QUINCY, Mass. – The Eastern Nazarene men's basketball team is slated to host Suffolk University on Tuesday, November 15th in Lahue Gymnasium to commence the 2011-2012 season. With this year's start just around the corner, ENC Head Coach Jim Aller sat down and shared what fans can look forward to seeing from the Lions.
The squad features ten returners, including junior Chima Ezeigbo who was sidelined for most of 2010-2011 with a serious ankle injury.
"Chima was an All-Conference selection two years ago," Aller said. "Chima is a big kid at 6-8, with long arms. He's very lanky and that makes him tough to guard inside. He is going to be a key player for us this season. Of course, it remains to be seen how he will respond to the injury he sustained last year, but if he is anywhere close to where he was, then he will be one of the better players in the conference."
The Lions have a strong backcourt, which should complement their big man and add versatility to their game this season.
"Max Barbosa, Aaron Johnson and Mike McCoy are three really good guards," Aller said. "Max has really good leadership skills; he is very vocal and is able to run the offense effectively because of it. Mike and Aaron are similar in that they are really good shooters but they can go to the rim as well. They give us a lot of different options. I feel like they have all taken a big step forward from last year, and now they have two years of experience each under their belt and that can only help us out."
In addition, six new faces have been added to the deep roster, bringing the pack total to 16.
Aller touched briefly on players that could surprise fans this year.
"John Cramer is very versatile; he is great offensive rebounder and does a lot of the little things right. You need that kind of player in your system to win. Also, Brian Hard and CJ Gonzales have shown a lot of improvement from last year. Brian plays bigger than he is and will surprise people with his ability to create shots inside."
The program recently hired a new assistant coach, Brent Burris, a recent graduate of Indiana University East, and former player of Aller.
"Brent was an outstanding player," Aller said. "He is very intelligent, and I think that he is a really good fit for our program. The guys like him a lot and he will be a huge asset for us."
The coaching staff anticipates improvement on their 9-15 effort in 2010-2011. When asked to list the necessary keys to success for 2011, Aller did not hesitate.
"We need to play defense, rebound and run," he said. "Fans can expect us to play up-tempo basketball; we want to shoot a lot of threes and shoot a higher percentage than last year. We will press and trap and hopefully those things and the return of some of our key players will help us to win a few more games than last year."