Gustie Men optimistic about the prospects of the 2009-10 season as they return three starters from last season’s team and will rely on contributions from first-year players

The Men’s Basketball team has an exciting season ahead of it with the graduation of just a few seniors and the addition of a few first-year players to add to the strength of the team. In a preseason coaches’ poll, Gustavus was ranked fourth in the MIAC, just below Carleton.

Last season the Gusties finished 13-14 overall and were in sixth place in the MIAC standings with a conference record of 11-9. They fell in the semifinal round of the MIAC Post-Season Tournament to St. Thomas. “St. Thomas is going to be very strong again this year and will be the favorite and our biggest threat,” Senior wing Jessie Van Sickle said.

The Gusties are set to start off their official season on Nov. 24 at Buena Vista University. “We have struggled in the past with our first game. It is our focus to make sure that is fixed,” Junior guard Dan Schmidtknecht said.

Conference play for the Gusties will not begin until Dec. 2, 2009, when the Gusties face Carleton. The beginning of the season should prove quite the challenge, as the Gusties face some of their toughest opponents at the beginning.

In an exhibition game earlier this month against Southwest Minnesota State, the Gustie men lost 66-84 but had a much stronger first half with the score 32-32 at halftime. Despite the loss, Van Sickle and Senior post Sam Paulson each had strong games and led the team in scoring. “We improved a lot from the Wartburg scrimmage to the SMSU game, which was very good to see. It shows that our hard work in practice has paid off,” Van Sickle said.

Van Sickle was named to the All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference squad last season, while Paulson and Senior post Ryan McPartland received honorable mentions. The return of these strong players will help to establish a strong base for the Gusties to work from this season. “Fans should expect to have a fun team to watch that plays as hard as it can every night out. We will try to get up and down the floor and frustrate our opponents on defense,” Van Sickle said.

Last season, Van Sickle averaged 10.4 points per game and led the league in three-point percentage, with 48.6 percent. McPartland and Paulson also each averaged over ten points per game.

Indeed, the Gusties hope to rally around last season’s success and to build off of their returning squad. “Our team’s goal is to win a National Championship. Setting a goal any lower than that for this group of guys would be ineffective,” Schmidtknecht said.