2001-02 Men's Basketball Guide 2001 National Finalist 2001 Njac Champions
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2200001-021-02 MEN’SMEN’S BASKETBALLBASKETBALL GUIDEGUIDE 20012001 NATIONALNATIONAL FINALISTFINALIST 20012001 NJACNJAC CHAMPIONSCHAMPIONS Pioneer Basketball Fast Facts William Paterson University Wayne, New Jersey 07470 Founded: 1855 Enrollment: 10,466 President: Arnold Speert Executive Vice President and Provost: Chernoh Sesay Athletic Director: Arthur Eason Head Coach: Jose Rebimbas (seventh year) Career Record: 133-57 (115-53 at WPU) Assistant Coaches: Brian Chapman Brian Horton Nickname: Pioneers Colors: Orange & Black Affiliation: NCAA Division III Conference: New Jersey Athletic 2000-01 Record: 26-5 Overall, 15-3 NJAC Men’s Basketball Phone: 973.720.2170 Athletic Phone: 973.720.2356 Sports Information Director: Brian Falzarano Sports Information Phone: 973.720.2705 Sports Info., Basketball Fax: 973.720.3017 Head Athletic Trainer: Toby Barboza Photographer: Steve Smith Web Site: www.wpunj.edu Pioneer Hotline: 973.720.2547 With his ability to both score and rebound, senior forward Dag Christensen is again a big part of William Paterson’s plans. Men’s Basketball BLAZING A TRAIL OF TRADITION • Three consecutive NCAA Tournament invites (two Final Fours) • Two consecutive New Jersey Athletic Conference titles; seven overall • The NJAC’s winningest program across the past three campaigns (68-22) • Horace Jenkins (1,940 career points) named 2001 Division III Player of the Year Pioneer Basketball William Paterson University 2001 Men’s Basketball Guide CONTENTS 2001-02 Roster ................................................................................................................................... 2 Q&A With Coach Rebimbas ................................................................................................................ 3 2001-02 Coaching Staff ...................................................................................................................... 5 2001-02 Pioneer Profiles ..................................................................................................................... 7 2000-01 Recap ................................................................................................................................... 13 2000-01 Statistics ............................................................................................................................... 15 2000-01 Game-by-Game .................................................................................................................... 16 2000-01 New Jersey Athletic Conference Standings, Honors ................................................................. 16 Horace Jenkins Highlights .................................................................................................................... 17 All-Time Records.................................................................................................................................. 18 Millennium Men .................................................................................................................................. 20 Pioneer Men’s Basketball Information The 2001-02 William Paterson University Brian Falzarano Pioneer Men’s Basketball Media Guide has been Director of Sports Information assembled to assist in your coverage of the 973.720.2705 • [email protected] Pioneers. We hope the information included in the following pages will answer any questions Sports Information Office concerning the Pioneers. If you need additional Ben Shahn Gallery, Room 022 information and photos, or would like to set up William Paterson University an interview with head coach Jose Rebimbas, his Wayne, New Jersey 07470 assistants or players, please feel free to contact Fax 973.720.3017 • Pioneer Hotline 973.720.2547 our staff and we will be happy to help you. www.wpunj.edu 1 2001-02 ROSTER No. Name Yr. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/HS 0 Larry Press Fr. F 6-6 215 E. Brunswick, NJ/E. Brunswick 1 Khalid Coursey Sr. G 5-9 180 Newark, NJ/Malcolm X. Shabazz 2 Brandon Constantine So. G 5-10 175 Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck 4 Jeff Pela So. G 6-3 200 Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East 5 Michael Everett Sr. F 6-4 190 Orange, NJ/Seton Hall Prep 10 Mike Schirick Sr. F 6-6 200 Middletown, NY/Steward 11 Omar Charles Fr. G 5-10 170 Jersey City, NJ/Hudson Catholic 13 Rashaan Barner Sr. G 6-3 185 Hillside, NJ/Hillside 21 Jason Vieira Fr. G 5-9 170 Rutherford, NJ/Rutherford 22 Seth Brown Jr. F 6-6 230 Hackensack, NJ/Hackensack 24 Justin Lauer Fr. F 6-7 216 Belvidere, NJ/Belvidere 34 Taurean Fisher Jr. G/F 6-5 210 Sayreville, NJ/Sayreville 35 Terrance McNeal Jr. F 6-6 240 Cape May Courthouse, NJ/Middle Twp. 40 Keyth Hardy Jr. F 6-5 215 Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex 42 Rory Caswell So. F 6-5 225 Toms River, NJ/Toms River North Head Coach: Jose Rebimbas (seventh season, Seton Hall ‘92) Assistant Coach: Brian Chapman, Brian Horton Juniors Keyth Hardy (left) and Terrance McNeal will be counted upon to provide muscle and depth to the Pioneer frontcourt. 