DC Lands Five on Preseason Watch List

GREENWOOD, Ind. – The Defiance College men’s basketball program recently placed five players on the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Preseason Players-To-Watch List as announced by the league office. The five Yellow Jackets to garner the preseason honors were juniors C.J. Johnson, Matt Muratori and Bryan Post and sophomores Anthony Jackson and Anthony Pettaway.

Those five returners, who accounted for 75 starts in 2005-06 and combined to log 52 percent of the minutes played and 49 percent of the points scored for the Jackets, will need to increase their production even more along with fellow returning players Cody Anderson, Jarret Ensign, Andy Gerschutz, Joe Nowak and Frank Washington in order for Defiance to climb the HCAC rankings.

The group of 10 returners will be bolstered by a deep and talented pool of 16 freshmen set to join the squad for the 2006-07 campaign. That group is headlined by Mike Floyd (Toledo, Ohio / St. John’s Jesuit), Nick Sales (Barberton, Ohio / Barberton) and Eric Stolly (Lima, Ohio / Lima Central Catholic), who could all compete for serious playing time early on. Heath Armstrong (Fayette, Ohio / Gorham Fayette), Nate Conley (Fort Wayne, Ind. / Bishop Dwenger), Sam Lindamood (New Madison, Ohio / Tri-Village) and Brent Papenfuss (Whitehouse, Ohio / Anthony Wayne) will also contend for court time.

Johnson will return as DC’s floor general for his junior season after backing up his Freshman-of-the-Year honors with an All-HCAC Honorable Mention selection last season. The Toledo, Ohio, native averaged 12.7 points and 2.8 assists while shooting at a 39.3 percent clip from beyond the arc in 32.1 minutes per game in 2005-06, ranking among the top-20 in the HCAC in each stat.

Joining Johnson in the backcourt will be rising sophomore Anthony Jackson who averaged 5.6 points and 21.8 minutes off the bench in 16 contests before suffering a season-ending injury.

Juniors Muratori and Post will give Defiance an experienced look at the forward position as the pair combined for 10.2 points and 8.1 rebounds per game one season ago. Muratori, a native of Clyde, Ohio, has been a steady force in the paint throughout his career at DC, putting up 5.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per contest over two seasons and shooting over 56 percent from the floor. Post, a local product out of St. Henry High, started all 25 games for Defiance as a sophomore and led the Jackets with 1.6 steals per game while also ranking in the top 20 in the HCAC in total rebounds, offensive rebounds and blocked shots.

Rounding out the potential starting five for Defiance is six-foot, eight-inch sophomore center, Anthony Pettaway. The Toledo, Ohio, native wasted little time making an impact on the conference during his freshman season and should continue to build on his credentials in 2006-07. Pettaway averaged 9.2 points and 5.4 boards in HCAC contests last season.

Those five players will most likely make up DC’s starting lineup on its season-opening game against Thomas More on Friday at 8:00 pm in the second game of the 32nd annual Purple and Gold Financial Classic.

With the five players on the list, Defiance was the second-most recognized team in the HCAC behind Mount St. Joseph’s total of six. Preseason favorite, Franklin, also placed five players on the list.

Franklin received half of the first-place votes in the preseason coaches poll, taking the top spot with 72 total points.

The Grizzlies were followed in the preseason rankings by last season’s conference champion, Transylvania, which garnered three first-place votes and 63 total points.

Hanover took a distant third with 49 points and was followed closely by MSJ (39), Anderson (39), Manchester (38), Defiance (36), Rose-Hulman (35) and Bluffton (34).

For a complete list of the HCAC Preseason Poll and Players-To-Watch List, click here.