AUM Basketball Ready for Season Opener
Contact: Darrell Orand
334-244-3832
October 27, 2009
MONTGOMERY—The Auburn University at Montgomery men’s basketball team is going through its final preparations for the start of the 2009-10 season which begins Friday, October 30 at the Freed-Hardeman LionBacker Classic. The Senators will face Blue Mountain College in Friday’s action at 6 p.m. and will face the host team, Freed-Hardeman at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
Head coach Larry Chapman enters his 33rd season overseeing the Senators’ basketball program. He has won 628 games during his years at AUM and has won 663 games as a collegiate head coach. He is seventh on the NAIA wins list for active coaches and his .619 winning percentage is 16th among NAIA active coaches.
He led AUM to a 27-7 record last season and a berth in the Elite Eight at the NAIA National Tournament.
This season will be a season of change as AUM lost six seniors, four of whom were starters. The cupboard is not bare as AUM does return five players, three of those have starting experience. Leading the way will be senior Kip .jpg)
Small (6-0, G). Small, a Columbia, S.C. native is a two-time All-SSAC performer and averaged 13.6 points and 4.6 assists per game.
Another senior is center Nathan Thomas (6-7, F) who hails from Mt. Juliet, Tenn. Thomas is a three-year member of the Senators program and has started 63 of the 89 games he has played in. He averaged 6.8 points and 3.6 rebounds per game last season while starting 19 games. He is second among the all-time block leaders at AUM with 146.
LaNorris Smith, Auburn, (6-4, G) transferred to AUM last season from Alabama A&M. He played in 31 games last season and shot 33 percent from beyond the three-point line and over 43 percent from the field.
Stephen Jordan, (6-5, F), Birmingham, was a true freshman last season and had the ups and downs of a freshman, but he played in 32 games with a start under his belt. He averaged over 12 minutes per contest and shot a solid 55 percent from the field while averaging over three points and three rebounds per game and was named to the SSAC All-Freshman Team following the season.
Johnny Williams (5-8, G) is also from Birmingham and played in 12 games last season, as his time was limited as a true freshman due to all the senior guards the Senators had. He will compete to see more time this season at the point position.
With the five solid returning players, the season will have a youthful look to it as the Senators will depend on an incoming class that has a lot of talent.
Ryan Norris (6-2, G), Columbia, S.C., played for his father at Keenan High School where he was named the 2A All Area Player of the Year. He averaged over 19 points per game to go along with his 5.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists from his guard position.
Ben Thomas (6-7, F), Auburn, has transfer to AUM after playing at Tallahassee Community College the past two seasons. He played in 27 games last season averaging seven points and 3.5 rebounds per game.
Charles Perona (6-0, G), Tuskegee, played at Shelton State Community College. He shot 49 percent from the field and averaged 10 points per game. He also hit over 40 percent of his three-point attempts.
Another signee the coaching staff is excited about is Brandon Holmes (5-8, G). He is from nearby Selma and played at Dallas County High School where he averaged over 20 points per game. He was a strong defensive player as he averaged five steals per game.
Jonathan Pascley (6-6, F) is a Montgomery native and will transfer to AUM from Jefferson Davis Community College. He averaged over 12 points per game last season and shot 49 percent from the field and was strong on the boards with 6-6 rebounds per game and also had 17 blocked shots.
Tommy Grisham (6-4, F) is from Trenton, Ga. He played at Faulkner State Community College last season where he scored five points and 3.5 rebounds per game.
Daniel Quinlan (6-3, G), Charleston, S.C., transferred to AUM from the University of South Carolina-Upstate. He brings plenty of scoring punch to the AUM lineup and could be a main force on the floor.
Two other newcomers this year will provide plenty of depth at the guard position. Michael Lee (6-2, G), Enterprise, and Matt Player (6-3, G), Birmingham, are two players that have the ability to score. Both players can contribute from beyond the three-point line and will have the opportunities this season.
Among the other teams on the schedule following the start of the season at Freed-Hardeman, AUM will face two NCAA Division I programs. On Friday, Nov. 6, AUM will travel to Oxford, Miss., where it will play the University of Mississippi in an exhibition game. AUM will also play at Alabama State University on Dec. 19.
AUM will play in another tournament, this one hosted by Faulkner University. The Senators will face Life University and Martin Methodist College.
Other non-conference games include a home-and-away series with Spring Hill College and the University of Mobile.
This season AUM will play a home-and-away series with Berry College. Those games use to count in the Southern States Athletic Conference standings, but do not this season as Berry is examining the move to NCAA Division III status.
The Senators will face the always tough home-and-away series with all of the conference schools, which include national powers Lee University and Southern Polytechnic State University. The list of other conference schools includes Shorter College, Southern Wesleyan University, Brewton-Parker College, Faulkner University and Emmanuel College.
-AUM-