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| | Tuesday, November 2 | |||||||||||||||
COACH AND PROGRAM
(658) or league games (337) since the Big Sky came into existence in 1963. Weber State has a .642 winning percentage over that span and the Wildcats are the only team still in the league to have won an NCAA Tournament game since Idaho State upset UCLA in 1977. Weber State won first-round games in 1979, 1995 and last season. Cravens will have to work hard to uphold that tradition. Another part of his job, no doubt, will be to restore the school's reputation off the court. When Weber State president Paul H. Thompson first announced that the 1998-99 season would be Abegglen's last, it was widely assumed it was the result of a domestic dispute between Abegglen and his former wife. But late last season, after Thompson and Abegglen had reached an agreement for the coach to leave with four years remaining on his seven-year contract, the school president said NCAA violations were the major reason he asked Abegglen to leave. The school reported what it termed minor violations that involved a former assistant coach. The NCAA has not ruled on the infractions by Weber, which is already in the final year of a four-year probation for violations in 1996. "After the '96 problem and report, we were told by the NCAA, 'You need to be careful, because if you have repeated violations there will be much more sanctions,'" Thompson said. "So we said to the coach, 'You have to run a very clean program. No more violations.' And that didn't happen. "We did have more violations. We just felt that was a factor in the discussion about [Abegglen's] future."PROJECTED STARTERS EDDIE GILL (6-0, SR, PG, 14.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 4.6 apg, 3.0 tpg, 2.7 spg, 34.7 minutes, .426 FG, .409 3PT, .874 FT) Gill, the league's Newcomer of the Year, was MVP of the league tournament with 37 points, 10 rebounds and 15 assists in two games. "He has the heart of a lion," Cravens said of his point guard. "He enters the season with high expectations and newfound notoriety. Every new gun in town will be looking for him." HAROLD ARCENEAUX (6-6, SR, SF, 22.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.8 apg, 3.1 tpg, 1.7 spg, 31.7 minutes, .511 FG, .330 3PT, .758 FT) Arceneaux, an easy choice as the league's MVP, set a Weber single-season scoring record with 713 points, averaging 22.3 per game, ninth- best in the nation. "If everything works out, we're planning to move him from big forward to small forward, Cravens said of the 6-6 Louisiana native. "He's a guy that at times can dominate a game." Stopping Arceneaux will be on the minds of all of Weber's opponents. "He enters the season with a bull's-eye on his chest," Cravens said. "At this time last year, he and [Gill] were happy to have a pair of tennis shoes and be at Weber State." Cravens has some concerns about his star. "Can he keep his focus this year with his new notoriety?" Cravens said. "Will he worry about winning the Big Sky or what the NBA scouts in the stands are thinking?" SHAWN MOORE (6-4, SR, SG, 3.7 ppg, 0.9 rpg, 0.3 apg, 0.7 tpg, 0.2 spg, 9.3 minutes, .454 FG, .445 3PT, .769 FT) Moore has a 39-inch vertical leap and can hit from outside as well, converting over 44 percent of his three-point attempts last season. "Shawn showed some flashes of brilliance last season, but kind of remained in the background most of the time." Cravens said. "We need him to come back confident and ready to play this season. "He's one of the best shooters I've seen coming off a screen, so we need to run some plays for him to get that opportunity, plus he's a great teammate who has the respect of the rest of the squad." IVAN GATTO (6-10, JR, PF, 11.1 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.7 apg, Midland College, Tex.) Ivan Gatto has impressed Wildcat observers in preseason workouts. The native of Traviso, Italy, brings the European penchant for shooting from outside, but proved himself a capable rebounder at Midland. Cravens wants to start Gatto at the "four," so that Arceneaux can play his more natural small forward position. "He's an extremely talented young man who can really shoot the ball," Cravens said. "If he can come in and take some pressure off of Harold and Eddie, that would be a big plus for us." STEPHAN BACHMANN (6-10, FR, C, Dietlikon, Switzerland) The early word out of Ogden is that Bachmann has been impressive in preseason workouts. He is one of three players Marc Thurig and Dan Del Vecchio are the others who figure to comprise Cravens' center triumvirate. But Bachmann has never played at the collegiate level. "We have a lot of bodies, but no one has proven themselves [at center]," the coach said.KEY RESERVES MARC THURIG (6-10, SO, C, 1.3 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 0.2 apg, 0.4 tpg, 0.1 spg, 5.1 minutes, .462 FG, .267 FT) The sophomore could well end up starting or playing significant minutes at Cravens' post-by-committee. Thurig is a lefty who can face the basket and shoot from 15-20 feet. DAN DEL VECCHIO (6-7, SO, C, 1.5 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 0.3 apg, 0.4 tpg, 0.1 spg, 3.2 minutes, .571 FG, .625 FT) Del Vecchio also figures into the committee in the middle. Cravens is looking for players who can provide the unselfish qualities Jensen gave the team last season. "Marc Thurig and Dan