2022-23 CU Men's Basketball Preview

Men's Basketball | 11/7/2022 11:30:00 AM

Four of five starters return for the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team as the Golden Knights look to vie for one of the six conference postseason positions when the 2022-23 season begins this week.

Guided by ninth-year head coach Jeff Gorski and first-year assistant John Grayson, the Green and Gold return 14 players from last year's roster and welcome two newcomers, with the season beginning on Tuesday at Plattsburgh State.

Two of the team's top three scorers are back in seniors Blake Gearhart and Ryan Miles-Ferguson. Gearhart led Clarkson in scoring (14.3 points per game), assists (3.2 apg), and steals (1.4 spg) while playing 30 minutes per contest. Gearhart was especially tough from inside the 3-point arc, where he shot 58.3%, and with the ball in his hands as a distributor, as his heady decision-making had him fifth in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.2). Back at Clarkson after a year away during the pandemic-shortened season, Miles-Ferguson barely missed a beat on offense, as he averaged 12.1 points per game while also leading the team with 5.9 rebounds per contest. Miles-Ferguson can score in bunches, as his five 20-point games attest.

Like Miles-Ferguson, senior Teddy Fravel also spent a year away from school during the pandemic, but returned as a force in the middle for the Golden Knights, averaging 6.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks per game in just 18 minutes per contest, shooting 50.7% from the floor. Classmate Dante Joefield took hold of the starting point guard duties last year and contributed as a pass-first guard with solid rebounding ability and excellent defense. Senior Nick Budesheim also saw time in 16 games and had more assists per minute than any player on the team.

The junior class will be heading into their second full seasons after an abbreviated first year saw the Knights play just nine games. Frankie Rainville and Garrett Delaney saw the most time last season, with Rainville contributing as a back-up point guard and Delaney as a wing. Rainville had the best 3-point field goal percentage on the team at .356 (16-for-45) and Delaney was the team's steadiest scorer off the bench, averaging 5.3 points per game in less than 13 minutes per contest. Malachi Harris should see more minutes this season after joining the team mid-semester last year while Murphy might find his way into the forward rotation.

Clarkson's sophomore class will see one player likely ascend to the starting lineup in the way of shooter Jack Dalgety. The second-year collegian averaged 4.9 points per game in roughly 15 minutes per contest, but the final four games of the year saw him score just under 10 points per contest. Matteo Sinon will be part of Clarkson's three-man point guard rotation, while both Sean Enelamah and Finn Cork will play behind Fravel at forward. Matthew Parent missed most of 2021-22 due to injury and is another perimeter shooter for Coach Gorski to consider off the bench.

The Knights have just two newcomers to the team, though one of them is playing his fourth year. Graduate student Kreem George joins the team from SUNY Fredonia, where he averaged 6.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game as a senior, starting 15 times in 24 games and averaging 19 minutes per game. Freshman Aydin Kocak will add to the team's depth at forward and shows plenty of promise from both the perimeter and the paint.

Print Friendly Version