Raiders basketball has large gaps to fill

Raiders' Jeff McClain drives to the hoop in the National Tournament in Hutchinson, Kan. McClain is leaving Three Rivers early and going to Murray State. (Alex Abate/DAR)

By ALEX ABATE ~ DAR Sports Writer

The Raiders already had some major holes to fill over this offseason, but now the gap is even bigger just days before the junior college signing period opens.

Freshman Jeff McClain is leaving Three Rivers and going to Murray State University in Kentucky, about 45 minutes from his home town of Fulton.

"The main reason is because my family is there and it is close to home," McClain said. "I got a pretty good vibe from the coaches (at Murray)."

The year at Three Rivers gave McClain a chance to display his skills for many NCAA Division 1 schools. McClain was the team's leading rebounder, pulling down 8.78 rebounds per game and had the most starts on the team over the season with 36.

"I became a better player but even more, they gave me a chance to show what I can really do," he said. "In high school, I played in the post and (Three Rivers) got me out on the wing where I could show skill and athleticism."

The departure of McClain leaves the Raiders in even rougher shape around the basket as they are also losing Archie Valov and Aaron Redecker.

"We lost Montas (Griskenas) the year before and we didn't know if we had a rebounder and this year, Jeff really took up the slack," Raiders coach Gene Bess said.

Valov was the team's leading scorer this season as he averaged 14.0 points a game while Redecker averaged 7.0 points per game. Valov was a model of consistency for Three Rivers, as he also averaged 14 points over the course of his first year. Along with Redecker and Valov, Vitaly Ahmedov was used sparingly off the bench.

"That is the thing I enjoyed so much was our three big posts," Bess said. "All three have been such a pleasure and all three are hard workers. I am kind of sad knowing I am not going to have those guys."

Along with the post openings, the Raiders are losing point guard Bryan Sherrer after essentially two seasons of being a go-to guy. He averaged 13.5 points per game this season and was often clutch as he earned the name "Big Time" during his freshman year from his teammates for his key baskets.

"Bryan, for two years, had been so solid and given us stability," Bess said. "Point guards might be the hardest thing to find. They have so much responsibility and are so important."

Brandon Rogowski made large strides during his sophomore season and is an example of how a player's role can change over the course of their career.

Rogowski averaged 10.2 points per game over the course of his second season as opposed to just 6.77 per game during his freshman campaign.

"He was very good defensively and I thought he made really good improvements between his freshman and sophomore years," Bess said. "He would be an example of how freshman could make progress from one year to the next."

The lone starter to return from this past season will be Ken Bingham. Along with him, backup guards Allan Spencer and Alonzo Louis will be back along with sixth man Adam Carpenter.

"I think our point guard position is going to be pretty solid," Carpenter said. "Allan played it in high school and he is pretty smart."

The backups roles may change come next season, Bess said.

"We are just playing it by ear there," Bess said. "They were backups and we are trying to sort of decipher where they fit in the whole scheme of things."

The Raiders are much busier this offseason than last year, Bess said.

"We actually had three or four starters coming back and this year, we have got some awfully big shoes to fill," he said.