2 Pioneer Basketball Q&A WITH COACH REBIMBAS Over the past three seasons, Head Coach Jose Rebimbas has guided William Paterson to three NCAA Tournament appearances, including two Final Fours. In 2000-01, the Pio- neers finished as Division III national runners-up and won a school-record 26 games, while star guard Horace Jenkins was named the Division III Player of the Year. Now, Rebimbas looks forward to keeping the Pioneers among the nation’s elite. Q: After finishing as national runners-up and winning the most games in school history, how do you approach this season? Also, how do you go about replacing Horace Jenkins? A: We approach every season with the same goals: to improve every day as individuals and as a program, compete for a conference championship and to get an invitation to the NCAA Tournament. You do not replace Horace Jenkins (2001 Division III Player of the Year and three-time NJAC Player of the Year; 27.2 ppg in 2000-01), because his value goes beyond statistics. He was a quiet leader, a defensive stopper and he possessed a will to win. We will use the barometer of excellence that he set forth as a guideline of how hard we must have to work to achieve our goals. Q: Horace and Ray Ortiz, a regional All-American, shouldered much of the scoring load last season. Should we expect more of a balanced offen- sive team this year? A: Horace and Ray Ortiz (11.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg) were a great one-two punch. They complemented one another so well. We will now depend on the whole team to contribute scoring. All of our players possess the triple threat: the ability to shoot, pass and dribble. Q: That said, what players should people watch out for this season when watching your team play? A: Senior guard Rashaan Barner (left; 9.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg) will step up and be our go-to guy. We also look to our other seniors – forward Dag Christensen (7.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg), swingman Michael Everett (right) and forward Mike Schirick – to increase their scoring load. The same with sophomore forward Rory Caswell and sophomore guard Jeff Pela. Q: How about the newcomers? Which ones figure to contribute on a significant basis? A: We are excited about the additions of junior swingman Tory Fisher, junior forward Seth Brown, sophomore point guard Bran- don Constantine, senior guard Khalid Coursey and freshman forward Larry Press. All five will see significant minutes. Tory brings depth and scoring to our wing players. Khalid is a point guard who is quick and explosive. Seth is a physical specimen who 3 will dominate the boards every night. Larry will remind us of Ray with his ability to shoot from “3”. And Brandon will take over the leadership roll of this team. He is quick, fiesty, physical and strokes the “3” all night. As he goes, we go. Q: What do you see as this team’s trademarks? A: We will always be a defensive team first. We want to be physical and we want to be quick. We will hustle, play hard and with a purpose. Offensively, you will see on most nights 5-6 double-figure scorers. Q: Last question coach: How does William Paterson stack up in the New Jersey Athletic Conference and on the national scene? A: We obviously play in one of the top conference s in the country. This is going to be a very balanced league from 1-10. There are going to be a lot of new faces on the top teams of the last two years. I think it will be fun, intense and very well coached. I hope we can weather the storm the first couple of weeks as we try to jell the new and old. Nationally, we will find out based on how we do early in the season with an opening-night tipoff against defending national champion Catholic and then our first four conference games. That will tell the story. Mike Schirick provides the Pioneers with defensive intensity and heady play. After winning a school-record 26 games, Head Coach Jose Rebimbas (center) is depending upon a combination of tested talent and fresh faces to make another NCAA Tournament run. 4 Pioneer Basketball COACHING STAFF Jose Rebimbas Head Coach Seventh Season Since taking the reins in 1995-96, the Pioneers have enjoyed their greatest successes with Rebimbas running the show. In the past three seasons alone, the program has made two Final Four appearances (1999 and 2001) and has set a school record for victories (26 in 2001). For his career, he owns a record of 133-57 across eight seasons. In addition to going 18-4 as the interim coach at Montclair State in 1994-95, he is 115-53 with the Pioneers. Rebimbas learned coaching during his playing days at Seton Hall University, where he played for the 1989 Final Four team. He observed head coach P.J. Carlesimo