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LOCATION: Macon, GA
CONFERENCE: Trans America Athletic (TAAC)
LAST SEASON: 8-19 (.296)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 5-11 (9th)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 1/4
NICKNAME: Bears
COLORS: Black & Orange
HOMECOURT: Macon Centreplex (2,500)
COACH: Mark Slonaker (Georgia '80)
record at school 13-40 (2 years)
career record 13-40 (2 years)
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ASSISTANTS: Dewey Haley (Chadron State '91)
Mike Gillespie (Morehead State '95)
Brent Lemon (Florida)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 15-15-3-5-8
RPI (last 5 years) 191-290-305-304-274
1998-99 FINISH: Did not qualify for conference tournament.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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Mercer needs big men. It needs rebounding. It needs inside scoring. What it needs most, however, are players with huge hearts who live in the gym when they're not in the classroom. That's why head coach Mark Slonaker doesn't miss a player he needed most: 6-8 forward Terry Lawyer (6.3 ppg., 4.4 reb., .557 FG, 10 blocked shots). The Bears needed Lawyer, but the player didn't want to submerge himself in basketball, so he quit the program this summer. "He's a good kid, a terrific student," Slonaker said. "But he said his heart wasn't in it anymore, which is fine. I wish him all the luck. But it's better he's not here because at the stage we're at with the program, we need gym rats. We have to grow this thing, and we need commitment from players." Mercer is coming off an 8-19 season and ninth-place finish in the TAAC, and it wants to start making a move in the standings. And while the program tries to build its talent level to match Samford, Georgia State, and Central Florida, among others, it needs all the grit and hustle it can get from its players. The Bears figured to make an upward move this season until the summer started. That's when Lawyer, a starter, decided he didn't want to play anymore, and Earnest Brown, a player who really is earnest about the game, broke his leg. Brown (12.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 54 assists) was one of the hubs of the team last season in his junior year. He was coming back this season motivated by a collapse in his game down the stretch, when he was shut out in two of his last four games. The 6-2 guard was just 5 for 27 from the field in the final four games and went home for the season after a 74-44 loss to Georgia State, a game in which he didn't score.
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT B- BENCH/DEPTH C-
FRONTCOURT D INTANGIBLES B
"Mercer's talent is much higher than it was two or three years ago. They've done a good job bringing players into that program," said Troy State coach Don Maestri. "But the talent level around the league has really picked up, too." That might be why the Bears still struggle against the top four clubs in the TAAC, which figure to be Samford, Georgia State, Central Florida, and Jacksonville. Slonaker has upgraded the program, but the conference is getting better at the same time. "I think our players are a lot more optimistic than they were last year," Slonaker said. We're going to be better." |
"I'm heartbroken for him," Slonaker said. "He was really working hard on his game and getting stronger. He knew he needed to be more consistent and he wanted to come back and have a good senior season." Brown is expected to be back some time in December, but he'll have catching up to do and might not find his stride until January. But Mercer is better able to handle Brown's loss than the loss of Lawyer, because Slonaker has decent depth on the perimeter. Noel West, a medical redshirt last season, figures to be one starting guard. The 6-1 freshman from Ft. Myers, Fla., was the backourt mate in high school of Florida's heralded guard Teddy Dupay, who averaged 44 points a game for Mariner High School "Not many people know that Noel averaged 27 for that team," Slonaker said. "We think we got a steal in him. It came down to us and Murray State, but he wanted to stay closer to home, so we got him. "He's athletic, he can shoot it, he's a combo guard who can play 1 (point guard) or 2 (shooting guard)." But West won't play from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday because he's a Seventh Day Adventist. Slonaker said most teams in the league have agreed to push games scheduled for Saturday afternoon back to Saturday night. Georgia State was the only school that couldn't move the game because it had a scheduling conflict on Jan. 22. West will probably be the