Nov. 15, 2005

Overview...The 2005-06 basketball season will mark the end of an era for the Winston-Salem State University Rams as they will play their final year as a member of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), a conference to which they have belonged for the better part of half a century. WSSU will be making the move from the NCAA Division II level to NCAA Division I and will play a full Division I schedule in 2006-07 making the upcoming season the final chance for the Rams to win their 13^th CIAA Championship.

 

The 2004-05 Rams posted a 22-8 overall record (14-2 in the CIAA) and earned yet another berth to the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball playoffs, a place that Philip Stitt has taken the Rams twice during his four-year head coaching tenure at WSSU.

 

Stitt, the 2004-05 CIAA Coach of the Year looks to have another strong team this season as he returns two All-CIAA First-Team selections in forward Audly Wehner (Jr./Fayetteville, NC) and guard Alleggrie Guinn (Sr./Charlotte, NC). However, off-season knee surgery for Wehner has left his status uncertain heading into the start of this season, and with only seven other letterwinners returning from last year, the Rams will once again be a very young basketball team.

 

Last season saw the Rams, a team that was picked to finish fourth in the CIAA Western Division during the preseason media day, sneak up on teams en route to knocking off three nationally-ranked opponents including, but not limited to, #1 ranked Virginia Union University, a team that would go on to capture the 2005 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship. The Rams would also knock off nationally ranked Bowie State University en route to a CIAA-best 14-2 conference record.

 

However, the Rams will not have the luxury of the element of surprise in 2005-06 as they have been picked by coaches and the media to finish second in the hotly-contested CIAA Western Division. If youth and inexperience, coupled with another extremely challenging schedule, have any influence on the Rams this season, WSSU Head Coach Philip Stitt will have his hands full in Winston-Salem, NC as the Rams head into their final season versus Division II opponents. Despite the challenges, Ram fans, players, coaches and athletic administrators head into the season undaunted as they look to continue the tradition of basketball excellence that has been the standard at WSSU since 1945.

 

Frontcourt...At the close of the 2004-05 season, diehard Ram fans, and the casual observer alike, would have intimated that the WSSU backcourt would be the strength of the 2005-06 men's basketball team.

 

Audly Wehner (Pictured) May Miss The Entire 2005-06 Season Following Off-Season Knee Surgery

Fans looked forward to the return of All-CIAA forward, and WSSU leading scorer, Audly Wehner. An All-CIAA selection, and All-America candidate, Wehner averaged 15.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in 2004-05 and led the CIAA in field goal percentage, hitting 60.2% of his shots from the field. However, a knee injury that required surgery over the summer may keep Wehner out for the season, as doctors have predicted that a mid-January return date for the 6'6" forward may be too generous an estimate. Without the services of Wehner, the Rams will be thin in the forward ranks as they return only three other forwards from last season.

 

Returning for the Rams will be Darrell Wonge, a 6'6" swing man who had a stellar 2004-05 campaign en route to averaging 2.1 points and nearly 2.0 rebounds per game off of the bench. Wonge, who appeared in 28 games last season and recorded 260 minutes of playing time, will play a more integral part in the offense in 2005-06 and will have to increase his scoring production as he may very well be slated to start the first game of the season on November 15, 2005.

 

Joining Wonge at the forward position will be Frank Johnson. The most seasoned of the returning forwards, (with Wehner possibly lost for the year) Johnson will have to continue to provide offense for the Rams. He appeared in all 30 games last season, starting 27 of them, en route to 6.5 points and 2.0 rebounds per contest. A long-range sharp shooter, Johnson hit 30 of his 67 attempts from three-point range last season as he provided the Rams with perimeter firepower that they used to pound opponents from the inside out.

 

Rounding out the returning letterwinners will be Curtis Hines. A 6'2" forward slash guard that can legitimately play four positions, Hines appeared in all 30 games for the Rams last season, starting two. A key contributor off of the bench, Hines averaged 4.7 points per game. A consistently effective shooter from three-point range, he provided perimeter shooting power that helped to sink the hopes of many WSSU opponents last season. Hines returns for his junior season in 2005-06 and will need to increase his scoring load to help the Rams' title chances.

 

Despite potentially having only four, and more than likely three, letterwinning forwards return in 2005-06, Stitt and the Rams will add firepower to their forward corps as they welcome the services of a pair of junior transfers, a pair of redshirt freshman, a redshirt junior and a true freshman.

 

The most notable additions will be the pair of redshirt juniors in Greg Lewis (Malverne, NY/SUNY Stony Brook) and Alonzo Roberts (Raleigh, NC/Lenoir Community College).

 

Lewis is a 6'7", 255 pound post player who has great back-to-the-basket moves and will contribute immediately to an undersized Ram roster. He comes to WSSU from Division I's State University of New York at Stony Brook. He will be counted upon to rebound and score for WSSU as he is the second tallest player on the roster at 79 inches tall and will have to use his collegiate playing experience to outplay and outsmart the Rams' opponents.

 

Roberts, a 6'7" forward from Lenoir Community College who checks in at a solid 250 pounds may be the most physically imposing player on the WSSU roster. A true power forward, Roberts will look to control the paint and the glass as he looks to turn rebounds into second chance opportunities for the Rams, something that they lacked in 2004-05 as they ranked 7^th in the CIAA in rebounding.

