Bears Basketball Season Preview
The wait is finally over. After four straight Hudson Valley Men's Athletic Conference regular season titles only to repeatedly falter in the championship game, the Bears finally captured the HVMAC title that has eluded them for so long. "Although we finally won last year, the goal hasn't changed," says 2008 HVMAC Coach of the Year, Joseph Cocozello. "Our primary goal for this season is to repeat as Hudson Valley Champions. Secondly, we would like to get our seniors back to the USCAA National Tournament."
This year's squad returns nine players and boasts five newcomers after losing only one starter, Chris Olaskiewicz (10.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg), the emotional leader of last year's team. Coach Cocozello recognizes the challenge for this season is to mesh the returning players and newcomers as one cohesive unit, especially given the tougher schedule they face this year. Another newcomer this year is assistant coach Wayne Warmbier(SJC '07) who replaces Nolan Adams on the bench. The former Bear sharpshooter along with the new faces have brought much intensity and excitement to practice each day. Cocozello states, "It has been an absolute pleasure to be a part of."
Cocozello looks to seniors Ervin Maddox (17.0 ppg, 3.7 apg) and Przemyslaw Kudla(6.5 ppg, 3.8 apg) to provide the leadership for this year's squad. Despite his smaller frame, Maddox has the ability to score both inside and out and create scoring opportunities for his teammates and sits just 12 points shy of 1000. Kudla is a solid defender and will be relied upon to help run the offense and Cocozello hopes that the underclassmen will feed off his work ethic and non-stop hustle.
There are high expectations for sophomores Jon Matzelle (13.6 ppg, 8.9 rpg) and Justin Gist(14.3 ppg). Matzelle had a fantastic rookie campaign capped off by receiving MVP honors of the HVMAC Tournament. After being the team's leading rebounder and one of the team's top scorers, Matzelle will be expected to carry the load down low. Gist is a dynamic scorer who has the ability to score from anywhere and returns to the team after being declared academically ineligible last season. During his short rookie season, Gist proved himself to be an all-around talent and a true team player essential to the success of the team.
Key returnees down low are junior Wilkerson Exantus (5.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg) and senior Lukasz Klimaszewski(3.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg). After filling in last season as a reserve, Exantus will be asked to step up in terms of minutes and production. Klimaszewski comes off a season hampered by injuries, but looks to be a key role player in his senior campaign. In the backcourt, Cocozello turns to upperclassmen Mike Dziewit, Larry Fawcett and Paul Kielmanowicz to provide some key minutes and instant scoring off the bench.
The freshman class provides solid depth to Coach Cocozello at both ends. All the new faces have brought much athleticism and intensity to the squad. Antoine Forehand (Rice) will be called upon to assist with the ball handling duties and running the offense. Roy Wickstrom (St. Peters) is a workhorse who has demonstrated much promise in the preseason to compete for some minutes. Wendell Manifold (Bishop Loughlin), Kelvin Valdez (St. Agnes) and Emil Golaszewski (Liberty) are all solid bodies who will add versatility to Cocozello's bench.
The Bears will face a much tougher schedule than previous seasons with SJC entering the second year of the NCAA provisional process. The team opens up the season at the Mt. Aloysius Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament in Altoona, PA and will travel in January to Washington, DC for the Catholic University Tournament which should provide some solid Division III opponents. In early December, the Bears face Patchogue for a cross-campus battle against St. Joseph's – Long Island, one that should prove to be very intense. Highlighting the schedule is a matchup against Medgar Evers in late December at the Izod Center (East Rutherford, NJ) played before the Nets/Rockets game. Playing in their new home court, Brooklyn Technical High School, matchups against Mount St. Vincent and long-time rival Berkeley College highlight the home slate.
A staple of Cocozello's coaching philosophy for all his teams, the main priority is to represent St. Joseph's College with pride and dignity both on and off the court. The Bears have demonstrated in practice that they are dedicated to giving their all to accomplish this, repeating as HVMAC Champions and vie for a USCAA National Championship.