Bright knows he must lead for DSU

Hornets open practice in bid for 4th MEAC title

By KRISTIAN POPE, The News Journal

DOVER -- Greg Jackson plans to do a lot of leaning on Roy Bright. Jackson, Delaware State's men's basketball coach, has no choice but to look to Bright. The 6-foot-6 senior guard is the only returning starter from a 2006-07 team that tied a school record for wins (21) and won its third consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference regular-season championship.

Bright averaged 15.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game last season, his first at DSU after transferring from Garden City (Kan.) College, where he landed after leaving the University of Cincinnati.

When the Hornets open practice tonight at Dover High, four of the team's top five scorers from a year ago will be missing.

But Jackson believes all he might need is Bright.

Photo: Delaware Head Basketball Coach Greg Jackson.

"Look at what he's done; in high school, he was the [North Carolina] player of the year, he went to Cincinnati for a season and then had a stellar year in junior college," Jackson said. "When Roy got here, he took a back seat to everybody. That made a tremendous statement. He's maturing now and is in a place to help this team."

Jackson, 118-96 in six seasons at DSU, was 16-2 in the MEAC last season. Now, he said he'll face one of the bigger challenges of his tenure when the season opens Nov. 9-10 in the Hornet Round-Ball Classic against Allen University and St. Paul's College at Memorial Hall.

DSU returns eight letter-winners, led by Bright, but must replace seven others. No returnee has the experience of Bright, who played 35.5 minutes per game.

Bright said he understands his role.

"The thing is, we have to stay together," said Bright, chosen the MEAC preseason player of the year. "What we can't do is point fingers. If we stay together as a team, we'll be ready."

Photo: Roy Bright, MEAC Pre-Season Player of the Year.

Leading a relatively unproven pack of returning underclassmen are sophomore point guards Kyle White (2.3 ppg, 22 games) and Marcus Neal (1.6 ppg, 28 games). They will be challenged by sophomore guards Darrell Mosley (0.4 ppg, 18 games) and 6-1 Tremaine Johnson (2.0 ppg, 24 games).

Returning at forward are 6-7 sophomore Mark D'Agostino (0.9 ppg in 19 games) and 6-6 sophomore Frisco Sandidge (0.4 ppg in 14 games).

Joe Dickens, a 6-7 senior forward who averaged 8.6 points in 35 games in 2005-06, will return after a medical red-shirt year. He missed all but two games last year because of surgery on his right foot. He was the team's second-leading scorer two years ago. Jackson expects Dickens, who had surgery again in September, to be ready by the end of November.

The Hornets have five new scholarship players, led by 6-6 sophomore forward Kris Douse, a transfer from the University of Nebraska. Other newcomers are 6-0 sophomore guard Jerel Chavis (Durham, N.C.), 6-4 junior guard Donald Johnson (Prince George, Va.), 6-9 freshman center Matt Washington (Hackensack, N.J.) and 5-10 freshman guard Trevor Welcher (Augusta, Ga.).

The team also has three walk-ons: 6-4 sophomore guard Kyle Ingram (Camden, N.J.), 6-4 junior forward Clayborne Holmes (Reston, Va.) and Jackson's son, 6-1 sophomore guard Greg Jackson Jr. (Polytech High).

Rounding out the roster are 6-6 freshman forward Terrence Parks (New Rochelle, N.Y.), 6-1 sophomore guard Melvin Smith (Burlington, N.J.) and 6-10 freshman center Andre Topic (Zagreb, Croatia). All three sat out last season. Dominik Hrga, who played sparingly last season, recently decided not to return.

One concern for Jackson is how he can go about orchestrating a fourth consecutive regular-season championship, considering his wealth of new talent and the team's hangover from losing in the MEAC Tournament title game for the second year in a row.

"I hope I can instill the same kind of mind-set," Jackson said. "There's so much emphasis on the conference tournament because you go to the NCAA Tournament [if you win], to the point it outweighs the regular season. That's hard to do on any level. There's no question our main focus is to get us at that same level."