Wilson and the Bald Eagles are looking to build upon their successes of a season ago.

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Coming off a successful 2006-07 campaign, head coach John Wilson and his Lock Haven University Bald Eagles are looking to improve upon their 12 win campaign of a year ago.

Last year the Haven went 12-15 overall and 5-7 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play, just missing a playoff spot. The 12 wins last season marked the most the wins since the Bald Eagles recorded a 12-win season during the 1995-96 campaign.

Guards:

LHU will need strong guard play according to Wilson and he expects to have it this year.

“Guard play is essential in this league and in Division II basketball as a whole and we have a core of guards competing for time” said Wilson of his large guard unit.

With nine guards on the roster Wilson hopes to be able to provide a lot of energy at all times and use that to his team’s advantage.

Expect Justin Wilson (Lock Haven, Pa./ Central Mountain) and Kelvin McLean (Newport News, Va./Heritage) to provide the Bald Eagles with multiple options to put up big numbers.

“Kelvin brings a lot of energy to the floor, is a great shooter and is a very athletic player and Justin has a great in and out game, he’s working hard, is versatile and we look for him to be a big outside defender as well” said Wilson of two of his guards.

Wilson chipped in 10.9 points per game last year as he started and played in every game. He was also second on the team in rebounds (5.0 rpg) and his 40 point performance against East Stroudsburg on December 2, 2006 was the highest point tally on the year.

McLean was redshirted last year and is expected to have a pivotal role on this year’s squad.

Coach Wilson also hopes to see some quality playing time from Tyrone Palmer (Darby, Pa./Parkway) and Eli Hanna (Lock Haven, Pa./Central Mountain).

“Ty is energetic, athletic, strong and is a great ball handler, Eli is surprisingly powerful for being a true freshman but he worked hard in the offseason and should see time at the two guard spot” said Wilson when discussing the guards.

Other guards looking to chip in are a few of the team veterans in Jeff Eveillard (New Rochelle, N.Y./Broome Community College ) and Jarrell Spence (Philadelphia/ Scotland School for Veteran's Children ). Eveillard is a senior on the squad who will be one of the teams tri-captains, and Spence is a redshirt junior.

“Jeff can play all five positions on the floor making him a versatile weapon for us and he pushes the ball very well on the break. Spence is another player who brings great energy to the floor, he can knock down the open three and his defensive quickness is exciting for us.”

Eveillard was the fifth highest scorer last season (3.5 ppg) and was the fourth best rebounder (3.3 rpg). Eveillard also played in all 27 games and started in 17 of those.

Spence was one of the leading men off the bench last season as he played in 25 games averaging 1.9 points per game in those contests.

Wilson is also very excited about who he said was the most improved player on the squad David Blackwell (Teaneck, N.J./Teaneck ) .

“David has shown much improvement and will contend for some serious time at point guard” said Wilson.

Andres Carpio (Beacon, N.Y./Beacon) and Sharif Bolton (Philadelphia/Franklin Learning Center) are also expected to play a key role but they will be redshirted during their freshman campaigns.

“These two know how to play and are very fundamentally sound and we expect them to make big contributions within their redshirt roles.”

Forwards:

Wilson feels his forwards need to step up on the glass and defensively this year and big things are expected from returners Denny Mortimer (Silver Spring, Md./Mansfield University) and Sporting News preseason honorable mention All-American Billy Arre (Pittsburgh, Pa/Thomas Jefferson) .

“We expect that opponents will know Billy by now and design defenses to stop him, but the majority of our scoring will still fall on his shoulders” said Wilson when talking about his go to guy. “I also expect Billy to adjust his game and help this team win games by improving his defense and being big on the boards.”

Arre, last seasons leading point scorer and PSAC Western Division Player of the Year, averaged 21.8 points per game and also led the team in rebounds as he averaged 6.8 per game. Arre will also serve as one of the team’s three captains.

Last season Arre brought home plenty of hardware for his work on the floor. He was named to the Bulletin Division II Honorable Mention All-America list, a second team selection for both the Daktronics All-East region squad and the National Association of Basketbll Coaches (NABC) All-East region team. During his rookie year he was named the conference rookie of the year and was also named to the conference second team squad..

Across his career Arre, a junior, has already amassed 1079 points and is well on his way to the school record.

Also looking to chip in is Mortimer who scored 8.9 points per game last year in a limited role from his forward position. Denny’s impressive 52.9% field goal percentage made him one of the deadlier shooters on the squad.

“Denny is one of our three captains and we expect him to add toughness to our team and he could be a big help inside and be our third scorer” commented Wilson on Mortimer.

Another forward, freshman Taylor Denis (Beacon, N.Y./Beacon) will be redshirted this season.

Center:

Wilson is also looking for major contributions from his center A.J. Zimmer (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) .

“Zimmer will need to defend the paint and lead our team in rebounding. A.J. is really making progess and by January we feel he will really be able to come into his own” stated Wilson about his 6 foot 9 big man.

Zimmer shared time last season manning the center of the floor making appearances in all 27 games and scoring three points per game and pulling in two rebounds per game.

Overall Wilson and his team are very optimistic about the 2007-08 season as they are hoping to make the NCAA tournament and win the PSAC Western Division.

Preseason rankings for the conference places LHU in a tie with Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) for fifth place.

Coach Wilson, the 2003 PSAC West Coach of the Year, believes this season will be one of continuous improvement and the second half of the season is when he expects his squad to be playing their best ball.

Wilson and his team will tip off the new season on Friday, November 16, 2007 as they head west to take on the Youngstown State Penguins in an out of conference matchup.