The Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball team begins its annual quest to return to the Sports Arena in March on Thursday night when the annual Quarterback Classic tips off.
The Blue Dragons open the 2011-2012 season with Jayhawk East rival Fort Scott on Thursday. HCC will meet NJCAA Division II Power Parkland College at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The Blue Dragons close out the Quarterback Classic with College of Central Florida.
Going 53-13 in his first two seasons, HCC head coach Steve Eck returns one starter and only two players from last season’s Jayhawk West runner-up team that finished 26-7 and in the semifinals of the Region VI Tournament.
The 2011-12 Blue Dragons don’t have the lofting preseason recognition they had the previous season. Last year, HCC won its first 17 games and reached No. 1 in the NJCAA poll for the first time since the 1991-92 season.
“The guys are working really hard,” Eck said. “There are a lot of new faces this year, so we will see out it goes.”
The newest edition of the Blue Dragons aren’t ranked in the NJCAA preseason poll, but were still picked second behind defending Jayhawk West champion Seward County in the preseason coaches’ poll.
BLUE DRAGON BASKETBALL GAME DAY
2011 Quarterback Classic
Thursday – Hutchinson vs. Fort Scott, 7:30 p.m.
Friday – Hutchinson vs. Parkland College, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday – Hutchinson vs. Central Florida, 7:30 p.m.
At: Hutchinson Sports Arena
Live radio: KHUT-FM (102.9); KWBW-AM (1450), 7:20 p.m.
Internet video: Blue Dragon Sports Network, 7:20 p.m.
Live Stats: www.bluedragonsports.com
2011-12 OUTLOOK
Sophomore guard Mark Braden (6-foot-5, Kansas City, Mo.) is the only returning starter last season for the Blue Dragons.
Braden was Hutchinson’s third-leading scorer last season. He averaged 11.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Braden was overall a 51.8 percent shooter, but only 23.7 percent from 3-point range (14 of 59) and 51.9 percent from the foul line. He had a season-high 22 points against Harcum College. Heading into his sophomore season, Braden has worked hard on improving his outside shot.
Sophomore forward Ryan Schultz (6-5, Wichita) is the only other player returning for the Blue Dragons. Schultz played in 28 games last season and averaged 2.0 points and 1.1 rebounds while shooting nearly 53 percent from the field.
Eck will have to depend on some key transfers as well as freshmen if the Blue Dragons want to achieve the lofty goals always set on this program.
One key addition is forward Anthony Thomas (6-7, Winston Salem, N.C.). A transfer from Appalachian State University, Thomas will be looked upon as a scoring option and a defensive presence this season. At ASU, Thomas played in eight games, averaging 1.1 points per game. He played only 56 minutes last season.
Michael Spease (6-0, Arlington, Texas) is a transfer from Tallahassee Community College. Playing at Tallahassee in 2009-10, Spease played in 31 games and averaged 6.7 points per game, shot 37 percent from the field, but 43 percent from 3-point range.
The Blue Dragons are overall more athletic than last season, especially in the paint. Consistent outside shooting, the creation of depth and chemistry and finding out who will be team leaders will be essential for the improvement of this team.
Last year, the Blue Dragons averaged 79.4 points per game, shooting 47.2 percent overall, but only 28 percent from 3-point range. The Blue Dragons were an average rebounding team in 2011. A bigger, longer, more athletic front line should improve that.
QUARTERBACK CLASSIC OPPONENTS
+ Fort Scott – HCC plays Fort Scott for the fourth-straight season and meets the Greyhounds for the eighth time since the start of the 2007 season.
Fort Scott finished 5-26 and in ninth place in the Jayhawk East in 2011. Still, Fort Scott gave the Blue Dragons quite a scare in a 51-39 Region VI opening-round game last March.
The Greyhounds will be a much more decisively a sophomore-dominated group than Hutchinson in the season opener with six sophomores returning.
HCC leads the all-time series with Fort Scott 33-13. The Blue Dragons have won 10 in a row and 23 of the last 24 games with the Greyhounds. The only Fort Scott win in that stretch that dates back to 1972 was a 1999 Jayhawk Shootout victory in Coffeyville.
+ Parkland College – HCC’s Friday night opponent starts the season ranked No. 5 in NJCAA Division II.
Parkland was 22-13 last season, but returns three starters and five lettermen.
Guard Shaquille Lowery is the returning scorer back at 11.0 points and 3.5 assists per game. Cody McCollum averages 9.0 points per game and Jamel Johnson averages 8.0 points, and7.0 rebounds per game.
Friday’s meeting will be the second all-time between Hutchinson and Parkland. HCC defeated Parkland 66-48 in 1979 at the Sports Arena.
+ Central Florida – The Patriots were 25-6 last season and were upended by Tallahassee in the Region VIII Tournament. They return three key members of last year’s team.
Guard Hunter Williams averages 11.0 points and3.5 assists per game. Luis Jacobo averaged 8.5 points per game.
This will be the first meeting ever between Hutchinson and the College of Central Florida.