Morristown, N.J. - The College of Saint Elizabeth's men's basketball team opens the 2017-18 season on Wednesday night at Clarks Summit University in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania.
The Eagles look to improve upon its first season in existence last year. CSE is coming off a 7-17 campaign including a 6-14 record in the NEAC. The Eagles finished in sixth place in the NEAC South Division last season. CSE was voted 10th in the 2017-18 NEAC preseason poll, announced on Tuesday.
Clarks Summit is coming off a 1-24 and 0-18 in conference during its regular season last year. The Defenders lone win came on November 19 against Penn State Hazelton.Â
CSE returns 13 players from last season while adding ten newcomers. The Eagles return four starters from 2017-18,
Jason Saldiveri,
Shaquan Mickens,
Cam Tucker, and
Roland Romano. CSE also brings back
Michael Manso,
Jordan Simmons,
Roy Bond,
Tino Gonzalez, Tim Cook,
Devon Tuten,
Jordan Wilson, and
Darius Richards. Head Coach
Tom Wagenblast is excited for his group of returners. "I am very proud of how the returning guys have worked in the off-season to improve their games. It is clear a good number of them have got better and are ready to take big steps forward."
Wagenblast brought in another big recruiting class and expects some contributions from newcomers: Dayzhon Fields, Javon Fisher, Kar'ron Johnson, Jemar Jordan, Francis Mensah, Sean Braswell, Nasir Williams, Ty'ier Grier, Brian Valdes, and Ken'ly Aris. "We have another big group of freshmen who are hungry to prove themselves. Some are ready right now, but we also have a few who might be a year away, who are going to be really good players for us in the future," stated Wagenblast.
CSE brings back most of its offense from last season as it returns 70% of its offense production. Saldiveri, who was named NEAC Third-Team All Conference, finished his first season averaging 22.2 points per game which led the team and was 24th in the country. Tucker, Romano, and
Jordan Simmons round out four of the top five scorers from last season.
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Wagenblast is excited and ready for his second season with the young squad. "Our motto this year is Ready To Win. Last year we just threw our freshman into the fire and I was just happy that we played hard and competed. This year, we have a completely different mindset. We are here to prove ourselves not only to the league but to all of New Jersey basketball. While we are still one of the youngest teams in the country, we now have experience and I think we will really surprise people."
CSE's season opener at Clarks Summit tips off at 8 pm on Wednesday.
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