Coach Jim Boone leads the No. 14 Pioneers into the 2009-2010 season

Nationally-Ranked Tusculum Opens Basketball Season Monday, Host Tennessee Wesleyan

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- With the return of four starters from last year’s 20-win campaign, the Tusculum College men’s basketball program will be in quest of a South Atlantic Conference Championship and a return to the NCAA Division II postseason. The Pioneers begin that quest this Monday night when they host Tennessee Wesleyan College for an 8 p.m. contest at Pioneer Arena.

The Pioneers are coming off their best season as a NCAA Division II member as TC posted an impressive 20-11 record, while establishing a school-best for most victories at the D-II level and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in school history, but its first at-large bid.

Tusculum has caught the eye of Division II basketball experts and is nationally ranked in three preseason polls.  The Pioneers enter Monday’s season opener as the 14th-ranked program in the nation according to the NABC/Division II Coaches Preseason Poll.

South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year Kyle Moore is back for his senior campaign after a remarkable season where he achieved numerous firsts for the program.  He became the first player in school history to garner SAC Player of the Year honors, while also becoming the first Pioneer to earn All-America recognition at the D-II level.

The Pioneers are led by veteran coach Jim Boone, who will be entering his 24th season as a head coach at the NCAA Division I or II levels.  Boone has led two teams to the Division II Final Four and seven to the NCAA Tournament in his storied career.  Coach Boone has nearly recorded 400 career victories (381), including a .708 winning percentage and an average of over 20 wins per year at the Division II level.

Tusculum also returns six of its top eight players from last year’s club that advanced to the championship game of the South Atlantic Conference Tournament.

Moore leads the returning cast as he averaged 21.1 points per game last season.  The two-time All-SAC performer was the epitome of consistency last year, scoring 18 or more points on 25 occasions, 25 or more 10 times, and over 29 markers on five occasions - while leading the SAC in points per game and three point field goals made per game (3.26).  The Preseason All-SAC First Team honoree established a pair of SAC single-season marks with 101 three-point field goals made and 203 free throws made (also a TC season record).

Tusculum also returns its blue collar, do-it-all center, in senior Josh Bennett.  The 6-7, 240-pound post player was named to the SAC All-Tournament Team last year, averaging 12.6 over the Pioneers’ last five games, and leading TC in rebounding (7.2 rpg) and field goal percentage (.520).  Bennett, finished the season among the league’s leaders in scoring (10.1 ppg/23rd in SAC), rebounding (7.2 rpg/3rd in SAC), and field goal percentage (.520/12th in SAC).  He was named to this year’s Preseason All-Conference Second Team.

Junior forward Rob Troutman returns to the starting line-up for the Pioneers.  The 2008 SAC All-Freshman Team honoree averaged 9.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, while logging 33.19 minutes per contest, which was the third-best average in the conference.

Wes Taylor, a 6-6 senior forward, is back after playing the second half of the season a year ago.  After missing the first two months of the 2008-09 campaign with an injury, he appeared in the line-up and sparked the Pioneers to a 12-5 record that included a strong postseason charge.  During that stretch, Taylor averaged nearly four points and three rebounds per contest.

The Pioneers also return senior guard Jimmy Boone and sophomore center Tommy Klempin, as both played integral roles to Tusculum’s success. 

Boone, the son of the TC head coach, was named the SAC Player of the Week last season, after averaging 16.7 points per game and shooting 67 percent from three-point territory (12-18).  Boone followed his Player of the Week honors with a career high 24 points at Mt. Olive College in a 64-51 win.  For the season, Boone posted 6.1 points per game and shot 83 percent from the free throw line, while playing in 30 of the teams 31 games. 

Klempin, a 6-10 center, started 16 games as a defensive specialist, grabbing a career highs in rebounds (5) vs. nationally-ranked and NCAA Tournament participant Catawba.

Four more players also return for the Pioneers including sophomore Justin Steigerwald (Cincinnati, Ohio) and redshirt freshmen Dionte Grey (Johnson City, Tenn.), Neven Raspudic (Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina) and Anton Tuz (Mykolair, Ukraine).

Tusculum will have six newcomers looking to make an impact on the program.  Nick Gagel, a 6-0, 170-pound guard, joins the Pioneers from NCAA Division I Florida Atlantic University.  The Louisville, Ky. native played in 18 games for the Owls last season.  During his prep career at Jeffersontown High School, Gagel established school records with 210 three-point field goals, while shooting 49 percent from beyond the arc.  He posted 1,277 points with the Chargers and averaged 15.8 points, 4.1 assists and three rebounds per game, while being named the 2008 Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches (KABC) Region 7 Player of the Year and the Region 7 Tournament Most Valuable Player.

Ryan Slusher, a 6-5, 170-pound guard from Knoxville, Tenn., averaged 18.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game last season at Grace Christian Academy.  Slusher led the Rams to the Class A State Tournament, where he scored 18 points in the quarterfinals.  The First Team All-State honoree scored 2,099 points in his prep career.

Kevin Gray will also be looking to contribute at the guard position.  Gray, a 6-1, 175-pound sophomore from Memphis, Tenn., comes to Tusculum from the Memphis University School where he was a three-year lettermen and a member of the City All-Star Team.
 
JD Miller, a 6-8, 240-pound post player from Versailles, Ky., comes to TC after playing his final two prep seasons at Woodford County High School.  In his final season with the Yellow Jackets, Miller averaged 12.5 points and seven rebounds per game. He also posted 1.7 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.6 blocks per outing. Miller helped anchor the No. 27 scoring defense in Kentucky as Woodford County allowed just 44.7 points per game.  Miller caught the attention of many colleges and universities last summer as he shined for the Charlotte Court AAU basketball team where he led his team with 12.2 points and 6.7 boards per contest.

Freshmen Eran Buchnick and David Arnold also join the Tusculum program this season.  Buchnick brings a strong 6-7, 220-pound frame to the post from Tzurit, Israel, while Arnold (Memphis, Tenn.) earned All-Conference honors in his senior campaign at Bolton High School.

In 2008-09, Tusculum led the South Atlantic Conference in several statistical categories, including scoring defense (63.8 ppg), free throw percentage (.759 - school record), three-point field goal percentage (.397), and assist to turnover ratio (1.08).

The Pioneers will take on a very challenging schedule in 2009-10, with nine games against teams that played in the NCAA Tournament, including a rematch against NCAA Tournament opponent Augusta State University on Dec. 12.  Augusta State edged Tusculum 62-60, before advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight.

Tusculum will also compete in the John L. Griffin Classic in Highland Heights, Ky. (Nov. 20-21) next weekend, featuring NCAA Tournament participants, Northern Kentucky University (host) and Christian Brothers University, along with Lake Erie College.  The following week, the Pioneers travel to Carson-Newman College and compete in the Eagle Classic as they will play Georgia College and State University (NCAA Participant) and North Georgia College & State University.  Prior to Christmas, the Pioneers will visit Louisville, Ky. and nationally-ranked Bellarmine University from the Great Lakes Valley Conference.  Rounding out games vs. NCAA Tournament teams, will be SAC contests with Catawba College and Lenoir-Rhyne.

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