SEASON PREVIEW

The 2005-06 Muhlenberg men’s basketball team was like the girl with the little curl in her forehead. When the Mules were good, they were very good indeed, but ...

Muhlenberg returns a wealth of talent and experience from a squad that went 14-12 and earned

Pothering scored 30 points the first three games of last season before getting injured. He wound up playing in 11 games and averaging 5.7 points on 19-of-40 shooting from three-point range.

the program’s first Centennial Conference playoff berth in four years. With more consistent play, the Mules, who open up by facing Rensselaer in tomorrow’s opening round of the Scotty Wood Tournament, could be one of the most formidable teams in the CC.

The most glaring example of Muhlenberg’s Jekyll-and-Hyde nature was in its performance home and away. The Mules cleaned up at Memorial Hall, going 12-1 and winning by an average of 15.7 points. When they put on the red uniforms, however, they were only 2-11, including a 1-8 mark in the CC.

Muhlenberg hopes to overcome its road woes with a returning roster that gives the team the versatility to play a number of different styles according to the opponent. The Mules’ work ethic, coupled with the experience of eight seniors, will keep them competitive all season.

The team’s 10 returning letterwinners are spread out evenly among positions. Four players named Chris are back in the backcourt, with seniors Chris Pothering and Chris Huber at shooting guard and senior Christopher Strachan and sophomore

CC preseason poll school points 1. Johns Hopkins (14) 157 2. Ursinus (3) 141 3. MUHLENBERG (1) 124 4. Franklin & Marshall (2) 114 5. Gettysburg  96 6. McDaniel  75 7. Dickinson  59 8. Haverford  55 9. Swarthmore  53 10. Washington  36 first-place votes in parentheses

Chris MacIntosh at point guard. Pothering, a team co-captain, and Huber combined to make 44 percent of their three-point tries last year. Huber was the team’s second-leading scorer at 12.0 points per game and came close to the school record for three-pointers in a season. Strachan and MacIntosh complemented each other nicely at the point, Strachan providing veteran court leadership and MacIntosh more scoring ability.

Seniors Tom Scott and Brandon Mefford and sophomore Mike Bernardini give the Mules athleticism at the wing. Scott, a team co-captain, finished last year with a flourish, averaging 11.2 points and 4.2 rebounds for the season. Mefford and Bernardini both played significant minutes all season long.

The returning frontcourt features seniors Jeff Stewart, Justin Fields and Jimmie Riggins. Stewart, an All-CC first-team selection who will be out for the first semester, has averaged a double-double the last two seasons and enters his senior year ninth on Muhlenberg’s all-time scoring list with 1,345 points. Fields and Riggins are veteran role players.