Season No. 92 of Truman men’s basketball kicks off this weekend, as new leadership and a mix of returning and new faces will lead the Bulldogs into the Abilene Christian Wildcat Classic on Friday and Saturday nights deep in the heart of Texas.
The Bulldogs open the 2011-12 campaign by taking on the host ACU Wildcats on Friday at 8:00 pm before rebounding less than 24 hours later by taking on a second Lone Star Conference opponent – Angelo State – at 5:00 pm on Saturday.
Under the direction of first-year head coach Matt Woodley and his staff, Truman will finally see what they can do against Division II opposition, as the ’Dogs started this season with three exhibition games against highly-touted Division I programs Missouri, Missouri State and Indiana State.
Early highlights from the opening trio of non-counting contests included a double-double for redshirt freshman Mike Carlson at ISU, a 16-point effort from freshman Seth Jackson at MSU and a 20-point night by sophomore Isaac Gardner in Mizzou Arena against the Big-12’s Tigers.
Truman is coming off a 7-19 season in 2010-11 but will tangle with a pair of LSC teams also looking to rebound this season.
ACU posted a 9-17 mark last season (1-12 in the LSC), while ASU finished the year 11-15 overall (7-7 in the LSC).
All three teams ran out of gas late, combining to go 2-13 in the final 15 games.
About the ‘Dogs:
Fans of Bulldog basketball will be glued to their roster cards for the first few games of the season, as seven new faces (and one returning redshirted player) will be lacing up for the purple and white in 2011-12.
Familiar faces include the squad’s lone senior – center Vesko Filchev (9.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg) – and sharpshooting guards Gardner (42 3-ptrs) and Tom Norton (10.3 ppg, 62 3-ptrs). Sophomores Pat Sodemann (4.8 ppg, 86% FT), Marek Bush (2.2 ppg) and Justin Strickland (1.5 ppg) also return, alongside local product junior Matt Patterson (1.7 ppg).
A pair of junior college transfers – EJ Hicks and Nick Stromer – will look to bring their two-year experience to the squad, while five true freshmen – Jackson, Dominic Kacich, Andrew Vander Zwaag, Tyler Anderson and Patrick Burmester – will also compete for playing time.
Carlson, a returning redshirted freshman, saw significant playing time in the three exhibitions and looks to earn a starting role this year.
Woodley comes to Truman to take the reins of the Bulldog program following a two-year stint as the head boy’s basketball coach at Waukee (Iowa) High School.
Prior to that, Woodley coached nine seasons as a Division I assistant, most recently serving three years as a top assistant at Washington State – a member of the Pac-12.
He is joined by assistant coaches Todd Lorensen (UNO) and Matt Fitzpatrick.
Courtesy Truman State University
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