Carthage College 2008-09 Men’s Basketball Preview
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Name of school |
Carthage College |
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Location |
Kenosha, Wis. |
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Founded |
1847 |
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Enrollment |
2,234 |
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Nickname |
Red Men |
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School colors |
Red, white and black |
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Home field |
Physical Education Center |
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Capacity |
2,440 |
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Affiliation |
NCAA Division III |
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Conference |
CCIW |
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President |
F. Gregory Campbell |
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Athletic director |
Robert R. Bonn |
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Athletics phone. |
262-551-5942 |
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First year of men’s basketball |
1907 |
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Overall all-time record |
982-1,094 |
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Years in NCAA/last |
3/2002 |
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Last post-season opponent, year |
Rochester, 2002 |
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Result |
W, 72-51 |
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CCIW championships |
1964, 2000, 2002 and 2003 |
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Sports information director |
Steve Marovich |
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SID e-mail |
|
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SID office phone |
262-551-5740 |
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SID home phone |
262-551-5547 |
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SID fax |
262-551-5926 or 815-371-2840 (Internet fax) |
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Athletics fax |
262-551-5995 |
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Hotline |
262-551-5388 |
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Athletics web site |
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SID mailing address |
2001 Alford Park Drive Kenosha, WI 53140 |
Kenosha News
Dave Marran, sports editor
715 58th St./Kenosha, WI 53141
262-656-6290; 262-657-4946 (FAX)
Racine Journal-Times
Susan Shemanske, sports editor
212 4th St./Racine, WI 53403
262-631-1750; 262-631-1780 (FAX)
WRJN-AM Radio (1400)
4201 Victory Ave.
Racine, WI 53405
262-634-3311 (studio)
John Weiser, play-by-play
Carthage College
2001 Alford Park Drive
Kenosha, WI 53140
262-551-5734
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Head coach |
Bosko Djurickovic |
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Record at school (years) |
202-108 (12) |
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Career record (years) |
397-187 (22) |
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Men’s basketball phone |
262-551-6627 |
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Best time to reach |
10 a.m. – 2 p.m. |
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Assistant coach |
Dave Roehl |
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Telephone |
262-552-5491 |
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Part-time assistant coach |
Antoine McDaniel |
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Part-time assistant coach |
Theo Powell |
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Part-time assistant coach |
Cory Wilson |
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Head athletic trainer |
Laurie Jensen |
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Total |
Home |
Away |
Neutral |
|
2008 overall record |
13-12 |
7-3 |
3-8 |
3-1 |
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CCIW record |
7-7 |
4-3 |
3-4 |
---- |
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Conference finish |
5th |
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Final ranking last year |
N/A |
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|
|
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Poll |
N/A |
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|
|
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Starters returning/lost |
3/2 |
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Letterwinners returning/lost |
9/6 |
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Available in August 2008
R/L |
Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
GP-GS |
Points |
RB |
FG Pct. |
Honors |
|
R |
Steve Djurickovic |
So. |
G |
6-3 |
25-25 |
23.2 |
4.4 |
.471 |
“D3hoops.com” fourth-team All-America |
|
L |
Trey Bowens |
Grad. |
G |
6-1 |
25-25 |
15.7 |
2.4 |
.427 |
Third-team All-CCIW |
|
R |
Sean Fendley |
Jr. |
G |
6-1 |
17-15 |
11.1 |
2.3 |
.424 |
|
|
R |
Billy Shemerdiak |
Sr. |
G |
6-4 |
25-21 |
8.7 |
4.9 |
.423 |
|
|
R |
Joe Higgins |
Sr. |
G |
6-0 |
25-10 |
2.1 |
1.8 |
.471 |
|
|
Name |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Yr. |
Hometown (High School) |
Honors |
2008 Season Review
Many College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin men’s basketball observers will forget this part, but the 2008 Carthage College men’s basketball team was in sole possession of first place on the morning of Jan. 30, 2008. After going 6-5 against non-conference competition and losing their conference-opener at Wheaton College (Ill.), the Red Men reeled off five-straight wins in the league to take over first place with a 5-1 mark and reached No. 35 in the “D3hoops.com” poll. It probably should have been 6-0, since Carthage had a 16-point with 13:17 remaining in that Wheaton (Ill.) game.
The six-straight Carthage wins came over Illinois Wesleyan University at home, Elmhurst College on the road, Augustana College (Ill.) at home, North Central College at home and Millikin University on the road. After beating No. 9 Augustana (Ill.), 74-68, on Jan. 19, coach Bosko Djurickovic said, “The ability to stay in the game when things aren’t going well is the mark of a good team. We played through those valleys tonight. We’ve put ourselves in a good position in the league, but there are no easy games.” After the North Central win, he said, “We’ve turned the corner, and we expect to win every night like we used to. We’re pretty good. We’re not flawless, because of our lack of size, but we’re pretty good.”
