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HCC Sports Information
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Two days after being selected to win the
Jayhawk Conference Western Division, the Hutchinson Community College men’s
basketball team was ranked No. 14 in the 2007 NJCAA Division I Men’s
Preseason basketball poll released on Wednesday.
Also on Wednesday, Blue Dragon sophomore
forward Ken Bowman was named second-team preseason NJCAA All-American.
<CLICK HERE FOR NJCAA PRESEASON POLL>
<CLICK HERE FOR NJCAA PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS>
Hutchinson is coming of a 23-8 season where
it lost in the first round of the Region VI Tournament for the
third-straight year.
It’s the second-straight season under head
coach Ryan Swanson for HCC to earn a preseason national ranking. In
Swanson’s first season at the HCC helm, the Blue Dragons were ranked 26th.
This is the fourth time in the last six
seasons that Hutchinson received a preseason national ranking.
In 2004, the Blue Dragons were ranked 13th
and in 2003 they were ranked No. 26. Hutch was unranked in 2005 and 2002.
Hutchinson is the only Jayhawk West team to
earn a preseason national ranking. Barton County received votes.
Defending Region VI champion Coffeyville
starts the season ranked No. 3. Cowley College is ranked 25th.
Five Blue Dragon opponents start the 2007-08
season ranked, including each of the first three opponents in the
season-opening Quarterback Classic on Nov. 1-3. Hamilton College starts the
season ranked No. 21 in Division II. Brown Mackie College opens in the
Division II poll at No. 14. Then Arkansas-Fort Smith, the 2006 NJCAA
Division I national champions, start at No. 11 in the Division I poll.
Hutch and No. 3 Coffeyville will play a
home-and-home series this season. The Blue Dragons travel to Coffeyville on
Nov. 17 and the Red Ravens return the visit to the Sports Arena on Nov. 27.
Johnson County, which plays Hutchinson on the final day of the Brooke Insurance
Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 24, is ranked No. 8 in Division II.
Bowman, a 6-foot-9 sophomore forward from
Phoenix, became the first preseason NJCAA All-American since Demetrius
Alexander before the 1996-97 season.
Bowman averaged 8.5 points and 7.2 rebounds
last season in 31 games, starting 30. He shot 43.3 percent from the field
and was the team’s top shot blocker with 41. Bowman also had 41 steals.
Bowman is one of three Jayhawk Conference
players to earn preseason recognition. Coffeyville forward Daniel Payne and
Cowley guard Chris Rhymes were also selected to the second-team list. |
