2009-10
With only three returning letterwinners who bring a combined four years of Division II college experience, it might be easy to nay-say the Alaska Anchorage men’s basketball team’s chances in 2009-10.
Of course, that wouldn’t take into account the high-level talent of those returners, or the impressive resumes of the nine Seawolf newcomers, or the proven winning system of head coach
As such, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference coaches paid a bit of respect to the Seawolves by picking them to finish fourth in the nine-team league in their annual preseason poll. UAA received 53 points in the balloting, slightly behind 3rd-place Central Washington (59) and co-favorites Seattle Pacific (76) and
“It’s a new team, and we’ll need to gel quickly,” said Osborne, who is 93-57 in his first five seasons at the helm. “Obviously our most experience is in the backcourt, and I’m comfortable that those veterans can ease the newcomers into our system. We are inexperienced in the frontcourt, though, and it’s up to our coaching staff to get them ready to battle at a championship level.”
Already battle-tested in the Seawolf lineup, junior guards Kevin White and Brandon Walker are the proven commodities after making a combined 47 starts in 2008-09.
White, one of four Australians on the team, is the only player remaining from UAA’s 2008 Final Four squad. The 6-4 combo guard had a breakout season as a sophomore last year, averaging 8.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists and shooting .435 (60-138) from three-point range.
Kevin White’s brother, Steve, is the third letterwinner back from last season, having averaged 2.3 points (.511 FG) and 1.3 assists in 27 appearances as a true freshman. At 6-0, Steve is more of a pure point guard than his older brother.
UAA also returns one redshirt, and an important one at that. Junior forward Casey Robinson was the Seawolves’ leading scorer (15.0 ppg) after three games last season, but his campaign was cut short in early November by a knee injury. A deadly three-point and free-throw shooter, Robinson was the second-leading scorer at the 2008 NJCAA national tournament, playing for
“We have three letterwinners back, but I really think of it as four,” Osborne said about Robinson, a 6-6 forward.
Five players join the Seawolf backcourt for the first time, including junior-college transfers Donnie Lao and Drew Robinson – both
A natural point guard who can play either backcourt position, Lao brings good size at 6-3, 180 pounds. He averaged 10.8 points and 3.7 assists as a sophomore at
Drew Robinson, meanwhile, comes to UAA from
Three true freshman hope to crack the guard rotation, led by 6-1, 200-pound Bryce Arnott, who played for his native
Former Alaska prep stars Jesse Blandford (Nome) and Ryan Rock (Point Hope) will look to make a splash as well.
In the frontcourt, the Seawolves appear to be slightly short on depth, but may be able to offset that with superior talent.
At the small forward position, Casey Robinson is joined by JC transfer Nick Pacitti, who brings similar size at 6-6, 225 pounds. After picking up basketball in his early 20s, the
At 6-9, 265 pounds, center Malcolm Campbell possesses both girth and unlimited, raw talent to the court. The transfer from Div. I
The tallest Seawolf this year will be 6-10, 235-pound Liam Gibcus, another Aussie. Osborne is excited about having Gibcus for the next four years, citing both his competitiveness and his knack for understanding the game.
Forward Aaron Stevens join the Seawolves as a transfer from Highline (
The Seawolves begin the campaign Nov. 11 with a road contest against
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Nate Sagan
Sports Information Director
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