Men's Basketball Weekly Release #2

Nov. 17, 2005

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Six League schools raise curtain on 2005-06 schedule this weekend
After weeks of preparations and dress rehearsals, six Horizon League schools face their first official action of the 2005-06 season this weekend. The slate tips off Thursday night (Nov. 17) when UIC takes on Montana State at the Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska, an eight-team event which runs through Sunday (Nov. 20).

Detroit is home to meet Rochester College in the Titans' season-opener on Friday night (Nov. 18) at Calihan Hall. Saturday's (Nov. 19) schedule includes Cleveland State hosting Florida A&M while Wright State travels to Belmont, Youngstown State visits St. Francis (Pa.) in Jerry Slocum's debut as Penguin coach, and Loyola is at IPFW. UIC also battles either host Alaska-Fairbanks or San Diego State in the second round of its tournament, which concludes Sunday.

Detroit wraps up the weekend Sunday night at Drake, as part of the Las Vegas Holiday Invitational.

Three schools already have opening-night jitters behind them
The rest of the League---Butler, UW-Green Bay and UW-Milwaukee---got an early start on the competition with preseason tournament action last week.

Butler registered a pair of victories, capturing the consolation-bracket championship at the Black Coaches Association Invitational in Laramie, Wyo. Senior forward Brandon Polk averaged 17.7 points per game in the tournament, including a 26-point performance against Alabama State on Monday. Polk garnered Second-Team All-League honors last winter with his 13.3 points-per-game pace.

The Bulldogs shot 46 percent from the field, including 35 percent (23-of-65) from behind the arc in Wyoming to open the season at 2-1 despite being outrebounded in all three contests by an average of nearly eight boards per game. Butler committed only four turnovers in its finale versus Lehigh while forcing 19 miscues by the Mountain Hawks.

UW-Green Bay went 1-2 for the week, taking fourth place at the BCA Classic in Seattle, Wash. Junior guard Ryan Evanochko paced the Phoenix with 11.0 points and 4.0 assists per game, with redshirt-freshman forward Terry Evans adding 10.3 points per contest. Evans played in only six games last season before being sidelined by a knee injury.

Freshman forward Ryan Tillema scored a game-high 18 points in the opener, a 71-48 victory over UNC Greensboro on Sunday. The Randolph, Wis., native's total was the second-best debut by a UWGB freshman ever, behind only Richard Sims' 27-point initiation versus UW-Oshkosh in 1983.

Junior forward Aswan Minatee had 16 points in an 80-54 loss to Miami (Fla.) to close the trip for the Phoenix, who shot 51 percent (18-of-34) from three-point range in the three games.

UW-Milwaukee fell 79-52 at Memphis in the opening round of the Preseason NIT. The Panthers ---picked in the preseason polls to successfully defend their League title---shot just 22.2 percent from the field, hitting 12 of 54 shots in Rob Jeter's debut as the Panthers' head coach. Memphis posted 11 blocked shots in defending its No. 12 position in the national polls.

Senior forward Joah Tucker scored a game-high 23 points against the 12th-ranked Tigers, picking up where he left off at the end of last season. Tucker finished 2004-05 with a 32-point outburst versus then-No. 1 Illinois in the NCAA Tournament and averaged 23 points per game in the Horizon League Championship. The League's 2005-06 Preseason Player of the Year averaged 16.2 points per outing last winter.

League Teams Prepare for the Future with NLI Signees


While the 2005-06 season is still in its infancy (with six teams still waiting to take the court in their first official competition), it isn't not too early to look ahead to 2006-07. Six Horizon League schools took the first steps toward next season by signing a total of 11 high school players to National Letters of Intent.

Butler leads the parade with four newcomers, while UW-Milwaukee and UIC each announced two signings this week. Loyola, UW-Green Bay and Wright State each have one high school senior signed, sealed and delivered for next fall.

Here is a round-up of the Class of 2006, with information provided by the schools' sports information offices.

Butler
The Bulldogs' recruiting class features Fort Wayne, Ind., native Grant Leiendecker, a six-foot-three guard who averaged 18.1 points per game to earn Honorable Mention All-State notice as a junior following a 15.0 ppg. norm in his sophomore campaign at Homestead High School. He joins Louisville, Ky., product Forrest Smallwood, a six-foot-five forward who enters his fourth season of varsity competition at Male High School this winter. Smallwood averaged 15.0 points per game during the 2004-05 campaign and competed in the 2005 Challenge of Champions Basketball Showcase at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Also joining the Bulldog program are two Illinois recruits in six-foot-seven forward Elliott Engelmann and six-foot-three guard Willie Veasley from Freeport. Engelmann paced Downers Grove South High School to a third-place finish in the Illinois high school tournament last season, averaging 11.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per contest. Veasley has been rated among the state's top players by several publications after posting per-game rates of 15.5 points and 8.8 rebounds for Freeport High School a year ago.

