Men's basketball begins 2017-2018 campaign this Friday
North Adams, MA- Last season marked the beginning of the rebuilding process for the MCLA Men's Basketball team under first year head coach Derek Shell. The Trailblazers won just a pair of games and were hampered by an 11 man roster. Heading into the 2017-18 season opener, Shell and the Trailblazers are hopeful that a plethora of new faces will translate into more wins as they open play Friday night against Western New England.
While there are many new faces, MCLA is left with the challenge of replacing their top three scorers from a year ago. While that's a tall task for any program, Shell knows with all his incoming players there will be speed bumps. Starting with the schedule, MCLA will face a host of the Northeast's toughest programs.
"Our guys, especially the newcomers are about to experience a trial by fire," said Shell, "but we choose to look at our schedule as an amazing opportunity to face some of the area's best teams and the best possible preparation for league play."
The WNE matchup is part of the Amherst College tournament and MCLA could play the Mammoths on day two. After the tournament, MCLA opens play at home against local foe and national power Williams on 11/21. The Trailblazers then entertain home games against NYU, Sage, and Elms, all of which regularly compete for their league championships and NCAA bids.
After a brief break in December, MCLA faces another stiff test in Southern Vermont on 1/3 before heading into MASCAC play on January 6th against Westfield State. The home conference slate will include games with Worcester, Salem, Bridgewater, Fitchburg, and Framingham State during January and February.
While the schedule is difficult, it may take some time for the roster to sort itself out. MCLA returns only three players who saw significant time a season ago. Junior guard Tyler McKay led the MASCAC in three point FG% a year ago and averaged just over 5 ppg. Junior Collin Parrott is the top returning scorer for MCLA as he netted 6.3 ppg last season. Felix Bou also returns as he appeared in 18 games last season coming off the bench.
One player to look for this season is Ki-Shawn Monroe. The sophomore guard missed all of last season, but was a starter during his freshman season on campus. Monroe led the MASCAC in assists during the 2015-16 season and should see ample time on the floor.
The rest of the roster is comprised of newcomers for Shell and the Trailblazers. MCLA welcomes ten new players into the mix including 7 freshman. Noah Yearsley, a freshman guard from Averill Park, NY; fellow classmate and local product forward Hayden Bird of Clarksburg, MA; and sophomore transfer Antoine Montgomery from Boston should all see significant time early on.
MCLA will have plenty of competition at the guard slot as newcomers Corey Jackson, Quran Davis, and Reydel Santana will all get opportunities. At the forward position, Harrison Grant, Tyler Lord, Mike Demartinis, and Brendan Powers will compete for time.
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