2004-05 Season Outlook

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Andy Bucheit

The winningest program in NCAA Division III history will reload with another outstanding team in 2004-05. The Tigers return 10 letterwinners, including three starters, from a 2003-04 squad that posted a 24-5 overall record, including a perfect 16-0 NCAC regular season record.

The Tigers lose two starters - first-team All-NCAC forward Peter Walker and Rod Emmons, a two-year starter at shooting guard - from last year's team, which earned a record 22nd NCAA Division III Tournament berth. But plenty of talent remains, starting with the aforementioned 10 returning letterwinners, a list that includes both experience and great potential at every position.

In the backcourt, the Tigers are blessed with a large number of returning players who offer a variety of strengths. Senior guards Danny Brywczynski (Dayton, Ohio/Northmont) and Andy Bucheit (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) are both three-year letterwinners and enter the season as the odds-on favorites to man the two guard positions. Brywczynski broke the school record for three-point shooting percentage (.492) and led the team in assists a year ago, and he is a pass-first point guard who boasts of a tremendous assist-turnover ratio in each of his two seasons as the starter. Bucheit is a wing player with an excellent shooting touch, as evidenced by his team-best 44 three-point field goals in 2003-04.

They will be joined in the backcourt by senior Brett Bowen (Arcadia, Ind./Hamilton Heights), who missed the entire 2003-04 season with a foot injury, senior point guard Kenny Molz (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont), who has come off the bench to rank among the team leaders in assists and steals each of the last two seasons, sophomore Billy Bowen (Arcadia, Ind./Hamilton Heights), who shot 42 percent from three-point range while appearing in every game last year off the bench, junior Phil Steffes (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) and sophomore Pat Denbow (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier).

Wittenberg has plenty of frontcourt options as well. Junior Daniel Russ (Louisville, Ky./Trinity) leads the charge a year after serving notice of his great potential. En route to earning second-team All-NCAC honors, Russ, a 6-9 post player, led Wittenberg in rebounding and blocked shots. Heading into his third year as a member of Head Coach Bill Brown's rotation and his second season as a starter, Russ is the team's top returning scorer at 12.2 per game.

Junior Kenny Brady (Reading, Ohio/Reading) is back in the fold a year after he ranked among the team leaders in almost every statistical category en route to second-team All-NCAC honors in 2003-04. He emerged as a key player for the Tigers in 2003-04 after showing flashes of brilliance in his freshman campaign, finishing with four double-doubles and a near triple-double against Urbana, which would have been the first such feat in school history.

Rounding things out, junior Dane Borchers (Russia, Ohio/Russia), a 6-8 post player, is back after a tremendous first season on the varsity team. Forced to sit out his first year in college due to a back injury, Borchers came on strong in 2003-04 to score 5-8 points and 3.8 rebounds off the bench. His absence due to a broken wrist was significant in season-ending losses to Wooster in the NCAC Tournament championship game and John Carroll in the NCAA Division III Tournament a year ago.