FIGHTING TIGERS LOOK FOR SWEET TASTE OF VICTORY FOR 2006-07

SUNY Cobleskill Head Men’s Basketball Coach Kevin McCarthy returns after a year long coaching sabbatical and the Fighting Tiger fan base is looking for a return to the sweet taste of victory for the 2006-07 campaign. After an 11-19 campaign under the direction of interim coach Marc Rybzyk the program will go into the season with no returning seniors and an abundance of promising freshman recruits. The NJCAA National Pollsters are also expecting a big season from the Fighting Tigers as once again Cobleskill is listed in the opening NJCAA Division III Pre-Season National Poll. The team is one of only two programs to appear in the national rankings coming off a sub .500 seasons. A fact that has the Fighting Tiger Head Coach somewhat bemused and certainly at no loss for words.

“How can you possibly rank a program in a pre-season national poll that has a losing record and no returning players?” questioned a smiling Fighting Tiger mentor. “Being in this situation is like asking Mike Krzyzewski to win the world basketball championship in his first year in charge of the USA team or like expecting Larry Brown to win with the Knicks. It simply defies logic and is obviously some kind of Halloween prank by the people at the NJCAA National Office.”

After his customary trademark comedic take on the season, McCarthy spoke about returning to the bench, the promise of the upcoming season and what the Fighting Tigers will look like during the 2006-07 campaign.

“It is certainly good to be back on the bench this year and I intend to return us to the style of basketball that our loyal fans expect; namely, that we are going to be a very physical, very unselfish, very disciplined and a very defensively solid ball club. These are the things that we’ve prided ourselves on in the past and we are going to get back to those basic tenets right off the bat. This is certainly a very young squad but we are very athletic, aggressive and team oriented. We now we need our fans to come back and support us on a nightly basis.”

Addressing the issue of inside presence for the Fighting Tigers will be a group of long and athletic freshmen this season including: All-SEAC Conference jumping jack 6’6” forward Jude Frank, Spring Valley, NY, Ramapo High School, explosive 6’7” forward/center Gerald Rasberry, Bronx, NY, an All-PSAL selection and member of  John F. Kennedy High School’s Class A New York State Federation Championship team,  burly 6’5” 220 lb forward Anthony Armstead, Schenectady, NY, Schenectady High School, an All-Section II/All-Big Ten Conference Team Selection and  spidery 6’5” forward/center Valdimer Coles, Warwick, NY, Warwick High School, an All-Orange County League selection.

On the perimeter, 6’1” senior swingman Devon Moore, Brooklyn, NY, Family Academy High School, returns after sitting out a season. Moore averaged 3.2 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists

per game in 26 outings for the Fighting Tigers 2004-05 Region III Championship team. He will be joined by a large group of talented freshman.     

Vying for playing time will be explosive 6’1” All-Nassau County/All-Long Island combination guard Jamel Linning, Hempstead, NY, Hempstead High School, bruising 6’2” swingman Stanley Francois, Valley Cottage, NY, Suffern High School, a two-time All-Rockland Country/All-Conference honoree, powerful combination guard 6’1 Dwayne Wade, Beacon, NY, Redemption Christian Academy, and All-Westchester County Conference I guard Jason Taylor, Ossining, NY, Deer Park, NY. Point guards Harley Fuller, Gloversville, NY, Broadalbin-Perth High School, an All-Colonial Council performer and Joe McCarthy, Warwick, NY, Warwick High School, should also bring elements of scrappiness to the Fighting Tiger attack this season.

With Head Coach Kevin McCarthy at the helm from 1992 through 2005, the Fighting Tigers have won three Mountain Valley Conference Western Division titles and two overall Mountain Valley Conference Championships while spending ten weeks ranked number one in the NJCAA Division III National Poll. Cobleskill made thirteen consecutive NJCAA Division III Region III Play-off appearances highlighted by Region III Championships in 1998 and 2005. The Fighting Tigers advanced to NJCAA Division III Final Four in 1998 and the Elite Eight in 2005. The also program established the SUNY System record for the most consecutive 20-win seasons with 11 in a row during that time. 

The Fighting Tigers will tip-off the season on Saturday November 4th when they host the Cougars of Clinton Community College at 1:00 PM at the Iorio Gymnasium. Admission to all Cobleskill regular season home games is free of charge to the public.