Men’s Basketball – 2012-13 Looks Promising as Lakers Gear up for Season
CANANDAIGUA – In just a tad bit over 72 hours sits the beginning of another Region III basketball season. As the sounds of sneakers squeaking on the hardwood at Putt Moore Court begin to be heard starting this Thursday (11/1), this year's Lakers squad will enter 2012-13 with great expectations. FLCC will begin its season at home on that night against Monroe CC at 7:00 p.m.
The team will be headed by eleventh-year head coach Richard Jones, who enters the season with a 187-121 record as head coach of FLCC over his first ten years. He will be joined on the bench by third-year assistant coach – A.J. Raulli.
The 2012-13 schedule looks to favor the Lakers in the aspect that they will host 17 of their 26 regular season games at home. Of those 26 games, 12 of them will come against members of their conference – the Mid-State Athletic Conference.
The group making up this year's list of players to watch that fall under the column listed as top incoming freshmen includes the likes of Kaleem Edwards, Patrick Erdle, Dom Higgins, Wayne Barnes, Will Arberry, and Sean Sweeney. The new additions to the club coincide with a sturdy sophomore class led by Sean Carbonell, Richard De La Cruz, Trevor Sanders, Nate Miller, and Kelvin Munoz.
The Lakers will look to rebound from what was just their second losing season in ten years a year ago as they strive to bring a winning product to each and every gym that they play in during 2012-13. Despite not coming into the season with a team stocked full of prolific scorers, this year's squad will look to rely heavily on team play to reach its offensive potential.
The Lakers offense will be led by Carbonell – their top returnee from a year ago. A well-built and strong forward, the 6'3" second-year player averaged 12 points and 6 rebounds per game last season. His physicality and high basketball IQ make him a valuable piece to the team both offensively and defensively.
Following Carbonell on the list of key returnees is De La Cruz. Also labeled as a forward, De La Cruz, listed at 6'2", offers a great shooting touch both inside and outside of the perimeter to the team. In 2011-12, he averaged 6 points per game.
Sanders, another quality shooter out of the forward position, like De La Cruz, also possesses the ability to shoot the rock at a high percentage from inside and outside of the ark. In his freshman year, he was the Lakers leader in three-point field goal percentage.
Miller, inked in as a center, provides FLCC with great size inside the paint at 6'6". Miller's physique comes with a set of mobile feet combined with great hands. Munoz, on the other hand, also offers depth to the team. Factored in as a guard, he gives the Lakers a solid ball handler and decision maker on offense.
Sitting atop of the talented incoming freshmen chart for FLCC is Edwards. At 6'4", Edwards, a transfer from Brewton-Parker College (Georgia), brings great size and length to the guard position in his first year with the club. A trio of other new guards which includes – Higgins, Barnes, and Sweeney – each presents the team with quality options on offense both inside and outside of the perimeter. A pair of forwards in Erdle and Arberry – Erdle at 6'5" and Arberry, who is 6'3" – gives the Lakers comfort in terms of size and readiness to be impact players in their first seasons with the club.
FLCC will look to erase its 11-17 season of a year ago in 2012-13 by reestablishing its winning ways – something that has been an integral part of the men's basketball program dating back to its inception.