Endicott Men chosen to finish second in TCCC Preseason Poll

2010-11 TCCC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll

Springfield, Mass. – The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) Commissioner Gregg M. Kaye announced the preseason men’s basketball rankings for the upcoming 2010-11 season and Endicott was selected to finish in second place behind Curry College. The poll was voted upon by all the head men’s basketball coaches in the conference.

The Gulls earned three first place votes and 164 total points overall, coming in 10 points shy of the first place Colonels. Curry received four first place votes. Rounding out the top five were Wentworth (157), Colby-Sawyer (149), and Roger Williams (127). 

Eight months ago, the 2009-10 men’s basketball season concluded with a road loss to Gordon College in the TCCC  Quarterfinals, but despite the defeat at the hands of the number one seed there is a buzz building about the potential for a deep playoff run in the upcoming season. 

Endicott’s 12-13 record does not accurately depict the grit and determination that last year’s squad exhibited behind first-year head coach Phil Rowe. Once the conference scheduled kicked in at the beginning of January, the Gulls exchanged wins and losses until an impressive end-of-season stretch catapulted them into the TCCC playoffs. 

A large portion of Endicott’s successful return to the conference playoffs following a one-year hiatus in 2008-09 was due to two TCCC All-Third Team selections in senior guard and 1,000 career point scorer Graham Whitelaw (Kennebunk, Maine) and freshman point guard \#Lance Greene\# (Dorchester, Mass.). Whitelaw wrapped up his senior season with an average of 12.8 ppg on 47.8 FG%, 39.1 3PT%, and 84.2 FT% in conference games. He also averaged 2.3 apg and 3.4 rpg. Greene joined the team midway through the season and provided an offensive spark with 12.8 ppg in eleven TCCC starts. The freshman also averaged 2.3 apg and 3.9 rpg. 

Whitelaw graduated this past May and as the team looks ahead to life without their top scorer, they will be forced to find ways to replace the leadership and knowledge that went with the departure of three other seniors including lockdown defender Bobby Montrond (Brockton, Mass.) who led the team in steals (44) in just 19.7 minutes per game in 2009-10. 

Leadership on this year’s squad will come from a trio of captains in Greene and two juniors, \#Aaron Karkow\# (Uncasville, Conn.) and \#Chris Galbraith\# (Lowell, Mass.). Both players stand tall at 6’6, but their skill set will be used in two different capacities as Karkow offers the long range scoring ability after shooting 39.6% from beyond the arc last season and Galbraith brings a strong scoring and defensive presence to the starting lineup. Both players have shown the ability to block shots as they each recorded 15 in 2009-10.

Also returning for Endicott are junior forward \#Matt Bouvier\# (Reading, Mass.), junior center \#Erik Callo\# (Southington, Conn.), and junior forward \#Tanner McEntee\# (Del Mar, Calif.). Bouvier and McEntee mostly contributed minutes off the bench while Callo started in 11 games, averaging 8.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg and led the team in blocks with 39.  

With just five upperclassmen on the roster, the Blue and Green have initiative a youth movement with 12 newcomers. Forward \#Milan Drecun\# (Montenegro) comes to Endicott via Wilbraham & Monson High School where he earned all-league accolades on the court. At 6’5, Drecun has the ability to shoot from the outside and will be an asset to the Gulls on defense. Another strong outside shooting presence out of Salisbury Prep will be 6’3 forward \#Lachlan Magee\# (Melbourne, Australia). Magee earned All-WNEC Honorable Mention in his senior season.

Another pair of freshman, 6’0 guard \#Mike Alvarez\# (Lawrence, Mass.) and 6’2 guard \#Bennett Knowlton\# (Shrewsbury, Mass.) competed against each other in the Massachusetts state title game last year. Alvarez’s Central Catholic team edged Knowlton’s St. John’s Shrewsbury squad 56-55 to take the state championship. 

Connecticut guards \#Tyler Burkhart\# (Cromwell, Conn.) and Jordan Lewis (Windsor, Conn.) also figure to contribute in their first seasons wearing the Blue and Green. Burkhart, a shooter out of Cromwell High, earned All-Connecticut Shoreline First Team. Lewis, a quick and athletic player out of Northwest Catholic, looks to contribute at the point. 

The Gulls’ schedule includes two NCAA Tournament teams in Gordon College and Clark University. Endicott played Gordon three times in 2009-10, taking one of those contests 71-68 at home. Endicott lost by four points to Clark last season as the Cougars went on to take the NEWMAC title. The Blue and Green will play in the North Shore Collegiate Tip-Off November 19-20 and the King’s Point Tournament down in New York just after New Years. TCCC conference games begin on January 8 with a home game against Eastern Nazarene College. The Gulls will take on North Shore rival Gordon on the road in Wenham on January 29. The team will open their 2010-11 campaign on November 15 at home against Liberty League opponent Vassar College.