KCAC Hoops Preview: Davert's New-Look Coyotes Expect to Compete

By Bob Davidson, The Salina Journal, Kan.

Oct. 28--Matt Dickman looks at his Kansas Wesleyan teammates this season and wonders what if ...

"We've got a lot more size," said Dickman, a junior guard. "Last year if we'd had a couple of big guys, there's no telling where we could have been. We have that this year so we'll see what we can do. We can block shots now."

Despite playing most of the season with a 6-foot-2 post player and 6-2 power forward, the Coyotes gave Kansas Conference foes all they wanted.

After a sluggish start they came on strong at the end, winning 11 of their last 14 games, seven of their final eight, and finished 19-12 overall. They were 13-5 in the KCAC, one game behind champion Sterling, and fell one victory shy of the NAIA Division II national tournament, losing to Ottawa 80-77 in the KCAC postseason tournament title game.

Then came the offseason and change was the operative word.

Six of the top 10 players departed, most notably leading scorer and honorable mention All-American senior guard Trey Sims. Starting guards Eric Hammond and Romero Hood also exhausted their eligibility and three reserves -- guards Melvin Underwood and Brad Wespieser and forward Dante Jordan -- opted not to return. Wespieser and Jordan were named to the all-KCAC Freshman Team.

"You hate to lose so many guys, especially guys who were such a big part of our program," said coach Mike Davert, who enters his third season.

Undaunted, Davert and assistant coach Brandon Lesovsky hit the recruiting trail.

"We went out this summer, and we tried to get better people at every position we had. We got some we wanted, we didn't get some we wanted," Davert said. "We felt like we had a great group of four guys to build around and with what we brought in, we're extremely pleased with their work ethic in the preseason conditioning and the early practices."

The four players who return have starting experience and were key contributors.

Dickman came on strong second semester. He averaged 6.6 points on the season but was unstoppable late in the season. He averaged 15.8 points in the eight games before the KCAC tournament final, when he suffered an ankle injury early in the contest. He shot 37.4 percent from 3-point range (34 of 91) and 80 percent from the free throw line on the season.

Dickman expects opponents to pay more attention to him this year.

"It's a team game, and hopefully when conference starts I will get the attention that we all think I'll get because it will open up everybody else's game," he said.

"After the Christmas break he came back and accepted some things we'd been talking about, and you saw what he did at the end of the season," Davert said. "He started believing in his teammates and listening to them, and his teammates started believing in him."

Senior forwards Willie McCarty and Matt Jarrett also are back and will return to their natural positions after playing inside last year -- Jarrett the post, McCarty at power forward. McCarty, who enters his third season at KWU, averaged 8.3 points and 4.7 rebounds; Jarrett 8.7 points and 3.7 rebounds.

"I've never really been a standout-type of guy leadership-wise," McCarty said. "I have to take that into consideration now because I've been here the longest and that's a big responsibility."

"He's not a big outspoken guy when it comes to words but he leads by example," Davert said of McCarty. "If he does say something, guys better listen because he's not taking IT easy, he's going as hard as he can. All Willie does is come ready to play and play hard every day, whether it's practice or a game."

Jarrett was a warrior last season, according to Davert.

"Matt is just tough as nails. We asked that kid to guard some monsters last year, and he more than held his own," he said.

Senior guard Rodney Brown is the fourth returning player. He averaged 3.8 points and, like Dickman, came on at the end of the year.

Not surprisingly, Davert emphasized size in his recruiting efforts and added five players who stand 6-5. While the Coyotes still don't have a true big man, they're gargantuan in comparison to last year.

The list starts with Wes Jones, a 6-5 forward from Phoenix College. He scored 10 points in the NJCAA Division II national championship game against Johnson County.

"He's got great feet and hands around the bucket. He's going to be hard for people to guard this year. He knows how to score and is a monster on the boards," Davert said.

Mike Bartee, a 6-5 forward, returns after sitting out a year and a half. He initially signed with former coach Tommy DeSalme.

"He's overcome some adversity, and I'm proud of Mike for sticking it out and wanting to finish here and get his degree," Davert said.

Mekan Moss, a 6-5 forward, and Joe Harvey, a 6-4 forward, each have one year of eligibility. Moss is a transfer from Jamestown (N.D.) and Harvey from Park (Mo.).

The fifth 6-5 player is Stephen Shaw, a former Salina Central standout who played for the Mustangs two years ago.

"Shaw's a freshman and is going to have some ups and downs this year," Davert said. "Some games he's going to look like an all-conference kid, other games he's going to look like he doesn't belong out there. Stephen knows how to play, he can do some things."

Tony Milani, a 6-7 sophomore, also will see minutes inside.

Davert also signed a couple of guards who will see ample playing time and are well known in these parts -- Bryson Flax and Tyler Antenen.

Flax was a two-year starter at Brown Mackie for his father Francis after a sterling high school career at Southeast of Saline. Antenen played at Salina South three years ago and spent one season at Cloud County.

"We lost some pretty good guards from last year," Davert said. "But bringing in Flax and Antenen and some of the other guys we got, we feel as a unit they make up for them."

Depth was a plus last season and despite the personnel losses, Davert's optimistic.

"I thought we were fairly deep last year, but team this is as deep or deeper," he said. "We feel we've got better shooters than last year. Overall, I think we're bigger, more athletic and a better shooting team than last year."

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