COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Capital University men's basketball team is ready to have a go at the Ohio Athletic Conference in the 2022-23 season.
Led by head coach
Damon Goodwin – who now enters his 28th year at the helm of the program – Capital is aiming to improve upon last year's 9-8 in-conference record that saw the squad finish sixth among a very competitive and deep field of opposition.
Inthe off-season, many teams benefitted from the transfer portal, while others made a splash in signing high-quality first year players, thus expanding the depth of the entire Ohio Athletic Conference in the sport of men's basketball. Capital will be hoping their incoming class will mix well with their contingent of returners to keep the Comets where they expect to be year-in and year out. Only time will tell as the season gets underway.
A LOOK BACK AT 2021-22
A year ago, Capital finished with an overall record of 14-11 and an already mentioned 9-8 OAC record. The record of success was buoyed forward by strong wins against Ohio Wesleyan, Denison, Olivet, Otterbein, Ohio Northern, Baldwin Wallace and Heidelberg. In addition these wins were complemented by sweeps of John Carroll and Wilmington as well.
The Comets' season was led largely in part by the dominant defensive play by the now-graduated
Tyler Schreck who won the OAC's Defensive Player of the Year award at season's end. Other key contributors who find themselves returning to the program for another year are
Alex Eyink,
Ryan Suever,
Joe Thompson,
Griffin Doseck,
Kaleb Crawford,
Ryan Roth, and
Dom Moegerle among others. This grouping of players were consistently in the rotation for minutes and contributed a combined 45.7 points per game a year ago.
FAMILIAR FACES
As mentioned, Capital returns a strong contingent of seven players who saw consistent and impactful minutes a year ago. Among that group was
Alex Eyink. Last season, Eyink netted 8.4 points per contest while also contributing 1.6 assists per game in his debut season. He was trailed closely by fell debutant
Ryan Suever who scored 7.7 points per game, while also hauling in 4.3 rebounds per contest.
Joe Thompson matched Suever with 7.7 ppg, and he continued 3.0 boards per game.
Also contributing strongly were
Griffin Doseck (7.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg) and
Kaleb Crawford (6.3 ppg, 1.2 apg).
Ryan Roth made himself known in the 3-point game, knocking down 41 shots from beyond the arc, good for a 6.0 ppg average.
Dom Moegerle added valuable minutes off the bench, which did include 11 starts as well. He added 5.7 ppg and 2.6 rpg.
In addition to these familiar faces on the floor, coach Goodwin is welcoming back his coaching staff for another year on the sidelines.
Anthony Gholson will continue to serve as the lead assistant, while
Nick Dials returns for another year on the staff.
Dan Ocke also returns to his alma mater for another season assisting the program.
WHAT'S NEW?
Coach Goodwin's roster will consist of 17 bodies this season, with six new faces joining the team as first year players. The group of six incomers will join a mix of 11 returners, broken down by six sophomores, two juniors, and three seniors.
Also new to the coaching staff will be two student assistants this year in the form of first year
Luke Jurjevic and familiar face
Keandre Graves. Graves was a 2022 graduate of the program who scored 4.7 points per game as a senior.
SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN
This year, the schedule coach Goodwin has put together will certainly test his men and look to bring the best out of them all season long.
The team opens their preseason with two exhibition games against Division I opponents Dayton and Ohio. The first will take place at UD Arena on Saturday, October 29th at 7 p.m. with the second taking place at the OU Convocation Center on Thursday, November 3rd at 7 p.m.
The regular season will get started on Tuesday, November 15th as Capital will travel to Denison. The home opener will take place on November 19th at 1:30 p.m. as Olivet pays a visit to The Capital Center.
From there, the remainder of the non-conference games will consist of home games vs. Ohio Wesleyan, Case Western Reserve and Kalamazoo. Other away non-conference games will be at Trine and Adrian.
The conference schedule will get started on Saturday, December 3rd as Capital visits Otterbein for the first of two Battles for the Oar presented by Byers Airport Subaru.
Other OAC games prior to the holiday break will be at home vs. Muskingum on December 8th and on the road at John Carroll on December 10th and away to Ohio Northern on December 17th.
After the mid-season break, Capital will play an OAC-heavy schedule to finish out the season through January and February. Highlighting the back half of the season will be the second Battle for the Oar on Saturday, January 21st at 7 p.m. in The Capital Center.
