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LOCATION: Shreveport, LA
CONFERENCE: Trans America Athletic (TAAC)
LAST SEASON: 14-14 (.500)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 8-8 (5th, TAAC)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 2/3
NICKNAME: Gentlemen (Gents)
COLORS: Maroon & White
HOMECOURT: Gold Dome (4,000)
COACH: Kevin Johnson (Texas-Pan American '88)
record at school First Year
career record First Year
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ASSISTANTS: Mark Dannhoff (Wisc.-Lacrosse '91)
Arturo Ormond (Texas-Pan American '91)
Joey Tolis (Tarelton State '98)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 10-11-9-10-14
RPI (last 5 years) 230-246-269-263-196
1998-99 FINISH: Lost in conference semifinal.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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Centenary enters a new era hoping it doesn't last long. A former member of the Trans America Athletic Conference, the Gentlemen play this season in college basketball's version of purgatory as an independent. Centenary has applied for admittance into the Southland Conference, but the school's athletics budget and number of athletics programs offered may not be sufficient for the new league and NCAA standards. In the meantime, the Gents have a new coach former assistant Kevin Johnson, who takes over for the departed Billy Kennedy after being on the staff the last two seasons. The goals Johnson has in place are two-fold make the team competitive and help the program find a conference allegiance. "We've got to get into a league," Johnson said. "It's important for several reasons. You want to have an opportunity to play for something like a conference championship and, possibly, a berth into the NCAA Tournament. It's a whole lot more difficult to get there from an independent status." First, a little about Johnson, a former assistant at Texas-Pan American, where he starred for four seasons and finished his career as the program's No. 11 all-time leading scorer.
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT C BENCH/DEPTH D+
FRONTCOURT D+ INTANGIBLES D+
In limbo as a Division I independent, Centenary made a solid hire in Kevin Johnson, who will overcome his lack of head coaching experience with exuberance and hard work, especially in the crucial area of recruiting. That was evidenced by the signing of a couple of solid recruits out of the Chicago area. The Gents will be a competitive team this year and even better next year, considering that eight players on the roster are either sophomores or juniors. And the six newcomers, said Johnson, are tougher than the current players on the roster, which means for competitive practices and a vow to continue playing good, hard defense under Johnson. But what are the Gents playing for? The NCAA Tournament as an at-large selection is a near impossibility, unless they run the table on an impressive non-conference schedule and win everything else in sight. And that's just not going to happen. So, that makes the efforts of Centenary off the court and away from the team just as or more important. The program needs a conference affiliation in a hurry. It will be hard to keep its head above water otherwise. |
Johnson played professionally in England for several years after graduating in 1988. But he caught the coaching bug when he spent the 1989-90 season on the Kennedy staff at Northwestern State. He was a high school assistant before he was hired on the staff at his college alma mater, from where Kennedy plucked him a year later. Scheduling for an independent can be a headache, but Johnson tackled the problem head on. But it might cause the Gents to be thrown to the wolves, despite the needed guarantee money netted from roads trips this season to play Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi State, Tulane, LSU and Wichita State. Consequently, the Gents play only eight home games, and five of those are part of home-and-home deals, including playing two games each with fellow independents Belmont, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Texas-Pan American. But Johnson vows he is not worried about that right now. "I'm just trying to get our guys in the best condition possible," he said. "We are fortunate to keep the nucleus of our team intact." The key returnee is 6-4 junior shooting guard Ronnie McCollum (19.4. ppg, 3.9 rpg), the team's leading scorer a year ago. An athletic scorer with solid range and the ability to break players down off the dribble, McCollom is the team's three-pointer shooter, having made 67-of-198 (.338 percent) last season. "Having Ronnie McCollum back on the team is huge," Johnson said. "He can really shoot the basketball. And he is as strong as any two guard in the country, which is something we need to take advantage of." Backing up McCollom will be 6-0 senior Thomas Foster (1.3 ppg), who played in 19 games last season. Also returning to the Centenary starting lineup is 6-7, 200-pound power forward Ed Dotson (12.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg), the team's leading rebounder last season. Solid around the basket, Dotson shot .485 from the field and led the team with 20 blocked shots. To show his aggressiveness, which is something he must control more, he also led the team with 97 personal fouls. "Ed Dotson is a tremendous athlete with super long, wiry arms and with large hands," Johnson said. "He never ceases to amaze with some of the things that he does. Sometimes you ask, 'How did that guy do that?' " Big, bruising Srdjan Lilac (1.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg), a 6-8, 240-pound senior, returns to the post, where he needs to emerge as an enforcer. Out of Belgrade, Yugoslavia, by way of Pratt (Kan.) Community College, Lilac was not a factor offensively for the Gents, but he did take up a lot of space and played hard. "Lalic is going to have to step up for us," Johnson said. "He has that huge body, and he's a really strong guy who's more athletic than you might think." The main concern for Centenary is at point guard, which Johnson labels the weakest area on the team after the graduation of team floor leader Tim Law. There are as many as three candidates vying for the starting job. The leading candidate is 6-0 sophomore guard Warren Harris (2.5 ppg, 1.2 rpg), who played in all 28 games last season in a backup role. His assist-turnover ratio last season is a major concern after he handed out only 21 assists but turned the ball over 40 times. He's also not a very good shooter (.315 last season). If Harris can't get the job done, then look for the Gents to go to either 6-1 freshman Marcus Drewry (Evanston HS/Evanston, Ill.) or 6-2 junior Miroslav Ilic (Pratt (Kan.) Community College), who like Lalic hails from Belgrade and came to Centenary from the same junior college. Just who will man the small forward slot is another concern after graduated Cornell Hardman and Lloyd Cook played the position by committee last season. That might be the approach again this season with a platoon between two 6-4 junior college transfers Olufemi Odukoya (Meridian Junior College/Meridian, Miss.) and Andre Speed (Dodge City (Kan.) Community College). Odukoya, a native of Leverkusen, Germany, averaged 9.0 points and 10.0 rebounds last season. Speed is a solid swingman who can slide from backcourt to frontcourt with ease. He averaged 13.0 points and 6.0 rebounds last season. Also back to provide depth at small forward and possibly two guard is 6-4 sophomore Delrick Brown (1.9 ppg), who played in 15 games as a freshman. Depth down low will come again from 6-9, 245-pound Brien Rabenhorst (1.5 ppg, 1.1 rpg), who played in 22 games last season and made 13-of-19 shots. Centenary worked the Chicago area hard in recruiting and signed two prospects who were being recruited by several top-notch major and mid-major programs. The best of the bunch is 6-5 swingman Shohn Williams (Lindblom HS/Chicago), who averaged 25.0 points and was one of the top players in that metropolitan area last season. A late qualifier, his unsure eligibility status caused several schools to stop recruiting. Another solid signee from the Windy City is 6-8, 210-pound forward Rubeen Perry (Robeson HS/Chicago).
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