2007-2008 Men’s Basketball Season Preview

NEW PALTZ, NY — Head coach Dagan Nelson begins his first season at New Paltz. Nelson is looking to establish identity and build a foundation for success in the men’s basketball program. The Hawks finished conference play with four wins and 12 losses.
The Hawks returns eight players to the roster, having lost three to graduation. The core includes three seniors, two juniors and five sophomores and two first years. The team is looking to use an exciting, uptempo style of play where they will utilize nine to ten players per game.
The senior class is led by Jimmy Sugrue (Hastings on Hudson/Hastings) who topped the squad in three-point field goal percentage (39.0) last year. Victory Alvarez (Far Rockaway/Beach Channel) provides depth in the backcourt and has good outside shooting range, and transfer Brian Kuar (Freeport) joins the team from Old Westbury where he played in 25 of 29 games last season.
The junior class has just two members, but they will both be integral parts of the Hawks attack. Swingman Matt Hauser (East Williston/Chaminade) combined a modest 6.9 points per game with a tenacious defensive style, while transfer Kyle Nelson (Port Ewan/Kingston) netted 9.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and showed a deft passing touch for a forward in 2005-2006.
The sophomore class boasts five players led by sophomore Lee Bertram (Bayport/Bayport Blue-Point) who returns as the big man inside grabbing 3.4 boards last season. The Hawks will rely on defense and rebounding as staple of their program and look to Cory Kindelmann (Nesconset/Sachem North) and Anthony Bevilacqua (Glenville/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) to provide more size inside. Guards Adesoji James (Bronx/HS for American Studies) and Trevor Johnson (Poughkeepsie) averaged between four and five minutes of action off the bench last season.
The freshman class of Peter Carmel (Lake Ronkonkoma/Stony Brook) and Dan Harkins (Saratoga Springs) complete the Hawks roster.
The Hawks look forward to an extremely challenging schedule with 13 of their first 17 games on the road. New Paltz begins their season on November 16th at the Rochester Tournament. The home opener is on Friday December 8th when they host Geneseo at 8 p.m.