Men’s Basketball Eyes Eighth Straight League Title
The Elms College men's basketball team enters the 2011-12 season looking to win its eighth straight conference championship and earn its seventh trip to the NCAA Division III Championship in the last eight years.
Coming off a 20-8 season, the team's seventh consecutive 20-plus win campaign since the 2004-05 season, 11th year head coach Ed Silva has amassed a 188-93 overall record (.669) and is 12 wins shy of reaching the 200-win plateau.
The Blazers return 10 players to the court this season including senior captain Bryant Corcoran (Waterbury, Conn.), junior captains Andre French (Torrington, Conn.) and David McDaniel (Plainfield, N.J.) and sophomore captain Kurt Steiner (Rutland, Mass.).
Elms' other senior – guard Daniel Gonzalez (East Windsor, Conn.) – drained 60 three pointers last season and led the team in scoring six times. He provides the Blazers with a tremendous scoring option from beyond the arc.
Here is a snapshot of Elms' 2011-12 squad that is poised to capture its fourth New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) title.
Returners
After missing several games last season due to injury, Corcoran returns to the floor as one of the team's top defenders and after averaging 5.7 points per game last season, will look to be a scoring threat with his ability to drive to the rim and finish strong. Add to that Gonzalez's three-point shooting prowess and the Blazers will have a fantastic output from their senior class.
French and McDaniel lead a contingent of seven juniors that will look to add experience to the lineup this season.
French, who missed the entire 2010-11 season due to injury, was named the most valuable player of the 2009-10 NECC tournament in his freshman season and averaged 5.7 points per game.
McDaniel averaged 16.5 minutes per game in his first season with Elms last year and finished with 111 points (4.6 per game average). He also averaged 3.8 rebounds per game and hauled in 92 for the season.
Center Carson Miller (New Oxford, Pa.) started 21 of 28 games played during the 2010-11 campaign and scored 100 points and collected 67 rebounds, while forwards Darius Griffin (Winter Haven, Fla.), Jamal Hulum (Reston, Va.) and guard Walter Mfuko (Amherst, Mass.) each saw action as role players last season.
Steiner and forward Isaiah Odunlami (Providence, R.I.) comprise the team's sophomore class. Steiner joined the team in January of 2011 and scored 46 points in 19 games off the bench for Elms.
Newcomers
Elms' 2011-12 squad will feature a stellar group of newcomers including junior transfer James Black (Baltimore, Md.) and sophomore Dustin Trail (East Hartford, Conn.). Joining them are freshmen guards Jacob Abel (Fairfield, Calif.), Charles Bason (Riverdale, Md.), Ariel McClarin (Winter Springs, Fla.), Piere Simpson (Middletown, Conn.), Tyler Scott (Salem, Ore.), Musa Elsir (Springfield, Mass.) and forward Kevin Boakye (Worcester, Mass.).
The Blazers' newcomers will all look to find a role and make an impact in their debut campaigns as Elms will look to be an explosive running team this winter.
Schedule
Elms begins its 2011-12 slate with the Blazer Tip-Off Tournament/Ken Wright Memorial Invitational. The Blazers will host Washington and Lee University, No. 4 Amherst College and Plymouth State University on Friday, Nov. 18 at Picknelly Arena before the tournament shifts to Amherst on Saturday. Elms will take on the Generals at 6:00 p.m., while the fourth-ranked Lord Jeffs and the Panthers will square off at 8:00 p.m. The consolation game will be played at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday with the championship game to follow at 3:00 p.m. at LeFrak Gymnasium.
The Blazers then take to the road for their next six contests including the annual Pioneer Valley Classic beginning Dec. 2. Elms will take on Westfield State University and follow that with a tilt against 2011 host Springfield College on Dec. 3.
A conference-opening showdown at Regis College on Dec. 6 follows before the Blazers travel to Hartwick College on Dec. 9. Elms then closes out the 2011 portion of its schedule with games at Kean University and Marymount University (Va.).
The green and gold returns to Picknelly Arena on Jan. 5 when its hosts Castleton State College in the team's final non-league game of the season. Fifteen NECC bouts remain including the team's conference home-opener against Becker College on Jan. 10.
Elms will play four of its final seven games in the friendly confines of Picknelly Arena including the regular season finale against Wheelock College on Feb. 18.
Wrap Up
The men's basketball team will feature an explosive, high-powered running attack during the 2011-12 season that has the squad poised to make a run at the program's eighth-consecutive league title and its seventh trip to the NCAA postseason in the last eight years. The Blazers have an abundance of talent that makes a deep run in postseason play an exciting possibility.
