The 2018-19 basketball season for the Alderson Broaddus University men's basketball team is right around the corner. The team has a mixture of known strengths and question marks as the team embarks on a new season. The coaching staff brought in a talented class of recruits. But with that comes the question of how will they adapt their game to the style of play at the NCAA Division II level. The squad does return two players that should contend for first-team all-G-MAC honors. The schedule also presents a lot of challenges. ABU will play the defending NCAA Division II national champions during the first weekend of the season along with several challenging opponents in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
Returning to anchor the ABU lineup will be guard Mike Davis. The senior from Cleveland, OH averaged 21.8 points per game last season to go with 72 assists, 36 steals and 22 blocks on the season. For his efforts, Davis was named to the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Second Team. Mike is a former 1st-team junior college All-American who can score in multiple ways on the court. We have linked below what would be a memorable highlight that Mike Davis had last season against Bowie State.
Mike Davis Throw Down
Another returning veteran to the Battler lineup is 6'4" junior forward Malik Bocook. The Zanesville,
OH native averaged 11.2 points per game and 10.2 rebound per game last season. For his efforts, Bocook was named to the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Honorable Mention Team. He was also the G-MAC freshman player of the year for the 2016-17 season. Malik is a tough player to defend on the high screen-and-roll and also possesses an excellent mid-range jumper. Malik unfortunately injured his knee during the pre-season and is expected to miss the first month of games. His hopeful return in December will add another weapon to the ABU lineup.
The one possible downside to this year's lineup is that Bocook and Davis are the only returning players to this year's lineup. The team lost a couple of defections in the off-season. But that did not stop the coaching staff from going out and landing several talented and decorated freshmen. The squad also adds three talented transfers to the Battler lineup. The coaching staff will be counting on the newcomers to add a lot of production and playing time to this year's team. One player that was on campus last season and redshirted for his freshman year was 6'2" guard Tyler Golphin who played basketball at Cleveland Central Catholic HS. Golphin averaged 14 points per game his senior year including double figure outputs in his last 14 games. For his efforts, he was offered a scholarship by D-I Bethune Cookman but decided late to go to ABU and redshirt for his freshman year.
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| Brandon Simmons |
The Battler basketball lineup received a very late transfer that is expected to start from day one.
Brandon Simmons transferred to the Philippi campus in August from Slippery Rock University. The 6'9" post player brings incredible length and height to the Battler rotation. Simmons averaged 10.2 points per game, 8 rebounds per game and tallied 84 blocks during his junior year at SRU. His production helped lead Slippery Rock to a 21-9 record last season. The Harlem, NY native gives ABU a shot-blocking presence that they haven't had since James Newberry was the starting center for the Battlers in the mid-1980s. Simmons had several production games for Slippery Rock last season including a 19-point / 12 rebound effort in the last game of the season against Gannon.
The ABU coaching staff also added a highly-decorated junior college player from Hesston
Community College in Hesston, Kansas. Coye Campbell is a 6'0" guard who comes to Philippi after averaging 16.5 points per game / 4.1 rebounds per game and 3.7 assists per game in a highly-touted junior college league. For his efforts, Campbell earned NJCCA Region Six - 2nd team honors after shooting 56% from the field and 45% from beyond the arc. It is expected that Campbell will contend for a spot in the starting five.
The Battlers signed an athletically-gifted big man in the off-season. ABU was able to land the services of 6'6" junior college transfer Bryan Polanco who played his JUCO ball at Polk State CC. Polanco is a talented player with exceptional bounce to his game. He can drive the ball from the outside and finish high above the rim. We have linked Bryan's sophomore year highlight tape below. He will give depth to the Battler lineup in terms of versatility on the floor. Polanco is a native of the Dominican Republic.
Bryan Polanco Highlight Video
The Alderson Broaddus basketball team has added some great depth for this season with the incoming freshman class. If this class sticks together at ABU, then the future could have a lot more successful seasons down the line. Many of the new freshman will be asked to contribute right away.