UIC
UIC's Class of 2006 consists of Edwardsville, Ill., product Spencer Stewart along with Cypress Springs, Texas, native Jonathan Blake. Stewart, a six-foot-four performer from downstate Illinois, averaged 9.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 9.1 assists for the Edwardsville High School team which finished 24-5 a year ago. That all-around effort garnered Special Mention Class AA (large-school) All-State status.

The six-foot-five Blake emerged as one of the top players in Texas, ranked 34th in the state by Texas Hoops magazine. Blake averaged 13.6 points plus 6.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots per outing last winter to receive First-Team All-District accolades.

UW-Milwaukee
The Panthers signed a pair of six-foot-one guards, inking Milwaukee native Leneal Harris along with Charlie Swiggett from Chester, Pa.

Harris was an honorable-mention All-City Conference choice last year and helps lead the King High School squad which enters the season as the top-ranked team in the state, according to Wisconsin Basketball Yearbook. As a sophomore, he was a reserve on the second of King's two consecutive state championship teams.

Swiggett averaged 10.3 points per contest and earned Second-Team All-Delaware County acclaim last winter, helping Chester High School win a Pennsylvania state title in 2004-05. The six-foot-one Sweiggett transferred to Notre Dame Preparatory School in Worcester, Mass., for the 2005-06 campaign and is one of four Division I recruits on the school's roster.

UW-Green Bay
Harris will see a familiar face in the Horizon League as King teammate Troy Cotton signed a National Letter of Intent to join the UW-Green Bay program.

The six-foot-one guard from Milwaukee was a First-Team All-City Conference pick and an Honorable-Mention All-State choice by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, which recognized his averages of ten points, three rebounds and two assists per game last year. As a sophomore, Harris came off the bench to score 13 points in 14 minutes of action as King topped previously-unbeaten Madison Memorial (75-58) in the state championship game.

Loyola
Oshkosh, Wis., native Andy Polka is expected to join the Rambler program next year after inking a Letter of Intent. The six-foot-seven power forward would re-join former prep teammate and current LU sophomore Tom Levin on the Rambler roster.

As a junior at Oshkosh West High School last season, Polka averaged 14.2 points and a league-best 11.3 rebounds per game, earning unanimous First-Team All-Conference accolades. He shot 70 percent from the field to pace Oshkosh West to a 21-1 overall record including a perfect 18-0 mark in the Fox Valley Association.

Wright State
The Raiders added six-foot-five guard Todd Brown of Canton, Ohio, for next year. Brown helped lead his McKinley High School team to the Ohio Division I state championship in 2004-05, averaging 9.3 points plus 5.1 rebounds and four assists per game for the group which finished 27-1. This year's McKinley squad is the top-ranked team in the state and is ninth in the nation according to USA Today.

He has been tabbed the eighth-best wing guard in the state by Prep Spotlight Magazine after shooting nearly 50 percent from the field and 47 percent from three-point range a year ago.

Cleveland State, Detroit and Youngstown State have not announced any signings during the fall period.

Horizon League Men's Basketball Signees


SchoolPlayerHt.Pos.Yr.-*Hometown (High School / Other School)
ButlerGrant Leiendecker6-3GFr.Fort Wayne, Ind. (Homestead)
ButlerForrest Smallwood6-5FFr.Louisville, Ky. (Male)
ButlerElliott Engelmann6-7FFr.Downers Grove, Ill. (South)
ButlerWillie Veasley6-3GFr.Freeport, Ill. (Freeport)
UICSpencer Stewart6-4GFr.Edwardsville, Ill. (Edwardsville)
UICJonathan Blake6-5FFr.Cypress Springs, Texas (Cypress Springs)
LoyolaAndy Polka6-7FFr.Oshkosh, Wis. (West)
UW-Green BayTroy Cotton, Jr.6-1GFr.Milwaukee, Wis. (King)
UW-MilwaukeeLeneal Harris6-1GFr.Milwaukee, Wis. (King)
UW-MilwaukeeCharlie Swiggett6-1GFr.Chester, Pa. (Notre Dame Prep)
Wright StateTodd Brown6-5GFr.Canton, Ohio (McKinley)


* - Year of eligibility for the 2006-07 season.
Note: Cleveland State, Detroit and Youngstown State have not announced any players signing a National Letter of Intent during the fall period.