The idea being, the Lightning want to be playing their best basketball at the end of the season, when competition matters most.
Last season, Goldey-Beacom was one win away from its first-ever Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference championship and NCAA Tournament berth when the Lightning fell to Felician in the conference finals, 84-79. According to Hammond, the sting of that loss still lingers in the players’ minds.
“I think the disappointment of losing in the finals last season really motivated the guys to work hard during the summer and into the preseason,” Hammond said. “They know that if we want to get back there, we have to set the tone early. Our upperclassmen have to show the new members the hard work it takes to be successful. I have been very proud of our upperclassmen thus far.”
Among those upperclassmen are nine seniors and 12 returning players from the 2009-10 CACC runner-up team, leading Hammond to believe that a major strength of this team will be its experience.
“We have a team that understands what it takes to be successful,” Hammond said.
Three seniors in particular will be looked upon to lead the team this year: forward Terrence Parkes, point guard Azeez “Manny” Ellegood and guard/forward Sam McDuffie.
Parkes, a second-year transfer from Division I Delaware State, was All-CACC 2nd Team last season and led the team in rebounds with 8.2 per-game. His 432 points last season ranks fifth on the school’s all-time single-season record list and his 230 rebounds ranks second. The 6-foot-6 inch forward also made a team-high 49 three-point field goals last year, which ranks sixth in school history.
“Terrence is a guy that makes everyone around him better,” Hammond said. “He is a leader who loves the game and brings that passion to the gym every day. He has excellent perimeter skills for his size and was one of the top rebounders in the conference last year. I want to make sure that we put him in a position to grow from last season.”
Ellegood, in his fourth year running the point, is coming off a very impressive season shooting the basketball. The speedy guard shot .506 from the field, .490 from three-point land and .827 from the free-throw line in 2009-10.
For his career, Ellegood enters this season ranked in the top-10 in the school’s all-time record lists in three categories. He is seventh in points (771), third in assists (230) and second in three-point field goals (113).
“Manny is one of the fastest guards I have seen at this level,” Hammond said. “He can control the game and has really embraced our system. Going into his junior season, we talked about how he needed to improve his jump-shot. Last season, he owned one of the best three-point percentages in the region. He’s a quiet guy who leads by example.”
McDuffie, who is fifth on the school’s all-time scoring list and just 52 points away from reaching the 1,000-point milestone, is back for his senior season after a stellar junior year. He comes into the 2010-11 season also third on the school’s career rebounding list (398), seventh in assists (144), and third in blocks (50).
An All-CACC honorable mention selection last year, McDuffie played some of his best basketball down the stretch in February for the Lightning. He was honored at the team’s banquet dinner last Spring with the Team Offensive Most Valuable Player.
“Sam has expanded his game every year he has been here. He is one of our best offensive and defensive players,” Hammond said. “He can score in so many ways. His versatility will be extremely important to our team.”
Hammond also expects significant contributions from role players such as senior guards Jon Crawford, Darnell Cephas and Ido Yehuda, junior forward Phillip Brooks and sophomore forward Lawrence Livingston.
Crawford, who played in all 29 games last year for about 13 minutes per-game, averaged 2.9 points and 1.1 rebounds. He had perhaps the best performance of his career at GBC in the Lightning’s thrilling, 84-82 CACC semifinal win over Bloomfield. There, he scored 11 points and handed out four assists, but it was his several outstanding hustle plays off the bench that helped lift the Lightning over Bloomfield and into the CACC finals.
“Jon had a breakout season for us last year,” Hammond said. “His play in last year’s semifinal was a huge reason we made it to the conference finals. He’s a great kid, and we are expecting great things from him.”
Cephas, who played a little over 10 minutes per-game last season, averaged 2.6 points and 1.4 rebounds per-contest. According to Hammond, he will be a key part to the team this year.
“Darnell is an explosive player who can really score,” Hammond said. “He has worked hard to become a solid defender, and he has been a leader so far in practice. We will need Darnell to have a breakout senior season if we want to be successful.”
Phillip Brooks, a reserve player who saw a little over five minutes of action a game in 20 games last season, should also see a bigger role in 2010-11.
“Phillip is a talented player,” Hammond said. “He can really shoot well for his size and he can play above the rim. I need to do a good job making sure we put him in positions where he can be successful.”
Livingston, a 6-foot-7 forward and defensive standout out of Cesar Rodney High School in Dover, Del., should also see increased playing time this upcoming season.
“Lawrence came back from summer much stronger,” Hammond said. “His dedication to the weight room will really help in his development.”
Yehuda, who sat out all of 2009-10 with injury and battled injuries the majority of the year in 2008-09, is finally at full-speed, according to Hammond.
“Ido is coming off back-to-back injury-plagued seasons, but he is 100-percent healthy now, and we are looking forward to him getting back into playing shape,” Hammond said.
Hammond has added several new players to the roster including UMBC transfer Richard Flemming and incoming freshmen Brandon Carroll, Kyle Steinbergin and A.J. Picard. Carroll and Steinbergin will both redshirt this season.
Flemming, who averaged 6.7 ppg and 4.5 rpg in 2008-09 for the Retrievers, has come to Goldey-Beacom to take graduate courses in economics while playing out his final two remaining years of basketball eligibility.
“Rich is extremely athletic and plays above the rim,” Hammond said. “I believe he will be a great addition for us to help compliment Terrence, Phillip and Lawrence. I really think that our frontcourt will be an area of strength for us this upcoming season. With the addition of Rich, we are definitely solid there.”
The eighth-year coach also thinks he’s added a potent offensive threat in Picard, a prolific scorer out of Souderton High School in Pennsylvania.
“Many people think that he’s only a great shooter,” Hammond said. “But so far in practice he has really shown that he has the ability to get to the basket. We are looking forward to having a weapon like A.J. for the next four years.”
A four-year assistant coach under the NCAA’s coaching wins leader Herb Magee, Hammond stresses playing good, fundamental defense, and insists that is an area where his team needs improvement. Last year, the Lightning were fifth in the conference in scoring defense, allowing 70.2 points per-game.
“We need to get better defensively,” Hammond said. “Last season we had games where we played great defense, and then we had some where I thought we were not so great. We’re looking for consistency, more than anything. I want us to be one of the top defensive teams in the region.”
The Lightning said goodbye to a very talented group of seniors last year in Kyle White, Troy Esquilin and Anthony Parham. Last season, White earned First-Team All CACC and became the fastest GBC player to reach 1,000 career points when he surpassed the milestone on senior day of just his second, but final season with the Lightning. It was White who also hit the game-winning shot with one second left in the CACC semifinals to send Goldey-Beacom to its first-ever CACC championship game.
“Losing guys like Kyle, Troy and Anthony is very difficult,” Hammond said. There are not many players who achieved what Kyle did individually last season. It will be very difficult to replace those guys, and we are really going to miss them. But I feel like this year’s group is ready for that challenge. We have some big shoes to fill, but I think that our guys are ready to step up.”
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