2009-2010 Men's Basketball Schedule

Head Coach: Dave Hammer (7th year)
Assistant Coaches: Tom Kempf, Jeff Patin, Zach Harris, Denny Krynicki, Jeff Wierzbicki

Student Assistants: Mike Kalchik, Jacques Razmus

2009-10 record: 16-10 overall, 6-4 WHAC

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(%) -- denotes home contests being played at Grand Rapids Community College

Ford Field House Map

Last season, when Aquinas won the WHAC regular season championship with a 12-2 record, the Saints were 6-1 on the road; and two years ago, AQ finished with a 4-3 WHAC road record (but was
undefeated at home). In his six seasons at Aquinas, Coach Dave Hammer’s conference road record is
25-16 (.610) — a stat that he knows is critical to winning a third consecutive WHAC title. “The teams that we’ve had in the past started winning championships when they proved they could win on the road,” Hammer said. “Winning away from home is more challenging, but you can still count on the rims being at 10 feet and the court dimensions being the same no matter where you play.”

This year, the task of winning WHAC contests will include an additional challenge — the Saints
have been displaced from their home court while work continues on an $11.5 million remodeling of
the school’s athletic facility. When the first phase of the project is completed, the long-awaited fitness and
sports complex will include a new basketball court with seating for 2,000. The loss of the Saints’ home court for one season also means seniors John Lierman, Matt McDonald and Ty Motley will not have the opportunity to cap off their athletic careers with any home games, nor be around to play on the new court when it opens in 2010. Hammer said he feels bad for the seniors, “but they’ll be the first ones to tell you they also want what’s best for the program and the school.”

That being the situation, Hammer remains optimistic about the prospects for building his current team into a contender. The 2009-10 Saints roster has a potent perimeter game featuring one of the league’s top returning players in forward John Lierman; depth at the post position; and impressive athleticism at the guard spots.“I think our perimeter, right now, is the strength of our team,” Hammer noted. “We have senior
leadership combined with youth and talent, and we have a great chance to blend those qualities together
as the year goes along.”

Any discussion about the Saints’ chances of claiming a conference championship and a berth in the NAIA Division II national tournament will focus on the production from John Lierman, who Hammer said should be in the voting for All-American honors. “When you look at our perimeter, it’s all about John Lierman,” Hammer said. “I think John will be one of the top three players in the league and, barring injury, has a chance to be player of the year.” A deadly outside scorer, Lierman also can create scores for his teammates with his passing ability. “He’s a very complete basketball player who anticipates everything at both ends of the floor,” Hammer said. “John is going to have to do a lot of things for us, especially early in the season because we don’t have the experience coming back that he played with in his first few years here.”

Hammer emphasizes that filling a leadership void created from graduation will be critical to this team.
“I heard a quote recently about how players can be great leaders, but the real key is how they’re able to
apply their knowledge with their teammates.” If one player could fill this role, it would be Matt McDonald. “Matt is a very good basketball player because he’s such a hard worker,” Hammer said. “He brings so many subtleties to our team and helps younger players understand what they need to be doing. I think he’s effective at injecting the right emotional quality for our team, and I want all our players to realize that when Matt speaks, he speaks just like a coach.” McDonald will have the opportunity this year to apply everything he’s learned about the game as a combo guard who can score and make the right decisions at both ends of the court.

Hammer predicts that this could be a breakout year for Damacious White, who showed last year what he can do from the perimeter. “He’s athletic and very strong, which makes him a tough match-up,” Hammer said, who plans to use White’s versatility to play him against bigger, slower players who he can beat off the dribble, or against smaller defenders who he can out-muscle for scores in and around the lane.

Also providing an outside scoring punch will be A.J. Schmidt, who took a medical redshirt last season
to rehab a severely sprained ankle. “I think A.J. could be a real nice surprise for us this year,” Hammer said.
“A.J. is probably our best-conditioned athlete who takes a lot of pride in what he does in the off-season
and in the weight room.” Schmidt, a jump shooter from long range, also can get to the basket off the
dribble and can make pressure free throws. Sophomore John Oostema has a real upside when he utilizes his natural athletic ability within the team concept that Hammer emphasizes. “When John is left open, he can make the 3-point shot, and he’s very effective in the open court.” Freshman Brett Pfahler has a “very bright future” in Hammer’s program. The 6-3 sharp-shooter already has added some muscle to his frame, although Hammer says Pfahler will need to adjust to the speed of the college game. Quentin Simmons, a transfer from Louisburg College (NC), is a slasher who runs well and utilizes his athleticism in the open court.

