The Misericordia men's basketball team will enter their second season in the Freedom Conference in 2009-10. Head Coach Trevor Woodruff, a Misericordia alum, is beginning his sixth season in charge and is looking to lead the Cougars back to the playoffs after conference and ECAC bids in 2007-08.

Despite finishing 11-14 overall and missing the conference playoffs a year ago, the Cougars did have several notable performances; including a tough overtime loss at DeSales (to a Bulldogs team that went to the NCAA Elite Eight) and victories over the top two teams in the Landmark Conference (Scranton and Susquehanna).

MU will have to recover from the loss of top scorer and rebounder Vinny Baumunk, the school's all-time leader in blocked shots. However, the Cougars do have veteran experience after only losing one full-time starter from last season.

This year's top returnees include seniors Marcus Little and Dom Del Prete, who have been selected as team captains for the second consecutive season.

Little, a point guard, averaged 8.0 points per game last season while leading the team in assists (3.1) and free throw percentage (.773). Del Prete, a forward, finished second in multiple categories, including points (12.3), rebounds (4.8) and steals (26).

Guard Rob Johnson is also back after starting 24 games in 08-09. The junior led MU in minutes played (34.1), while contributing 11.9 points and 3.0 assists per game.

Sophomore Ethan Eichhorst and senior Mark Williams, two other players with significant experience, also return for this season. Eichhorst started 13 games last season, averaging 6.3 points and 3.6 rebounds. Williams, a forward, missed the entire 2008-09 season with an injury, but appeared in 27 games as a sophomore.

Other returnees include sophomore guard Jeff Slanovec (20 GP, 4.5 ppg in 08-09), sophomore Tyler White and juniors Frank Nutt and Mark Leonard.

This year's freshman class is highlighted by guard Sean Bieski, who could compete for significant playing time right away. Other newcomers include sophomore forward Lee Dudick, freshman forward Foster Renn and freshmen guards Joseph Marra and Garry Melville.

First and foremost, Misericordia will be tough and hard-working on the defensive end. “Our focus is to be good defensively,” said Woodruff. “That is always our first priority.”

This year's edition lacks significant size in the post, which could be an issue against bigger teams. However, the Cougars could cause matchup problems of their own.

“We have a chance to be explosive on offense,” said Woodruff. “We have a lot of guys who can score the basketball, which will make us difficult to guard.”

Misericordia opens at home on November 16 against Centenary before hosting the 18th Annual RAMADA Laurel Line Tournament. This year's participants will be Marywood, Baptist Bible and Penn State-Hazleton. In addition to the always-competitive Freedom Conference schedule, MU will compete in a holiday tournament at Moravian and face notable non-league contests with Scranton, Susquehanna and Albright.

“We're going to keep it simple,” said Woodruff. “We'll look to play good defense, rebound, and be dynamic on offense.”