Preview 2006: Fresh faces at Eastern Utah

The College of Eastern Utah is hoping the old adage of addition by subtraction holds true this season. Gone from the school is Jamaal Smith, who JucoJunction had rated as one of the top point guard prospects in the nation for next year. With Chris Lang and Eldridge Henderson having exhausted their eligibility, CEU lost its top three scorers and about 41 points per game.

However, head coach Bryan Zollinger likes what he has coming back.

"John Rogers really had a good freshman year and we're looking for big things out of John," Zollinger said. "He's left handed, he's a good solid athlete, but the thing that makes him a good player, he's just a fearless competitor. He'll get in there and mix it up inside, rebound the basketball, defend people, finish on the break. The things that take courage are the things he's good at."

The 6-foot-6, 205-pound Rogers came to Eastern Utah out of high school in Seattle. He was instant offense last season, averaging 7.1 points and 5.2 rebounds in just ten minutes per game.

Rogers and Tyler Billings, who averaged 7.3 per game, are the top returning scorers for Zollinger's squad.

One new face who could make a splash is Texas product Brian Towner.

"I think is going to be a really good junior college player," Zollinger said of the 6-foot-4, 200-pound Towner. "He's athletic, strong and can legitimately play the one, two and three positions. He actually was a point guard and then grew. He is 6-foot-4 and has legit point guard skills."

Zollinger's roster will feature 11 returning sophomores and a few new imports.

"I feel like we played a little more up tempo last year and we will continue in that direction," Zollinger said. "We're working on applying a little more defensive pressure to help us with that. I expect to see us extend the court defensively a little bit more. That requires better athletes so that's been a recruiting emphasis this year."

Over the next few months, JucoJunction.com will be doing team previews from coast to coast to get junior college basketball fans set for an exciting 2005-06 season. To talk about this story with other juco hoops fans, check out the JucoJunction Board or our premium forum.