Nov. 15, 2004

Overview...The 2004-05 edition of the Winston-Salem State University men's basketball team will be much improved over last season's team that went 16-12 (6-10 in the CIAA). If there was an Achilles' heel last season it was consistency. Watching the Rams was often compared to riding a rollercoaster with the season's ups and downs. WSSU started the season with a loss before rattling off seven straight wins. Following another loss in the middle of January, the Rams would again go on a tear, winning five of their next six games and improving their record to 12-3 overall. Sitting at 12-3 on the 10th of January, with wins over the #7 ranked team in the nation (Queens (NC)) and a Tip-Off Classic tournament victory to their credit, the Rams looked to be poised to make a run at the 2004-05 CIAA men's basketball title. However, looks can be deceiving as the latter half of January and the early portions of February proved to be difficult for the Rams as the proverbial wheels fell off and the Rams dropped rapidly through the CIAA standings. The Rams would win only four of their next 13 games and would exit the 2004 CIAA men's basketball tournament in the first round, dropping a 67-58 decision to the Trojans of Virginia State University. Disappointment in Winston-Salem was evident as the team prepared for post-season conditioning, and for the Rams failure is never an option. Head Coach Philip Stitt and Assistant Coach David Brown hit the recruiting trails hard and secured three transfers, two from Campbell University, and one from Rockingham Community College. Joining the team this season for their first year of competition after transferring are Corey Parker, Frank Johnson and Lee Marsh. Parker and Marsh both come to WSSU by way of Division I member Campbell University. Parker, a 6'2 guard from Jacksonville, NC was an All-Conference selection at Campbell and will immediately provide the Rams with depth at the guard position. Marsh is a 6'2" role player who also comes to WSSU by way of Campbell, and was a McDonald's High-School All-America nominee while in high school at Harnett Central (Angier, NC). Joining the Rams via the transfer ranks is perhaps WSSU's best addition for the 2004-05 season in Frank Johnson. The 6'4" guard who hails from Washington, DC comes to WSSU by way of Rockingham Community College where he was the 2004 Region 10 Player of the Year and a Third-Team NJCAA All-America selection. Rockingham Community College's Most Outstanding Player (2004) shot a school-record 45% from three-point range in 2003-04 and is an outstanding defender who looks to immediately step into the spot vacated by Jay Maynard. A better defender than Maynard, he is a pure shooter who can spot up, but also create off of the dribble and will very likely pose matchup problems for other teams in the CIAA. The transfer ranks were not Stitt's only addition this season as WSSU will finally get to see the highly-touted Roy Peake suit up for the first time. The redshirt freshman from Thomasville, NC will likely be the Rams' spark plug this season. His energy is contagious and he looks to be the catalyst the Rams have lacked the past few seasons. The four-year starter in high school led Thomasville High School to a North Carolina 1-A State Championship and was a three-year All-Yadkin Valley 1-A All-Star Selection as well as being named the NC State Tournament MVP and the Western Regional Finals MVP. He will immediately contribute to the Rams and has spent a year as a redshirt to gain experience and focus on his academics. Many in the Winston-Salem community and the CIAA are excited to see what Peake can offer the Rams this season. Rounding out the additions to the WSSU roster is true freshman Darrell Wonge. Wonge, a 6'6" forward from Lakeview, NY is no stranger to championship basketball. He helped to lead Malverne High School to a 22-1 record and a NY State title. The NY State Class B Player of the Year earned a plethora of area, region, and state honors and was the Mule's Scholar Athlete of the Year. He will immediately look to contribute to a Ram lineup that desperately needs size. His lanky 6'6" frame will help WSSU this season compete against some of the bigger teams in the CIAA. WSSU Head Coach Philip Stitt now has the pieces to the championship puzzle, with his only task being the ability to fit the pieces together and bring another CIAA title home to Winston-Salem.

