And more......................
ALL-TOURNAMENT - - Junior forward Zeljko Zupic's 34 point, 11 rebound, one steal, one assist effort against Binghamton (Dec. 6) and Western Illinois (Dec. 7) earned him a spot on the Cyclone Challenge all-tournament team.
BACK-TO-BACK - - Denver's games on December 6th and 7th were the first time in its brief Division I history that the Pioneers have played on back-to-back nights ... The Pioneers will play three games in three days when they travel to San Juan, Puerto Rico to take part in the San Juan Shootout on December 20-22.
500 - - The Pioneers' 4-4 mark put them at .500 for the first time after eight games in their short Division I history ... Denver's best record after eight games was 2-5 ... A feat it accomplished twice.
BIG HALF - - The 51 points the Pioneers scored in the first half of their, 75-48, victory against Western Illinois on December 7 was the most points they have scored in a half since, January 31, 2000, when Denver dropped in 52 points in the second half versus Arkansas-Little Rock ... The Pioneers scored 53 in the first half against Loyal (Md.) on February 2, 1999.
LET IT RAIN - - The Pioneers hit a school-record 16 three-pointers en route to an 83-66 victory against UMKC on December 3 ... Denver's previous high for threes was 15 against Wright State on December 12, 1998.
CAREER NIGHT - - Sophomore guard Erik Benzel established career-highs in five different categories in Denver's 83-66 victory against UMKC on December 3 ... Benzel's 22 points were two better than the previous high (20 at Louisiana-Lafayette on January 26, 2002) ... The sophomore's attempted and made field goals (8-of-15) and three-pointers (6-of-12) were also career-highs.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE - - Junior center Brett Starkey has been a dominate force in the paint in this season ... With two double-double performances in the Pioneers' victory over Eastern Washington on November 30 and Western Illinois on December 7, and a career-tying-high 17 points versus Colorado State (December 11), the Lakewood, Colo. native is averaging 9.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per contest.
FRIENDLY CONFINES - - Denver's first regular season game in Hamilton Gymnasium was a success ... The Pioneers defeated Eastern Washington, 69-48, in front of 1,342 fans on November 30 ... It was the largest home crowd since January 19, 2002, when Denver took on Western Kentucky.
DEEP BENCH - - The Pioneers have gone very deep into their bench ... 11 of the 12 players on the roster have seen 51 minutes or more this season ... The only individual to have not seen at least 51 minutes of playing time this season is junior Josh Hansen (Burlington, Colo. / Northeastern [Colo.] JC) ... He has been on the floor for nine minutes.
FIRST POINT - - Lone freshman Brett Seger (Omaha, Neb. / Westside HS) scored his first point as a collegian against Eastern Washington (November 30) ... With 13:02 remaining in the second half, the freshman stepped to the free-throw line and hit one-of-two ... His first field goal came on December 7 (Western Illinois) ... Seger put home a 3-pointer with 8:15 remaining in the first half.
ODD BEGINNING - - This is the first season the Pioneers have started 0-2 since 1997 when they also dropped two straight road games to Wyoming (73-50) and Portland (78-49) ... Denver started the last four seasons 1-1.
CHARITY STRIPE - - Denver's 13-for-13 performance at the free-throw line vs. Wyoming on November 23 was only the third time in school history that the Pioneers have made all of their free-throws in a game ... Denver converted all of its free-throws vs. Grand Canyon on March, 6, 1989, and again vs. Southern Colorado on February 27, 1993. HE'S BACK - - Denver regained the dominating physical presence of senior Steve Simmons (Salt Lake City, Utah / Treasure CC), who sat out last season to concentrate on his academics. At 6-foot-9 and 245 pounds, Simmons is No. 10 on the Pioneers all-time block list, needing just eight blocks to move up two places to No. 8. In 2000-01, he led the Pioneers in rebounds (9.0) and field goal percentage (56 percent).
NEW COACH - - Al Williams begins his first season as an assistant coach with the Denver men's basketball team. Williams will join Greg Lackey and Matt Woodley to complete Terry Carroll's coaching staff for the 2002-03 season. He will work with all aspects of the team including recruiting, scouting, scheduling and on-floor practices.
