Bowling Green State University Athletics
Men's Basketball Opens Practice On Saturday
October 15, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Oct. 15, 2004
Bowling Green, Ohio - Bowling Green State University men's basketball coach Dan Dakich and his team met with the media on Friday and will hold their first practice session Saturday at noon.
Eight lettermen, including three starters, are back for the Falcons as they prepare to open the season November 20 at DePaul.
The Falcons begin their eighth season under head coach Dan Dakich and welcome back eight lettermen and three starters. Last year, BGSU advanced to the MAC Quarterfinals for the fifth straight season after defeating Ohio in the first round at Anderson Arena.
BGSU will look to seniors Josh Almanson, Cory Eyink and John Reimold to lead a squad which led the league in free throw shooting last year. Along with the above-mentioned trio, juniors StevenWright and Germain Fitch will have to be at their best for the Falcons to succeed.
Junior Patrick Phillips and sophomore Matt Lefeld and Austin Montgomery will be asked to step up their contributions if the Falcons hope to make it back to Cleveland (site of the MAC Tournament) for the sixth straight season.
BGSU also will look for key contributions from JC transfer Mawel Soler, freshman Scott Vandermeer and freshman Perrick Robinson.
Q and A With Coach Dan Dakich
Q: First lets talk about this particular group. If you had to draw on the chalkboard, what's the personality of this team?
A: "The personality is always the personality of the seniors. I have liked what these three kids have done in terms of setting up our team to be successful. They have set a tone; they have set an example. You have a chance to be successful."
Q: You are going to get an opportunity early on to play two teams that have been in the NCAA tournament. You have quality teams at home and on the road, what is that going to be able to tell you as the semester ends and you get ready for MAC play?
A: "I hope #1 we can stay healthy through that and #2 the first four games including two exhibition including one at Ohio State and one at Duquense and then at DePaul and Bradley and then UIC. All of those games are MAC level or above games. Whether that helps you or not, I think if you can get yourself playing well at those games you know you are going to have a team that is capable of competing for a championship, which is what we talk about here."
Q: Looking at the strength of your team, one noticeable thing when you don't spend time with your team and you come out and see the kids, you see how much bigger they are. Have guys really benefitted from our strength program?
A: "Well our strength program is as good as there is and it is well documented, it's the best I have ever seen. The kids made an effort this summer to gradually gain weight and we put on average of 15-20 pounds a kid and we did it by gaining a pound a week. We emphasized strength and size and its kind of what we did when McLeod and those kids were seniors. Lefeld in his case went from 235 to 265, Steven Wright when he arrived on campus at 147 and he is now 175 lbs. Austin Montgomery has put on 20 pounds Josh Almanson has put on 15 pounds. In every case guys have put on weight. That was a goal this summer, weight and strength."
Q: Talk about the atmosphere of playing at home and how this may be the best non-conference schedule that you have had here since three years ago. You get a chance to have Bradley, UIC. How important is the home court advantage of Anderson Arena?
A: "The number one advantage that Bowling Green has relative to other schools in our league is our home court with our students. We have to play well enough that people want to watch us. We have to get our students involved. The best advantage we have are those kids standing on the sideline, yelling, screaming and getting everyone involved. My goal is to average at least 1,000 students a game and its huge because as a guy in his 40's when you go to a game if the students are involved in the game it makes you excited as a guy that's not a student. We have had great support among the community and great support among our students and we have to continue that."
Notes
Marty Richter, who was as administrative assistant with the Falcons last season, has been promoted to the third assistant position.
John Marion has taken Richter's administrative assistant spot. He comes to BGSU from James Madison.
Alvin Freeman, a 6-6 forward from Stone Mountain, Georgia, has joined the team as a walk-on. He is a 2004 graduate of Paideia High School.
