Talented Field Coming to Wooster for 15th Annual Al Van Wie Classic

Marty Bidwell

One of the most challenging fields in the history of the Al Van Wie/Wooster Rotary Classic is in place for this weekend’s annual event, as three of the four teams have been picked to win their respective conferences this season. Kicking off the event on Friday, Nov. 21, at 6 p.m., will be Messiah College (15-10 in 2007-08) and Randolph-Macon College (20-6 in 2007-08). Messiah was part of the NCAA Div. III Tournament field as recently as 2007, while Randolph-Macon ranks No. 14 in the D3hoops.com top-25 as the preseason favorite in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Thirty minutes after the conclusion of that game, Washington & Jefferson College (14-14 in 2007-08) will take to the floor against host College of Wooster (23-5 in 2007-08), teams that were forecast to win the Presidents’ Athletic Conference and North Coast Athletic Conference, respectively. Wooster came in at No. 21 in the D3hoops.com preseason poll. On Saturday evening, Nov. 22, the consolation game will take place at 6 p.m., and then Friday’s winners meet for the championship, starting at approximately 8 p.m. Historically, the Fighting Scots have faired very well at their own Al Van Wie/Rotary Classic, having won 11 of the 14 such tourneys, including six in a row after victories over Farmingdale State College (106-81) and the University of St. Thomas (85-79) last year.

On the Air: Every Wooster men’s basketball game can be heard live in the Wooster area on WQKT 104.5 FM or anywhere in the world by following links on the radio station’s Web site at http://wqkt.com/. Mike Breckenridge serves as the “Voice of the Fighting Scots.”

Also for select games, including this weekend’s Al Van Wie/Rotary Classic, the audio and video from local cable provider Clear Picture, Inc., will be broadcast live over the Web at no charge to the viewer at http://www.teamline.cc/teampage?teamcode=1100, thanks to an agreement with Clear Picture and a donation from the “W” Association, the school’s alumni organization which supports athletics. Handling the play-by-play once again will be Jon Heavlin and Dan Wingate provides color commentary.

2008-09 Season Preview: Wooster, the winningest NCAA team of the 2000s (all divisions) with a .859 winning percentage (232-38), finds itself in an unusual spot entering the 2008-09 season. The Scots are the defending NCAC champions again, having won the title four years in a row now, however, they don’t possess as many proven veteran players as they usually do at this point.

Gone from last year’s squad, which went 23-5, including a 15-1 NCAC record and a five-point setback to eventual national champion Washington University-St. Louis in the first round of the NCAA Div. III Tournament, are James Cooper, Devin Fulk, and Evan Will. They formed the only senior class at Wooster to have won four conference championships, with Cooper having been a three-time D3hoops.com All-American, a two-time NCAC Player of the Year, and a 2,000-point career scorer (2,037), and Fulk and Will earning second-team all-NCAC status a season ago. Fulk, also a shooting guard, tossed in 1,000 points himself (1,083), more than half coming on a school-record 48.7 3-point field goal percentage, and Will served as a significant force in the post the last three seasons while totaling 718 points and 553 rebounds for his career.

Making it even more of a challenge for the Scots is a summer knee injury to senior point guard and first-team all-NCAC honoree Brandon Johnson (Columbus, Ohio / Groveport Madison). He’s averaged 10.6 points, 3.3 assists, and 1.6 steals over his career and those numbers will be missed for several early-season games, but he hopes to comeback in late December.

That leaves Wooster with senior forward Marty Bidwell (Middletown, Ohio / Bishop Fenwick) and sophomore forward Bryan Wickliffe (Columbus, Ohio / St. Charles Prep) as the top contributors from last year. The versatile Bidwell received honorable mention on the All-NCAC Team, averaging 9.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.8 steals, while Wickliffe contributed 10.8 points and 5.4 rebounds in his first season.

A few other veterans have the potential to increase their playing time, including letterwinners Ian Franks (Greenwich, Ohio / South Central), Dustin Geitgey (West Salem, Ohio / Northwestern), and Robert Melick (Gambier, Ohio / Mt. Vernon). Franks, a sophomore, and Geitgey, a junior, are combo guards looking to make up for the loss of Cooper and Fulk. Melick, a junior post, was part of the regular rotation throughout last season.

Additionally, a talented group of newcomers dot the roster, all of which has made for a competitive preseason with several players jockeying for spots on the varsity team.