Taller Wolves fortunes looking up for 2007-08

One of the tallest teams in Western Oregon history wants to move up the GNAC ladder

MONMOUTH, Ore. —When the Western Oregon men's basketball team opens the 2007-08 season with exhibition games at the University of Portland and Portland State, they will be taller than their Division I opponents.

In fact, there won't be many teams in the country at any level that can match the height of the Wolves this year.

WOU head coach Craig Stanger, in his third season at the helm, has assembled a mixture of returnees and newcomers. Stanger can rotate 7'3” and 6'11” players at the post, play 6'7” and 6'8” at small forward and he will go 6'5” at the off-guard.

The only factor that wrecks the median is a 6'1” freshman point guard and 6'3” power forward. Call the physical look of his squad interesting at best.

“Teams will see a variety of things from us,” Stanger said. “With our size, we can play an effective half-court game, but I think that we also push the ball up the court in transition. We have more depth than we have had in the past, which gives us some interesting options.”

The Wolves post tandem of 7'3” Liam Hughes and 6'11” Adonal Arrington will at the very least give opponents match-up issues. Hughes, a transfer from Oregon State , played in 21 games over three seasons with the Beavers. Arrington, who began his collegiate athletic career in the football program at Weber State , played a back-up role for the Wolves last season averaging nearly five points and three rebounds a game.

Also returning inside for WOU is the physical opposite of Hughes and Arrington—6'3” junior Stanley Ratcliff, Jr., who missed all of last season after surgery on his Achilles. As a sophomore in 2005-06, Ratcliff averaged 11.5 points and 6.0 rebounds a game, playing against much bigger opponents in the paint.

“We really missed Stanley last season,” Stanger lamented. “He plays so much bigger than 6'3”, with his reach and the way he positions himself inside. He has come back this year stronger and thicker.”

Returnees Tyler Blok (Jr., 6-6) and Mike McLaughlin (So., 6-7) add depth in the rebounding department for Stanger.

Two-year starter Travis Kuhns returns, where he will play at a wing. The 6'8” junior averaged 10.3 points 5.3 rebounds last winter, following up on a rookie season where he was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year.

“Travis had a great summer,” Stanger assessed. “He got stronger and he is shooting the ball better. He is becoming more of a complete player. He will cause some match-up problems for people by returning to the 3 spot, which is where we had him his freshman year. He is a very versatile player.”

Senior Ryan Schmidt is another returnee that can score (12.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg), but he won't be available until mid-December. Transfer Sam Kelly, Ryan's brother Matt Schmidt, '06-07 back-up Keith Hoffman and Isaiah Adams will all vie for time at the wings.

Sam Kelly, son of former WOU head coach Tom Kelly, spent two seasons at Salt Lake CC after a standout career at South Salem High School . The 6'5” junior, who also spent two years on a LDS mission, gives the Wolves added maturity. “I have obviously watched Sam play for a long time and am thrilled to have him on our team,” said Stanger, who assisted Tom Kelly for many years. “He will contribute immediately.”

The Wolves will combine experience and a fresh face at the point guard position. Senior Brad Krichevsky played both guard positions last year, averaging 6.5 points a game. He will share the quarterback spot with sparkling newcomer Dane Johnson, a 6'1” true freshman from Columbus , Ohio . Johnson's St. Francis DeSales high school squad advanced all the way to the Ohio Final Four last winter.

“Brad will play a lot for us, and has done some very nice things for us in the past,” Stanger explained. “Dane will surprise you, he doesn't play like a freshman. He sees the court very well, and makes everyone around him better.”

Last year, Western Oregon got off to a rough start in GNAC play and finished 10-17 overall and 5-11 in the conference. They had to play their first four league games on the road, losing all four by narrow margins and digging a huge hole that they could never fully crawl out of.

“That really hurt us,” Stanger recalled. “That, and not having Ratcliff or Kevin Boss inside was a tough transition. (The 6'7” Boss played two years previously but trained last winter for the NFL draft). This year, four of our first six GNAC games are at home and that will help us.”

While Western Oregon certainly got better, it appears everyone else in the conference has as well. Alaska Anchorage is the league favorite, and is ranked as high as tenth nationally in pre-season polls. Defending co-GNAC champions Seattle Pacific and Seattle University will also contend, if you listen to the league's coaches. They picked it like this: (1) Alaska Anchorage, (2) Seattle Pacific, (3) Seattle, (t-4) Western Washington, (t-4) Central Washington, (6) Saint Martin's, (7) Northwest Nazarene, (8) Western Oregon, (9) Montana State Billings, (10) Alaska Fairbanks.

“Anyone can beat anyone in this conference again,” Stanger claims. “It seems like everyone went out and recruited very well, there will be a lot of new faces in the league. As a whole, I think the conference is much stronger from top to bottom.”

After the Wolves begin with the exhibition games at Portland (Oct. 31) and Portland State (Nov. 2), they will play Warner Pacific at home (Nov. 10) in an exhibition contest before opening the season on Nov. 17 at the Physical Education Building against Corban.