Setting the scene . . .
The Washburn Ichabods will play their only exhibition game of the season as they travel to Las Vegas, Nev., to face the UNLV Runnin' Rebels. It will be the fifth straight season the Ichabods have faced UNLV and the fourth time as a preseason exhibition game. Washburn will return home to open the regular season on Nov. 16 when they will take on Peru State at 7 p.m.
Ichabods on Radio . . .
The game will be broadcast live on KTPK 106.9. The game can also be heard on the internet at www.wusports.com by following the “Live Audio” link under football.
Bruce Steinbrock will be the play-by-play voice of the Ichabods and former WU quarterback Mark Elliott will be the color analyst.
The Coaches. . .
Washburn Ichabod head basketball coach
Bob Chipman begins his 31st season at the helm of the Ichabod basketball program. For 24 years now Chipman has been the winningest coach in school history and in 2006-07 he became the second winningest coach as a member of the MIAA. Chipman is 662-264 (.715) overall and he has 421 wins since the Ichabods joined the MIAA - the most of any teams in the league since the 1991-92 season. He is 0-1 against UNLV in regular season games.
UNLV head coach Lon Kruger is 112-53 in his sixth season as the Rebels' head coach. The 1975 Kansas State graduate is 430-286 overall entering his 24th season overall. He is 2-0 against Washburn in regular season action picking up wins at UNLV and Texas-Pan American on Dec. 19, 1983.
2009-10 Washburn Ichabod Season Preview. . .
Entering the 2009-10 season, the Washburn Ichabods find themselves with 80 percent of their scoring gone from one year ago, the coaching staff and players are excited with the possibilities which lie in front of them as 10 new players fill the Ichabod roster as they look to return to the top of the MIAA standings after last season's run to the conference tournament semifinals.
Back court
Returning to the Ichabod back court are
Nate Daniels and William McNeill. Daniels made six starts while playing in all 29 games scoring a career-high 18 points against Missouri Southern while recording five games where he had at least five rebounds from a guard's position. He also hit the game-winning free throw against Nebraska-Omaha with 0.3 seconds left giving the Ichabods an 84-83 win in the MIAA opener.
McNeil played in 27 games as a freshman averaging 4.2 points and 1.4 rebounds per game with 1.1 assists and 1.0 steals per contest. He scored a career-high 14 points against Southwestern Oklahoma at the UCO Thanksgiving Tournament.
Another returner who practiced with the team last season while redshirting was
Todd Eils. Eils earned all-league honors as a senior at Shawnee Mission West High School.
New to the backcourt are seven new players including a senior transfer, a Division I transfer, two junior college transfers and three freshmen.
The lone senior in the backcourt - as well as on the entire team - is
Nate Wallace, who played at Independence Community College where he averaged 14 points and 5.8 assists per game as a sophomore while leading the eastern division of the Jayhawk conference in 3-pointers.
Coming from the Division I ranks is
Dezahn Otis, who is transferring from UT-San Antonio where he scored 1.8 points per game as a freshman. Coming out of high school from Dominguez High School, Otis was a McDonald's All-American nominee after averaging 12.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game earning all-league honors two times.
Junior
Maurice Colter earned honorable mention all-American honors at Butler Community College after averaging 10.2 points and 3.0 assists per game. He hit 45 of 121 3-point field goal attempts.
Junior
Virgil Philistin comes to Washburn from Pensacola Junior College after averaging 11.5 points and 2.3 assists per game with 1.9 steals per game. He connected on 45 of 116 3-point attempts.
From the prep ranks, a trio of guards in
Jordan Lambkins,
Bryce Simons and
Mitch Allen will look for playing time. Simons, who finished third in the city of Topeka in scoring with an 18.7 points per game average was a second team all-state Class 5A pick and first team all-league selection.
Lambkins earned honorable mention all-state honors as a senior after scoring 13.2 points per game gaining second team all-league honors.
Allen averaged 14 points, seven assists as a senior while earning all-league honors as well as first team Class 3A all-state honors.
Front Court
The Ichabods return two who saw action last season in the frontcourt in junior
Logan Stutz and sophomore
Steve Feighny, but they will joined by a pair of transfers and a freshman for the season.
