Deep Wooster Team Looking to Bring Another NCAC Title to Campus

NCAA Div. III's winningest team of the 2000s returns the top eight players from last year's team, giving the program its most experienced team since before COVID. With Nick Everett and JJ Cline taking advantage of the fifth year of eligibility from COVID, plus other leadership-driven seniors Jamir Billings and Ashton Price mentoring the younger players, head coach Doug Cline is excited about the program's prospectus for this year and beyond.

"We are very excited about the season," said Cline. "To finally be able to have four seniors and four juniors, guys who have actually played a lot of meaningful college basketball games, helps us build the program back to where it was. Great senior leadership and great upperclassmen who teach the younger guys how to play and what it truly means to be a Fighting Scot basketball player on and off the court are what enables our program to be consistently successful. We are set up for our program to continue to sustain the success once this year's senior class graduates."

Everett, an all-region selection and the North Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Year a season ago, headlines Wooster's deep team. The formidable forward broke NCAC and Wooster single-season records with a 72.8 (134-of-184) field-goal percentage. Once fully healthy late in the season, Everett was even more automatic, shooting 82.8 percent (77-of-93) from the field over Wooster's last 13 games. Cline's now looking for Everett to continue to elevate his play in other areas.

"Everybody knows Nick has improved a lot from year to year at Wooster," summed up Cline. "There is still room for him to grow to become an even better player, a better rebounder. He has to improve his rebounding and stay out of foul trouble."

Billings enters his senior year as the program's all-time leader in assists and is just shy of holding the No. 1 spot for career steals. The all-around electric guard has produced from day one as a Scot, and Cline felt his better efficiency really elevated the program's overall level of play down the stretch last season.

"Jamir wants to play in the NCAA Tournament and knows he has to continue to improve as a player to help us reach that goal," said Cline. "Jamir's ability to take care of the basketball and making the right decisions made our offense go from not a great field-goal percentage one to one of the better offensive teams in the country late last year."

JJ Cline enters year three as a starter and is one of Wooster's most important pieces to overall team success. Last year, Cline really elevated his offensive play to complement his strengths of rebounding and team defense. The senior is someone who really emulates what Wooster's program is all about.

"JJ has all the intangibles and does all the little things," said Doug Cline. "Total team guys who play hard every day are just as impactful to our success as leading scorers are. The younger guys have seen that throughout my entire time here as a player and coach and regularly buy into this, as this is something that is crucial to our success."

Impact transfers have been important to Wooster in recent years, and Price was the latest, earning first-team All-NCAC honors in his first season with the Scots. Price averaged 15.7 points per game, which was the top total on the team.

"Ashton fits in so well on the court and off the court at Wooster," stated Cline. "He has improved a lot since he got here and that is a testament to him and how bad he really wants to be a player. He knows what our expectations are and what we try to do. That is not easy to go from one program to another because each one is different."                       

Junior Jaiden Cox-Holloway rounds out the returning starters. He averaged 7.9 points and 6.0 rebounds per game as a sophomore. Classmates EJ Kapihe, Isaac Roeder, and Isaiah Johnson were impactful subs who made big strides from their first-year to sophomore seasons and will be counted on even more.

"Jaiden didn't play like he wanted to as a first-year, and to his credit, he worked to make himself better and put himself in a position to play," said Cline. "EJ feels much more comfortable playing with his back to the basket, which was new to him when he came into our program. Isaac has great strength and we are going to use that to our advantage by having him post up more because he has great ability to score around the basket. Isaiah projects to play more of the four spot for us this year so we can capitalize on his athleticism on the offensive glass. Offensive rebounding is one area we really want to improve on this year."

Jonathan Diederich, Anthony Gomes, and Bryce Sewell round out Wooster's talented junior class. The returning sophomores consist of Colton Martin, Zack Miller, Zach Oliver, and Nick Prince.

"Jonathan, Anthony, and Bryce continue to improve and have tremendous attitudes," said Cline. "Our sophomores are good offensive players and are working to improve the other areas of their game and continuing to get stronger. They bring it every day in practice, compete, and have gotten a lot better. We don't really know roles yet for this season. It won't be easy for the young guys to get into the rotation, but there are opportunities for them."

Wooster's newcomer class includes sophomore transfer Robbie Cass and several first-years. Cline likes the athleticism of the group and feels the program shored up its depth at point guard, with the ability to backup Billings now and develop behind him for the future.

"It is a huge adjustment going from high school to college, at the point guard position in particular," said Cline. "The pace is faster and you have to be able to make decisions. I tell the guys to run the offense, play hard on defense, compete, and if you get an open shot to knock it down. Playing with a bunch of older guys takes the pressure off you when you come in."

Wooster's season opens with a 1 p.m. home game against Yeshiva University (New York) on Sunday, November 10. The program's annual Al Van Wie/Wooster Rotary Classic takes place November 22-23 and fans can gain free admission this year with the donation of two canned or boxed food items that will be donated to People to People Ministries. The E.M. "Mose" Hole/Wooster Kiwanis Classic – one of small college basketball's longest-running events – is December 29-30, while the program's matchups with archrival Wittenberg University are January 4 at 7 p.m. at Timken Gymnasium and February 1 at 7 p.m. at Pam Evans Smith Arena. Wooster hosts defending NCAC champion Wabash College at 2:15 p.m. on Saturday, February 8.

"The NCAC will be very tough again," wrapped up Cline. "There are no easy games. You have to come to play every night because if you don't, you are going to go home with a loss. That is why we play a tough non-league schedule to prepare us for the NCAC."