Chandler still pouring in points

Posted on May 14, 2005 by Pat Coleman

Willie Chandler finished his Division III career at Misericordia just 42 points short of the all-time scoring record (2,940, Andre Foreman, Salisbury State). And in his third season in the USBL, he is scoring at about the same pace. Chandler is third in the league in scoring at 25.0 points per game. He’s also tied for fifth in the eight-team league at 1.9 steals per game.

Schoetz mug shot He’s not the only Division III alumnus in the league, of course. Badou Gaye, drafted this season out of Gwynedd-Mercy, is third in the USBL in rebounds (10.1 per game) and second in blocked shots (3.3 per game). He’s recorded five double-doubles in 10 games. And there’s a brand-new player in the league as well, Dshamal Schoetz.

Haven’t heard of Schoetz? Neither had we, but he (at right) was listed at 7-0 at center for Greensboro, averaging 8.8 points per game and shooting 47% from the floor in 2003-04. He joins Chandler on the roster of the Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs.

Last night in their most recent head-to-head meeting (or as head-to-head as a power forward and a shooting guard can get), Chandler scored 11 points but shot just 3-for-16, while Gaye shot 4-for-14 from the floor, 2-for-10 from the line, but had nine rebounds and four blocks. (Schoetz played in his first game, committed four fouls, had four rebounds and scored three points in 13 minutes.) Westchester won 90-84.

Stevens Point reloading

Posted on May 11, 2005 by Pat Coleman

Bryan Beamish, a 6-5½ swing player from Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln HS and Jerome Wotachek, a 6-7 power forward from Mishicot HS, both plan to take their talents to UW-Stevens Point, according to a press release.

Beamish was the Wisconsin Valley Conference co-Player of the Year after posting 18.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game this past season. He shot 56.3% from the field, including a league-best 46.5 percent from three-point range. Beamish led the Red Raiders to a 25-1 record and the WIAA Division 1 state semifinals.

“Bryan is one of the finest collegiate prospects in the state and we are very pleased to have him join the Pointer basketball program,” Pointers’ coach Jack Bennett said. “His ability, feel for the game and desire to improve are exactly the ingredients we look for. Bryan’s been superbly coached and raised the right way. He will be a terrific addition at UW-Stevens Point.”

Wotachek was the Olympian Conference Player of the Year after averaging 17.1 points, 10.8 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game as a senior. He had 35 points and 20 rebounds in a win over Manitowoc Lutheran this year as the Indians avenged a 36-point loss from earlier in the season. Wotachek also was one of the Indians’ top players as a junior when they finished as the WIAA Division 3 state runner-up.

“We are very pleased to have a player of Jerome’s ability and potential join our Pointer program,” Bennett said. “He’s an outstanding young man, well-coached and hungry to get better. We’re pleased to have him at UW-Stevens Point.”

The rest of our regular look at Division III recruiting:

Frankfort (Ind.) HS senior Jared Catron is headed to Franklin.

“At our level, the recruiting is an inexact science as to who will continue to develop,” Franklin coach Kerry Prather told the Frankfort Times. “The best indication of that is a player’s work ethic. He is a great kid and we put more emphasis on that.”

Waynesburg (Pa.) Central forward Nate Stoner has decided to attend Bethany.

Women’s recruits
A recent Minneapolis Star Tribune piece stated as fact the assertion that Macalester had nine incoming freshmen for its women’s basketball program, whose season was cut short due to lack of bodies. However, it didn’t name any of the players, nor did it cite its source.

Rachel Grove, Monroe Central (Ind.), to attend Tri-State.

Julia Martini, Brownsville (Pa.), to attend Carnegie Mellon.

Lia Cronenwett, Saline (Mich.) HS forward, committed to Albion

Talia Mondalto, Amesville (Maine), to attend Thomas

Williams leads director’s cup… again

Posted on May 10, 2005 by Pat Coleman

Despite not getting any points from basketball, Williams holds a comfortable lead in the NACDA Director’s Cup standings, 142.25 points ahead of UW-La Crosse.

The standings, which are based on national finishes in various sports, major and minor, are as follows:

1 Williams 739.75
2 UW-La Crosse 597.5
3 UW-Stevens Point 582.75
4 Washington U. 508.75
5 Middlebury 499
6 Trinity (Texas) 482
7 Calvin 456
8 New Jersey 443.5
9 Springfield 407
10 Wartburg 395
11 Amherst 379.5
12 Wheaton (Ill.) 355.5
13 Emory 345
14 Geneseo State 334
15 Messiah 330

Williams gained its winter points from fourth-place finishes nationally in women’s track and men’s and women’s swimming. The Ephs finished 12th in wrestling and 14th in the ever-popular women’s skiing, though that accounts for just 24 points. UW-Stevens Point got 100 for its repeat performance in Salem, but also placed in women’s track, wrestling, men’s swimming, men’s track, women’s swimming and women’s ice hockey.

Millikin, which won the Division III women’s basketball title, is ranked No. 51 with 184 points — 100 from women’s basketball and the rest from wrestling and women’s swimming.

Points are awarded based on each institution’s finish in up to 18 sports: nine women’s and nine men’s.

New coach in, All-American out at Willamette

Posted on May 9, 2005 by Pat Coleman

Vanessa Wyffels Willamette hired a new women’s coach this past week. But according to the Salem (Ore.) Statesman Journal, Bruce Henderson will not have last year’s leading scorer and the nation’s leading shooter around to ease the transition.

D3hoops.com second team All-America post player Vanessa Wyffels is not returning. “It’s a personal decision and has nothing to do with the coaches,” she told the newspaper. “I know everyone is excited and there is a positive feeling.”

Wyffels, who was featured in a midseason Around the Nation column (click here, scroll down), ended up leading the team with 19.1 points and 9.7 rebounds. At 5-10, she shot 74.2% from the floor and made more than twice as many baskets as any of her teammates. Her closest competition nationally, Webster’s Kim Sheets, shot 63.3%.

Willamette went 8-17 with Wyffels last season under Tom Steers, who resigned. Wyffels transferred to Willamette from Division I Wagner. She told the newspaper she intends to attend Portland State and no longer play basketball.

How old are you? Jenkins’ rookie year winds down

Posted on May 7, 2005 by Pat Coleman

Horace Jenkins, with William Paterson His college career ended in the 2001 national championship game at the Salem Civic Center, when the William Paterson guard kissed the floor on the way out of a 76-62 loss to Catholic. But his journey to the NBA was just beginning. Snubbed on draft day, Horace Jenkins took his skills to Europe, where he honed them into a package that the Detroit Pistons were willing to guarantee money to.

Even though Jenkins only played in 15 games for the Pistons and averaged just 2.8 points, the year’s oldest rookie, at age 30, still has been the subject of many a news piece. Here’s the latest from the Associated Press, via Mlive.com.