Weekend Preview:

Season No. 92 of Truman men's basketball kicks off this weekend, as new leadership and a mix of returning and new faces will lead the Bulldogs into the Abilene Christian Wildcat Classic on Friday and Saturday nights deep in the heart of Texas.

The Bulldogs open the 2011-12 campaign by taking on the host ACU Wildcats on Friday at 8:00 pm before rebounding less than 24 hours later by taking on a second Lone Star Conference opponent – Angelo State – at 5:00 pm on Saturday.

Under the direction of first-year head coach Matt Woodley and his staff, Truman will finally see what they can do against Division II opposition, as the 'Dogs started this season with three exhibition games against highly-touted Division I programs Missouri, Missouri State and Indiana State. Early highlights from the opening trio of non-counting contests included a double-double for redshirt freshman Mike Carlson at ISU, a 16-point effort from freshman Seth Jackson at MSU and a 20-point night by sophomore Isaac Gardner in Mizzou Arena against the Big-12's Tigers.

Truman is coming off a 7-19 season in 2010-11 but will tangle with a pair of LSC teams also looking to rebound this season. ACU posted a 9-17 mark last season (1-12 in the LSC), while ASU finished the year 11-15 overall (7-7 in the LSC). All three teams ran out of gas late, combining to go 2-13 in the final 15 games.

About the 'Dogs:

Fans of Bulldog basketball will be glued to their roster cards for the first few games of the season, as seven new faces (and one returning redshirted player) will be lacing up for the purple and white in 2011-12. Familiar faces include the squad's lone senior – center Vesko Filchev (9.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg) – and sharpshooting guards Gardner (42 3-ptrs) and Tom Norton (10.3 ppg, 62 3-ptrs). Sophomores Pat Sodemann (4.8 ppg, 86% FT), Marek Bush (2.2 ppg) and Justin Strickland (1.5 ppg) also return, alongside local product junior Matt Patterson (1.7 ppg).

A pair of junior college transfers – EJ Hicks and Nick Stromer – will look to bring their two-year experience to the squad, while five true freshmen – Jackson, Dominic Kacich, Andrew Vander Zwaag, Tyler Anderson and Patrick Burmester – will also compete for playing time. Carlson, a returning redshirted freshman, saw significant playing time in the three exhibitions and looks to earn a starting role this year.

Woodley comes to Truman to take the reins of the Bulldog program following a two-year stint as the head boy's basketball coach at Waukee (Iowa) High School. Prior to that, Woodley coached nine seasons as a Division I assistant, most recently serving three years as a top assistant at Washington State – a member of the Pac-12. He is joined by assistant coaches Todd Lorensen (UNO) and Matt Fitzpatrick.

MIAA Coaches/Media Poll:

In the annual conference coaches and media polls, released on Oct. 26 by the conference office, Truman was picked tenth in both out of 11 teams. Missouri Southern was the preseason favorite in both.

Scouting the Wildcats:

Abilene Christian is also beginning the 2011-12 campaign under new management, as Joe Golding takes over as the program's head coach after serving as an assistant at Arkansas-Little Rock. The Wildcats return two starters and five letterwinners from last season's 9-17 squad that finished eighth in the LSC South.

Senior guards Zach Williams (12.0 ppg) and Desmond Woodberry (8.8 ppg) are the team's top returners, as Golding loaded his roster with five junior college transfers and five freshmen. ACU played one exhibition game, losing 81-54 at Baylor on Nov. 1.

Truman and ACU have met twice, with the Bulldogs winning key matches both times. The last meeting came on March 6, 1999, when Truman downed ACU 76-69 in the NCAA South Central regional championship. The Bulldogs would go on to the NCAA semifinals that season. Prior to that, the Bulldogs also defeated ACU in NCAA regional play, this time in a 79-76 win on March 5, 1960. Truman would go on to lose to now-Div. I Cornell by two in the NCAA quarterfinals.

Scouting the Rams:

Angelo State enters the 2011-12 season coming off a 5^th-place finish in the LSC South last year. The Rams return just one starter and three letterwinners from that squad, including senior forward LaDonn Huckaby (7.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg).

ASU has 11 newcomers on the squad, including seven transfers.

The Bulldogs and Rams have met just once previously, with Angelo State picking up an 82-76 neutral-site win on Dec. 13, 1986.

Looking at Lid-Lifters:

The Bulldogs are 4-2 in their last six season-openers, including a 71-59 setback at Division I Missouri-Kansas City last season. Truman hasn't won a true road season-opener since the 1958-59 season (14 occurrences) when the Bulldogs handed Northern Iowa a 54-53 defeat in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Bulldog Tip-Ins:

·         The Bulldogs went 7-19 last season, including a 5-17 mark in the MIAA.

·         Truman was 6-7 (4-7 MIAA) in Pershing Arena but just 1-12 (1-10 MIAA) away from home in 2010-11.

·         The team's top two scorers from last season – Alex Henderson (14.7 ppg) and Ethan Freeman (11.5 ppg) – both graduated. However, the next four top scorers all return, headlined by Tom Norton's 10.3 ppg average last season.

·         Norton hit a team-high 62 three-pointers last season and connected at a 37.3% rate. He also shot 83% (50-for-60) from the charity stripe.

·         Vesko Filchev averaged 9.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game last season, while shooting 51.4% from the floor.

·         Then-freshman guard Isaac Gardner and Pat Sodemann each averaged 16.8 minutes per game, with Gardner scoring 6.7 points and Sodemann scoring 4.8 points. Gardner hit 42% from three-land (42-for-100), while Sodemann was an 86% foul shooter (30-for-35).

·         The Bulldogs averaged 69.2 points per game, while allowing 75.8 (-6.6).

·         Truman had an assist/turnover ratio of 0.9, while opponents were at 1.2.

Up Next:

Having traveled nearly 3,000 miles by bus round-trip to play three exhibition games and the season-opening Classic at ACU, the Bulldogs return to the friendly confines of Pershing Arena to take on Central Christian (Mo.) College on Tuesday (Nov. 15) night at 7:30 pm.