STAFF WRITER
DAN KAPUSCINSKI

The St. John Fisher men’s basketball team has a storied past, with Empire 8 Championships and NCAA Championship berths being the corner stone of the program for decades.

This year’s team again has their sights set high, but knows they must first overcome the loss of key contributors such as All-American and 2005-06 Cardinal Courier Athlete of the Year Sean O’Brien, three-point shooter Mike McGee and Nick Bennett.

“With the loss of guys like that, many people could say this is going to be a re-building year for us,” head coach Rob Kornaker said.  “But with Justin Beigel, Isaiah Smalt and Danny McSweeney still here, we have all our big men back, and I think our optimism is high and we are looking forward to the year.”

Kornaker is excited to see this tall trio back on the floor and believes they could be the backbone of the team.  Last season each of the three was amongst the team’s leaders in rebounds.

“These guys are very strong guys, and are very good at teaching,” Kornaker said.  “As much as they play hard, they are also able to teach the younger players around them, and help make them better.”

Junior Beigel believes that the chemistry he, senior McSweeney and junior Smalt have built will better this team.

“We’re real good friends, and work hard together,” Beigel said.  “We battle each other everyday in practice and are also trying to take the freshmen in and teach them some things.”

Last season with the help of O’Brien and McGee, the Cardinals marched to a record of 26-4 overall with a 14-1 mark in the Empire 8 conference.  With another Empire 8 Championship under their belts, the Cardinals then moved all the way to the Elite 8 round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in team history.

McSweeney, who averaged 9.3 points per game last season, says he fully expects a return trip to the big dance.

“We have very high expectations,” he said.  “It would be a huge disappointment if we don’t make it back to NCAA’s, and we want to improve on last year also.  Final Four or better.”

If the Cardinals are to return to the NCAA Tournament, the guard position will need to be filled.  Kornaker is looking to senior Dan Mueller, as well as freshmen Chris Baltz and Matt Newman to fill that role.

“They are going to be very big shoes to fill,” Mueller said.  “I’m going to be playing the two-spot more than the point, but it is still a challenge that I am up to.”

Even though Mueller is a senior this season, he has not had many opportunities on the floor in big game situations.  This has been the case for several players due to the tremendous senior classes of previous seasons.

“There are some upperclassmen that haven’t had much time to play in past seasons that are going to get a chance to play this season,” Kornaker said.  “We are going to have to look to these guys this year, along with our young guys.”

 The young guns will be lead by freshmen Newman and Baltz.

Newman hails from Campbell, N.Y., and attended the same high school as Smalt, which is how he learned of St. John Fisher.

“Isaiah was recruited by Fisher two years ago, and that is when the coaching staff started talking to me,” Newman said.  “Ever since then I have fallen in love with the school, and here I am.”

Newman is honored to be among the freshmen that will be looked to as a key contributor this season.

“It’s amazing that I am being mentioned by my teammates as a contributor, because these guys are so good.  I just hope I can help the team continue to win,” he said.

Kornaker is pleased with Newman’s work ethic and defensive skills on the floor.

“He is really tenacious and is a hard worker.  He has the ability to put a lot of pressure defensively on the other team’s guards,” he said.

Baltz comes to Fisher from Vestal, N.Y., and has been called a “throw back player” by Kornaker.

“He always knows when to cut and when to shoot,” Kornaker said.  “He simply finds ways to score, and should prove to be a tremendous asset.”

“I really like the coaching staff here at Fisher, and they have had a great record in the past seasons,” Baltz said.  “They were the first school to get in touch with me, and it felt as though it would be a great fit.”

Baltz and Newman lead a large class of 13 freshmen who will be new to the Cardinals program this season.  Shannon Strange, Nick Lein, Chris O’Connell, Anders Alknes, Bill Lidell, Brandon Rosenthal, Kyle Stevens, Mike Seiberg, Dan Evans, Michael Wopperer and Matt Haley all look to challenge for playing time.

The Cardinals season opens at home on Nov. 21 against Brockport.  That will be the teams first of four home games during the Fall semester, which will be highlighted by a battle with the University of Rochester Dec. 7 on Wanzer Court at 8 p.m.

“That is always a tough game against U of R,” Beigel said.  “We’re getting ready for them right now.”

Over the winter break, the team will travel to Pennsylvania for the York Invitational Tournament, before opening their conference schedule on the road at RIT and Nazareth, Jan. 5-6.

The Cardinals’ second semester will be highlighted by the Chase Tournament which will run from Jan. 10-13, and the always exciting Battle of the Beaks against Nazareth on Wanzer Court, Feb. 2.

With the team and schedule set, the Cardinals look to once again defend their title of Empire 8 Champion for another season.  Despite graduating a senior class that went 97-14 in four seasons, with four trips to the NCAA Tounrament, Kornaker feels no pressure and says he team should not either.

“Obviously there is some pressure because of our history and past, but I don’t want our guys to feel that.  In ways I feel there is less pressure this year than last,” Kornaker said.  “I want these players to start creating their own identity, and when we start winning games they will do that.  Maybe then this team won’t be remembered for that last senior class.”

Email address: drk2149@sjfc.edu