Glasgow Optimistic About His 31st Team at Monmouth

Release Date: November 20, 2002

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Four years ago, Monmouth College basketball coach Terry Glasgow welcomed a freshman class that included future standouts Jeff Stenoish, Greg Kloepping and his own son, Steve Glasgow. That class, which also produced big men Mike Roehm and Chad Schlosser and speedy guard C.J. Hollingsworth, melded very quickly with Fighting Scot veterans to forge a Midwest Conference playoff team.

Monmouth’s 30-year coach compares his current squad to that 1998-99 team, and he’s feeling stronger and stronger every day that his new-look Scots could put up a strong challenge in the MWC.

“I was very pessimistic back in October,” he said, when he knew his roster would include just six players who had seen 100 minutes or more of collegiate action. “It’s mid-November now, and I’m optimistic. Our improvement in the 30 or so practices that we’ve had has been dramatic. Our freshmen are acting instead of reacting, and they’re doing their assignments quicker and tougher.”

No less than 13 of the Scots’ current 22 roster spots are filled with players who have never competed in a collegiate contest. If a handful can come on – as Stenoish, Kloepping and Glasgow did four years ago – Monmouth will have a deep team that should be competitive night in and night out.

“I think depth will be one of our strengths,” said Glasgow, who ranks 13th among active Division III coaches with 424 career victories. “We also have good overall size. We don’t have that 6’9” kid, but we have a lot of players in the 6’3” to 6’5” range.”

One Scot who checks in slightly taller is 6-foot-6 Troy Bennett. Injured seven games into his junior season, Bennett, who was averaging 11.0 points per game when he blew out his knee, was able to retain his junior status thanks to a medical hardship.

“Troy has the potential to be as good as any player in the league,” praised Glasgow. “He’s big, he’s quick, he can play inside and outside, he can score and he can guard you. I’m really glad he elected to stay an extra year.”

While knee injuries can be harder to overcome mentally than physically, Glasgow reports that Bennett is playing “more aggressively and more confidently than he has at any time in his career.”

Bennett is one player who must assume a leadership role for the Scots, and the other two are senior post Dan Mahoney (7.9 ppg) and junior guard Rob Purlee (8.7 ppg).

“Danny came back ready to go, more so than any player on the roster,” said Glasgow. “He’s really bought into the system. Although we need him to lead, I don’t want him to think he has to do too much. We need for him to do what he’s capable of – no more, no less.”

What that basically entails is for Mahoney to get the tough baskets in the paint, scoring 10-12 points per game while also holding his own on the boards.

What Glasgow needs Purlee to do is adjust his shooting guard game to the point position.

“Most of our recent guards have had more two-guard characteristics than point guard, even Steve (Glasgow),” said the coach. “Even though that also fits Rob, he’s going to have handle the point guard position along with (freshman) Anthony Beaird and (junior) Tyler Snyder. Rob’s an excellent passer, one of the finest to ever play in this program. I’m talking basketball now, not football.”

That clarification was needed, because Purlee just finished a football campaign that saw him throw for 2,443 yards as Monmouth’s quarterback. On the hardwood, though, “Purls” also knows where to put the ball, and he dished out 47 assists last season while knocking down 27 treys. Both ranked third on the team, and he may very well be the leader in both categories this season.

“He’s coming along surprisingly quickly after football,” said Glasgow. “Last night in practice, his shooting was phenomenal, and he’s handling the ball very well.”

Monmouth’s wing starter opposite Bennett figures to be sophomore Travis Miller, who blossomed in a late-season opportunity as a freshman and has continued that momentum.

“If anybody worked harder in the off-season in the Midwest Conference than Travis, I’d be surprised,” said Glasgow. “He’s been the most pleasant surprise in the preseason, and what I like so much about him is that his effort matches his capacity. In high school, his statistics didn’t jump off the page at you, but after watching him, I knew he was the kind of player I look for.”

There is a battle for the other post position between senior Lorenzo Pugh and sophomore Jason Murren, and Glasgow said, “One of them has to step forward and be a dominant rebounder and get 6 to 10 points for us per game on putbacks.”

Sophomore Nick Swing, “maybe the best shooter on the team, who can be an exciting player for us,” and Snyder, “a tough, gritty competitor who will mix it up with you,” are two holdovers from the program who should see significant time off the bench. Sophomore guard Kyle Wilhelm is back as well. The rest of the spots in the rotation will go to players who are brand new to college basketball.

“There are several I want to mention,” said Glasgow. “(Guard) Anthony Beaird averaged 18.6 points per game in the Western Big Six, so he’s no Humpty Dumpty. He can play. Once he adjusts to the tempo and the physical play in college, he could be our most effective freshman.

“Skillwise, (forward) Matt Hammer is very well-rounded. None of his stuff is outstanding, but it’s all pretty good. He should see some quality minutes, and so should (guard) Jimmy Dibble. His high school team was 30-0 at one point, and he kind of got overlooked because the team was so balanced.”

Three other newcomers – 6-5 Mike Oblinger and Jeff Kenyon and Tucker Blaser, who are both 6-4 – will provide depth at the post positions. “Tucker is the most hard-nosed freshman we’ve had here in a while,” said Glasgow. “He brings it every single day.”

Bill Elsey, a guard from Wimberly, Texas, is a “terrific shooter” who has been sick. Glasgow expects him to contribute a bit later in the season. Rounding out the squad are Jason Harris, A.J. Washburn, Keith Carroll, Jordan Thierry, Evan Tobias and Ryan Wood.

Monmouth tips off its season Saturday at Central Missouri State University before hosting the traditional Pizza Hut-Econofoods Classic on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. Concordia-River Forest and William Penn are this year’s opponents.

In 1998-99, the young Scots got off to a 3-1 start, and Steve Glasgow was a big factor, netting double-digit points in two of those contests. The younger Glasgow hopes to once again make an immediate impact, this time as his father’s assistant coach.

“He knows our system as well as any human other than myself could possibly know the system,” said Coach Glasgow. “He’s been around the program since he was five years old. He put off law school for a year to help his dad, and I’m very excited to have him.”

The schedule works in Monmouth’s favor this year, as only one conference game will be played prior to Jan. 11. The Scots will have eight games and well over 50 practices under their belts when they begin on the real meat of their schedule, a span of 15 MWC games from Jan. 11 to Feb. 22.

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