Roster | Schedule | JV Roster | JV Schedule | Video Preview | Photo Day Gallery

The Malone University men's basketball team will tip off the 2016-2017 season this weekend in the GLIAC/G-MAC Crossover which will be hosted by Walsh University.
 
The Pioneers will take on Hillsdale College on Friday night for their season opener.  On Saturday, Malone will square off with rival Walsh University in the 53^rd annual Mayors' Cup.
 
Casey Kaufman is entering his second season as the head coach of the men's basketball team at Malone. Coach Kaufman's goal this season is for his team to get better every day and to become a tough team. His belief is that in order for this team to win close games, they have to be mentally tough.
 
Kaufman sees that his group is not where it needs to be in terms of toughness right now, but this weekend's games will be a great test of that toughness the Pioneers are trying to develop. Last year, Malone suffered one-possession losses to both Hillsdale and Walsh on the road. Malone's returners from last season will be seeking revenge for those narrow defeats and will have a great opportunity to lead the seven new players on the roster in their quest to become a tough, competitive team.
 
Three of the key returners for the Pioneers this season are senior guard Christian Graves, junior forward Mitchell Spotleson and sophomore guard Nate Sheppard. Graves and Spotleson both started all 27 games for the Pioneers last season and each averaged more than ten points a game. Sheppard got off to a hot start last season, averaging 17 points per game in four contests before missing the remainder of the season due to injury. Coach Kaufman is expecting all six returners to have big roles on the team this year. Also returning for Malone this season is Nick Williams, Brandon Bapst, and Ben Evans.
 
"Each guy returning has a different role on this team, whether that is leadership or on-court performance. All of our returners have done a good job building a good practice culture. A few of our guys played significant minutes last year, and a few others have had really good off-seasons and will have a role on the team as well."
 
The team has brought in seven new players this year. Three of those new players are transfers who are in their junior year and will be bringing their own experience to the team. Those transfers are Ty Jordan (Hesston College), Kamron Carroll (Hamption University), and Djuro Pantos (Polk State). One player, Josh Neer, was with the Pioneers last season as a member of the Junior Varsity squad and will take a role with the varsity this year. Malone brought in three freshmen, Warren Yates, Daylan Haynie, and Chris Johnson, to the team as well. The specific roles and amount of playing time for each of these newcomers has yet to be determined by Coach Kaufman.
 
"Each one of them does different things really well and we're just seeing how that jells with our team. Ultimately that toughness stuff that we talk about will help them get on the floor as much as anything."
 
Malone will spend this first part of the season working to identify those roles on the team while developing the newcomers' talents, teamwork and toughness in order to be moving full-speed ahead when the team begins conference play in January. The Pioneers are entering their first year in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference and will be facing a lot of opponents that they have not faced before. According to Coach Kaufman, the way to reach their goals is to just worry about the things they can control right now.
 
"We know that the G-MAC is going to be a really good conference. Some of the teams we don't have as much knowledge about because we haven't played them before, but we know that they're good. However, our focus has to be primarily on ourselves. We have to become a really good team so we can compete with these talented G-MAC teams come January."
 
Malone got their first taste with a couple of the G-MAC teams last season, defeating Davis & Elkins 108-105 in overtime and defeating Cedarville, 79-66.
 
The Pioneers will start their journey Friday night against Hillsdale with hopes of the journey ending by making waves in the G-MAC and finding a spot in the regional tournament.
 
Friday night's contest against Hillsdale will tip at 5:00 p.m. this Friday at Walsh University. Malone will be back at Walsh at 7:00 on Saturday for the 53^rd annual Mayors' Cup.