The Capital University men's basketball team has its sights set on an unprecedented third consecutive Ohio Athletic Conference regular season championship entering the 2013-14 season.
The Crusaders finished the 2012-13 campaign with a 19-7 overall record, including a 16-2 mark in the OAC, and reached the conference tournament semifinals for the seventh consecutive season. Senior forward Spencer Niekamp was named a second team All-American by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, the first All-America honor for a Capital player since 2009 and the sixth in program history.
Despite the loss of Niekamp and five others due to graduation from last season's stellar squad, the Crusaders return a number of student-athletes with significant big-game experience in 2013-14. Capital is predicted to finish fourth in the conference this season by the league's coaches.
"Our ultimate goal is always to win a conference championship," Capital coach Damon Goodwin said. "That's the biggest thing in our book at the beginning of the year. We have three goals from a basketball standpoint – one is to win the league championship, one is to win the (OAC) tournament championship and one is to win games in the NCAA Tournament. No Capital team has ever won (the title) three years in a row."
Senior forward Ben Jackson (Columbus, Ohio) is the team's top returning scorer, averaging 6.1 points and 4.3 rebounds while shooting nearly 49 percent from the floor in 2012-13. Sophomore guard AJ Dixon (Hilliard, Ohio) will also take on an expanded role after posting 5.5 points per game along with 21 steals.
Junior forward Andrew Bolka (Xenia, Ohio), the team's lone returning starter, averaged 4.7 points and 3.9 rebounds while shooting 54.7 percent from the field. Junior forward Ben Danhoff (Clyde, Ohio), a starter during the 2011-12 season, returns from a knee injury that ended his season in October 2012.
Other key returners include senior forward Jared Cashen (Norwalk, Ohio), junior guard Adam Blake (Kingston, Ohio) and junior forward Daniel Ocke (Sidney, Ohio). Cashen appeared in all 26 games last year, averaging 2.8 points and 1.5 rebounds while shooting 54 percent. Blake recorded 35 assists and 2.0 points per contest in 19 games, and Ocke played in 18 games in 2012-13. Junior wing Mike Augustine (Lexington, Ohio) appeared in 11 games last season and will take on an expanded role.
"Our two seniors – Jared Cashen and Ben Jackson – have to be a big part of what we do, both on the court and off the court," Goodwin said. "Ben has been a very good role player for us, and now he needs to be one of the main guns. I expect those two guys to lead us."
Other returning sophomores include wing Alex Carter (Toledo, Ohio), guard Charles English (Cincinnati, Ohio) and forward Levi Licata(Jeromesville, Ohio).
The Crusaders welcome eight newcomers to this year's squad, including a pair of transfers – junior wing Michael Green (Dublin, Ohio), who most recently played at Division II Chaminade (Hawaii), and sophomore forward Jacob Cashen (Norwalk, Ohio), the brother of Jared and a Tiffin University transfer.
The team's six freshmen include wing Drew Fecko (Sagamore Hills, Ohio), guard Kersey Long (Columbus, Ohio), guard Curt Geise (Delphos, Ohio), wing Tyrel Jackson (Dublin, Ohio), forward Darrien Scott (Columbus, Ohio) and forward/center Wes Beam (Chillicothe, Ohio).
Goodwin, a six-time OAC Coach of the Year honoree, returns for his 20th season at the helm of the program. Goodwin has guided Capital to conference regular season titles in four of the last seven seasons. The team has recorded 10 or more OAC wins in each of the last seven years.
According to Goodwin, the program's defense has been its "bread and butter," and the numbers prove it. Capital surrendered a league-low 64.0 points per contest in 2012-13 and looks to continue that trend in 2013-14.
"We've tried to make it hard on teams to score on us," Goodwin said. "We do a couple of things that are different from most teams in basketball at our level, so I think that's a change-up for teams that come in and play us."
The Crusaders start the season on Nov. 16 at Thomas More (Ky.). Non-conference opponents Wittenberg (Nov. 20) and Ohio Wesleyan (Nov. 26) each received votes in the D3hoops.com Preseason Top 25, while one potential opponent, Transylvania (Dec. 17-18), also earned votes.
Capital's home opener is scheduled for Dec. 1 against Mount St. Joseph, and the team begins conference play on Dec. 4 against Heidelberg at the Capital Center. The Crusaders then visit Baldwin Wallace, the coaches' preseason favorite to win the OAC, on Dec. 7. The Yellow Jackets make the return trip to the Capital Center on Jan. 25.
Click on the podcast link above to listen to an interview with Goodwin. The podcast will run biweekly throughout the season.