2011-2012 Men's Basketball Preview
Head coach Steve Minton (Heidelberg, '86) has high expectations for his 12th season at Geneseo as the Blue Knights return four starters and his top eight scorers from last season's squad that finished 11-14.
Senior Mike Hoy (Batavia) led the way last year with 12.6 points per game, including 32-98 from the arc for a .327 clip and some of his playing time will shift from shooting to point guard with the graduations of Mike Baker and Nate Cornish.
Sophomores Jordan Jones (Rochester/McQuaid) and Connor Fedge (Bellport) join Hoy in the backcourt to start the season. Jones exploded on the scene in 2010-11 by scoring 11.1 points per game in an injury-plagued 17-game season, including 34 and 26-point efforts versus eventual SUNYAC champion Buffalo State, while Fedge averaged six points in 13 minutes per outing off the bench.
Junior Ryan Riefenhauser (Dobbs Ferry) and senior Abe Miller (Buffalo/City Honors) return to the starting five at the post position for the Blue Knights. Riefenhauser combined 9.5 points and a team-high 7.2 rebounds last year, while Miller scored 8.7 points with 5.9 boards.
Minton is especially encouraged by two of his newcomers in first years Gordon Lyons (Buffalo/Canisius) and James McKenna (Huntington/St. Anthony's). At 6-5, Lyons is an exceptional rebounder and defender and was a second team All-Western New York pick, while the 6-6 McKenna can post, rebound and has three-point shooting range as a 2011 first team Catholic High School Athletic Association choice.
Senior Ethan Estabrooks (Cropseyville/Tamarac), sophomore Thomas Decker (White Plains/Archbishop Stepinac) and junior Marcus Hoy (Batavia) should see ample playing time off the bench for the Blue Knights. Estabrooks was a team-best 28-79 (.354) from the three-point line, Decker had a 1.5 assist/turnover ratio in 17 minutes per game at the point last year and Hoy will be a steady presence at the point in the second semester upon his return from an academic study abroad program.
Senior forward John Drazan (Delmar/Bethlehem), who averaged 5.7 points and 2.2 caroms, sophomore forward Matt Curry (Greenlawn/Harborfields), who collected 5.1 points per game before missing the final 14 games due to injury, and first year Devon Anderson (Plattsburgh/Beekmantown), an athletic 6-6 post player, provide depth in the frontcourt.
Sharpshooting first year Andy Drescher (Syracuse/Christian Brothers Academy) will see playing time in the backcourt, while sophomores Kevin Minchin (Elmira/Elmira Notre Dame) and Sean Desimone (Queens/Long Island Lutheran) complete the backcourt roster.
Geneseo begins their season by hosting Queens College in an exhibition game on Saturday, November 5. The regular season begins at Medaille on Tuesday, November 15, with the regular season home opener coming on Tuesday, December 6 versus Cortland.