Tuesday, March 19, 2024

W&M Men’s Basketball Tips Off Season at Home vs. Navy

(Tribe Athletics)

WILLIAMSBURG —William & Mary men’s basketball opens the season at home for the first time since 2018 when it welcomes former Colonial Athletic Association rival Navy to Kaplan Arena on Monday night. The game is slated for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off and will be part of a men’s and women’s doubleheader with the Tribe women hosting Navy as well.

The contest will also be streamed on FloHoops and broadcast regionally in the state of Virginia on Cox YurView with Jay Colley and Bobby Dwyer on the call. Tribe fans can catch the men’s basketball action over the Tribe Sports Network with Andrew Phillips on the call. Locally in Williamsburg, fans can listen in on The Tide 92.3 FM.

Catch up with the Tribe through social media. Fans can keep up with W&M men’s basketball by following the program on social media as well. Be sure to check out the Tribe on Twitter (@WMTribeMBB), Facebook (WMTribeMBB), and Instagram (WMTribeMBB).

Game Day Information – Game 1 vs. Navy
When:   Monday, Nov. 7, 2022, 7:30 PM
Where:   Williamsburg, Va. | Kaplan Arena
Tickets:   Buy
Multimedia:   Flo Hoops | Live Stats | Listen Online
Game Program:   View | Download
Game Notes:   William & Mary | Navy
Season Stats:    William & Mary | Navy | CAA
Tribe Athletics Social Media:   Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
W&M MBB Social Media:   Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
CAA Social Media:   Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
Hashtags:   #GoTribe | #CAAHoops

W&M News and Notes

– W&M opens the season at home for the first time under head coach Dane Fischer and for the first time overall since 2018. It marks just the third time in the last 16 years that W&M has opened the season at home.

– After playing the majority of its nonconference games on the road in Fischer’s first three season, the Tribe will have seven nonconference home games in 2022-23. In Fischer’s first three campaigns at W&M, the Green and Gold played 10 total nonconference homes games. The seven home games outside of league play are the most since the program had seven in 2006-07. The last time W&M had more was when it had eight in 1991-92.

– Navy and W&M are former Colonial Athletic Association rivals as the Midshipmen were among the founding members of the league before departing in 1991. The Tribe and Mids meet for the second-straight season, but it’s Navy’s first trip to Williamsburg since 2008. The Midshipmen won a three-overtime, 102-99 classic inside Kaplan Arena on that occasion.

– Junior Ben Wight was recognized by the CAA as a preseason all-league honorable mention selection. Wight led the Tribe at 11.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last season. He 61.6% shooting from the floor ranked third in the CAA and was the six-best mark in W&M history. Wight was one of only two players to start all 32 games last season and he tallied four double-doubles.

– While the Tribe was picked eighth in the preseason CAA poll, national basketball analyst Jeff Goodman of Stadium and the Field of 68 noted W&M as the CAA’s sleeper team according to a poll of the CAA coaches.

– The Tribe returns only four players from its 2021-22 season, but all four have seen significant minutes in their careers, including a pair of returning starters in Wight and sophomore Tyler Rice. Rice was a CAA All-Rookie Team pick last season. Senior Miguel Ayesa and junior Jake Milkereit have been key reserves. Known as a sharpshooter, Ayesa has appeared in 62 games in his career, hitting 65 3-pointers and shooting 33.7% from 3. Milkereit owns 37 career appearances and scored a career-high 13 in his lone start last season vs. Hofstra.

– Rice closed the 2021-22 season with two of his best performances in the final two games of the year. In the regular-season finale, he scored seven points and added a career-high 10 assists at Hofstra. The Columbia, S.C., native followed that performance with a team-high 15 points, including 3-of-5 from 3, to go with four assists compared to zero turnovers in the CAA Tournament vs. Northeastern. His 112 assists last season were the second most for a freshman in program history.

– The Tribe’s roster includes 10 new faces in the form of five transfers and five freshmen. Chris Mullins and Anders Nelson joined the program and are enrolled in the Mason School of Business after standout four-year careers at Rice and St. Thomas (Minn.), respectively. Junior Noah Collier (Pitt) and sophomores Gabe Dorsey (Vanderbilt) and Matteus Case (Providence) join the Tribe from power conference programs. The freshman class includes Jack Karasinski (Grand Rapids, Mich.), Chase Lowe (Weddington, N.C.) and Charlie Williams (Carmel, Ind.) as well as walk-ons Miles Hicks (Upper Marlboro, Md.) and Nick Evans (Alexandria, Va.).

– Both Mullins and Nelson were 1,000-point scorers at their previous collegiate stops. Mullins became just the 10th player in Rice history with 1,000 points, 300 rebounds and 250 assists in a career. He started 102 of 116 career games for the Owls. Nelson scored 1,426 points in his four years at St. Thomas, which transitioned to Division I in his final season. He scored in double-digits in 73 of 94 career games and was named the national Division III Freshman of the Year in 2019.

– Among the Tribe’s transfers, Collier and Dorsey played in power-five conferences with Pittsburgh (ACC) and Vanderbilt (SEC), respectively. Both players were also top-150 recruits out of high school. Collier, who took part in the 2017 USA Men’s Junior National Team Minicamp, was a fixture in Pitt’s rotation over the last two season, appearing in 44 games with a start. Dorsey, who was known as an elite shooter during his prep career at The Hill School (Pa.), saw action in 22 games with two starts for a Vanderbilt team that advanced to the NIT Quarterfinals.

– 2020 graduate Nathan Knight, who was the National Mid-Major Player of the Year in 2020, signed a two-year NBA deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves in the offseason. He spent his first two seasons on two-way deals with the Atlanta Hawks and the Timberwolves. Knight is the third W&M player, joining Marcus Thornton (Cleveland Cavaliers 10-day contract in 2018) and Daniel Dixon (Boston Celtics preseason Exhibit 10 deal in 2017) to sign an NBA deal since 2017.

– A trio of former W&M players are currently on NBA coaching staffs. Jim Moran ’01 is in his second season as an assistant coach with the Detroit Pistons, while Sean Sheldon ’16 joined the Utah Jazz as an assistant coach this offseason. Daniel Dixon ’17 is an assistant coach with the Oklahoma City Blue, the NBA G-League program of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

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