoring defense (60.2), and 27th in turnovers per game (11.4).
Western returns six members from last year's squad and
welcome five newcomers to the Leatherneck family. The 2012-13 roster breakdown
looks like this: four seniors, three juniors, one sophomore, and four freshmen.
LEATHERNECK
GUARDS
Ceola Clark III, the 2010 and 2012 Summit League 'Defensive Player of
the Year', was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the National Collegiate
Athletic Association (NCAA) and will return for the 2012-13 season. He returns
after playing in and starting all but one game for the Leathernecks last season
and led Western with 13.3 points per game, 151 assists, 50 steals, while averaging
37.4 minutes per game. Remy Roberts-Burnett and Billy Molinari
return to the Leathernecks in 2012-13. Roberts-Burnett played in 28 games for
Western, averaged 4.5 points per game, and shot 48.8% from the field in
2011-12, while Molinari suffered a season-ending leg injury in the
Leathernecks' second game of the season. Rounding out the guard position are
three freshmen in Jordan Foster, Jamaal Walker and Jason Hawthorne.
LEATHERNECK
FORWARDS AND CENTERS
The Leathernecks return three forwards from last year's
squad, all of which are seniors, in Terell Parks, Jack Houpt and Don McAvoy III. Parks played in every
game for Western last year, finishing third on the team in scoring with 11.9
points per game. He also shot 61% from the field, averaged 9.1 rebounds
per game, and was tabbed Summit League Honorable Mention and to the
All-Newcomer Team. Houpt returns having averaged 6.5 points per game and
knocking down the second most triples for Western (55). McAvoy played in every
game last season, primarily coming off of the bench, and averaged 2.7 points
per game while shooting 41% from the floor. Three newcomers will look to help
Western in the three through five positions, including freshman John Schneider, and juniors Adam Link
and Michael Ochereobia.
#WIUAthletics
