Nov. 7, 2006
Head Coach Billy Lange enters his third season at the helm of the Navy men's basketball team fielding one of the youngest teams in the country. And while there will be some growing pains, Lange feels the team is ready to continue its upward climb in the Patriot League.
BACKCOURT TO LEAD NAVY AGAIN IN 2006-07
Navy's backcourt is expected to once again be the strength of the team in 2006-07.
Leading the returnees will be junior Greg Sprink. The 6-5, 205-pound guard led the Mids with a 14.9 ppg and 4.9 rpg average in 2005-06 and ranked 32nd nationally (third among sophomores) in free throw percentage (.856). He poured in over 30 points twice last season, including a breakout 34-point performance against Brown in which he set school records for points in a half (31; 2nd) and points coming off the bench (34). He also tied a school record with nine three-pointers in the contest. Two games after the Brown performance, Sprink dumped in 31 points against The Citadel. His 14.9 ppg average was the highest for a Navy sophomore since the 1988-89 season and the ninth-best total by a sophomore in school history.
SPRINK IN THE NCAA LAST YEARThree-Pointers Made - Game 9 vs. Brown (T4th)Three-Point Pct. - Game .818 vs. Brown (T12th)Free Throw Pct. .856 (32nd)
SPRINK IN THE NAVY RECORD BOOKSCareer Three-Pointers Made 95 (8th)Career Three-Pointers Attempted 261 (9th)Career Three-Point Percentage .364 (10th)Career Free-Throw Percentage .805 (5th)Season Three-Pointers Made (2005-06) 61 (3rd)Season Three-Pointers Attempted (2005-06) 168 (3rd)Season Free-Throw Percentage (2005-06) .856 (6th)Points in a Game 34 vs. Brown (T28th) 31 vs. The Citadel (T57th)Points in a Half 31 vs. Brown, 2nd Half (1st)Points Off The Bench 34 vs. Brown (1st)Three-Pointers in a Game 9 vs. Brown (T1st) 7 vs. American (T5th)
Sprink will be aided in the backcourt by fellow classmate Corey Johnson. Johnson averaged 9.5 ppg last year, despite missing nine games with a knee injury suffered against Air Force. Johnson is a workhorse, having played an average of 34.0 minutes per game in his first 47 games at Navy. The total would rank him second all-time in career minutes played per game had he played enough games. As it is, he owns the No. 7 (34.2) and No. 9 (33.9) totals on the single-season minutes played list at Navy. Johnson was a 2005 Patriot League All-Rookie Team selection and he should enter the career top 10 for steals and assists at Navy by the end of the year.
Sophomore guard Kaleo Kina turned in one of the finest freshman seasons in school history and returns after averaging 10.4 ppg in 2005-06 en route to All-Patriot League Rookie Team accolades. His scoring average by a freshman was the sixth best by a freshman in school history.
KINA'S RANK ON THE NAVY FRESHMAN CHARTSPoints 292 (5th)Points Per Game 10.4 (T6th)Field Goal Attempts 237 (5th)Three-Pointers Made 42 (3rd)Three-Pointers Attempted 108 (3rd)Three-Point Percentage .389 (6th)Free Throws Made 72 (5th)Free Throw Percentage .818 (T5th)Assists 93 (2nd)Steals 36 (2nd)NCAA Free-Throw Pct. (All Players) .818 (85th)
He was the only freshman in the league to average double figures in the scoring column and was one of three rookies to lead his team in assists.
A pair of sophomores Clif Colbert and Bryce Brigham will provide added offense and depth. Colbert was selected as a Patriot League Rookie of the Week selection twice last year and Brigham was one of the top three-point shooters in the league a year ago. Colbert averaged 4.6 ppg and 2.3 rpg and connected on .833 of his free throw attempts (40-of-48), while Brigham posted a 3.9 ppg average, while hitting on .377 percent of his three-point tries (26-of-69).
FRONTCOURT LOOKS TO GAIN EXPERIENCE
Five of Navy's frontcourt players that started the year last year are no longer with the program, as Billy Lange will need to call on three returnees and a host of newcomers to hold down the fort in the lane.
