Chapman University
2007-08 Men's Basketball
Season Preview

Over the past two years, Chapman University head coach Mike Bokosky has nearly perfected the recipe for a 20-win season, despite turning over almost his entire roster in between. However, the 2007-08 team will try to accomplish the feat and defend back-to-back West Region Independent Tournament titles after graduating the two of the top-three scorers in Panthers' Division III history.

Then again, Bokosky's teams have never taken the same road twice, yet still ended up in the same place each year for the past eight years: knocking on the door of an NCAA playoff berth.

"There's a lot of teaching involved," said Bokosky, who is enters the season just eight victories away from surpassing Chapman legend Ralph Welch to become the school's all-time winningest basketball coach. "We've been spoiled with great players in the past and this group will grow up and be great, too. It's just so many inexperienced guys at one time."

This season the Panthers will rely on the senior guards Miguel Bennett and Ramon Mendoza to carry the leadership load on the court and hope that the experience gained by a trio of freshman (Kyle Wood, Jared Kaiser and Dan Aguilar) last year has prepared to make them key contributors in the present.

"A guy like Aguilar, last year, we asked to come in off the bench for 8-10 minutes a game," said Bokosky, "now we're asking him to contribute a lot more. Same with (Sean) Vreeburg. Same with (Brandt) Bangs."

One thing the Panthers have more of this year than in the past is size down low with a six-pack of players standing 6-foot-5 or taller. That core is led by guard Bennett and center Kaiser, who both have the ability to score and rebound. Bennett averaged 10.9 points and 7.7 rebounds in his junior year at Chapman and Kaiser scored 7.2 points and grabbed 5.6 rebounds as a rookie. The duo also combined to block 30 shots.

"We have some size and some good athletes down there," said Bokosky. "We'll utilize them a lot more this season."

Chapman's perimiter play - it's signature under Bokosky - will look very different with the loss of the Panthers' top two scorers Patrick Carney and Josh Flynn-Brown, who accounted for 113 three-pointers in 2006-07. Sophomore guards Wood and Aguilar may get more looks, while sixth-man Sean Vreeburg ranked third on the team with 24 three-pointers and a 35.8 percentage from beyond the arc. Also, freshman guard Griffin Ramme nailed a trio of three-pointers as a starter in the Panthers' exhibition game against the Afghanistan National Team.

"We're very young and inexperienced on the perimiter," said Bokosky. "This group is still learning how to play college ball and sustaining defense."

The point will be shared once again by the senior Mendoza and Wood. Mendoza was the team's top playmaker last season with 64 assists, but Wood added 25 in his debut season.

Last season the Panthers went 21-5; their best overall winning percentage under Bokosky. And after back-to-back 20-win seasons, fans have come to expect the same results no matter the players on the court. One thing's for certain as Bokosky approaches the all-time Chapman wins record with a group of inexperienced players: he's a teacher and the courtside professor is making an impression.