Emory, Va. - Emory & Henry basketball will look to improve on their 12th place finish from last season. Under new head coach David Willson, the team completed the season with a 4-22 (2-14 ODAC) record. However, those two wins came at crucial times against top opponents in the ODAC. The Wasps defeated Guilford and Roanoke, who finished 3rd and 6th respectively, in their last two home games of the season. E&H looks to feed off those victories coming up this season.
The end of the year success was partially accredited to sophomore, Ryan Gravley. Gravley started at point guard for those two big ODAC wins, averaging 15.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4 assists. Myles Turner is returning for his sophomore season once again, as he received a medical-hardship waiver last season. He said, “I have learned my injury has been a setback for a greater comeback.” Turner, who has started in all 28 games he has played in, averages 11.4 points and 1.6 steals per game. Emory & Henry looks to Brandon Self to dominate in the post. Self was also a huge key to the victories against Guilford and Roanoke last season. In those two games, the 6’6” big man averaged 16 points and 10.5 rebounds. Those matchups were an exclamation point on a season in which Self was relegated to only 13 games due to injury. “Coming off an injury, I was mainly concerned with getting my body ready to play. Preseason was challenging for me, but I was motivated by my teammates to take my game to another level,” Self said. Junior, Kevin Anzenberger, will be looked to for leadership for this young Wasps team. The elder statesman started 9 games last season as he shot 34.5% from the field. Anzenberger states, “The chemistry that surrounds our locker room makes it incredibly easy to be a leader of such a close group of guys. Every single person in that room is bought in to this process of turning the culture of Emory and Henry Basketball around.” Junior, Trevor Gilliam, and sophomore, Marquise Coleman, saw action in 12 and 17 games, respectively. The team will look to them to produce as well.
The team saw a total of 8 seniors leave the program last season. Coach Willson and assistant coach Kyle Sensabaugh reloaded by bringing in 8 freshmen. High-flyer Noah Walker, from Bristol, VA, looks to help out the Wasps in the front court. Along with Chase Branscomb, Shawn McDaniel, and Zach Lawson, these four freshmen look to add some size and valuable minutes to the Wasps. Josh Hess, John Shelor, Johnny McLean, and Akeem Jones look to add some production and depth to the strong Wasps back court. With the team only returning 34.1 points and 12.1 rebounds per game, the basketball team will look for these freshmen to make huge impacts. On the youth of the team, Ryan Gravley commented, “Being such a young team, it is important that the leaders show a strong work ethic and positive attitude. I think the team has built great chemistry together, and we are ready to grow as a group on and off the court.”
The Wasps open the regular season against Southern Virginia on Saturday, November 15th at 5 p.m.
Leading Returners
Points – Myles Turner 11.7
Rebounds – Brandon Self 5.1
Assists – Myles Turner 2.3
Steals – Myles Turner 2.7
Blocks – Brandon Self 0.9
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