2015-16 Shorter Hawks Schedule

By Jim O'Hara
 
ROME, Ga. – A new era begins for the Shorter men's basketball teams this weekend as the Hawks open the 2015-16 season under the direction of a new coach and with new faces in the lineup.

First-year head coach Tyler Murray makes his debut at the helm of the Hawks when Shorter heads to Mobile, Ala., to take on host Spring Hill on Friday night and LeMoyne-Owen on Saturday, the first of seven straight road tilts the Hawks have to start the new year before they return home to open the curtain at the Winthrop-King Centre when they host Gulf South Conference foe Valdosta State on Dec. 12.

"Being coachable, being a great teammate and having a great attitude – those are the three things we're focusing on right now," Murray said about the Hawks, who open the new campaign with just five players back from last year's squad and without the top five scorers from last season. "The 'X's' and 'O's" will take care of themselves.

"I want them to compete and battle," Murray added. "The rest will take care of itself."

Being counted on to step into key roles for the Hawks this season includes the team's lone seniors, guards Trevor McDade and Matt Catanzano, both who have saw extensive action last year by coming off the bench to give the team lifts.

McDade enters his final season as Shorter's top point producer back from a year ago when he averaged 6.6 points a game, and connected on 53 percent of his shots from the floor, averaged 3.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists. Catanzano, a former standout at nearby Armuchee High, is back to give Shorter a long-range shooting threat and is coming off the 2014-15 season having averaged 4.9 points.

The Hawks are also blessed with a trio of experienced juniors in 6-foot-6 forward Chris Daniels, who averaged 7.0 points and 4.1 rebounds, and 6-10 post Joseph Bobbitt and guard Cole Birchfield, both who saw action as reserves last season.

Rounding out the list of players who have been with the program and eager to provide the team minutes on the floor are red-shirt sophomore Jonathan Mason, junior Joshua Jernigan and sophomore Jalen Kirkland.

Murray and the Hawks, however, have welcomed a group of newcomers who are expected to have an immediate impact this season, including three junior transfers.

Being counted on to give an immediate boost will be point guard Phil Taylor, who previously played at Florida International University where he averaged 11.7 points and 2.6 assists; and guards Amonte Potter and Alijah Bennett, cousins who prepped at Sprayberry and come to Shorter after starting their careers at Georgia Southern and Kennesaw State, respectively.

And arriving as a true freshman where he will see action as a guard or at forward is 6-5 Cedric Guillaume, who last year helped lead Shiloh Hills to a region championship and the semifinals of the Class AAAAAA state tournament.

"We got the ability to put people in multiple positions, so we can be flexible," said Murray said, whose coaching staff will consist of assistants Tyler Parker, Travis Jones and Blake Selland. "We'll try to play fast. We've got some quick and athletic guards to help us play fast offensively. I think we've got a good group of guards that can help us and some guys who can score inside."

After this weekend's openers, the Hawks head to Huntsville, Ala., on Nov. 20-21 for non-conference tests against Trevecca Nazarene and Stillman, then visits North Georgia in Dahlonega on Nov. 24 for their final non-conference game.

From there on out, the Hawks will jump into the Gulf South Conference water, heading to Jackson, Tenn., on Dec. 3 to face Union and take on Christian Brothers on Dec. 5 in Memphis, before finally coming back to Rome for their inaugural home game of the season against Valdosta.

"We're looking for some of them to take leadership roles that hold not only themselves but everyone else accountable," Murray said. "We have someone different each day do that but we need more consistent leadership.

"They're learning to play with one another and play together," he said, "and we're making strides doing that."