New faces expected to make an impact
Kirkwood Men’s Basketball returns for the 2010-2011 season hungry for a shot at the NJCAA National Championship. Expectations run high after last year’s double-overtime, third place finish at the Division II NJCAA National Tournament.
Last season had an eventful start with an 81-75 overtime win against Lincoln College, who ironically, defeated Kirkwood later in the semi-final round of the National Tournament. Impressively, the Eagles were victorious in all six overtime games in the 2009-10 regular season. The men finished in second place in the Iowa Community College Area Conference (ICCAC) behind Ellsworth Community College.
The Eagles replace key graduated players Jarvis Williams (Milwaukee, Wisc.), Jordan Stoermer (Coralville, Iowa) and Kaylon Williams (Cedar Rapids, Iowa). Leading the team in scoring (511 points) and rebounds (272) forward Jarvis Williams received recognition for his efforts earning NJCAA Third Team All-American, First Team ICCAC All-Region and NJCAA National Tournament All-Tournament Team honors. Guard Jordan Stoermer played solid defense leading the Eagles with 55 steals. Kaylon Williams was an offensive threat scoring 333 points and leading the team in assists with 215, 85 more than any other Eagle.
All three of these players are competing at the NCAA Division I level: Jarvis Williams at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Stoermer at the University of Iowa and Kaylon Williams playing at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Six players return to the Eagles that Head Coach Doug Wagemester expects to “lead by example, be the hardest workers and instill a ‘team first’ mentality in the freshman.”
Two hard workers for the Eagles last season were forwards Richie Thompson (Dolton, Ill.) and Alex Coleman (Cedar Rapids). Thompson returns as an experienced sophomore, starting all but three games. He had a strong performance in the NJCAA National Tournament consolation game scoring 15 points in the double-overtime win over Lewis & Clark Community College. Teammate Alex Coleman posted a career high 17 points against Southeastern Community College, finishing the year with 185 points.
Newcomers include Brennan Cougill (Sioux City, Iowa), Antione Howard (Milwaukee) and Troy Peter (Stevensville, Mich.), all transferring to the Eagles from other colleges. Cougill competed in 31 games as an Iowa Hawkeye, recording a double-double at Iowa State with 12 points and 10 rebounds last season. Howard comes to the Eagles as a Northern Oklahoma College-Enid transfer averaging 6.1 points per game, and Peter transferred from Lewis University.
Wagemester feels the transfers “understand the level of commitment it takes to be successful at the collegiate level,” which will help the Eagles accomplish their goals of competing for a conference, regional and national championship by “working hard and smart on a daily basis and learning to play together.”
As an end to last year’s memorable season, Coach Wagemester was named NJCAA Coach of the Year, finishing with a 28-8 record. The third place finish in the NJCAA National Tournament marks the eighth tournament appearance for the Eagles under Wagemester, with three second place finishes.
The Eagles begin their regular season at home, November 2, against Grand View University JV at 7 p.m. in Johnson Hall. For a complete game schedule, please visit www.kirkwoodeagles.com .