The Justice

Big men Rich Magee '10 (white) and Stephen Hill '08 (35), battle. David Sheppard-Brick/the Justice

Ask players on the men's basketball team what they think of their D3hoops.com number 12 preseason ranking, and they'll say the only number they're interested in is four, as in reaching the final four of the NCAA Tournament.

"I don't take rankings too seriously. Rankings don't win you games," head coach Brian Meehan said. "We want to be considered one of the top teams in the country and go deep into the NCAA Tournament and see how good we really are."

After last season's breakout campaign, which featured the Judges' first NCAA Tournament berth since 1978, expectations for this year are high. Brandeis returns all of its major contributors from last season, including first-team all-UAA selection Steve DeLuca '08 and UAA honorable mentions Joe Coppens '08, Kwame Graves-Fulgham '08 and Florian Rexhepi '08. That team had a 20-7 overall record last year and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament, defeating Trinity College 77-70 in overtime before losing to Rhode Island College 70-67.

"Being ranked in the preseason [means] we have a bullseye on our back. We have to come out every day with intensity. We can't take anything for granted," DeLuca said.

Forward Stephen Hill '08 and center John Saucier '08 round out a group of seniors that Meehan recruited four years ago to revitalize the Brandeis basketball program.

"We came in trying to transform a program, [and] we really want to leave on a high note," Coppens said. "There's a lot of urgency, a lot of high expectations we have for ourselves. [Whether] we have success or we fail, it's all going to be placed on us."

In addition to experience, the Judges are deep and versatile, which allows Meehan to run a number of different successful lineup combinations. In addition to the seniors, guards Kevin Olson '09 and Andre Roberson '10 and forwards Terrell Hollins '10 and Rich Magee '10 create an effective nine-man rotation.

"No team with just one guy does great. When you can get guys to come in who can contribute as much as the starters do, it's a positive for the team," said Hollins, who missed the team's final eight games last season with a foot injury. "If it's close at the end of the game, whoever's playing well at the time can contribute."

Continued...

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