Carthage College 2008-09 Men’s Basketball Preview

GENERAL

Name of school	Carthage College
Location	Kenosha, Wis.
Founded	1847
Enrollment	2,374
Nickname	Red Men
School colors	Red, white and black
Home arena	Tarble Arena (opens January 2009)
Capacity	TBA
Affiliation	NCAA Division III
Conference	CCIW
President	F. Gregory Campbell
Athletics director	Robert Bonn
Assistant athletics director	Steve Marovich
Athletics Phone	262-551-5942

HISTORY

First year of men’s basketball	1907
Overall all-time record	982-1,094
Years in NCAA/last	3/2002
Last post-season opponent, year	Rochester, 2002
Result	W, 72-51
CCIW championships	1964, 2000, 2002 and 2003

SPORTS INFORMATION

Sports information director	Steve Marovich
SID office phone	262-551-5740
SID home phone	262-551-5547
SID fax	262-551-5926
Athletics fax	262-551-5995
Hotline	262-551-5388
E-mail	stevich@concentric.net
Athletics web site	http://www.carthage.edu/athletics
SID mailing address	2001 Alford Park Drive Kenosha, WI  53140

LOCAL MEDIA

Kenosha News

Dave Marran, Sports Editor

715 58th St./Kenosha, WI  53141

262-656-6290; 262-657-4946 (FAX)

E-Mail:  sports@kenoshanews.com

Racine Journal-Times

Susan Shemanske, Sports Editor

212 4th St./Racine, WI  53403

262-631-1750; 262-631-1780 (FAX)

E-Mail:  racine.sports@lee.net

WRJN-AM Radio (1400)

John Weiser, play-by-play

4201 Victory Avenue/Racine, WI  53405

262-634-3311

E-Mail:  jweiser@carthage.edu

COACHING STAFF

Head coach	Bosko Djurickovic
Record at school (years)	202-108 (12)
Career record (years)	397-187 (22)
Men’s basketball phone	262-551-6627
Best time to reach	10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
E-mail	bosko@carthage.edu
Assistant coach	Dave Roehl
Telephone	262-552-5491
E-mail	droehl@carthage.edu
Part-time assistant coach	Ashley Koeshall
Part-time assistant coach	Antoine McDaniel
Part-time assistant coach	Nick Perrine
Part-time assistant coach	Theo Powell
Part-time assistant coach	Cory Wilson
Head athletic trainer	Laurie Jensen

TEAM INFORMATION

	Total	Home	Away	Neutral
2008 overall record	13-12	7-3	3-8	3-1
CCIW record	7-7	4-3	3-4	----
Conference finish	5th
Final ranking last year	N/A
Poll	N/A
Starters returning/lost	3/2
Letterwinners returning/lost	9/6

2008-09 SCHEDULE

DATE	DAY	OPPONENT	TIME/RESULT	LOCATION
Nov. 8	Sat.	Northern Illinois (Exhibition Game)	2 p.m.	DeKalb, Ill.
Nov. 22	Sat.	Redlands	2 p.m., PST	Redlands, Calif.
Nov. 24	Mon.	California Lutheran	7:30 p.m., PST	Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Nov. 26	Wed.	Silver Lake	7 p.m.	Manitowoc, Wis.
		CCIW/MIAA Classic
Dec. 5	Fri.	Carthage vs. Hope	6 p.m.	Wheaton, Ill.
		Wheaton (Ill.) vs. Calvin	8 p.m.	Wheaton, Ill.
Dec. 6	Sat.	Carthage vs. Calvin	1 p.m.	Wheaton, Ill.
		Wheaton (Ill.) vs. Hope	3 p.m.	Wheaton, Ill.
Dec. 12	Fri.	Olivet Nazarene	7 p.m.	Bourbonnais, Ill.
		Cruzin’ Classic
Dec. 16	Tue	Keene State	6 p.m., EST	Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Dec. 17	Wed.	Loras	4 p.m., EST	Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
		St. Norbert “Nicolet Bank Holiday Tournament”
Dec. 29	Mon. Mon.	Carthage vs. Wisconsin-Platteville St. Norbert vs. St. Scholastica	5 p.m. 7 p.m.	De Pere, Wis. De Pere, Wis.
Dec. 30	Tue.	Consolation/championship	5 /7 p.m.	De Pere, Wis.
Jan. 5	Mon.	Trinity International (Ill.)	7:30 p.m.	Kenosha, Wis.
Jan. 7	Wed.	*Millikin	7:30 p.m.	Decatur, Ill.
Jan. 10	Sat.	*Augustana (Ill.)	7:30 p.m.	Kenosha, Wis.
Jan. 14	Wed.	*Illinois Wesleyan	7:30 p.m.	Kenosha, Wis.
Jan. 17	Sat.	*North Park	7:30 p.m.	Chicago, Ill.
Jan. 21	Wed.	*Wheaton (Ill.)	7:30 p.m.	Wheaton, Ill.
Jan. 24	Sat.	*North Central	7:30 p.m.	Naperville, Ill.
Jan. 28	Wed.	*Elmhurst	7:30 p.m.	Kenosha, Wis.
Jan. 31	Sat.	*North Park	7:30 p.m.	Kenosha, Wis.
Feb. 4	Wed.	*Illinois Wesleyan	7:30 p.m.	Bloomington, Ill.
Feb. 7	Sat.	*Augustana (Ill.)	7:30 p.m.	Rock Island, Ill.
Feb. 11	Wed.	*North Central	7:30 p.m.	Kenosha, Wis.
Feb. 14	Sat.	*Millikin	7:30 p.m.	Kenosha, Wis.
Feb. 18	Wed.	*Wheaton (Ill.)	7:30 p.m.	Kenosha, Wis.
Feb. 21	Sat.	*Elmhurst	7:30 p.m.	Elmhurst, Ill.
		CCIW Tournament
Feb. 27	Fri.	Semifinals	6/8 p.m.	TBA
Feb. 28	Sat.	Championship	7:30 p.m.	TBA

