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Date Posted: 12:09:19 11/03/04 Wed
Author: J.J.
Subject: NEC preview - Central Connecticut State
In reply to: J.J. 's message, "SportsLine.com - NEC preview" on 12:11:28 11/02/04 Tue

A great write-up that provides lots of hope for a strong run at the NEC title!
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The renaissance of Central Connecticut State basketball since 1998 can be traced the development of cornerstone players such as Rick Mickens, Corsley Edwards and most recently, Ron Robinson, the 2003-04 NEC Player of the Year who finished his career as the league’s all-time leading rebounder and an Honorable Mention All-American. Over the last six years, the Blue Devils captured league titles in 2000 and 2002, reached the NEC Tournament championship game a year ago and averaged 19 wins per season. With Robinson’s graduation, however, ninth year head coach Howie Dickenman will enter the 2004-05 campaign without a true go-to scorer for the first time in recent memory and has just one player on the roster - senior forward Rich Pittman - who wears an NEC championship ring. With that said, enough talent still remains to give the Blue Devil faithful realistic dreams of returning to the NCAA Tournament as Dickenman has clearly assembled a team in his own image. Tough and athletic, CCSU will surely display the program’s trademark blue-collar work ethic, especially on the defensive end of the floor and on the glass, where the Blue Devils have led the league in rebound margin in four of the last five years. Pittman, along with sophomore Obie Nwadike, are the returning starters in the frontcourt. One of the underrated players in the conference, the 6-6 Pittman is a career 59 percent shooter from the field and the favorite to fill Robinson’s void in the low post this season. In his junior year, he raised his scoring average to 10.3 ppg and snared 5.6 rpg. Nwadike did not overwhelm opponents with his stature (he measures just 6-4), but had a linebacker’s ferocity on the boards in his first year of intercollegiate competition. He led the conference in offensive rebounding, ranked seventh overall with 6.6 caroms per game and contributed 7.5 ppg. One of the strongest players on the team, 6-7 sophomore Jemino Sobers was brought along slowly last season, but showed flashes of potential and figures to earn a spot in the rotation. Dickenman will likely continue to mix and match in the backcourt with a number of capable returnees. Junior shooting guard Justin Chiera (10.2 ppg) has one of the best strokes on the circuit as evidenced by his 66 three-pointers (third in the NEC). Classmate Lenny Jefferson took over at the point last season and emerged as a solid playmaker (74 assists, just 45 turnovers) and shooter (team-best 40.5 percent from three-point range), as well as a capable defender on the perimeter. Sophomore DeMario Anderson (7.9 ppg) is a potentially prolific scoring two-guard whose game kept improving as the season wore on in 2003-04. Anderson closed out his freshman year by hitting 13 of his last 24 shots (54.2 percent) from long distance and finished with 31 trifectas, third on the club. The biggest surprise of last season was the stratospheric rise of walk-on guard Javier Mojica, who went from rarely used reserve to key starter in the span of two months. Mojica, who earned a scholarship over the summer, averaged 4.0 ppg from November through January, but raised that figure to 11.8 ppg in February and March and was a vital cog in the Blue Devils’ run to the NEC title game. Dickenman’s incoming class includes two of the more intriguing recruits in recent NEC memory (Jermaine Middleton & Ingo Beaudet), one of Canada’s top young point guards (Tristan Blackwood) and a member of a national high school power (Jason Hickenbottom). At 7-3, Middleton will become the second tallest player in NEC history behind Rik Smits (7-4), who was a two-time NEC Player of the Year at Marist in the mid-1980’s. A second skyscraper at 6-11, Beaudet has only played one year of organized ball (last season at Santa Rosa CC) and was a late addition to the class in July. Armed with a reputation as a lockdown defender, Blackwood has played with the Canadian Junior National Team the last two years and was named to the all-Tournament team at the World Youth Championships (Global Games) between his junior and senior seasons. Hickenbottom, a 6-4 forward, competed at Philadelphia’s Simon Gratz, which finished 25-3 and ranked 14th in the final USA Today poll.

CCSU By The Numbers

Quick Facts
2003-04 Overall Record: 14-14
2003-04 NEC Record/Finish: 9-9/7th
NEC Tournament Finish: Lost in Title Game
Starters Returning/Lost: 4/1
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 8/3
2003-04 Final RPI: 210
Games Decided By 5 or Less: 4-7

NEC Record
Last Two Years: 21-15 (.583)
Last Three Years 40-16 (.714)
Last Four Years: 51-25 (.671)
Last Five Years: 66-28 (.702)

Overall Record
Last Two Years: 29-27 (.518)
Last Three Years 56-32 (.636)
Last Four Years: 70-46 (.603)
Last Five Years: 95-52 (.646)

Leading Returning Scorers
Rich Pittman: 10.3 ppg
Justin Chiera: 10.2 ppg
Javier Mojica: 7.9 ppg

Leading Returning Rebounders
Obie Nwadike: 6.6 rpg
Rich Pittman: 5.6 rpg
Javier Mojica: 2.9 rpg

Leading Returning Assists
Lenny Jefferson: 2.6 apg
Justin Chiera: 2.4 apg
Obie Nwadike: 2.2 apg

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