PANTHER MEN'S BASKETBALL SEASON IN REVIEW
MARCH 22, 2008
OLD WESTBURY, N.Y.-Though the dust has barely
settled from this year's NCAA Tournament, the Panthers are
anticipating a big year in the 2008-09 campaign after finishing
2007-08 winning 12 of their final 14 games.
Old Westbury returns three pieces of its starting five next season
and loses only four seniors from a squad that posted a 16-10
overall record and lost in the quarter finals of the Skyline
Conference Championship Tournament to Yeshiva University.
Old Westbury finished the season, 15-3 and finished third in the conference standings. In the friendly confines of the Clark Athletic Center, Old Westbury posted a record of 10-4 at home and went 6-5 on the road. The Panthers finished in second place in the Old Westbury Panther Classic, falling to Plattsburgh State in the final, 77-65 and took home fourth place at the Hampden-Sydney Holiday Hoops Tournament.
All-Skyline Conference First Team and D3Hoops.com All-Region Second Team selection, junior Garthlette James (White Plains, N.Y.) returns for his senior season along with Second Team selection, freshman Lester Prosper (Bellmore, N.Y.), will look to lead the Green and Ivory to a Conference Championship. James poured in a career-high, 19.6 point per game and connected on 54.1 shooting from the field to lead the Panthers in the scoring department which included a season high 32 points vs. Maritime College on 15-of-23 shooting. As a true freshman, Prosper deflected 2.4 blocks (15th in nation) to go with 9.6 points and 6.5 boards per game. Prosper recorded a triple-double on January 26th at home against Mount Saint Mary College in which he totaled 18 points, 14 blocks and 13 rebounds.
Old Westbury will say farewell to graduating seniors, Ian Johnson (Jamaica, N.Y.), Divine Jackson (Hempstead, N.Y.), Anthony Stowe (Brandywine, N.Y.) and Brandon DeNoyer (Scotia, N.Y.).
Looking forward to next season, sophomore Shane DeNully (Bronx, N.Y.) is expected to provide the Panthers with a great decision maker at the point guard position. After arriving at Old Westbury in the second half of the season, DeNully led the team with 4.6 assists per game off the bench. In a February 9th win over Polytechnic University, DeNully dished out a season-high 13 assists. Freshman Brandon Mays (Roslyn, N.Y.) averaged 18 minutes worth of experience over 20 games to score 9.6 points per game off the bench. Mays will be presented with the opportunity to take on a larger role with the availability of 32.5 minutes left by Ian Johnson. Junior Eddie Hood (Brooklyn, N.Y.) battled with DeNully in a crowded backcourt where he distributed 64 assists in 23 games. Sophomore Tremain Gary (Brooklyn, N.Y.) assumed his role off the bench and responded with 6.2 points and shooting 54.2% from the field in 14 games off the bench.
The pieces are in place with a mix of Panthers along with the incoming Panthers to challenge for a Skyline Conference championship and make some noise in the upcoming 2008-09 season.
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