Young Pats ready for challenge

FLORENCE — As far as coach Gary Edwards is concerned, there are only positives that can come from his Francis Marion men’s basketball team playing an exhibition at No. 24 Clemson tonight.

As long as the Patriots keep things in the right perspective, of course.

“Most of the time, Division I teams handle Division II teams pretty easily and that’s the way it should be,” Edwards said. “There’s a reason they’re Division I and in the ACC and we’re Division II and in the Peach Belt.

“If we go in and have a great showing, that’s wonderful. If they expose our weaknesses, then we need to know that, too.”

And, of course, sometimes the unexpected does happen. Syracuse might still be stinging from being shocked by Division II Le Moyne on Tuesday night in an exhibition at the Orange’s Carrier Dome.

“Every year, you’ll see an upset here or there,” Edwards said.

But regardless of tonight’s outcome, Edwards said he expects the Patriots to come out of it a better team, and maybe even a better program.

Basketball aside, Edwards loves the exposure the Patriots get by playing one of the major college teams in South Carolina. In fact, he said he would like for this game to be the start of a tradition of sorts.

“I hope we can keep it going,” Edwards said, “maybe play South Carolina next year and then kind of rotate it.”

For now, the Patriots have to focus on this season, which begins Nov. 15 against Puerto Rico-Mayaguez at the Florida Tech Tip-off Classic in Melbourne, Fla.

FMU finished 16-12 a year ago and 9-11 in the PBC, which tied for fifth place.

The Patriots come into this season having to replace all five starters, so he’s pretty eager to see what his team can do against the Tigers tonight.

“Obviously, they’re going to test every facet of our game,” he said. “We’ll know how well we handle it, how well we can rebound. When you play really good competition, it exposes you. I think that’s good early in the year. We need to expose our strengths and weaknesses.”

One potential starter, junior forward David Turner, is nursing a hamstring injury and won’t play. Senior guard Kendrick Robinson will play, but is slowed coming back from an ACL injury. FMU’s roster lists 15 newcomers.

“It’s slow going at times because we have so many new guys,” Edwards said. “A couple of the returners we do have are banged up. It makes it even more of a challenge to get on the same page. It will be interesting.”

Edwards isn’t sure where most of his team’s production will come from, but he knows where he would like to see a significant portion of it.

Junior 6-foot-4 forward Simel Boyd was the conference’s freshman of the year in 2008, but didn’t necessarily live up to expectations last season, averaging 6.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.

“We will rely on him a lot,” Edwards said. “I think he’s worked hard and he’s ready to have a breakout season. We need him to realize that potential he showed as a freshman. It’s time for him to take that next step and be an all-conference type guy. We’re looking for that from him this year for sure.”

FMU’s first home game is 7:30 p.m. Nov. 18 against Carver Bible College.

Roster
Name Pos. Yr. Ht. Wt.
Herman Mains G Sr. 6-1 175
Edward Gullatte G-F Jr. 6-4 200
Bryant Julious G. Jr. 5-11 190
Kendrick Robinson F Sr. 6-2 178
Liki Turner F Jr. 6-6 210
Kaylan Anderson G Sr. 6-5 210
Philip Jenkins G Fr. 6-1 165
Simel Boyd G-F Jr. 6-4 200
Andy Peterson G-F Jr. 6-6 185
Michael Highsmith G Fr. 6-2 160
Robert Faulkner F Jr. 6-8 225
Mark Sinkler G So. 6-1 170
Evrik Gary G Fr. 6-2 160
David Turner F-C Jr. 6-7 225
Andrew Smith F-C So. 6-9 265
Mindaugas Petreikis C Jr. 6-9 240
Mike Candelaria G Jr. 6-0 180
Ja’Mikal Harris F Fr. 6-6 215
Ja’Mil Jones G Fr. 6-0 155