Dalen Solomon is a 6'5" / 225 pound freshman who played his high school ball at John Hay HS in
Cleveland, OH. Solomon was a consistent player for Hay last season putting up some impressive numbers throughout his senior season. Some of his highlights include: 28 point and 9 rebounds against University, 27 points and 9 rebounds against Max Hayes HS, 19 points and 8 rebounds vs. Rhodes HS and 16 points and 10 rebounds against John Adams HS. Solomon is no stranger to the Alderson Broaddus University campus. Dalen took part in the ABU Elite Camps during the summers that were held at Rex Pyles Arena. With the early injury to Malik Bocook, it is an opportunity for a player like Solomon to get some early playing time as a freshman. He has tremendous upside to his game.
Another big freshman is 6'5" / 215 pound Aaron Loines from Glenville HS out of Cleveland, OH. Loines is another player that could see significant playing time due to defections and injuries. We did a feature on Loines signing with the Battlers. We featured Loines in a story earlier in the year. Please check out his information and videos and the link below:
Aaron Loines
A big signee is the off-season was the ability of the coaching staff to land local product David Shriver of Philip-Barbour HS. The 6'5" wing player comes to ABU with a reputation as a great shooter beyond the arc. Shriver was a WV Class AA 1st-team all-state selection his senior season. He was also selected to play in the West Virginia North/South All-Star game and the WV vs. Pennsylvania all-star game. David was named MVP of the WV squad in that latter all-star game mentioned where he poured in 25 points which included 5 three-pointers. Shriver also scored 17 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in the WV North vs South all-star game. He averaged 21.6 points per game his senior season for PBHS in leading them to a 22-4 record and a semi-final appearance in the state tournament. Shriver scored 19 points in the semi-final loss to Fairmont Sr as he went up against WVU signee Taevon Horton.
The Battlers were also able to land the services of 6'1" guard Cleveland Horton who played for Poly-
Tech HS in Baltimore, MD. Horton was known as a lock-down defender for Poly-Tech as he was responsible for shutting down many D-I signees during Poly-Tech's back-to-back 3A state title runs in Maryland. The quality characteristic that the ABU coaching staff likes with Horton is that he comes in with a winning attitude.
Other freshmen that could contribute for Alderson Broaddus this season are: Tyler James, a 6'6" player out of Warren, OH who averaged 13.6 ppg / 10.8 rpg ; Gavin Williams, a 6'4" player from Ridgeview Prep in South Carolina where he was rated as the 54th best player in South Carolina last season ; Cole Whited, a 6'4" native of Philippi, WV where he averaged 18.4 ppg his senior year including a 13 of 13 performance from the field in PBHS state quarterfinal win; KJ Walker, a 5'10" guard from Reynoldsburg, OH and Holton Summers, a 6'0" guard from University HS in Morgantown, WV.
The Alderson Broaddus men's basketball team will once again be led by veteran head coach Greg Zimmerman who is entering his 17th season as head coach of the Battlers. Zimmerman has compiled a record of 359-129 record for a winning percentage of 73.6%. The Battlers will open up the 2018-19 season at home against Grand Valley State on Saturday, November 10 at 3 PM. The following day ABU will take on the NCAA D-II defending national champion Ferris State at 1 PM. ABU men's basketball is aided on the bench by assistant coaches Duncan Williams and Josh Wamsley.
The Alderson Broaddus men's basketball team has signed 6'4" guard/forward Jalen Martin from Jackson College in Michigan. Martin will have two years of eligibility with the Battlers. He averaged 11.6 points per game and 5 rebounds per game this past season for the Jets which compete at the junior college level. Jalen scored in double-figures in 16 games this past season. He had a season-best 31 points against Mid Michigan where he was 12 of 16 from the floor including 6 of 8 from beyond the arc. Martin is a native of Chicago, Illinois where he attended Thornwood High School.
