Men’s basketball starts ‘09-10 season on wrong foot

After a difficult season last year, Delaware's basketball team looks to rebound in the 2009-2010 season.  However, with senior point guard Brian Johnson out for the season with an ACL injury, along with the graduation of the team's lead scorer from last year and a tough schedule, it will be up to the rest of the team to step up, according to head coach Monte Ross. 

On Saturday, the Hens played their season opener against Temple at home. Temple has experience with success, having won the Atlantic 10 tournament two times.  Ross said playing Temple was a challenge the Hens were up to.  

However, Delaware lost to Temple 56-76. Junior guard Jawan Carter scored 17 points, and had three assists and four rebounds.  Senior guard Alphonso Dawson scored nine points and redshirt sophomore transfer Hakim McCullar led with five rebounds on the day.

The Hens showed they have a lot of work to do to make up for the loss of Marc Egerson, who averaged 15 points per game and graduated last year.  Dawson believes his game needs to mature in order to fill Egerson's void.

"Marc taught me a lot while he was here, showing me things on court and making things easier," he said.  "I was able to be open more with him. Now I will have to do a lot of the other things to help the team win."

Senior Brian Johnson tore his ACL during the offseason and will miss the entire season.  To make up for Johnson's loss, the entire team will be needed, Ross said. 

"Brian started since he has been on campus and it's going to be difficult to replace him, but it's an opportunity for other people to step up and take advantage," Ross said.  "He cannot be replaced with just one person, it's a matter of everyone stepping up."

The Hens went 6-12 in the CAA and 13-19 overall last season. Ross said a lot of games were lost because the team was not tough enough.  This year the team is better on defense and is better at moving the ball inside, he said. 

Dawson agreed. 

"This year we have an inside presence and can play harder, which will in turn make us a better team," he said. 

The 2009-2010 team is made up of younger players, including six freshmen. Ross said he is looking forward to maturing his players into a winning team. 

This season, the Hens are scheduled to play Villanova, a team that went to the Final Four in last year's NCAA Tournament and was picked during the preseason as number one in the Big East. 

"The Villanova game is a great opportunity to show everyone what type of program we have," Dawson said.  "We played two Big East teams last year and we showed we could compete on that level. It's a chance to show our talent and program."

Overall, Ross said his goal for the season is to win every game possible. The team plans on watching footage of all the games lost in order to learn from their mistakes and develop their game thoughout the season.

"My goal for the team and myself is to improve after each and every game," said Carter.

"Also to be better in every way compared to last season and get the program to take a step forward."