FORT SMITH - Arkansas-Fort Smith Coach Josh Newman has made strides with his men’s basketball team, but now it’s on to the next hurdle.
Arkansas-Fort Smith won the school’s first Heartland Conference regular-season championship last season, but the Lions fell short in the tournament title game and failed to make it to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
Now Newman wants to take it to the next level after adding two NCAA Division I transfers to a team that went 16-12 last season and returns three starters and its top reserve.
“We’ve had the best record in the conference before, but with transition rules we weren’t eligible to be crowned,” said Newman, who is entering his eighth season at the school. “Last year we were able to crown ourselves, which we were excited about. The next hurdle is to make the NCAA Tournament and see how far we can go.”
The Lions, who have reached the past two conference title games and are the preseason pick to repeat as conference champions, will be led by the four-man senior class of guards Jake Toupal, Xavier McClish, Corey Copeland and forward Bo Franklin. Sophomore forward Kenny Martin, a transfer from Arizona State, and junior guard Tramel White, a transfer from Oral Roberts, headline a seven-man recruiting class.
“Martin, as a junior and sophomore, was the No. 1 player ranked in the state of Arizona,” Newman said. “He comes in with some eye-raising anticipation with his talent. Tramel White is versatile, and both of those guys are going to make an immediate impact for us.”
Toupal led the team withan average of 13.7 points a game last season when he made a team-high 57 three-pointers. He is expected to move into a starting role after serving as the team’s sixth man last season.
“He knew he was going in exactly at the 17-minute mark in the first and second half,” Newman said. “It was something we discussed for him to have a lot of success. He is a very efficient player for us.”
McClish averaged 8.0 points a game and had a team-high 76 assists last season, while Copeland averaged 9.3 points per game.
Franklin returns after missing time because of an injury, but he could make an impact with Martin and junior forward Dusan Stojanovic in the post.
“We look for Franklin to establish an impact in the paint,” Newman said. “Weare going to be much stronger, more physical and efficient in the paint this year. He’s going to be a big part of that.”WOMEN Young but talented
Arkansas-Fort Smith Coach Louis Whorton is hoping for a little better luck this season.
Arkansas-Fort Smith was down to six scholarship players last season after injuries decimated the team down the stretch, forcing Whorton to abandon his up-tempo attack which led to a 7-19 finish.
“Last year was very disappointing,” said Whorton, who enters his 28th year at Arkansas-Fort Smith. “But if you stay in coaching long enough, you’ll have a year that just kicks you in the butt. That was our time. You learn as much about yourselfin a bad year as in a good year. I’ve learned all I want in a bad year, but it made our program stronger.”
The Lady Lions, picked sixth in the preseason Heartland Conference poll, return four starters and added a six-player signing class that should bolster the chances this season.
The roster is full of youth - it includes one upperclassman, senior guard Destyni Howard, seven sophomores and nine freshmen - but four starters return in Howard, Brittany Holbert, Danielle McFadden and Candice Followwell.
Three freshmen from Arkansas - guards Maddy Backus from Mountainburg and Sydney Franklin from West Fork and forward Justyne Huber from Prairie Grove - are at the core of the recruiting class that Whorton will count on this season.
“Fortunately just in our area, there was some outstanding talent,” Whorton said. “Backus, Franklin and Huber just happen to be in our backyard. You’d take those players if you had to go to New York City to get them.”
Holbert, a point guard, had a team-high 98 assists and 49 steals while averaging 4.6 points per game last season. McFadden is the leading returning scorer after averaging 8.2 points per game.
With no post players returning, freshmen forwards Kaitlyn Hopkins, Kadajah Allen and sophomore Blandine N’Goran have a chance to make an immediate impact.
“I think at some point in time we are going to be a pretty good team this year,” Whorton said
“We’ve really set ourselves up for a great next two years. We know we got some talent, but it’s youth and you don’t know how that youth is going to perform until you are under the gun this season.”
Sports, Pages 23 on 11/03/2013