Frontcourt...The frontcourt cupboard is far from bare for the Rams. With the addition of Darrell Wonge to the lineup, 2003-04 CIAA Rookie of the Year Audly Wehner immediately has some help on the blocks this season. Wehner was the most surprising player in the CIAA last season en route to Rookie of the Year and First-Team All-CIAA honors. He was WSSU's leading scorer, averaging 14.6 points per game while shooting a team-high 57.7% from the floor.

2003-04 CIAA Rookie Of The Year Audly Wehner Will Look To Lead The Rams In 2004-05

In addition to his scoring touch, Wehner pulled down 5.1 rebounds per game and dished out 35 assists. His footwork and body control make him one of the most dangerous post players in the CIAA, despite his undersized 6'6" frame. This summer Wehner spent a significant amount of time on developing his mid-range jump shot and will look to step back and shoot jumpers more this season. The six-time CIAA Rookie of the Week last season, Wehner was 15th in the CIAA in scoring and 18th in the CIAA in rebounding while placing 4th in shooting percentage. Stitt and the Rams know that Wehner will only get better as he gains experience, and despite being only a sophomore (redshirt) he will be WSSU's first option in 2004-05. Wonge and Wehner are not WSSU's only options in the frontcourt as the Rams return another trio of forwards. Terris Sifford, Darnell Gregory and Adrian Harrison all return to the Rams lineup in 2004-05 and all three saw substantial playing time last season. The 6'4" Sifford is unquestionably the best athlete on the Ram roster, and has spent significant time this summer working on his shooting touch and ball handling. He played in all 28 games for the Rams last season and turned in an impressive 5.1 points and 4.0 rebounds per game and will be another option for Stitt and Rams off the bench. Gregory, a streaky player, will be looked to to improve his consistency this season. Versus #7 Queens (NC) last season he was the catalyst that drove the Rams to a victory, but all but disappeared for the next five games following that win. He has worked hard in the weight room to put bulk on his lanky 6'5" frame, but will have to seriously work on his aggressiveness this season if he expects to help contribute to the Rams' success. A 3.9 grade point average in the classroom, the Molecular Biology major may very well be the best student on the Ram roster, but he needs to continue to learn the Ram offensive system and improve his shooting touch. He provides size at the small forward position and will contribute this season, the only question is how much. Adrian Harrison may very well be sitting on the verge of a breakout season in 2004-05. He recorded only 110 minutes of playing time in 2003-04 but will give the Rams quality minutes off the bench in 2004-05. The 6'8" forward is the tallest player on the Ram roster and his aggressive nature on the court will undoubtedly provide big dividends to the Rams. He has proven that he can be an offensive threat as he scored a career-high nine points versus the St. Paul's College Tigers last season, and will once again be looked to to contribute off of the bench this season. The Rams also have the services of Norman Carter in the arsenal for the 2004-05 season. Carter, who contributed in a limited role last season, will look to add to his playing time this season. The 6'4" sophomore from Greensboro, NC appeared in nine games last season for WSSU. He has worked to improve his understanding of the complicated WSSU offensive and defensive system and will very likely see significant time off of the bench this season.