* CCIW games

Times listed are Central Time, except as noted

Home games in bold

Schedule Notes:  The Dec. 16-17 games at the “Cruzin’Classic” will be played at Nova Southeastern University’s University Center Arena.

Radio/Internet Broadcasts and “Live Stats”: All Carthage men’s basketball games broadcast on WRJN-AM Radio (1400) and available on the Internet at http://www.carthage.edu/ais/media/love/streaming1.html.…“live stats” for all home games are available at http://www.carthage.edu/athleticspages/livestats/xlive.htm

PLAYER INFORMATION

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

Top Newcomers

Name	Pos.	Ht.	Yr.	Hometown (High School)	Honors
Pace Bennett	G.	6-2	170	Moline, Ill. (Alleman)	IBCA honorable mention all-state
Max Cary	G	6-3	160	Geneva, Ill.	Daily Herald all-area

CARTHAGE MEN’S BASKETBALL NOTES

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 (So., Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Kenosha-Bradford).  Djurickovic, the son of coach Djurickovic, started all 25 games, averaged 35.8 minutes per game, led the CCIW in scoring over the regular season (23.2 points per game, 13th in NCAA Division III), was ranked first in league 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 do 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 (graduated-senior, 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.

2009 Season Outlook

Head coach Bosko Djurickovic (189-96 in 11 years at Carthage/385-175, 21 years overall) returns nine-of-15 letterwinners from last year’s 13-12 team.  Lost to graduation are third-team All-CCIW guard Trey Bowens (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove-South, seventh in CCIW scoring at 15.7 points per game), center Neb Franciskovic (Subotica, Serbia, 4.2 points per game, 2.8 rebounds), guard Billy Jacklin (Berwyn, Ill./Morton West, 1.6 points per game, 3.8 rebounds) and forward Dave Mikolaitis (Algonquin, Ill./Woodstock-Marian Central Catholic, 1.2 points per game).

“D3hoops.com” 2008 “Rookie of the Year” and first-team All-CCIW honoree Steve Djurickovic (So., Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Kenosha-Bradford) leads the returnees.  Djurickovic averaged 35.8 minutes per game, led the CCIW in scoring over the regular season (23.2 points per game, 13th in NCAA Division III), was ranked first in league 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). 

Also returning are guard Billy Shemerdiak (Sr., Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg,, 8.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, played in all 25 games and made 21 starts), guard Joe Higgins (Sr., Kenosha, Wis./St. Joseph, 2.1 points per game, 3.96 assists, played in all 25 games and made 10 starts) and guard Sean Fendley (Jr., Elmhurst, Ill./York, 11.1 points per game, .443 three-point field-goal percentage).  Leading newcomers include guard Pace Bennett (Fr., Moline, Ill./Alleman, Illinois Basketball Coaches Association honorable mention all-state, Rock Island Argus first-team all-metro and first-team All-Western Big 6 Conference), guard Max Cary (Fr., Geneva, Ill., All-Western Sun Conference and Daily Herald all-area) and forward Adam Tolo (Jr., Mackay, Queensland, Australia/South Suburban College).

“Basketball is the easiest of all sports to fix,” says coach Bosko 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 good players 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 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.”

“There’s no question that size is important in basketball,” continues Djurickovic, “and we’ve tried very hard to recruit big kids and have not had the kind of success there that we need to have.  Having said that, I do believe we can compete.  We’re going to be a bigger basketball team on the perimeter, just not bigger in the post.  Our perimeter players this year should be able to rebound, and that’s a step in the right direction.  This is going to be an interesting conference season, because the CCIW is absolutely senior-laden this year.  We can compete this year, and I think we’ll be one of the best teams in the league the following two years.”

The Red Men open the season with a trip to Southern-California, taking on the University of Redlands on Nov. 22 and California Lutheran University on Nov. 24.  Carthage plays in three tournaments:  the CCIW/MIAA Men’s Basketball Classic on Dec. 5-6 at Wheaton College (Ill.), the Dec. 16-17 “Cruzin’ Classic” in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and the Dec. 29-30 St. Norbert College “Nicolet Bank Holiday Tournament” in De Pere, Wis.

Other non-conference opponents include Silver Lake College, Olivet Nazarene University and Trinity International University (Ill.).