FIFTH IN THE WEST - - The University of Denver men's basketball team was picked to finish fifth in the Sun Belt Conference West Division. The Denver men received 17 votes to finish behind North Texas (39 pts.).
Denver's B.J. Pratt earned third team preseason All-Sun Belt Conference honors. Pratt, a senior guard, returns for his final season with the Pioneers after leading the team in scoring last season with 388 points (13.0 ppg). Pratt also recorded a team-high, 56 three-point field goals during the 2001-02 campaign, and carded the team's second-best free-throw percentage, draining 52 of 62 attempts (.839). The coaches selected Western Kentucky senior center Chris Marcus as the Sun Belt Conference Preseason Player of the Year.
Second-year head coach Terry Carroll welcomes back five letter winners and two starters from a team that struggled through an 8-20 season last year and a first round exit from the SBC Tournament. Returning to the lineup this season will be seniors Pratt, Leslie Richardson (Aurora, Colo. / Overland HS) and Steve Simmons, juniors Ryan Goral and Brett Starkey and sophomore Erik Benzel. The Pioneers welcome back 54 percent of its offensive production and almost half of the defensive production from last season. Last year, Denver improved in rebounding, hauling in nearly eight more balls than the year before, and in free-throw shooting percentage with a significant increase from 69.7 percent to 59.8 percent in 2000-01.
Men's Preseason Poll
East
1. Western Kentucky 55 (11)
2. Arkansas-Little Rock 37
3. Florida International 28
4. Middle Tennessee 22
5. Arkansas State 19
West
1. Louisiana-Lafayette 66 (11)
2. New Mexico State 53
3. New Orleans 40
4. North Texas 39
5. Denver 17
6. South Alabama 16
SIGN HERE PLEASE - - Two men's basketball players - an Iowa prep standout and a Colorado prep all-star - have signed National Letters of Intent to attend the University of Denver and play for head coach Terry Carroll.
High school swing guard David Kummer (Cedar Rapids, Iowa / Washington HS) and point guard James Lane (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Palmer HS) have officially announced they will join the Pioneers squad next fall.
Kummer, 6-foot-6 and 200 pounds, is among the best high school players in Iowa. He earned second-team all-state honors, and was named first team All-Missouri Valley Conference and All-District plaudits after averaging 14 points, 9.5 rebounds and four assists per game his junior year. He has started since his freshman year and has led Washington in rebounds, assists, deflections and steals the past two seasons.
Lane comes to Denver after a very solid junior season at Palmer high school in Colorado Springs. The 6-foot-2 point guard earned all-state honorable mention honors his junior year after averaging 14.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists per contest. He also led Palmer in scoring in eight games.
Lane also played football for the Terrors, passing for 2,042 yards and 24 touchdowns his junior year.
STARKEY NAMED TO ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT TEAM - - Junior center Brett Starkey was selected to the Verizon Academic All-District VII men's basketball team, as voted on and announced Feb. 21, 2002 by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
He is joined on the team by Iowa's Luke Recker, Iowa State's Jake Sullivan, Nebraska's Cary Cochran and Michael Lindeman of Creighton. The five men represented the district as candidates for the 2002 Verizon Academic All-America? team.
The 6-foot-9 Starkey carried a 3.955 grade-point average in biology, and spent this past summer engaging in cholangiocyte research on polycystic liver disease under Dr. Brian Doctor at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Last year, he was a member of the Sun Belt Conference Commissioner's List for earning a 3.5 GPA or higher during the 2000-01 academic year, and is a two-time recipient of the University's gold academic medallion.
He was fifth on the Pioneers' squad in scoring at 5.6 points per game, and third in rebounding at 5.3 boards a contest. As one of Denver's top reserves, he had three games in double-figure points and another three in double-figure rebounds. His best game came on Jan. 13, 2002 in Denver's 72-69 win vs. Florida International, when he had a team-high 17 points and eight rebounds.