Backcourt...The CIAA has long been labeled a guard's league, and in 2004-05 there will be no variation from that moniker. WSSU has a stable of quality guards and Stitt is not afraid to play every single one of them at any given time. The additions of Marsh, Johnson and Parker will provide WSSU with an addition of experienced talent and will push the Rams returning guards to increase their production from last season. WSSU's opening-day starters at the guard position will likely be unchanged when the Rams host Lenoir-Rhyne on November 15th, 2004 as both Rashad McGee and Alleggrie Guinn are All-CIAA candidates. McGee, a 5'10" senior point guard will be the key to the Rams' success in 2004-05. He will have to repeat the production that he turned in last season as he was eighth in the CIAA in assists with 3.67 per game and 4th in the CIAA in assist to turnover ratio (1.65). He was also the Rams most consistent free-throw shooter en route to hitting 81.6% of his shots from the charity stripe. McGee is not a pass-first guard as he will consistently look for his shot and is not afraid to create offensive opportunities off of the dribble. He is a good shooter and converted 44.3% of his shots from the field last season. McGee will have a consistent back up in Roy Peake and Stitt will use Peake to keep Mcgee fresh this season. McGee is joined by Alleggrie Guinn who will look to be the Rams' go-to player in 2004-05. This season is one that is very highly anticipated by fans of Guinn as the junior guard showed flashes of brilliance last season and controlled many a game for the Rams in 2003-04. The 6'3" Guinn is an offensive wizard and possesses uncanny athletic ability. His leaping ability is legendary and helped him collect a 12th place finish in the CIAA in blocks last season, despite being 6'3". A relentless defender, Guinn finished 10th in the CIAA in steals last season. He is just as good on the offensive end of the court as he was 13th in the CIAA in field-goal percentage, hitting 46.7% of his shots, and burying 36.5% of his three-point field goal attempts. He is also a clutch free-throw shooter who converted 81.4% of his shots from the free-throw line last season. The Rams will look to Guinn for instant offense in 2004-05 and most will not be surprised if he leads the Rams in scoring en route to possible All-CIAA First-Team honors. Providing depth on the wing will be Curtis Hines. Hines, a 6'2" forward/guard from Charlotte, NC may very well be the most versatile player on the Ram roster. He is a spot up shooter for the Rams who has proven to be deadly from behind the three-point arch. Often criticized last season for being on the slow side, Hines lost nearly 25 pounds this summer and checks in at less than 200 pounds for the first time in his career. The forward/guard worked on his ability to create off of the dribble and will look to improve upon his freshman campaign that saw him average 4.5 points and 1.1 rebounds per game. Rounding out the guards is sophomore Lowen Wray. Wray, a 5'10" guard from Charlotte, NC must improve on his offensive awareness in 2004-05. Often times last season, with Lowen guiding the offense, it was evident that he was not familiar with, and obviously uncomfortable with, the Ram offensive set.

Rashad McGee Needs To Produce From The Point Guard Slot In 2004-05 In The Guard-Dominated CIAA

With a season under his belt he will more than likely be much more comfortable with the Ram system and will be able to integrate himself into the WSSU scheme on both ends of the floor. A true point guard, Wray is a pass-first, shoot-second player who will make his teammates better and who plays quality defense. He will be asked to fill in at the guard spot off of the bench in 2004-05.

Final Analysis...As was previously mentioned, the Rams will be significantly better in 2004-05. WSSU is a year older and a year more mature. The maturation process will settle down a Ram team that was, as times, erratic in 2003-04. WSSU needs to build upon that maturity in a hurry as failure is simply unacceptable in Winston-Salem, a city that is used to winning CIAA Championships. Stitt and the Rams are under an extreme amount of pressure and success is demanded from fans and alumni alike. With the team that Stitt has assembled, the Rams look much more like a championship-caliber team and harkens back to the days of WSSU's back-to-back CIAA titles and consecutive NCAA tournament appearances. Not to say that the Rams are a lock in 2004-05 as WSSU's schedule can most accurately be described as brutal. WSSU starts the season with three straight exhibition games versus Division I opponents. WSSU will face Radford on November 3rd, 2004 in a contest against the Highlanders who are a favorite to win the Big South Conference title. It only gets more difficult after that game as WSSU will face #3 team in the nation (Division I) as they travel to Chapel Hill, NC to take on the Tarheels of the University of North Carolina. Following what will undoubtedly be a challenge versus the Tarheels, the Rams will play in one of the most anticipated games of the 2004-05 season. The first-ever meeting between the Rams and the cross-town Demon Deacons of Wake Forest University. The two teams will make history on November 11th, 2004 in front of what will undoubtedly be a sold-out Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum Complex (14,665 capacity) in an exhibition contest. Following the history-making game with the Demon Deacs, the Rams will open the season with Lenoir-Rhyne on November 15th, 2004 at the C.E. Gaines Center. That is when the real fun will begin as the Rams look to again return to the limelight of the CIAA Championship title game.