HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College men's basketball team has improved its win total during both of head coach Patrick Doherty's first two seasons. The Fords won 10 games during the 2018-19 campaign for the program's first double-digit win campaign since 2010-11. Haverford will have to replace a pair of 1,000 point scorers, but has a six-member senior class that will look to lead Haverford's charge up the Centennial Conference standings.
Six different returning players have started at least 19 games for the Fords over their college careers. Five of those players will be entering their senior season looking to leave a lasting impact on the program. Nevertheless, it is junior Jesse Turkson who is the top returning scorer for the Fords as he averaged 10.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game as a sophomore. Turkson led the Fords and ranked third in the conference with a 55.9% shooting mark from the floor last season while doing a little bit of everything as he also led the team in steals and assists.
Seniors Joe Hartman and Joe Wujciak saw the most time in the starting lineup from their class last season, averaging 6.5 and 5.2 points per game, respectively. Hartman already ranks 17th in program history with 87 three-pointers made through his first three seasons while Wujciak was in the starting lineup for 14 of his 17 appearances last year, seeing an average of nearly 23 minutes per night during that time.
A strong presence in the paint for the Fords will be senior Jack Cork who finished fourth on last year's team with 7.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. He made 53.8% of his shots from the field and ranks 13th in school history in blocked shots. He averaged just under one rejection per game a season ago. Jonathan Lang, Grayson Roth, and Michael Wiper give the Fords a number of other options with height to work into the rotation. Lang averaged 12.6 points per game as a sophomore when he started 20 of his 23 appearances and ranks 13th in school history with 93 three-pointers made. Roth and Wiper also averaged just under 10 minutes per night a season ago as strong options off the bench.
Sophomores Stephen Flanders and Josh Love will also look to make a bigger impact on the team with a year of experience under their belts. Love showed great flashes of his potential in 13 games, highlighted by a 14-point effort against Muhlenberg where he went 5-of-8 from the field. Flanders appeared in nine games during his rookie season. Joining the team later in the season will be junior Josh Radin who is currently studying abroad. Radin brings another three-point option that opponents will have to defend against this year.
In addition to the 10 returning players, the Fords will also mix in six new players (four first-years and two transfers) into the team. Sophomore transfer Jackson Ryan joined the Fords from WPI where he played seven games for a team that advanced to the NEWMAC Championship. Fellow sophomore transfer Justin Heidig did not play last winter but joins the Fords from local Penncrest High School after leading that team to back-to-back district championships.
The first-year class continues the emphasis on guard play with Charlie Mamlin, Dhruv Mehrotra, and Ryan Trotter joining forward Nate Torres on the 2019-20 roster. Each member of the incoming first-year class comes from winning traditions at the high school ranks and will look to continue that success on the college stage.
Haverford begins its 2019-20 season at home against Lebanon Valley on Friday, November 8 at 7 p.m. The Fords will play a total of 13 home games throughout the regular season. Men's basketball went 10-15 overall last season (6-12 CC). Those results included the team's first win against Dickinson since 2013 in addition to the first-ever season sweep of Gettysburg and a second consecutive season sweep of McDaniel in Centennial Conference play.