Full Notes (PDF)
Season Schedule
KIRKSVILLE - - The 91st season of Truman State University men's basketball gets underway this Friday night when the Bulldogs travel to Division I Missouri-Kansas City for the season-opener for both squads. Tipoff at the Swinney Recreation Center on the UMKC campus is set for 7:05 pm.
Friday's game will be the first official contest between the Bulldogs and Roos, as last season's game was an exhibition affair for Truman, despite counting as a regular season game for UMKC. The Roos handed Truman an 80-33 defeat in that contest.
Seven seniors headline the 2010-2011 edition of Bulldog basketball, and with all five starters from last season's squad returning, head coach Jack Schrader will be looking to return the Bulldogs to Kansas City come March for the MIAA postseason tournament. Ethan Freeman, Brian Nwelue, Andrew James, Stefan Garrison, Alex Henderson, Mark Misiewicz and David Scott lead the 16-man squad in their final seasons as Bulldogs.
Media Information:
104.7 FM KRES is the official radio home of Truman football, men's basketball and women's basketball. Brad Boyer, Hank Janssen, Kevin White and Tyler Madsen will provide coverage throughout the season of Truman basketball on the Moberly-based station.
KRES broadcasts its sports coverage online at centralmoinfo.com. Fans can also watch MIAA games on their computer this season through AmericaOne/B2 Networks for a fee.
Live stats for all Bulldog games throughout the season will be made available via links on the men's basketball schedule page at TrumanBulldogs.com.
MIAA Preseason Polls:
The Bulldogs were picked to finish 11th in both the coaches' and media's annual preseason polls, released prior to the start of exhibition play. Truman earned 22 points in the coaches' poll and 36 points in the media poll, and were sandwiched between 10th-place Pittsburg State and 12th-place and MIAA-newcomer Lincoln in each set of predictions.
Fort Hays State (coaches) and Central Missouri (media) were selected as the preseason favorites.
About the 'Dogs:
Truman finished the 2009-2010 season with a 5-22 overall record and wrapped up MIAA play with a 3-17 mark. The Bulldogs lost just one senior from that squad, meaning that more than 97 percent of both scoring and rebounding return for the 2010-2011 campaign.
Junior center Vesko Filchev was the team's leading scorer in 2010, averaging 11.6 points per game while shooting 48% from the field. Senior forward Ethan Freeman earned top rebounding honors at 8.4 per contest, while the three starting guards – seniors Stefan Garrison and Alex Henderson, along with sophomore Tom Norton – all topped ten points per game.
Coach Jack Schrader also adds six new faces to the mix of returners this season, as Josh May, Isaac Gardner, Marek Bush, Justin Strickland, Mike Carlson and Pat Sodemann, will don the purple and white. Sodemann is the younger brother of former Bulldog point guard Chip, who captained the offense from 2003-2006.
Scouting the 'Roos:
UMKC was picked to finish eighth in the ten-team Summit League this coming season, with senior Jay Couisnard earning preseason second-team all-Summit league honors. A 6-foot-6 forward from Houston, Texas, Couisnard led UMKC by averaging 14.0 points per game last season and added 4.5 rebounds per contest.
The Roos return three of their five regular starters with 6-foot-6 forward Spencer Johnson and 6-foot-1 guard Bakari Lewis also returning alongside Couisnard.
Last season, UMKC averaged 67 points per game and shot 42% from the field as a squad. They are coached by Matt Brown, who is in his fourth season as the UMKC head men's coach.
A Look at the Lid-Lifters:
The Bulldogs have won their last two season-openers by double-figures – earning an 86-68 win against Culver-Stockton (Mo.) last season after an 80-60 win against William Woods (Mo.) in 2009. Under head coach Jack Schrader, Truman is 8-7 in season-openers.
The last time Truman opened its regular season against a Division I opponent was the 1974-1975 season when the Bulldogs dropped a 65-50 decision at the University of Kansas. Truman has also lost two openers against DePaul (Ill.) in 1964-1965 and 1968-1969.
Up Next:
Truman opens up its home slate on Monday (Nov. 15) night against Culver-Stockton (Mo.) College. Tipoff is set for 7:30 pm in Pershing Arena.
