Men's Basketball: Replacing four seniors integral as team looks for NCAA bid next year

By: Amanda Bernardin

Posted: 3/9/10

For the first time in three years, the DePauw men's basketball team made it to the championship game of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament.

Unfortunately, the team was unable to match the success it had in its previous trip to the final game in 2006 when it defeated Centre College.

Nonetheless, the Tigers had a strong finish to their season, winning both senior night and the final game of the year.

"Any 20-win season is a great year," said sophomore guard Tommy Weakley about the team's success.

"Overall, we had a lot of injuries and had brief periods when we didn't play well, but we still managed to stay together as a team.," he said. "We feel satisfied knowing that we did about all that we could do to compete everyday."

The Tigers finished with a record of 20-8 overall and 11-5 in conference play. The Tigers lost only one game at Neal Fieldhouse this season and won the Mike Rokicki Community Versus Cancer Challenge held at DePauw over Thanksgiving Break.

DePauw will now say good to four seniors: forward Tom Callen, guard Tony James, center David Gray and guard Matt Bennett

"We're definitely going to miss them on and off the floor," said sophomore guard Sean Haseley. "But losing seniors is a part of college basketball. We'll have to have different guys step up going forward and continue to work to improve for next season."

The team will look to its incoming class to attempt to replace this core group.

"They're going to be hard to replace, but coaches always come through in the recruiting department," said junior guard Drew Wills.

This is the team's first 20-win season since its trip to the NCAA Div. III tournament in the 2006-2007 season. Weakley said he feels the team is in a good position for next season, provided they manage to shore up a few weaknesses.

"We will be an offensively explosive team," Weakley said. "If we can find a way to rebound and defend consistently, we will be a very difficult team to beat. The off-season will be important for this to happen."

The Tigers ended the regular season and gained the momentum needed for a successful tournament run. The team looks to build off this year's success and make another run next year.