The men's basketball program at Penn State-Fayette, the Eberly Campus, enters the 2005-06 season with a new coach, several new players, and new hope.
The new coach, Shea Fleenor, who takes over for Budd Grebb, brings a new outlook and some new blood.
Fleenor, who played college ball at California (Pa.), coached the Albert Gallatin girls basketball team from 2002 through this past season, and he's recruited a few former members of the Colonials' boys squad to join his new team.
Freshmen T.J. Hall, Jarrod Lint and Erik Leech are on the Roaring Lions' roster. They're joined by Jordan Alderson and Chase Ogburn, both freshmen from Fort Cherry. In addition, sophomore Riely Tidholm (Frazier) has transferred from Penn State-Beaver.
Fayette has struggled to get wins over the past few seasons, but he said the host of new players, as well as some strong returnees, are ready to reverse those trends.
"Two of our biggest players coming back are Jesse Hyatt and Mike Bogden," Fleenor said, noting that Bogden decided against a transfer. "(Bogden is) a very good player; he's everything I want this team to be about. He's a great last-minute addition to have."
Hyatt, Fleenor said, will serve as the team's sixth man.
"Jesse and I talked about it, and I think this is going to put our team in the most successful position," he said. "Obviously, some of the freshmen have really stepped their games up."
Bogden and Hyatt are juniors, as is Lamar Hill. Sophomores John Pope and Matt Okel round out the team.
Fleenor said this year's Roaring Lions squad is talented and athletic.
"They can do a little bit of everything," he said. "I think we can play a bunch of different ways. We have guys who can shoot the basketball, and I think in our conference, we have good size."
Still, Fleenor said it's tough to tell exactly how the team will come together until the players are put into game situation. Penn State-Fayette has a "brutal" schedule that features match-ups with Mountain State, Seton Hill, Point Park and a season opener against St. Vincent, but Fleenor said he expects to see an improvement over last year's two-win season.
"You're not going to go from two wins to 22 wins; we have to be realistic about it," he said. "But I think our talent level is much better than it has been," he said. "I think we have kids who are working extremely hard, and I think we're going to shock some people in the Penn State Conference."
The Roaring Lions hope to make some noise in the conference and make the playoffs, but Fleenor said he isn't going to specify how many games he'd like to win.
"Making the playoffs is probably my biggest goal, and to see improvement every day," he said. "I'm not putting down a win total as a goal. I think numbers are irrelevant at this point."
Penn State-Fayette will play host to St. Vincent on Monday.
