Busting Brackets
Fansided

California Baptist Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Lancers

By Jason Burgess

NEW ORLEANS, LA - APRIL 02: Confetti is seen on the NCAA logo after the Kentucky Wildcats defeat the Kansas Jayhawks 67-59 in the National Championship Game of the 2012 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on April 2, 2012 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - APRIL 02: Confetti is seen on the NCAA logo after the Kentucky Wildcats defeat the Kansas Jayhawks 67-59 in the National Championship Game of the 2012 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on April 2, 2012 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 10: The Western Athletic Conference logo is shown on the court before the championship game of the Western Athletic Conference basketball tournament between the New Mexico State Aggies and the Grand Canyon Lopes at the Orleans Arena on March 10, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 10: The Western Athletic Conference logo is shown on the court before the championship game of the Western Athletic Conference basketball tournament between the New Mexico State Aggies and the Grand Canyon Lopes at the Orleans Arena on March 10, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images) /

The starting five

Coming off a season where the Lancers came off a season of winning 28 games and a trip to the Division II Elite Eight, Croy must replace three starters. The two returning starters are junior forward Bul Kuol and redshirt senior guard Jordan Heading. Kuol is a 6-7 forward from Canberra, Austrailia, who saw limited minutes his freshman year but started 32 games as a sophomore. He finished the season averaging 6.7 points and 4.3 rebounds. He enjoys the three-point shot with 107 of his 167 attempts came from beyond the arc, and his 38% efficiency was third among the players with over 100 attempts.

The 6-2 Heading is another native of Australia, who was second on the team in scoring with 14 points per game last season. Heading has been a mainstay in the Lancers’ lineup since his sophomore season, having started 61 games in that span. The guard could improve his shooting touch a bit, despite being second on the team in shot attempts, his 43% was just 5th among the eight players with over 100 shot attempts.

Coach Croy must replace star center Kalidou Diouf who averaged 18 points and over eight rebounds per game, forward Gabe Taylor, and the guard combo of Jason Todd and Cory Lange.  One likely candidate to be inserted into a starter’s role is junior forward De’Jon Davis. The 6-7 California native was 4th on the team in scoring with 8.2 points and was 2nd on the team with 5.4 rebounds coming off the bench in all of the team’s 34 games.

One of the guard spots should go to redshirt junior Marquise Mosley. The 6-2 Mosley started in the team’s first two games before suffering a season-ending injury. The Renaissance Academy grad averaged 5.8 points as a sophomore. If Croy wants to replace Diouf with another center, there are a couple of options on the roster, neither of which played last season. Mike Henn is a 6-8 230lb. redshirt-sophomore who averaged four points during his one season at UC-Davis and Zach Pirog is a 6-11 225lb. redshirt-junior who joins the Lancers after two seasons at Omaha, where he saw limited action over two seasons.