KWC shorthanded for home opener - Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletics

Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletics

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Kentucky Wesleyan will significantly shorthanded when they host NAIA Hannibal-LaGrange tonight in the 2009-10 home-opener at the Sportscenter.

"We'll definitely have a thin crew on hand for this one," Panthers coach Todd Lee said. "We're going to have to maximize our effort and efficiency until we get back to full speed."

KWC (2-1) will be missing usual starters Desmond Stephens (injured) and Andree' Wilson (one-game suspension), along with key reserve Breland McKnight.

Hannibal-LaGrange (2-3) is led by 6-foot-8 senior forward Brian Gilbert, who averages team-highs of 15 points and 11 rebounds per game. Junior guards Brock Webber and Josh Boswell, meanwhile, each average 11 points per outing.

"Gilbert is their best player," Lee said. "He's very skilled. He's capable of knocking down a 17-footer and he's a good finisher around the glass. He's an inside-outside scorer we have to be aware of at all times.

"They're guards are good 3-point shooters, and they handle the basketball very well."

Lee expects the Trojans to run when they have the opportunity.

"They're going to push it up the floor on misses, and their guards are going to shoot the 3 when they're open," Lee said. "They'll attack the rim off the dribble, as well."

Wesleyan won two of three games at the season-opening Disney West Division II Classic at Anaheim, Cal. In three rapid-fire exhibition games that followed, the Panthers lost at South Carolina, beat old rival Evansville at Roberts Stadium, and were defeated at Purdue.

"We played six games in 10 days, but when we returned to practice our work ethic was lacking," Lee said. "The veterans get it, because they've been around the program for awhile, but the new guys are still learning how hard you have to practice in order to attain success.

"We can either choose to learn to work hard in practice, or we can learn some hard lessons in games. It's an adjustment for young players to work hard and concentrate hard for two hours (in practice), but it's an adjustment we're going to have to make."

Top scorers available for KWC tonight include guard Willie Richardson (11 ppg), forward Chris Williams (10.7 ppg), and guard Marico Stinson (10.3 ppg).

"Offensively, we're a ways away from where we need to be," Lee said. "We've had a little success here in the early going, but from a team standpoint we still have a long way to go."

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