A 67-66 overtime loss, at home, to North Park University on Jan. 30 turned out to be the beginning of a five-game losing streak that would drop Carthage from first place to fifth place in two weeks. After North Park, the next four losses came at the hands of Illinois Wesleyan on the road, Wheaton (Ill.) at home, Augustana (Ill.) on the road and Elmhurst at home. The latter two losses could have turned out differently. Carthage fell behind then-No. 7 Augustana (Ill.) by 23 points early in the second half before making a heroic comeback to tie the game with 2:37 remaining. “The second half was how you would hope teams approach the game,” said coach Djurickovic, “and play with a passion and an effort that gives teams a chance to win. We were undersized, but we were not under-hearted. We left everything on the table, and that’s all I can ask.”
The second Elmhurst game was a close contest all the way, with the Red Men unable to make a big play down the stretch. “The Elmhurst game was very, very frustrating,” admitted coach Djurickovic. “Three weeks ago, we had complete control of everything. Now, we don’t control anything.” Carthage entered the final 10 days of the season retaining a chance for a berth in the CCIW Men’s Basketball Tournament, but a second loss to North Park, this time a 91-72 decision in Chicago, put that goal out of reach. The Red Men ended the season with a 13-12 overall mark, 7-7 and fifth place in the league.
Without a doubt, the bright spot for Carthage was the freshman debut of guard Steve Djurickovic (Fr., Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Kenosha-Bradford). Djurickovic, the son of coach Djurickovic, started all 25 games, averaged 35.8 minutes per game, was ranked second among CCIW scoring leaders (23.2 points per game, 13th in NCAA Division III), first in assists (4.28 per game), third in assist/turnover ratio (1.73 per game), tied for fifth in free-throw percentage (.795), ranked 12th in field-goal percentage (.471) and 15th in rebounding (4.4 per game). With a quick first step to the basketball, he excelled at getting to the free-throw line. With 186 made free throws, Djurickovic just missed breaking Jack Lutz’s 1967 Carthage season record of 190 free throws. Djurickovic’s 234 free-throw attempts was only 34 shy of a 1958 mark of 267 set by Bill Kadlecik.
Djurickovic set both school and CCIW records on Jan. 23 with 23 made free throws in an 83-73 win over North Central College at the Carthage Physical Education Center in Kenosha, Wis. He also set a Carthage record with 27 free-throw attempts. The previous conference record of 22 free throws was set by Dale Schweinberger of Augustana College (Ill.) against Elmhurst College on Feb. 23, 1957. Both of the Carthage free-throw records were set by Johnnie Butler at Monmouth College on Dec. 22, 1970. Butler was 17-for-23 in that 1970 contest, and his 17 made free throws were subsequently matched by Michael Gardner at Concordia University (Wis.) on Dec. 7, 1978.
“He’s the most fun player I’ve ever watched,” said former Carthage All-American Jason Wiertel. “It’s shocking, because when you look at him, you’d never think that he would be able to do what he does on the court. He’s so quick with his first step, and he has such a great touch, that he can pretty much do whatever he wants.”
Djurickovic was named “D3hoops.com” fourth-team All-America, as well as that organization’s national “rookie of the year.” He also earned first-team All-CCIW honors, while Trey Bowens (Sr., Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove-South, seventh in CCIW scoring at 15.7 points per game) was named to the third team. Djurickovic is the first Carthage player named first-team All-CCIW since Theo Powell in 2004 and the first Red Men freshman to earn the honor since Rob Garnes in 2000. Bowens was a repeat member of the third team.
The Feb. 23 season-finale against Millikin University was the final Carthage men’s basketball game at the Carthage Physical Education Center. The facility will be replaced by the Tarble Arena, which will open in January 2009. The Carthage PEC opened with a varsity-alumni game on Dec. 4, 1965, with the first varsity contest taking place on Dec. 6, 1965 versus Aurora University.
“Basketball is the easiest of all sports to fix,” says coach Djurickovic, “because you don’t need numbers, but it’s the hardest of all sports to recruit players for. We bring back one of the best players in the league in Steve Djurickovic, along with some other useable pieces with experience. The average level that we’ve been at over the past few years falls in my lap. It’s a tough league, and everyone wants to win. We need to get bigger, and we need to get stronger. We rely too much on too few. That’s not a knock on anybody. We also need to be a better defensive team. The new Tarble Arena is going to be tremendous upgrade. It’s going to be a fun place to watch basketball, and we’re going to get some bells and whistles that we haven’t had.”