Centennial Conference Preseason Release
HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College men's basketball will be looking to use an infusion of youth, paired with the return of seven of the team's top 10 scorers from last season as the Fords look to ascend the Centennial Conference ranks during the 2015-16 season. Haverford will search for a quick start to the season this weekend when the team partakes in the MAC-Centennial Tournament starting this Friday at 6 p.m. against Arcadia.
Highlighting the returners from last year's squad is All-Centennial Conference performer Matt Sherman. Sherman earned honorable mention all-conference accolades as a sophomore by averaging a team-best 15.5 points per game. He made 51 three-pointers a season ago, the eighth most in a single year at Haverford. A two-year starter for the team, Sherman enters his junior season with 569 career points and could possibly become the 15th 1,000 point scorer in program history if he can improve on those numbers from a season ago.
Senior captain Justin Winkler is the second returning starter from a season ago. He averaged 25.4 minutes per contest during his first season as a starter. In those minutes, he averaged 5.0 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. Senior Henry Stevens also assumes co-captain responsibilities. Stevens averaged over two points and 14 minutes per game during his 21 appearances last season. The third member of the senior class, Anthony Reyes, has increased his scoring output in each his first three seasons. He averaged 8.5 points in 18.8 minutes per game as a junior. He had eight games in which he recorded 10 or more points, including a career-best 27 points against Rochester Institute of Technology during the opening weekend last year.
In this year's sophomore class, Walt Plumlee finished last year ranked fifth on the team with 114 points as he appeared in all 25 games. He was third on the team in three-pointers made behind Reyes and Sherman, finishing the year with 4.6 points per game. Josh Fried provided a big presence down low in his appearances. He played in 11 of the team's final 13 games after missing the first half of the season due to injury. Despite missing time, he still ranked third on the team in blocked shots and pulled down a rebound in eight different games. Jeremy Evans also appeared in 11 games last season for the Fords and will look to continue his growth during his second season at Haverford.
With just seven returning players, head coach Michael Mucci will certainly have plenty of options to go to from the freshman class. Haverford welcomes seven new players to the young roster this season. Joe Scibelli and Sam Stogdon will add some much needed height to the team in the forward position. Kofi Kwakwa, Kyle Goldfarb, Chris Glazer, Rohan Shukla, and Kahlil Garnes will also battle for minutes with the team's returning guards.
The 2015-16 season will be Mucci's 21st season leading the Fords. He is the program's all-time winningest coach with 177 victories during his tenure. Haverford will host 11 games in total during the upcoming season. The home opener is set for Wednesday, November 18 at 7 p.m. against Penn State-Harrisburg. Centennial Conference play opens on November 24 at Washington College.
The top five teams in the conference will qualify for the Centennial Conference Tournament that is scheduled for February 24 through February 27. The Fords have made the conference tournament six times in program history and will be looking for their first appearance since the 2010-11 season.