starting off-guard while 6-1 junior Korey McCray (6.6 ppg, 26. rpg, 74 assists) starts at the point. McCray also had a star as a running mate in high school he and Dion Glover (Georgia Tech, Atlanta Hawks) led Cedar Shoals to a Georgia state championship. McCray had 50 turnovers in 25 games last season (28.1 minutes per game), which means he is a pretty reliable ballhandler. He can get the Bears into their plays, but he doesn't shoot very well (.278 percent last season). While McCray isn't expected to shoot it well, Rodney Kirtz is, but doesn't. The 6-3 junior doesn't give the nets a break in practice, drilling threes in team scrimmages. But when the spotlight is wheeled toward him and he needs to score in a game, he loses the shooting touch. Kirtz (6.2 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 27 steals) made just 28 percent of his three-point shots last season. "He's a guy we're waiting on to explode," Slonaker said. "He's not shot the ball well from the three-point line, but we know he can. We're waiting for him to have a breakout season and jump from six points a game to 11. He's worked hard in the offseason trying to get stronger and more confident." Kirtz may have to either break out or sit out because the Bears have some depth at guard. Aleem Muhammad, a 6-4 sophomore, scored in double figures in six conference games last season. He can put the ball on the deck and get himself open for a shot. Muhammad (6.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 16 steals) made .371 percent of his threes last season, which led the team. Overall, however, shooting was a trouble spot for Mercer. The Bears made only .381 percent of their field goals last season, which was last in the TAAC. They made only .288 percent of their three-point shots, next to last in the conference. To have a chance at an upset, a bottom division team like Mercer has to shoot at least 35 percent behind the arc. "We have got to shoot the ball better," Slonaker said. "We haven't shot it well the last two years. If we can improve our shooting, we can get up to the middle of the pack in the league this season." One of the priorities in recruiting was to find players who can shoot it and make it. Slonaker considers Chris Hill a real find. A junior transfer from Tallahassee (Fla.) Community College, the 6-3 Hill averaged 14.0 points against top JC talent while shooting .460 percent from the three-point line. "He knows how to play and we're counting on him for some scoring," Slonaker said. "He also gets to the basket well." Mercer also picked up Jason Sagester, a 5-10 junior guard from Dawson (Mont.) Community College. Another player who might help with outside shooting, if he doesn't redshirt, is Vladimir Zujovic, a 6-7 freshman forward from Yugoslavia. Zujovic weighs just 185, but typical of European players, has some skill for an open-floor game. The last guard on the roster will be 6-0 junior John Pickles (0.3 ppg, 0.5 rpg). The rotation of inside players is more defined, because there is less depth, especially with Lawyer gone. One starter will be Scott Emerson, a 6-9 freshman from Camden County High School in St. Mary's, Ga., who was a late bloomer. By the time Florida, Georgia, and Wake Forest started asking for film, Mercer and Boston University had the inside track. Emerson picked the Bears over BU, where his mother and father played sports. His mother, April, was the first female on scholarship for the Terriers. "We got a steal on this one," Slonaker said. "He's strong around the basket; he can step out and hit a three. He's also very aggressive he will not back off from anybody, which is something we sorely lacked the last two seasons. "He's a freshman and I hate to put a lot of pressure on him, but he can be an all-conference type kid in a couple of years. I'll be shocked if he doesn't start this season." The other starter inside will be Mark Adamson (11.4 ppg., 8.8 rpg., 30 blocked shots), a 6-6 senior. He is the program's most consistent player and delivers 12 points and eight boards like clockwork. Adamson is also the team's best defender in the post. The first backup off the bench will probably be Wesley Duke, a 6-5, 225-pound freshman power forward from Meadowcreek High School in Norcross, Ga. He's physical and tough, which is a big boost for the program. Another forward who will help is Torris Woolfolk, a transfer from Division II Augusta State. The 6-6, 185-pound Woolfolk averaged 13 points and eight rebounds his final season at Augusta State and can rebound and block shots. The last big man on the bench is 6-9 senior Jesse McMillan (0.5 ppg, 1.2 rpg).
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