Arrival Time
IUP set to open 2025-26 basketball season Friday at Memorial Field House
The time has come.
Last year at this time, IUP coach Joe Lombardi said he was leading the Crimson Hawks into a new season on a two-year plan.
Now it’s time for the Hawks to show their hand for the 2025-26 basketball season.
IUP, in its 20th season under Lombardi, opens a new season Friday evening with a lot of familiar faces because just about every player on the roster was on the team last year.
That means the top eight players return, and there are a couple key additions expected to make an immediate impact.
It also means Lombardi plans to use the deep roster to ramp up the speed of play. IUP opens against Concord (W.Va.) at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the second game of the Hilton Garden Inn Tipoff Classic. The Hawks play Lincoln, from Philadelphia, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. All four games in the classic — Pitt-Johnstown is the other participant — are at Memorial Field House.
“We have 10 guys that have experience, and we have competent players,” Lombardi said, “and we probably won’t play 10, but eight or even nine, and we’re going to play at a faster tempo and try to score fast and score earlier in the shot clock and pick up the court and press up the court a lot more, and you need more bodies to do that.”
The Hawks have them on a team that was picked second behind two-time defending champion Gannon in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division preseason coaches’ poll.
All five starters return from last year, although all aren’t starters this year with the addition of Dallis Dillard and Bautista Rodriguez. Dillard, who was on track to become an all-conference guard two years ago, is returning from reconstructive knee surgery and hasn’t played in 21 months. Bautista, a 6-foot-6 native of Argentina, sat out his highly anticipated freshman year after the NCAA determined he did not meet eligibility criteria for international players.
The players who started last year are 6-6 redshirt senior forward Damir Brooks, 6-1 senior guard Christian Moore, 6-7 sophomore forward Tyler Grove, 6-3 junior guard Sarp Furtun and 5-10 sophomore point guard Kymani Merraro.
Moore led the team in scoring at 16.8 points per game, and Merraro, who averaged 15.9 points and 4.5 assists, was the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division Freshman of the Year. Grove averaged 11.1 points as a freshman, and Brooks averaged 10.3 points and a team-high 7.2 rebounds in his first season as a starter.
Last year’s reserves returned to the same spots: 6-7 senior forward Luke Triggs, 6-0 senior guard Alfonso Pickens Jr. and 6-6 sophomore forward Ian Herring.
This year’s projected starting lineup is Dillard, Moore, Merraro, Bautista and Brooks, although it may vary depending on matchups.
Bautista suffered an ankle injury during the preseason and missed IUP’s southern trip for scrimmages against Virginia Union, South Carolina Beaufort and Anderson (S.C.).
“It’s great to have Bautista back after being out for 2½ weeks,” Lombardi said. “He’s a big part of what we’re doing as a team, so it’s nice to blend him in since he missed the three scrimmage games. I see growth in some other guys — I see breakthroughs and growth — and several guys from last year have to accept what some people see as smaller roles this year with the additions of Dallis and Bautista, and I think they’ve accepted that and are trying to focus on just playing the minutes they get and playing better than the minutes they got last year on both ends of the floor.”
In an early assessment, Lombardi said, “We’re shooting the 3 better than last year. We probably shot in the low 40s in the three scrimmages. And we’re really able to create for each other better so I’m encouraged by our passing. I think we’ve improved defensively, and I’m just concerned with our ability to rebound the ball.”
Concord was 17-11 last year and was picked fifth among 11 teams in this year’s Mountain East Conference preseason poll. Last year the Mountain Lions counted road wins over nationally ranked West Liberty and Fairmont State among its accomplishments under coach Todd May, who enters his 10th season with a 137-115 record. He led his team to an early season win at IUP two years ago en route to an NCAA Tournament bid.
The Lions lost two players to Division I: Kollin Tolbert (East Texas A&M), an All-American and MEC player of the year, and Corey Boston (IU-Indy).
Three players with starting experience return: 6-8 sophomore forward Kraig Gilbert, sophomore guard Josiah Rickards and 6-5 senior forward Ken Sallee. Gilbert started the final 25 games and averaged 9.1 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots per game, and Rickards and Sallee combined for 17.9 points per game.
Two reserves, 6-8 junior forward Boubacar Djingo and sophomore guard Brendan Hoffman, return.
The recruiting class consists of Division II transfer Savier McCall (Arkansas Tech), a 6-3 sixth-year guard who transferred from Division II Arkansas Tech; Division II transfer Khamani Wertz (Belmont Abbey); junior college forward Anfernee Hanna (Motlow State, Tenn.) and junior college forward Eldon Terry (Quincy, Mass.). Wertz played in 15 of 23 games for a 2-21 Belmont Abbey team and led the Crusaders in scoring (15.0 ppg) and 3-point shooting (.458).
“Concord beat us up here two years ago and was an NCAA Tournament team,” Lombardi said. “They have a good coach and good program, and they’ve been up here several times to play in our tournament.”
Lincoln, picked fifth in the CIAA preseason poll, finished 18-12 last year under first-year coach Julius Hodge. The Lions return only two players on a roster of 13 that includes 7-foot sophomore Kesean Shillingford, 6-10 junior Ginuwine Tropnas and freshman point guard Gian-Paul Anderson.
“Lincoln has a whole new roster, a lot of junior college kids, a really good freshman point guard and a couple high-level guards, and they’re big and athletic,” Lombardi said. “The big key is their athleticism, and can we rebound the ball?”
IUP opens the season on the court it called home before its move to the KCAC for the 2011-12 season. The KCAC is the site of an annual cheerleading competition, and the move was necessary when the NCAA moved the Division II start date back one week.
“I’m not upset about it,” Lombardi said. “I’m just disappointed we don’t have this tournament at the KCAC. We’ll take this opportunity in the field house and have fun with it.”
IUP spends a considerable number of practice days at the field house.
“We practice there probably more than we do at the KCAC because of issues,” Lombardi said. “They guys are comfortable there, and it’s a good floor, and I hope we have a good environment for opening weekend.”
NOTES: Furtun won’t play in the opener and might miss the second game due to an ankle injury. … Tasso Sfanos, a transfer guard from South Carolina Beaufort, is redshirting along with 6-9 freshman Harry Keighley and freshman guard Ralph Blundo. … IUP has received verbal commitments from two high school seniors: Griffin Straub, a 6-foot-7 forward from St. Clairsville High School in Ohio, and Colin Simmons, a 6-2 shooting guard from Pinecrest High School near Toronto. The official Division II signing period began Wednesday and continues for one week. … IUP’s game at Lincoln that was scheduled for the day before Thanksgiving has been canceled due to the school’s facility issues.