10/29 - NWC POLL: Bruins Tabbed for 7th-Place Finish in Conference in 2007-08
2007-08 NWC Men's Basketball Coaches' Pre-Season Poll
NEWBERG, Ore. - With only two starters returning in point guard Brent Satern and wing Taylor Martin, the George Fox University Bruins have been picked to finish seventh in the Northwest Conference men's basketball race in 2007-08, according to a pre-season poll of the league's nine coaches.
The Bruins, who received 25 points in the poll, expected to replace Second Team All-NWC post Chris Parker (16.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg) and two-time honorable mention All-Conference wing Phil Heu-Weller (13.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 44 3-point field goals), who graduated. They had not expected to have to replace forward Brady Strutz (9.0 ppg, 6.6 rpg), who suffered a season-ending knee injury in pre-season practice and will take a medical injury red-shirt year.
Satern (13.5 ppg, 5.3 apg), an honorable mention All-NWC performer, and Martin (4.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg) will be expected by coach Mark Sundquist to increase their point production to take up the slack. Mark Metzler (5.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg) is likely to take one wing position, but the rest of the lineup is up for grabs. The Bruins are coming off a season in which they went 12-13 overall and finished fifth in the conference with a 7-9 record.
Lewis & Clark College is a unanimous choice to win the conference this year after sharing the title last year with Whitworth University. The Pioneers picked up all nine first-place votes and the maximum 90 points in the poll. L&C returns all five starters, including First Team All-NWC guard Thomas Tillery and Second Team All-Conference players Joey Taboni and Dave Berggren, from a squad that finished 19-7 last season and 13-3 in the NWC.
The University of Puget Sound is second in the poll with 71 points and will try to return to the top of the NWC standings after winning three straight conference titles from 2004-06. UPS also returns all five starters from last season's team that finished 18-7 and 11-5, including First Team All-NWC forward Jason Foster and Second Team choice Taylor Marsh.
Whitworth is third in the poll with 61 points. The Pirates must replace four starters from last year's 24-4 team, including 2007 NWC Player of the Year Bryan Williams. First Team All-NWC forward Ryan Symes is the lone returning starter.
Pacific University (47 points) is fourth in the poll, just ahead of Pacific Lutheran University (45 points). The Boxers will build around junior forward Ross Bartlett, a Second Team All-NWC choice last year, while the Lutes look to senior guard Landon Heidenreich.
Willamette University is sixth in the poll with 38 points. The Bearcats return three starters, including wing Michael Smith. Following George Fox is Linfield College (23 points), with the Wildcats looking to sophomore point guard Emil Kim. Whitman College is ninth with 15 points, and the Missionaries will have honorable mention All-NWC guard Chris Faidley to build around.
The Northwest Conference will use a conference tournament to decide the automatic (Pool A) bid to the NCAA tournament. At the conclusion of the regular season, the second place team in the final standings will host the third place team in a playoff. The winner will play at the regular season champion for the NCAA bid.
The season commences for the Bruins on Friday, Nov. 16, against McMurry University in the Colorado College Tip-Off Tournament in Colorado Springs, Colo. The Bruins will also play in the Surf-n-Slam Tournament in San Diego, Calif., Dec. 28-29, and have the usual 16-game conference schedule after the New Year.