Oct. 26, 2009
RUSTON, La. -
Last year, the Bulldogs were "Laying the Foundation." This season, Louisiana Tech returns most of the contributors from a 15-win team which is why "The Time is Now" is an appropriate theme for this year's squad.
Tech returns nine and loses just two from a team that was the fourth-most improved in school history going from six to 15 wins.
"With this being our (coaching staff) third year, with the discipline we've put in place, the foundation we've laid, with the experienced players and the new players we've brought in there is a sense of urgency with this program," head coach Kerry Rupp said. "We want to make sure we take this thing to the next level."
The next level means competing for the Western Athletic Conference title and earning a trip to postseason play for the first time since an NIT birth in 2006.
"We want to go from good to great. We have to have focus and intensity to bring every single night. We have to make sure that we hold ourselves responsible to bring our career-best effort in regards to everything. We have to up the anti on ourselves, the time is now."
Guard
Kyle Gibson returns for his senior season and instead of playing point guard, the preseason All-WAC second teamer will play a more comfortable roll at the three position. Last season, Gibson averaged 16.1 points per game and led the conference in three-point percentage (45 percent) while surpassing the 1,000 point mark. The Los Angeles, Calif. native was named second-team All-WAC and earned the reputation as a prolific shooter.
"When I first got here, one of the first guys that I addressed was Kyle Gibson and I could not have been more excited about having Kyle," Rupp said. "I knew about him in high school so he was a player coming in that I knew about and I was excited to coach him. It's been a pleasure and a great opportunity to do that."
Junior transfer DeAndre Brown will be the one to feed the ball to Gibson. The 5-11 Fort Worth, Texas native played point guard for Navarro College last season and was named the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Junior College Player of the Year after averaging 17.5 points per game as a sophomore.
Jamel Guyton averaged 11.8 points per game last season while starting 31-of-32 games. The 6-3 shooting guard will look to be a leader as one of the four seniors on the squad.
Sophomore Yonas Berhe saw action in 29 games last season and will provide depth at the point guard position.
Sophomores Anson Bartlett and Brandon Gibson also return. Gibson averaged 2.5 points last season and scored a career-high 10 points twice. Bartlett saw action in six games scoring two points three separate times.
Freshmen Kaiser Stegall and Justin Rake join the squad. Stegall is a 6-3 wing from Lanecaster, Texas. Rake is a 6-3 guard from Mandeville, La. who averaged 22 points and shot 49 percent from the field and earned district MVP honors.
Forward/Center
After being named to the WAC All-Newcomer and All-Defensive team last season, big things are expected from Magnum Rolle in his senior season. The 6-11 Freeport, Bahamas native averaged 12.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game for Tech after transferring from LSU. He is one of four seniors who have been at LA Tech during the building of this program and one that Rupp likes to call "core guys."
"To have the ability of a guy like Magnum Rolle who left LSU and came to me and without ever having taken a visit to campus looked at me in the eyes and said "Coach I believe in you, I want to come here and try to build something here with you." Those guys are special to be because they came here. It's been two long, hard years to establish the right way, which to me is the only way, and those guys have been great."
David Jackson is also one of the "core guys." The 6-8 senior averaged 5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game for the Bulldogs after transferring from Mesa Community College.
Olu Ashaolu is listed as a guard, but the redshirt sophomore is listed at 6-7 and is a tremendous athlete. He averaged 5.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game last season and is slated to start at the power forward position.
Another standout athlete is 6-4 freshman Darius Redding. The Tallahassee, Fla. native averaged 19 points, eight rebounds and four assists at Godby High School.
"Darius Redding is very athletic and is gong to be a tremendous player," Rupp said. "Right now he's trying to get adjusted to college life both on and off the court. I want to surround everyman when they come in with a program in place for them to be successful."
Schedule
As has been the custom since Rupp took over has head coach in 2007, the Bulldogs' schedule will consist of an in-season tournament and in-state opponents. Of the teams Tech will face, five made postseason appearances last season.
Tech opens the season with a home exhibition against Lincoln (Mo.) on Nov. 8 and then has just one home game before Thanksgiving. After the season opener at UT-Pan American on Nov. 14, the Bulldogs head to the Basketball Travelers Tournament in Albuquerque, N.M. to face Miami University, New Mexico ('08 NIT) and Nicholls State on Nov. 20-22.
Including Nicholls State, Tech will face five Louisiana schools. Last season, Tech had a record of 5-1 against in-state teams. They play at ULM on Dec. 2, host Northwestern State on Dec. 5, play at Centenary on Dec. 12 and host McNeese State on Dec. 19. All-time Rupp is 8-1 against teams in Louisiana.
Along with the trip to "The Pit" at New Mexico, Tech's other tough road game will come on Dec. 9 at Arizona against the Wildcats, an NCAA Sweet 16 opponent a season ago. Tech also plays at Houston for the final contest before conference play. The Cougars were 21-12 and played in the College Basketball Invitational last season.
Tech will have four games on the ESPN family of networks in conference play including a matchup on Feb. 17 on ESPN2 at Utah State. Picked fifth and sixth in the preseason WAC polls, by the coaches and media polls respectively, the Bulldogs look to surpass expectations.
"I think the WAC is very balanced and there is a core group of players coming back," Rupp said. "I am excited about our guys because I finally have a group who understand how hard we want to compete, do things on and off the court and how we want to handle our business at all times and be a team who has class and integrity."
The conference season ends once again in Reno, Nev. with the WAC Tournament. Last season, Tech's season ended in the semifinals with a narrow nine point loss to Nevada. But with returning 83 percent of the scoring, 92 percent of rebounds and 79 percent of assists from last season, Rupp has put together a team ready for a breakout season and will do it with the values that he has instilled in the program.
"I look at myself as the captain of everybody's individual ship," Rupp said. "That ship is going to go off course and as a head coach I have to make sure that I am there everyday to put it back on course academically, in regards to their strength and conditioning, in regards to their development and in regards to how they act."
