The Chadron State College men's basketball team had its first practice this past Saturday morning and is slated to play its first game this coming Sunday afternoon against the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. Of course, it's an exhibition game, and it will be three weeks before the first official game is played.
CSC Coach Shane Paben said his team also will have a closed exhibition contest against the Briar Cliff Chargers in Sioux City on Saturday before playing in Lincoln the next day. The matchup with Briar Cliff is not on either team's schedule, but the one in Lincoln is on both the Eagles' and the Cornhuskers' schedules.
This year's Chadron State team will be much different than last year's. Just four players are on the 2022-23 roster from a year ago, and one of the four redshirted last winter.
The returnees include senior point guard Marcus Jefferson, who will be in his third year at CSC, played 33 minutes a game last season, was last year's second leading scorer with a 12.7-point average and does everything well.
Another is 6-foot-7 center Porter Anderson, who missed about one-fourth of the season because of injuries but was a force when he was healthy and his teammates got him the ball.
The third veteran, also a member the team for the third year, is forward Gage Delimont, who played in 18 games and is respected for his team spirit and stability.
The redshirt is Caden Sclafani, a 6-3 Texan, who is slowed by a knee problem, Paben said. The roster also includes Conner McCracken, a standout at Scottsbluff High School in 2017-18 and 2018-19 and once a member of the Western Nebraska Community College team. He high jumped for the CSC track team a year ago.
The remaining eight players are transfers, most of them from community colleges. A majority of them are guards. There are no freshmen on the roster.
Paben said the new players bring new hope. After working with them during individual sessions since soon after classes began this fall, he said they are solid group, with positive attitudes and appreciate the opportunity to be at Chadron State. He added that all of them played significant minutes at their previous schools and most scored in double figures on successful teams.
Last year's Chadron State team finished with a disappointing 10-17 record. The Eagles were hit hard by injuries. By the coach's count, players missed 120 game because of various injuries. It's a season he'd like to forget.
Maybe that's why he's anxious to get the new season underway. Tipoff in Lincoln is set for noon Mountain Time. The first official games will be at Texas A&M International in Laredo and Texas A&M-Kingsville on Nov, 11 and 12. The first home game is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19 with Sioux Falls University. Nebraska-Kearney will visit the following Tuesday.
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