Stutz played in all 29 games making nine starts during the season and averaged 5.1 points and 3.3 rebounds. He scored a career-high 15 points against Central Missouri. He had seven games with at least five rebounds. During MIAA play last season, his point-production increased nearly a point per game up to almost six per outting.
Feighny played in 19 games averaging 1.7 points per game and scored a career-high nine points against Baker.
De'Andre Washington joins the Ichabods and former junior college teammate
Virgil Philistin from Pensacola Junior College after he averaged 11.9 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game as a sophomore he was 142 of 307 from the field while leading the team in rebounding. Prior to playing for the Pirates, Washington spent his freshman season at Valdosta State, where he was named the Gulf South Conference's Eastern Division Freshman of the Year after scoring 4.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.
At 6-foot-8, 240-pounds, junior college transfer
Anthony Nocito from New Mexico Military Institute will give the Ichabods a strong big man on the inside. Nocito averaged nearly a double-double as a sophomore after scoring 11.8 points per game while pulling down 8.0 rebounds per game.
Another 6-foot-8 post from the high school ranks joining the Ichabods is a familiar face to Washburn fans in the head coaches son
Bobby Chipman, who earned first team all-state 6A honors as a senior after scoring 17.2 points per game with 9.4 rebounds per game at Washburn Rural. His scoring total was fourth in Topeka as a senior and helped him earn third team all-class honors. Chipman also has the ability to step outside and connect from behind the 3-point line.
Coaching Changes
Amongst the player changes on the court for the Ichabods, there will be a new face on the sidelines in long-time Seward County Community College head coach
Dave Brown, who joined the team in May as a full-time assistant.
Between Chipman and Brown, there are more than 900 career coaching victories on the bench.
Schedule
Outside of the tough 20-game MIAA slate the Ichabods will encounter, Washburn will open the season with an exhibition game on Nov. 10th at Nevada-Las Vegas. Washburn will return home with five games in Lee Arena as they open the regular season on Nov. 16 against Peru State. The University of St. Mary will be here on the 19th while Washburn will have back-to-back games on Nov. 23 and Nov. 24 when they face Bethany College and Kansas Wesleyan. Washburn will then face Baker on Nov. 28 before opening MIAA play with road trips to Nebraska-Omaha and Northwest Missouri on Dec. 2 and Dec. 5 respectively.
The Ichabods will return home for a game against Truman State in Lee Arena on Dec. 12 before returning to Las Vegas for a second time facing Western Washington and Central Washington Dec. 17 and Dec. 18.
Washburn will then continue MIAA play on Dec. 28 with Missouri Western.
Four of the Ichabods' final six games will be at home with senior night set for Feb. 20.
The MIAA Tournament will begin for the men's teams on March 5 with the semifinals scheduled for the following day with the championship game set for March 7.
The NCAA South Central Regional Tournament will begin on March 12 and the NCAA Elite Eight will take place in Springfield, Mass., on March 24.
About Nevada-Las Vegas . . .
The Rebels are coming off a 21-11 season where they went 9-7 in conference play. The fell in the first round of the 2009 NIT dropping a 70-60 decision at Kentucky. The Rebels return two starters and six letterwinners off last season's team. The two returning starters from last season's team are Tre'Von Willis, who averaged 11.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.3 assist per game last season along sophomore Oscar Bellfield, who averaged 6.2 points, 3.4 assists and 2.2 rebounds per game. Junior Matt Shaw returns after missing the 2008-09 season because of injury. He averaged 6.9 points and 4.0 rebounds per game during the 2007-08 season. The Rebels also have three Division I transfers who will be eligible this season in Derrick Jasper from Kentucky, Steve Jones from Arizona State and Chace Stanback from UCLA. Former Jayhawk Quintrell Thomas will sit this season out after transferring from Kansas after his freshman season. He scored 10 points against the Ichabods in an exhibition game last season in Lawrence hitting 6 of 8 free throws with six rebounds in 14 minutes of action.
Last Meeting with Nevada-Las Vegas . . .
(Nov. 11, 2008) - LAS VEGAS - The Ichabods led by four early in the game and cut a 17-point second half deficit to two points with under seven minutes remaining before UNLV pulled away to beat Washburn 74-56.
