Men's Hoops Tabbed as One of Early Favorites in HCAC Poll

Defiance returns four starters and 11 letterwinners from last year’s team which posted an eight-game improvement in the win column over the previous season and the school’s best winning percentage since the 1999-2000 campaign.

The Yellow Jackets went 9-7 in league play and clinched the fourth and final spot into the HCAC Tournament on the last day of the regular season. DC then went on to upset Franklin in the opening round, 80-73, to advance into the championship game.

Defiance will be led by returning starters C.J. Johnson (Toledo, OH / St. Francis DeSales), Anthony Pettaway (Toledo, OH / Bowsher), Anthony Jackson (Ayersville, OH / Ayersville) and Nick Sales (Barberton, OH / Barberton) as the group combined for nearly 50 points per game last season.

Several key reserve players will also be back in uniform for Defiance and should see increased roles in 2007-08. Eric Stolly (Lima, OH / Lima Central Catholic) and Heath Armstrong (Fayette, OH / Gorham Fayette) will provide head coach Jon Miller with a pair of shooters off the bench. Bryan Post (St. Henry, OH / St. Henry) and Nate Conley (Fort Wayne, IN / Bishop Dwenger) figure to add depth at the forward positions.

Further bolstering the roster will be the addition of a nine-man freshmen class which features a blend of six guards and three post players.

The Jackets totaled 73 total votes and finished two shy of Franklin for the top spot in the poll. The Grizzlies, like Defiance, will return four of their top five scorers from a year ago. Transylvania figures to be a threat once again and was selected third with 55 votes, while Hanover and Bluffton rounded out the top five with 52 and 42 votes each.

The College of Mount St. Joseph took sixth with 34 votes, Anderson received a first-place vote and was picked seventh overall and Manchester and Rose-Hulman took the bottom two spots in the poll.

While the preseason respect for the Yellow Jacket team is high, several players are also getting attention on an individual basis as Johnson, Pettaway, Jackson and Sales were all named as HCAC Players to Watch.

Johnson will return for his senior season after averaging 11.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 27.7 minutes per game last year. The three-time Honorable Mention All-HCAC selection ranked among the top three on the team in all five of those statistics as a junior and will enter his final collegiate campaign just 78 points shy of becoming the 41st member of DC’s 1000-point club.

Pettaway turned into one of the most dangerous big men in the league as a sophomore and will be an immediate candidate for HCAC Player-of-the-Year honors in 2007-08. Pettaway started all 26 games for DC and led the squad with 16.3 points per game en route to earning All-HCAC honors. The six-foot, eight-inch center ended the year as the only player in the conference to rank among the top five in points and rebounds and was voted as the HCAC Male Athlete of the Month for January and February.

Jackson was tabbed as a Player to Watch for the second year in a row after starting all but two games for Defiance as a sophomore. Jackson averaged 7.6 points a game for the year, but filled the nets for a healthy 10.1 clip over DC’s final 12 games. Jackson’s long-range game proved valuable, as the Jackets went 14-5 in games when he made at least one three-point bucket.

Sales was one of only six sophomores to be named to the preseason list after earning Honorable Mention All-HCAC honors during his rookie campaign. Sales took the league by storm, teaming with Pettaway to form one of the top post duos in the HCAC. Sales averaged 10.4 points a game, was the only player in the conference to rank among the top three in shooting percentage (63.3), rebounds (8.0 per game) and blocks (0.92 per game) and earned HCAC Male Athlete of the Month honors in December.

The Jackets will get their 2007-08 season underway on Nov. 16 and 17 when they compete in the Tip-Off Classic hosted by Thomas More.

For the HCAC press release, click here.