MUNCIE, Ind. ? The Ball State men's basketball team will hold its first official practice of the 2008-09 season Saturday morning as the Cardinals begin their preparation for the regular season. The Cardinals, under the guidance of second-year head coach Billy Taylor, return seven letterwinners from last season's team and welcome in eight newcomers.
“Our student-athletes and coaches are all excited about the start of practice,” Taylor said. “Our guys have worked extremely hard through the preseason part of the schedule and are prepared to step on to the practice floor. We know there is still a lot of work to be done, but we look forward to addressing those challenges and building the strengths of our basketball team.”
Leading the charge for the Cardinals into their first practice of the season is their seven returning letterwinners, including a quartet of seniors in Anthony Newell (Chicago, Ill./Simeon), Brandon Lampley (Hamilton, Ohio/Hamilton), Laron Frazier (Waukegan, Ill./Highland CC) and Rob Giles (Detroit, Mich./Mott CC).
The senior class combined to play in 103 games, including 47 starts last season for the Cardinals. Newell headlines the group as he was recently named to the preseason All-Mid-American Conference West Division Team. He led the Cardinals in scoring last season at 16.9 points per game and in rebounding at 8.0 boards per contest.
Also returning for the Cardinals this season is junior Joey Clawson (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove) and sophomores Malik Perry (Philadelphia, Pa./Philadelphia Lutheran) and Othello Banaci (Silver Spring, Md./Springbrook). Perry was a constant presence for the Cardinals last season as he was one of only two players to start every game last season. He averaged 6.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game last year.
The Cardinals welcome in eight newcomers this season in freshmen Randy Davis (Plymouth, Ind./Plymouth), Maurice Hubbard (Chantilly, Va./Westfield), Pierre Sneed (Chicago, Ill./Simeon), Jarrod Jones (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) and Zach Fields (North Vernon, Ind./Jennings County); juniors Brawley Chisholm (Bronx, N.Y./Western Texas College) and Eric Wormely (Joliet, Ill./Kishwaukee CC); and senior Terrence Watson (Detroit, Mich./Mississippi).
The Cardinals open the 2008-09 regular season November 15 when they host Eastern Illinois at Worthen Arena at 2 p.m. Season tickets and individual game tickets are available by calling 1-888-BSU-TICKET or logging onto www.ballstatesports.com.
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