Men's Basketball
For the first time in three years, the William Jewell men’s basketball team will be returning starters to the lineup instead of having to worry about replacing graduated seniors. The Cardinals will return four starters from last year’s squad, and that has Coach Larry Holley excited about the team in 2008-09.
“We have a good nucleus of players back this year,” said head coach Holley. “If you couple that with our strong recruiting class, I think we have the opportunity to improve on last year’s season.”
The point guard spot could be a source of strength again this season for the Cardinals. Senior is back after leading the team with 112 assists last season and earning All-Conference Honorable Mention honors. Jamestown was also voted by his teammates as the team’s Most Valuable Player last season. Adam Johnson (5’10” sophomore transfer from Perth, Australia) also will have a chance to run the offense this season for Jewell.
At the shooting guard spot this season, the Cardinals will be counting on junior (6’3” from Harrisburg, Mo.) Fisher finished the season with a team high 460 points good for 13.9 points per game, in addition to dishing out 87 assists and tallying 102 rebounds. He was also named to the All-Conference second team. Junior Jacques Wilson, who transferred to Jewell from Southern Utah last season, will also be back to provide some depth at the guard position.
The small forward position could be another area of strength this season. (6’3” senior from Blue Springs, Mo.) is back after leading the Cards with 59 steals for the 2007-08 season. He also finished second on the team in minutes played with 995 and averaged 14.0 points per game. Mandacina was named to the All-Conference third team. Sophomore Jonathan Benson (6’4” from Kansas City, Mo.) will vie for playing time at small forward.
Leading the charge at the power forward slot for the Cards this year will be sophomore (6’6” forward from Springfield, Mo.). In 29 games played last season, Bernskoetter had 16 blocked shots and grabbed 77 rebounds.
Center will be a position of change for this year. “We lost all three centers to graduation from last year’s team,” said Holley. “It looks like there will be minutes to be had at that position.” Gone from last year are Phil Cantwell and Andrew Poston, along with Ryan Hintz, who led the team in blocks with 38. Players competing to fill those positions are (6’9” transfer from Regis University) and sophomore (6’8” forward/center from Liberty, Mo.).
The Cardinals will also look a little different on the sidelines this season. Assistant coach Kyle Taylor accepted a full-time assistant coaching job at Minnesota State University Moorhead. Assistant coach Tim Sutton, who took a year off to work with a seventh-grade travel team, will be back assisting with the varsity.
The coaching staff is again headed by Larry Holley, now in his 30th year at his alma mater. New assistant coach John Davenport comes to William Jewell after playing for coach Holley and graduating in 2007. Davenport will be the head coach of the junior varsity program. Kyle Lower is back for his third year and will assist with both the varsity and junior varsity programs. Also added in the mix as a volunteer assistant is Liberty, Mo., native Nick Robinson. Robinson led the Blue Jays to their first-ever state championship in 1998 and went on to play and coach at Stanford University.
The Cardinals will make a jump to NAIA Division I beginning this season. “The great thing about moving to Division I is that if we qualify for the national tournament we will be able to play in front of our home fans,” said Holley. “The national tournament will be held right here in Kansas City at Municipal Auditorium, and the HAAC will send the top three teams to the National Tournament.”
Women's Basketball
The William Jewell women’s basketball team is gearing up for another run at the National Tournament. The Cardinals were eliminated in the second round from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics II National Tournament last March in a hard-fought, double overtime contest against Minot State that ended with a 94-93 loss for Jewell.
“That was a tough loss but we are excited for the season ahead,” said head coach Jill Cress, who enters her 13th season as coach at Jewell. “We have a very strong nucleus of players back, including some seniors who have been starters since their first year. With our recruiting class I am excited to see how all of those pieces fit together.”
The Cardinals finished the 2007-08 season at 23-10 and were ranked in the NAIA top 25 for most of the season. Both returning and new players will help contribute to the success of the Cardinals. (5’5” junior guard from Nevada, Mo.) achieved Academic All-American, Honorable Mention All-American, and was named first team All-Conference in the HAAC. (5’4” sophomore from Gardner, Kan.) was also named as an Honorable Mention All-American and first team All-HAAC as the Cardinals point guard last year. Erica Ferguson (5’11” junior forward from Jefferson City, Mo.) returns after earning third team All-HAAC honors. Senior Amber Parker, who was named as an Academic All-American and also as an Honorable Mention All-Conference, will be back providing intensity and leadership to the Cards.
Other returning contributors are seniors; junior ; and sophomores . New faces to the team this year include Brandi Roberts (6’1” forward from Cairo, Mo.); Katie Bond (5’10” transfer from Drury University); Jackie Discher (5’6” guard from North Kansas City, Mo.); and Katy Colby (5’5” guard from Osceola, MO).
“This is by far the deepest team I have ever had,” said Cress. “We have a lot of options and we will continue to work hard and play the up-tempo game that our program has been known for.”
Like the men, the women’s team will be making the jump to NAIA Division I. The Cardinals have qualified for the NAIA National Tournament in each of the last three years. If they qualify this year, they will make a trip to Jackson, Tenn.
