BENNINGTON, Vt. - An officiating gaffe prior to the start of Tuesday night's men's basketball scrimmage at the Southern Vermont College field house assigned the SVC men to the wrong end of their home court. Hence, the Mountaineers technically spent the first three minutes of action shooting at their own basket.

The mistake was oddly fitting, according to head coach Mike McDonough.

"A scrimmage is not about your opponent, it's about yourself," said McDonough, as he analyzed his team's Jekyll-and-Hyde showing over 50 minutes against visiting Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. "In the first half tonight, we let the physical nature of the game get into our heads and it became us against that. In the second half, we came out and played our game."

When this year's Mountaineers do indeed play their game, it is an exciting brand of basketball that takes full advantage of the wealth of talent on the SVC roster. The inevitable question concerning McDonough's team this year is how it will handle the absence of Nick Harrington, the nation's leading rebounder who is now racking up double-doubles for the Cottbus White Devils in Germany.

The answer is a complicated one; when asked about the new-look Mountaineers, MCLA forward Jon Greenberg - the Trailblazers' most formidable post threat at 6-foot-6 and 221 ripped pounds - gave a response that was nothing short of shocking.

"You can't take anything away from Nick Harrington, because he was a monster," Greenberg said. "But they might be an even tougher team without him. There is no one player to focus on anymore."

#24   Ben Naaktgeboren

Instead, SVC puts a multi-headed monster on the court that can beat opponents in a bevy of ways. Captain Joe Karnik is the most complete player of the bunch, and had his full arsenal on display Tuesday night - tipping in a missed three-pointer with 3:56 remaining, then throwing down a thunderous dunk just over a minute later to finish off a fast break. The 6-foot-6 junior also pulled down some tough
rebounds in traffic and blocked three shots.

"Joe is our leader, and he's got the whole package," freshman forward Ben Naaktgeboren said.

McDonough added that Karnik has embraced his role as captain of the team, using every opportunity to pass his experience along to the team's younger players.

"Joe is not only a good student of the game, he's also a good teacher of the game," McDonough said. "The transition from high school basketball to college basketball is a difficult one, but he talks to the new guys and helps them out a lot."

Opposing big men like Greenberg may try to overpower the willowy Karnik, but frontcourt newcomer Deandre Kennedy-Ebron will play a huge role in stopping such a tactic. Despite measuring 6-foot-2 in height, the freshman forward makes his presence felt by using his broad shoulders and powerfully-built frame to make himself a much larger force in the paint.

Kennedy-Ebron did so for long stretches on Tuesday night, to the point where it seemed at times that the only thing that could stop him was the referee's whistle. "I like his attitude about wanting to own his space on the floor," McDonough said. "We just need to make sure that he understands how to do that within the confines of the officials."

Kennedy-Ebron is joined in SVC's fab freshman frontcourt by Naaktgeboren and Cam Herrington, two graduates of the Cambridge Central School program who have joined the Mountaineers in hopes that their high school chemistry can pay dividends at the collegiate
level. The two former Indians looked very much in synch when they shared floor time during the scrimmage, and Naaktgeboren said that his connection with his former teammate will become even more potent once it starts to involve the rest of the Mountaineers.

"Cam and I have been playing together for four or five years," Naaktgeboren said. "Now we've got to get that chemistry to coincide with everyone else. But it definitely helps."

Naaktgeboren has already flashed some solid teamwork with other players on the squad as well; on Tuesday he ran a picture-perfect pick-and-roll play with point guard Chris Holland to earn a gimme layup, then drove the lane just under two minutes later and laid down
a pinpoint bounce pass to return the favor with an assist to Holland.

The prospect of the freshman frontcourt spending four full seasons together has nearly everyone within the program salivating, not least of all the three players themselves.

"We'll be able to push each other every year, and all three of us should get better," Herrington said.

Another new face that could become well-known at SVC this season is that of Lance Spratling, a transfer sophomore originally from Pittsfield, Mass. The 6-foot-2 swingman showed off against MCLA by making a number of impressive plays just with his sheer athletic
ability, finishing with both hands around the rim and showing deadly range on his shot.

Spratling and freshman shooting guard Jaret Falkowitz also possess the ball skills to man the point on the offensive end, as both did on Tuesday to solid effect against the 'Blazers. True point guard Avery Mitchell will likely be a matchup nightmare fo

#42   Cameron Herrington

r many opponents, as
the 6-foot-1 freshman is as capable of creating his own shot as he is of setting up his teammates with theirs. Returnee Ian Gray adds some experience at the one spot.

The emergence of the SVC newcomers may also make some of the returning players more effective. Shooting guard Brendan Kordana has always thrown daggers with his spot-up shooting, but was forced to become more of a slasher and ball-handler on last year's team.

McDonough foresees the sophomore (and former high school teammate of Holland at Hoosac Valley) as being able to slip back into his assassin role with this year's Mountaineers.

"We needed to have the ball in Brendan's hands a lot last year," McDonough said. "This year, we can relieve some of that pressure on him and let him concentrate on what he does best - shooting."

Other hot hands at putting the ball through the hoop include those of Emory Wheeler and Brett Clatworthy; Kennedy-Ebron said that the team's depth allows such players to rotate into key game situations and drive nails into opposing teams' coffins with their shooting.

"When [Clatworthy] is on fire, it's over," Kennedy-Ebron said.

The Mountaineers' first real test comes on Saturday, in their season opener at Vasser College. But win or lose, the SVC men and their coach are confident that their season will be defined by the collective talent they bring to the court, rather than the considerable chunk that left to pursue his post-collegiate career overseas.

"You don't replace somebody like Nick Harrington; those shoes are just too big to fill," Kennedy-Ebron said. "We've got to look forward instead, and all step up."

"Our goal isn't to equal what Nick did," McDonough said. "It's to be successful on our own, knowing that we have him in our genes, so to speak." 

Head Coach: Michael McDonough (University of Notre Dame ‘74)