The Barry men’s basketball team should be an exciting bunch this season, the 16th under the direction of head coach Cesar Odio.
“Excitement is exactly the word were using to describe the type of season we’re looking forward to,” Odio said. “With the type of players we’ve brought in, we’re going to have an exciting brand of basketball that is going to be fan-friendly.”
The Bucs have eight players back from last year’s 13-15 team that finished fourth in the Sunshine State Conference, led by SSC Defensive Player of the Year Erick Nsangou and junior center Willie Whitfield. Nsangou, who ran the point last year and will again this season, led the team in assists, while averaging 9.7 points and 5.5 rebounds. Whitfield is the returning team leader at 10.13 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.
Joining Nsangou in the five-man senior class are four-year lettermen Chad Bishop and Bryan Chiverton along with post Jeran Morris and wing Tony Dennison, a transfer by way of Hofstra and Broward College.
“We’ll still be a grind-it-out team defensively, which is our forte” Odio said. “But we have the type of players I was used to coaching in junior college and my first few years here and we’ll be able to up and down the court a little bit more and put a few more points on the scoreboard.”
| POINT GUARDS | |
| Returning: | Newcomers: |
| Erick Nsangou (Sr., Yaolinne, Cameroon) | Vladimir Raymonvil (Fr., Miami, Fla.) |
Nsangou handled the point guard duties last season after coming over from NCAA Division I Florida International. He shot 45.5 percent from the floor and was one of only two players to post a positive assist-turnover ratio. He was named the top defensive player in the SSC, despite averaging less than a steal per game.
Freshman Vladimir Raymonvil will back up Nsangou at the point. A strong and solid point guard, he is an exceptional defender and floor leader. He is expected to see significant time as Nsangou’s back up.
| WINGS | |
| Returning: | Newcomers: |
| Bryan Chiverton (Sr., Miami, Fla.) | Julien Bendeke (Jr., Bertova, Cameroon) |
| Terrell Terry (So., Miami, Fla.) | Tony Dennison (Sr., Long Island City, N.Y.) |
| Zack Trapp (Jr., Orlando, Fla.) | Evan White (So., Fort Wayne, Ind.) |
The wings will be manned by junior Zack Trapp and senior transfer Dennison. Trapp led the team in three-point shooting last season, hitting 44 treys and connecting at a 37.9 percent rate. He averaged 6.5 points per game, including 8.8 per game after he took over the starting role in January.
Dennison was the nation’s second-leading junior college scorer as a freshman at Broward College at 27.7 points per game. At Hofstra, he was the fourth-leading scorer, averaging 5.7 points per game as the team went 21-11. He is an exceptional offensive player, but also one of the better defenders on the team. Depending on how far the team goes, he could be a strong candidate for all-conference honors.
Chiverton is another outstanding athlete and excellent defender. Offensively, he can slash to the basket with his quickness and has worked on extending his shooting range.
Transfer Julien Bendeke was a model of consistency during his two years at Sante Fe CC. He averaged 5.1 points per game and 2.6 rebounds as a freshman and 5.2 points and 2.6 rebounds as a sophomore. He was third on the team both seasons in made three-pointers.
Terrell Terry and Evan White will add depth on the wings. Terry saw limited action as a freshman last year and is a solid offensive player, while White, a transfer from NCAA Division I Indiana, is an outstanding defender with a smooth outside stroke.
| POSTS | |
| Returning: | Newcomers: |
| Chad Bishop (Sr., Orlando, Fla.) | Marvin Davis (Jr., Palmetto Point, St. Kitts) |
| Jeran Morris (Sr., Basseterre, St. Kitts) | Shevaur Gooden (So., Waldorf, Md.) |
| Bartas Visinkis (So., Vilnius, Lithuania) | |
| Willie Whitfield (Jr., Miami, Fla.) |
Junior Whitfield leads the group in the post for the second straight year. He scored in double figures 13 times, including seven double-doubles. He is a physical presence on the block and is extremely quick off the floor, making him one of the best offensive rebounders in the conference.
Bishop, another four-year letterman, is a swing forward, able to work both inside and out. He missed the second half of the season last year with one injury and has a different one to start the season this year, but will provide quality depth in the post when he returns, which is expected by the first of December.
Transfer Marvin Davis, a teammate of Bendeke and Trapp at Sante Fe, was the Saints’ second-leading scorer as a freshman at 9.2 points per game and was second in rebounding at 6.0 boards per game. As a sophomore, he chipped in 8.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. He shot over 56 percent from the floor both seasons.
Morris and sophomore Bartas Visinskis, the tallest players on the team, bring size off the bench. Both have big bodies and long arms, helping the Bucs extend the defense. Shevaur Gooden, a walk on from Maryland, will also give Odio a deeper bench than in years past.
The Bucs, who won the SSC regular season title in 2004-05 and played in the NCAA Tournament twice in four years, will be looking for a return trip to the dance.
“Defensively, we’ll be familiar to what people have seen in the past,” Odio said. “The point where we pick up the pressure may extend out a little further. We’re very athletic. But offensively, we don’t want to run an offense. We want to score before the other team can set their defense, but if it’s not there, we’ll just spread you out and attack and try to take a good shot. We’ve got some weapons that will be hard to defend.”
The Bucs open up the regular season on Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 7:00 pm in the Health & Sports Center against Florida Memorial and host Puerto Rico-Mayaguez on Saturday at 2:00 pm.