Men's Basketball Primed For 2008-09 Season

Stars looking to replace three of the team's top four scorers from 2007-08 season

Dan Borys will look to fill some of the scoring void left by 1,000-point scorer Mike Haiduc.

Dan Borys will look to fill some of the scoring void left by 1,000-point scorer Mike Haiduc.

Nov. 10, 2008

River Forest, IL - The Dominican University men's basketball program is coming off the most successful three-year stretch since the 1986-87 season with the Stars posting back-to-back-to-back winning seasons in 2006, 2007 and 2008, including a 14-12 mark last season. However, the Stars have the difficult task of replacing nine letterwinners from last season including three of the team's top four scorers.

In the frontcourt the Stars will need to replace three-time all-conference player Mike Haiduc who was a 1,000-point scorer for the Stars. His load will be split between Kyle Tipton (Milwaukee, Wis.) and Dan Borys (Crown Point, Ind.), both of whom averaged over 7.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game for the Stars last season. In addition, sophomore Milos Mandic (Munster, Ind.) will have a larger role with the Stars this season. Mandic, a 6'7" forward, appeared in 15 games last season.

In the backcourt, the Stars lose leading scorer Jose Garcia and floor leader Rashim Lettsome but return sophomore Jovan Turley (Grand Rapids, Mich.) who was the Stars' third-leading scorer at 8.2 points per game last season and exploded for two 20-plus point performances against neighborhood rival Concordia Chicago. Matt Stahl (Manitowoc, Wis.) and Marvin Jeter (Lynwood, Ill.) both return to the Stars' lineup this season. Both appeared in at least fifteen games last season, averaging over ten minutes per contest. As a freshman for the 2006-2007 season, Stahl averaged over five points per game while shooting over 36 percent from behind the three-point line. Stahl and Jeter will share minutes in the backcourt with a group of athletic freshmen in Darrius Nelson (Michigan City, Ind.), DeAnthony Moore (Markham, Ill.) and Andre Lockett (Lynwood, Ill.).

Defensive pressure has been one of the keys to the Stars' recent success. Dominican has held opponents to under 67.0 points per game each of the last three seasons and will look for pressure from a core of athletic guards to create turnovers and their posts to defend on the blocks. During each of the last two seasons the Stars have ranked in the top 35 in the nation in blocked shots per game, averaging over 4.0 blocks per game.

Dominican will open the season on Saturday, November 15, at Trine University in Angola, Ind. The Stars will then travel to Mequon, Wis., to take on the Concordia University Falcons in the Northern Athletics Conference (NAC) season opener for both teams.