The loss of three-year starter Jordan Torres at the point position creates an opportunity for senior Ty Motley and newcomer Jamell Hatchett to quarterback the Saints’ attack. “Jordan brought stability and confidence and understood how to play the game extremely well,”Hammer said. Motley, who transferred to Aquinas from Lansing Community College, cooly sank a free throw that enabled his high school team to clinch a
state championship. Motley is an aggressive on-ball defender who also can bury the outside shot.
Hatchett, according to Hammer, has the ability to “use his legs” to create plays in the lane. “We’ll see a difference in how our point guard position impacts the game,” Hammer said. “The point guard position is so crucial at both ends of the floor — it’s not just having an understanding of how to run an offense, but knowing who is playing well and getting the ball to the right person in the right place at the right time.” Hatchet, who played one year at Kuyper College and sat out last season while attending classes at Aquinas, is explosive with the ball and can finish at the rim or pull-up for a jumper off the dribble.

“One of things we’ve always had during my six seasons at Aquinas is a very strong post game,” Hammer continued. “But it’s going to be different this year, because we won’t have that type of post presence. But what we will have is size and numbers — we’ll have six legitimate post players, which we’ve never had.” That equates to more energy, intensity and hustle that can keep players fresh for the end of the game.

The Saints have only one returning post player with any significant game experience. Jake Shockey
averaged nearly 28 minutes per game, which Hammer says is a lot of time for a freshman. “He was playing with a very experienced group, so he could get his feet wet,” Hammer said. “Now he has to take that experience, and combine it with the work he put in during the off-season, to establish himself as an impact player for us.” Junior Matt Weiss has spent the past two years in the program making steady progress, even fighting through injuries to make enough improvement to challenge for meaningful minutes on the court. “Matt has long arms and has a much better understanding of how he needs to play in college,” Hammer said, adding that Weiss may be the best screening post player in the program. When recruiting for the post position, Hammer went through the junior college ranks, landing 6'5 Josh Jackson and 6'4 Dan Spyhalski. “The one who I think could make a real impression is Spyhalski,” Hammer said, noting that the Delta College product will add ruggedness and versatility to the front line. Spyhalski runs the floor well and can step out to the perimeter to help open the middle with his outside shooting touch. “Josh is an athletic post player who should be able to help us with rebounding and blocking shots, which is something we have not had in the past,” Hammer said. “He’s also surprisingly quick getting off the floor, and he has a nice touch out to 15 feet.” “I’m very excited to have added Zach Eddy, who I think has a very promising future,” Hammer said. “He’s 6'6, strong, he’s got a good mid-range game, and he works extremely hard.” “Hornack is another left-hander (along with Jackson) who also works very hard and is dedicated to improving his strength by getting in the weight room,” Hammer said. “He’s a great listener with terrific enthusiasm, and he works hard to execute what we want to do.” J.T. Scollin will be red-shirted this season so that he can add bulk to his frame. “J.T. has a 4.20 grade point average and a 30 ACT score, so he’s extremely smart; but what we have to do with J.T. is help him increase his upper-body strength. If he can get stronger, he’s already a legitimate 6'7 with an outside shot that could enable him to help our program.

”If there’s a position that is the most difficult in college to develop and master, Hammer says it’s the post. “It’s because of the strength, size and experience that other teams will have at that position; and, if you come in inexperienced, I think that’s an area that can be exposed very quickly. “So far, I’ve been satisfied with the progress with our post play, knowing that it’s not easy to replace a player like Pedja Lazic,” Hammer said. “The good thing is we do not have a senior among the group. Collectively, the guys who will play the post for us have the opportunity to grow and develop on a day to-day basis. We may take our lumps in November and December, but with hard work and effort, this post group will definitely be significantly better by the end of the year.”

Hammer said it will be important for this team to create its own identity — one that initially will not be locked into building on the success of the past four years. “I think having high expectations would be unfair for this group,” Hammer explained. “The biggest thing we have to keep in mind on a daily basis is trust — we have to trust one another, we have to trust the program, we have to trust the coaching staff, we have to trust our ability every day to improve ... and then see what happens. "We have some experienced players who are
coming back,” Hammer continued. “We also have a great player coming back, and we have some
athleticism that we have not had in this program before that will add some excitement. “I have a lot of optimism because we are demonstrating the daily work ethic that is so important to being successful,”Hammer said. “So I’ve avoided putting numbers and goals on them, other than to say that this is a program that is all about playing for championships and a national tournament berth — and that’s what we strive for every year.” Aquinas has been picked for third in the preseason WHAC poll, and in the final analysis, Hammer emphatically says the teams that win on the road are the ones that end up winning championships. “There’s more talent than ever before in our league,” Hammer said. “I don’t see a single dominant team, but there are three or four teams in our league that could do very well in the national tournament.”