William McNeill led the Ichabods with 15 points as he hit 4-of-6 3-pointers and was 5-of-9 from the floor. Paul Byers had nine points and Lekheythan Malone and Mario Scott had six each. Malone led the team with seven rebounds and Scott led with five assists.
After a slow first half with poor shooting on both ends, the two teams rebounded to shoot 50 percent or better in the second half.
The Rebels scored the first 12 points after halftime to make a five-point halftime lead a 17-point advantage. McNeill then swiped the ball away and dunked it to start a 10-0 run for Washburn that made the score 39-32, UNLV.
The Ichabods later used a 13-4 run midway through the second half to cut the score to two at 53-51 with 6:43 remaining. They hit four 3-pointers during the run, two each from Byers and McNeill and McNeill capped his second one with a free throw for a four-point play.
The Runnin' Rebels bounced back and pushed their lead to 10 points with 3:46 remaining to hold off the Ichabods.
WU shot 37 percent in the game after shooting 28 percent in the first half and 50 percent in the second. UNLV shot 34 percent to open the game and then 52 percent in the second half to finish at 42 percent.
The Ichabods led by four early in the game and then fought back after a UNLV 10-0 run to trail by just five at halftime, 27-22. Scott's lay-up tied the score at 2-2 and then
Logan Stutz made a pair of free throws to put his team up. Malone later hit a 3-pointer that made the score 11-7, Washburn before the Runnin' Rebels scored the next 10 points.
WU fought back and Kimble's lay-up made the score 21-18 and then a jumper by Malone made it a one-point game at 21-20 before UNLV ended the half on a 6-2 run.
Washburn made just 1-of-10 3s in the first half but rebounded with a 7-of-11 effort (64 percent) in the second half. WU ended the game 38 percent from long range while UNLV was 23 percent.
SERIES NOTES . . .
Washburn will take on UNLV for the fifth-straight season and for the fourth exhibition game between the two schools. The Runnin' Rebels won the first two preseason meetings and also won a regular season game in 2006-07. Overall the Ichabods are 0-1 officially with the three exhibition losses to the Rebels.
Ichabods in exhibition games . . .
Washburn will play the second and third of three exhibitions against NCAA Division I schools this year. The Ichabods have played 13 different exhibitions against DI schools since the 2000-01 season and are still looking for their first win. Kansas has been WU's opponent the most, five times, with Nevada-Las Vegas three times and Purdue with two meetings. Overall, WU is 9-13 in exhibitions this decade. Washburn's last preseason wins came during their four-game trip to China before the 2006-07 season. WU's last exhibition win at home was on November 4, 2005, against the WU Alumni.
Washburn Exhibitions this Decade
Date Opponent Location W/L Score
11/25/00 Kansas Lawrence, Kan. L 56-99*
11/02/01 WU Alumni Topeka, Kan. W 112-79
11/11/01 Purdue West Lafayette, Ind. L 84-95
11/08/02 Dawson's All-Stars Topeka, Kan. W 100-83
11/12/02 Kansas Lawrence, Kan. L 66-101
11/04/03 KC Steer Topeka, Kan. W 96-92
11/15/03 Dawson's All-Stars Topeka, Kan. W 93-88
11/08/04 Purdue West Lafayette, Ind. L 72-81
11/14/04 Kansas Lawrence, Kan. L 70-79
11/04/05 WU Alumni Topeka, Kan. W 79-77
11/11/05 Nevada-Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nev. L 53-73
08/16/06 Zhejiang Normal Jinhua, China W 93-55
08/17/06 Zhejiang Normal Jinhua, China W 109-54
08/19/06 Shanghai Normal Shanghai, China W 115-48
08/20/06 Shanghai Normal Shanghai, China W 110-71
11/02/06 Kansas Lawrence, Kan. L 69-99
11/04/06 Kansas State Manhattan, Kan. L 3ot 90-94
11/06/07 Nevada-Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nev. L 47-77
11/13/07 Mo.-Kansas City Kansas City, Mo. L 75-79
11/04/08 Kansas Lawrence, Kan. L 79-98
11/09/08 Kansas State Manhattan, Kan. L 57-81
11/11/08 Nevada-Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nev. L 56-74
Overall: 9-13 Against NCAA DI: 0-13
Home: 5-0 Kansas: 0-5
Away: 3-13 Kansas State: 0-1
Neutral: 1-0 Missouri-Kansas City: 0-2
Nevada-Las Vegas: 0-3
Purdue: 0-2
Ichabods Notes . . .
