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IUPUI MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM READY TO PLAY BALL

INDIANAPOLIS - For the IUPUI Jaguars men's basketball team, replacing Don Carlisle will be a daunting task, but many players may be up to the challenge.

Senior forward Charles Price (Indianapolis, Ind./Broad Ripple) will be the Jags' main man this season, controlling the post as a scorer and shot blocker. Price already holds IUPUI's career record for blocked shots while averaging just less than 10 points per game.

The backcourt should be in capable hands with three guards returning. Seniors Taj Hawkins and Lance Williams and sophomore Matt Crenshaw will all see significant action. Hawkins is a three-year starter at the point, while Williams averaged 8.7 points per game last season, and is IUPUI's top marksman.

Brian Buchanan, a top marksman from Lincoln, Neb., and Rashad Pace will also factor into the backcourt. Pace will get an opportunity to be an understudy of Hawkins and Crenshaw, while being groomed to take over the point in the seasons to come.

Head coach Ron Hunter will count on a cast of junior college transfers to help Price out on the front line. Dannorris Harvery and Chris Sanders bring instant athleticism to the wings and frontcourt and should be ready for the Division I competition. Josh Mullins and Antoine Lewis both add depth to the Jags' front line and have the athleticism to thrive in a full-court attack. Lewis, at 6-foot-7, 240 pounds, loves to bang with opponents and scrap for loose balls underneath the basket.

Freshman Blair Crawford (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) is a capable scorer from beyond the arc, who will be counted on to stretch opposing defenses. Although his defense may be a question mark early in the season, his offensive firepower makes him hard to keep on the bench.

The center position may be the Jaguars' weakest spot as only junior Herbert Lambert returns. Lambert has seen limited action in two seasons at IUPUI, but is the Jaguars most aggressive player on the interior. He just needs to improve his touch around the hoop to contribute offensively.

One other factor that will help the Jags is the additions of transfers Josh Murray (Ball State) and Marcus May (Wright State) and redshirt Odell Bradley. Although the trio can't compete in 2001-02, the bunch will provide stiff competition in practice, something that has been a problem in years past.

Another newcomer to IUPUI this season is assistant coach Carlos Knox. Although it is Knox's first coaching stop, he is not a new face to the IUPUI program. Knox, who played at IUPUI from 1994-98, is the school's all-time leading scorer with 2,556 points. He also holds the career steals, free throws made and single-game scoring (51) record. He is the only student-athlete to have his number retired, as it hangs high in the IUPUI Gymnasium.

"We're excited about this upcoming season," Hunter said. "We're an improved basketball team, so hopefully those improvements will lead to wins."

The Jaguars schedule features trips to Indiana State, Ohio State and Georgia Tech, while also participating in the Sierra Providence SunClassic in El Paso, Texas.

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