 

Jamal Durham, a true freshman from North Davidson High School in Winston-Salem, NC is a 6'6" athletic marvel with extraordinary leaping ability who will help to defend the athletic forwards that man the paint throughout the talented CIAA. A relentless defender, Durham possesses a soft touch and can consistently hit a mid-range jump shot, a skill which he will use to compete for playing time at the forward position.

 

The Rams will welcome back a familiar face in 2005-06 as "Stormin" Norman Carter returns to the WSSU lineup. The 6'5", 180-pound forward is coming off an NCAA redshirt year that he used to concentrate on his academics. He will provide the Rams with depth off of the bench.

 

Rounding out the forwards is the tallest player on the WSSU roster in Julian Murphy-Long. Murphy-Long is a 6'9", bean-pole skinny redshirt freshman forward from East Mecklenberg High School in Charlotte, NC. Weighing in at only 180 pounds, Murphy-Long will look to contribute off the bench to an undersized Ram corps of forwards that will be smaller than almost every team that they face in the upcoming season.

 

Backcourt...Philip Stitt's backcourt cupboard is far from bare as he returns five letterwinners from last season to what may very well prove to be the strength of the team. The Rams, who have historically been a guard-oriented team, will once again control the frontcourt in 2005-06 and will look to continue the shooting dominance from last season, a year in which WSSU guards shot nearly 46% from the field.

The Rams Will Welcome Back The 15.6 Points, 4.1 Rebounds, 2.93 Assists, and 1.97 Steals Per Game From Alleggrie Guinn

 

The Rams will gladly welcome back the services of All-CIAA and all-everything guard Alleggrie Guinn (Sr./Charlotte, NC). The 6'3", 170 pound guard from Independence High School in Charlotte, NC is unquestionably the Rams go-to player on both offense and defense and will be counted on to provide the experience that WSSU will need to compete against the upperclassmen-laden opponents throughout the CIAA. Guinn appeared in, and started all 30 games for the Rams last season en route to 15.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.93 assists, and 1.97 steals per game. Guinn placed ninth in the CIAA in scoring, 11^th in assists, sixth in FT percentage, fifth in three-point shooting percentage, seventh in blocked shots, and was second in the conference in made three-point field goals as he tallied a mind-blowing 70 made threes in 2004-05, averaging nearly 2.4 made 3's per contest. A senior guard, Guinn recorded his 1000^th point two-thirds of the way through the season last year and now has 1100 points to his credit while at WSSU.

 

Guinn will likely occupy the shooting guard slot which will allow for the return of redshirt sophomore, and WSSU sparkplug, Roy Peake (So./Thomasville, NC) to the point guard position.

 

The 5'11" Peake, who plays far larger than his smaller stature would indicate, can best be described as a "pest". With a nose for the ball, and a defensive intensity that would make even the most old-school of coaches proud, Peake is a tireless defender who has recently found an offensive touch to compliment his defensive tenacity. An unselfish, pass-first, shoot-second point guard, Peake led the Rams in assist to turnover ratio last season as he tallied only 36 turnovers while handing out 87 assists. He will look to improve upon his 4.2 points per game from 2004-05 and will help to lead the Rams into CIAA play.

 

Corey Parker returns to the lineup for the Rams in 2005-06 as he looks to continue the momentum from a late-season surge. Parker, who played sparingly during the Rams' first 14 games stepped up mightily in WSSU's final 16 games of the season as he used defensive intensity and aggressive offense to log quality minutes. Parker, whose late-season surge may very well have earned him a spot in the starting lineup on November 15, 2005, when the Rams battle Lenoir-Rhyne, will use his experience and basketball knowledge to increase the productivity of a very young set of WSSU guards.

 

Corey Parker (Pictured), Who Came On Strong In The Latter Part Of The 2004-05 Season Will Have To Continue To Contribute For The Rams In 2005-06

WSSU will welcome back the services of Lowen Wray, a 5'11" guard from Vance High School in Charlotte, NC who looks to step up his production in 2005-06, his junior season. He will compete for time at the point guard spot and will likely log minutes in relief of Roy Peake.

 

The only newcomer to the backcourt ranks will be Andrew Porter. Porter, a 5'11", 170-pound walk-on from Starmount High School in Jonesville, NC will compete for time off of the bench for the Rams. A hard worker, Coach Stitt looks to Porter to provide quality minutes in a reserve roll off of the bench.

 

Final Analysis...The Rams will once again have their hands full in the ultra-talented CIAA as they will need to be at full attention from the season's opening tip versus Lenoir-Rhyne on November 15, 2005 through their first CIAA contest versus Bowie State on November 29, 2005 and on to the CIAA Tournament in Charlotte, NC the final week of February.

 

The Rams will look to capture their 13^th CIAA title in Charlotte in 2006 and will look forward to yet another NCAA Tournament appearance in their final year of CIAA league membership. It may be the end of the CIAA era in 2005-06 but the Rams will witness the ushering in of the Division I era at Winston-Salem State University as everyone in Winston-Salem, NC looks forward to the challenges that lie ahead.

 

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