#2 •
De'Andre Washington • F • 6-5 • 235 • Jr. • Averaged 11.9 points and 7.7 rebounds per game at Pensacola JC
#3 •
Virgil Philistin • G • 6-2 • 205 • Jr. • Averaged 11.5 points, 2.3 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.9 steals at Pensacola JC
#5 •
Mitch Allen • G • 5-9 • 165 • Fr. • Scored 14 points with seven assists a game as senior at Sebetha High School
#10 • William McNeill • G • 6-0 • 190 • So. • Scored a team-high 15 points in meeting with UNLV last season
#12 •
Maurice Colter • G • 5-10 • 175 • Jr. • Averaged 10.2 points per game at Butler County Community College as sophomore
#14 •
Logan Stutz • F • 6-9 • 205 • Jr. • Scored five points with three rebounds off the bench against UNLV last season
#15 •
Nate Wallace • G • 6-1 • 210 • Sr. • Averaged 14.0 points, 5.8 rebounds at Independence CC
#20 •
Bobby Chipman • F • 6-8 • 210 • Fr. • A first team all-state pick after averaging 17.2 ppg and 9.4 rpg at Washburn Rural
#21 •
Bryce Simons • G • 6-3 • 195 • Fr. • A second team all-state pick after scoring 18.7 points per game-third in city scoring
#22 •
Steve Feighny • F • 6-5 • 215 • So. • Played two minutes against UNLV last season
#23 •
Dezahn Otis • G • 6-3 • 180 • Jr. • Played in 25 games at UT-San Antonio scoring 1.8 ppg
#24 •
Anthony Nocito • F • 6-8 • 240 • Jr. • Averaged 11.8 ppg and 8.0 rebounds per game at New Mexico Military Institute
#32 •
Todd Eils • G • 6-2 • 175 • Rf. • Redshirted for the Ichabods last season
#33 •
Nate Daniels • G • 6-3 • 190 • Jr. • Recorded two assists in 10 minutes of play with a steal against UNLV last season
#35 •
Jordan Lambkins • G • 6-2 • 190 • Fr. • Scored 13.2 ppg earning honorable mention all-state honors
Ichabod Basketball History . . .
Washburn is 1,360-949 (.682 in 2309 games) in its 104th season of intercollegiate action. The Ichabods are the ninth-winningest team in NCAA Division II history and the 26th winningest team this decade. The Ichabods are 421-184 since joining the NCAA Division II ranks, which is the most since the 1989-90 season in the MIAA.
Ichabods In Lee Arena . . .
The Ichabods are 330-59 (.848) all-time in Lee Arena - the 26th season of play. The Ichabods recorded a school-best 28-game winning streak from Nov. 19, 1993 to Feb. 8, 1995 in Lee Arena.
Bods and Ends . . .
Hello again ... hello - After taking Kansas State to back-to-back Big 8 titles in 1971-72 and 1972-73 as players, UNLV head coach Lon Kruger and Ichabod head coach
Bob Chipman will face off as head coaches for the sixth time in their careers. The two faced off on Dec. 17, 1983 when Chipman was in his fifth year as the Ichabods head coach and Kruger was coaching Texas Pan-American. Kruger's squad won the game 77-70 and also defeated Chipman three times in exhibitions at UNLV and in a regular season game in 2006-07. Kruger's nephew Shannon was a four-year starter for the Ichabods from 1998 to 2002. Shannon finished his career No. 16 on Washburn's all-time scoring chart with 1,014 points.
We'll be back- The Ichabod basketball team will making a return trip to Las Vegas in December when they take part in the Great Western Shootout on Dec. 17 and Dec. 18. Washburn will take on Western Washington on the first day of the event and then face Central Washington the next day.
Up Next . . .
The Ichabods will officially begin the 2009-10 season when they will play host to Peru State on Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. The Ichabods will have five straight home games before opening MIAA play on Dec. 2 at Nebraska-Omaha. Washburn will then take on Northwest Missouri on Dec. 5 and then return home to take on Truman on Dec. 12.
