Pride Sports Info.
The Greensboro College men's basketball team plays at rival Guilford College tonight. Game time is 7 p.m. The
News & Record previewed both teams in Wednesday's newspaper. You can view Brian Joura's story
HERE or see it pasted below.
By Brian Joura
Staff Writer
TODAY'S GAME
Greensboro (0-2) at Guilford (1-0)
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Ragan-Brown Field House, Greensboro
Tickets: $5 general admission, $3 Students with ID, free for Guilford/Greensboro students, faculty, staff and children younger than 12.
Greensboro Webcast: greensborocollegesports.com
GREENSBORO -- Greensboro College advanced to the USA South men's basketball championship game last year. But the Pride has to replace three of the top four scorers from that team, including first-team all-conference performer Adam Nicholson, who averaged 21 points per game.
Fellow coaches in the conference recognized the challenge faced by Greensboro's Bryan Galuski and voted his team sixth in the seven-team league in a preseason poll.
But Galuski thinks his returning players, buoyed by three junior college transfers, can pick up the scoring slack and have the Pride once again among the top teams in USA South.
"Last year, when we played it was obvious that teams keyed on Adam Nicholson and tried to limit touches for both him and Bruce (Zamuel)," Galuski said. "This year, we need guys to step up. It's going to be a collective effort for us.
Michael McDuffie (West Patterson, NJ/De Paul Catholic) has to increase his scoring productivity.
Theo Tamini (Burkina-Faso, West Africa//LFSE) has to get more post buckets.
Josh Brown (Durham, NC/Southern) has to increase his productivity."
Galuski augmented his team's scoring power by signing three players from the junior college ranks who started the team's first two games. They are guards
Anthony Simmons (Raleigh, NC/Southeast Raleigh) and
Walter Brady (St. Petersburg, Fla./Gibbs) and post player
Michael Mitchell (Burlington, NC/Cummings).
"Each given recruiting year is different," Galuski said. "When you lose nearly 40 percent of your scoring, you need to have kids who are able to come in and pick up the slack. Going the junior college route and finding the right transfers enables you to do that. They've already had two years of college basketball under their belt and, hopefully, they can contribute immediately."
Brady and Mitchell combined to score 61 points in the two-day Eastern Mennonite University Classic. Mitchell, who played at Cummings and at UNCG, finished second on the team with 16 points in the opener against Eastern Mennonite, and Brady scored in 16 against Bridgewater.
"Simmons and Brady each pose different things offensively," Galuski said. "Anthony shoots the ball very well, and Walter gets to the basket very well. Mike Mitchell can score in a variety of ways on the post or off the post."
In addition to the three new scoring options, the Pride can rely on some familiar faces to get the offense started. McDuffie, a senior, and junior
RJ Smith (Charleston, SC/Porter Gaud School) play key roles in the backcourt for the Pride. Smith came off the bench in the first two games and provided a combined 27 points and five assists.
"I'm ready to step up and help the team, whether that's scoring or playing defense or getting assists," Smith said. "I'm willing to do anything to help us win.
"My strength is getting to the middle of the paint and then distributing the ball to my wide-open teammates. If I have to score, I'll do that, but I'd rather get an assist than score."
In the frontcourt, Mitchell's emergence has been crucial for Greensboro, which unexpectedly lost big man Jason Sharpe. The 6-foot-7 forward gave up basketball and transferred to an art school in Florida to concentrate on academics. Galuski will need seniors Brown and Tamini to add a presence in the low post.
Brown led last season's squad with an average of 8.6 rebounds per game and he had 14 in the Pride's first two games. Tamini, born in West Africa, is still a work in progress.
It will be up to Galuski to mold this collection of players into a cohesive group, starting tonight when they travel to Guilford College to take on the Quakers.
"Last year when Guilford came here it may have been the most exciting game that many, if not all, of (the coaches and players) have been a part of," said Galuski of the Pride's upset win over the then third-ranked Quakers. "The atmosphere was super. ... This year, going back to Guilford, they will reciprocate with a crowd presence and it will be crazy over there. We'll travel and have our fan support. It's great for small college basketball and I would encourage everyone in the area to come out and see that game."