Del Vecchio are the two players right now who have the opportunity to accept that challenge," Cravens said. "We need eight to 10 points from that position, whether it's one person or a committee." QUYNN TEBBS (6-1, JR, G, 2.3 ppg, 0.8 rpg, 1.5 apg, University of Arizona) Tebbs transferred to Weber State from the University of Arizona in the middle of last season and will become eligible around Christmas time. Tebbs was a redshirt freshman at Arizona in 1996 when the Wildcats won the national champ ionship. Tebbs left to serve an LDS mission and returned to Tucson for one season. His older brother, Justyn, played at Weber State.OTHER RETURNEES CHRIS WOODS (6-5, SO, F, 1.8 ppg, 0.9 rpg, 0.5 apg, 0.4 tpg, 0.2 spg, 5.8 minutes, .280 FG, .656 FT) Woods played in 28 games as a true freshman, but needs to develop more of an outside shooting game. LUKE CONDILL (5-11, JR, G, 1.8 ppg, 0.3 rpg, 0.6 apg, 0.6 tpg, 0.2 spg, 5.7 minutes, .342 FG, .357 3 PT, .667 FT) Condill has played a reserve role in each of the last two seasons and is considered a good three-point shooting threat. He hit four treys in the first half of a crucial game against Northern Arizona in his freshman season. FRED DAWSON (6-6, SR, F, 1.1 ppg, 0.9 rpg, 0.1 apg, 0.3 tpg, 3.1 minutes, .421 FG) The presidential scholar has yet to carve out a significant niche for himself. The walk-on is a tough rebounder and defender.OTHER NEWCOMERS STEVIE MORRISON (6-0, FR, G, Bradhurst Heights HS/Toronto, Ontario) Canada) Morrison is considered a prototype point guard with good shooting skills. He'll have the opportunity to play behind one of the best in the west, Eddie Gill.STARTERS NOT RETURNING NOEL JACKSON (5-11, SG, 11.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.8 tpg, 1.0 spg, 31.7 minutes, .490 FG, .362 3PT, .659 FT) Another loss to graduation, Jackson was steady at the "two" guard and had a season-high 21 points in the league championship game against Northern Arizona. Jackson was one of the Wildcats best defenders and was ranked among the league leaders in steals. He made clutch free throws down the stretch in both the win over North Carolina and the overtime loss to Florida in the NCAA tournament. ANDY JENSEN (6-7, PF, 9.1 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 0.9 apg, 1.8 tpg, 1.0 spg, 28.4 minutes, .663 FG, .675 FT) Jensen, who graduated, was a tireless worker under the glass, getting the garbage and providing the tough defense needed from his position. Not the most skilled player, he more than made up for it with savvy and hard work. Jensen was the sixth-leading rebounder in the league last season and among the league leaders in steals. "We need to find someone who is willing to sacrifice scoring to do the other things like rebound and play defense," Cravens said. ERIC KETCHAM (6-9, C, 3.0 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 0.8 apg, 1.1 tpg, 0.4 spg, 15.5 minutes, .425 FG, .308 3PT, .609 FT) Although Ketcham started, the graduated senior played just 15 minutes per game and was mostly a role-player in the Wildcats' championship season. Ketcham did not score in double digits all season and had just one big rebounding game, snaring 10 against Eastern Washington.OTHERS NOT RETURNING DAMIEN BASKERVILLE (6-3, F, 7.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.6 tpg, 1.4 spg, 26.1 minutes, .438 FG, .282 3PT, .631 FT) A gifted player, Baskerville entered his senior season as one of the leading candidates for league MVP honors. Baskerville had been a two-time All-Big Sky pick after scoring 18.5 and 15.2 ppg, respectively, during his sophomore and junior seasons. Baskerville was kind of lost in the shuffle with the arrival of Gill and Arceneaux, and often found himself beset by personal problems and in coach Ron Abegglen's dog house. Still, Baskerville did so many things well, the Wildcats can't help but miss him. MARC LAWSON (6-1, G, 4.6 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.2 apg, 0.4 tpg, 0.7 spg, 13.6 minutes, .450 FG, .424 3PT, .743 FT) Lawson's shooting was valuable to the Wildcats off the bench. During a four-game stretch late in the season, Lawson averaged 15 points per game as Weber State made its bid to host the Big Sky postseason tournament. JOEY HAWS (6-9, C, 0.9 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 0.1 apg, 0.4 tpg, 0.1 spg, 4.9 minutes, .367 FG, .357 FT) Haws never developed into more than a bit role-player for the Wildcats, providing a few minutes off the bench to spell Ketcham.QUESTIONS Harmony? Arceneaux and Gill made their feelings known that they wanted Beach as the head coach. They are the undisputed stars on the team; they must also be the undisputed leaders. Center? There is no clear-cut favorite for the position, and all the contenders are inexperienced. Depth? This is a team that will have to get the most from its marquee players, because many of the deep reserves are just that.ANSWERS Arceneaux! Scoring 36 and 32 points against North Carolina and Florida in the NCAA Tournament, Arceneaux proved he is capable of carrying this team all by himself. Some nights, he may have to. Gill! He's the best point guard in the Big Sky and a great complement to Arceneaux. Tradition! Weber State has won more games (658) than any other school in the conference history, and also routinely leads the league in attendance.
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