IUP’s men’s basketball team opens its season November 10th at home against Concord, following up the next night against Notre Dame of Ohio. It’s a different experience for the coach Joe Lombardi and his Crimson Hawks, with seven new players on the team and three new assistant coaches.
In a conversation with Jack Benedict, Lombardi looks ahead to the season with his typical upbeat approach, but the coach says there will be growing pains with all the new faces, and it will take some time.
Last week, NCAA.com’s Wayne Cavadi picked IUP as the fourth best team in the nation despite the loss of their three top scorers from last season. Cavadi cited the experience of Jaylen Stewart, Dallis Dillard, and Damir Brooks, and he’s high on new point guard Garvin Clarke, but he says the key will be Ethan Porterfield, the center who fought through an injury and illness plagued season last year and still won the PSAC Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player Award for the second year in a row. The 6-9 Porterfield scored 12.5 points with six rebounds per game last season. Cavadi names Porterfield to his “Fifteen Players to Watch” list.
Lombardi says Porterfield still is not 100 percent healthy, but he likes his progress.
You can hear Jack’s conversation with coach Lombardi Saturday at halftime of the IUP football game against Gannon.
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