Leading the returnees will be 6-8 sophomore guard / forward combo Adam Teague. Teague started 17 games a year ago, averaging 4.7 ppg, including a career-best 19 points in Navy's first-ever Patriot League win over American, earning Patriot League Rookie of the Week. Teague enters the season having hit a three-pointer in eight straight games.
Ben Biles, a 6-10 junior forward, will be called upon to play a bigger role in the paint this year. Biles saw action in 17 games last year, averaging 1.1 ppg and 1.8 rpg. He shot .471 from the field (8-of-17), but showed much improvement in preseason workouts.
The final big man in the mix is senior Calvin White. The 6-7 forward appeared in a career-high 11 games last year, averaging 0.3 ppg and 0.5 rpg. White will give much-needed depth to the frontcourt this winter.
NEWCOMERS IN THE FRAY
Six freshmen will join the roster, giving head coach Billy Lange a boost in size and talent. Four of the six newcomers are 6-6 or taller, including 6-10 forward Trey Stanton.
Two guards, Chris Harris and Derek Young, will give Lange added depth and ballhandling at the guard position, and can both play either position in the backcourt. Both players come from highly successful programs as Young attended Archbishop Spalding High School (Md.), while Harris competed at Fork Union Military School (Va.).
Scott Brooks, a 6-6, 184-pound forward, gives the Mids a lanky, athletic presence. Brooks cherished pressure situations in high school, hitting the game-winning shot in the state finals, then blocking a potential game-winning attempt in the late seconds to give Wakefield (N.C.) the state title.
Bobby Fenske, a 6-8, 196-pound forward, earned All-State honors (Texas) as a senior and chose Navy over Air Force and several Ivy League schools. Fenske is a strong perimeter player as well as a force inside. He connected on over 40 percent of his three-point attempts and averaged 22.0 ppg and 12.5 rpg per outing.
Stanton averaged 16.2 ppg, 8.3 rpg and 3.1 bpg as a high school senior at Friendswood High School (Texas). Stanton is another combo forward that can step out and hit the three-pointer. He was 6-3 as a sophomore in high school, but has since grown seven inches and has elevated his game. He received recruiting interest by Texas A&M and Rice and received offers from Colgate and Air Force.
The last big man is 6-7 T.J. Topercer. Topercer spent the last season at the New Hampton School (N.H.), where he helped guide the Huskies to a 24-10 record, one of the best marks in school history. He was named one of the top 125 fifth-year players in the country a year ago.
SUCCESS AT THE STRIPE
Navy entered the Patriot League Tournament on pace for a school record in free throw percentage. However, an 8-for-19 performance against Holy Cross dropped the 2005-06 team into a tie for fourth on the all-time list (.722). Nevertheless, the total is the best for a Navy team since the 1984-85 team shot .726 from the free throw line.
The percentage was also good for 67th in the country and second behind Lafayette (.740) in the Patriot League.
Individually, Navy had two players rank in the top 100 of the NCAA as Greg Sprink (32nd) and Kaleo Kina (85th) were in the top 100. The duo ranked second and fourth respectively in the Patriot League.
The seven returnees managed to shoot .788 (278-353) from the free throw line, while the eight players that left after last year shot .633 (164-259).
NAVY OFFENSE CONTINUES TO PICK UP PACE
The Navy offense continues its improvement under head coach Billy Lange, averaging 67.8 ppg in all games played in 2005-06. The total led the Patriot League in all games played.
However, in league play, the Mids averaged just 63.4 ppg, ranking sixth in the conference. Navy reached 70 points just five times in the last 16 games. Prior to its scoring drought, Navy topped 70 points in nine-consecutive games, beginning with its 73 points at Penn on Dec. 2.
NO TIME TO BE A FRESHMAN
The Class of `09 averaged 27.5 points per game in 2005-06, which was .407 percent of the Mids' offense. The rookies combined to score 30 or more points 10 times this season, including a season-best 46 points in Navy's 106-80 victory over Washington (Md.).
The 27.5 per game scoring average set a school record for a freshman class, surpassing the 1992 class that averaged 24.5 ppg.
The 2005 class of Sprink, Johnson and Biles ranked fifth (20.0 ppg).
# GO NAVY #
