SAINT FRANCIS MEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM ANNOUNCES 2008-09 TEAM CAPTAINS
LORETTO, Pa. (Oct. 16, 2008) – Saint Francis University head men’s basketball coach Don Friday announced on Thursday that senior Marquis Ford (St. Petersburg, Fla. / St. Petersburg), and juniors Kurt Hoffman (Johnstown, Pa. / Greater Johnstown) and Mislav Jukic (Zagreb, Croatia / Life Center Academy), have been voted team tri-captains for the upcoming 2008-09 season.
The Red Flash held a vote among the team’s coaches and players on Wednesday night, and the winners were announced to the team on Thursday morning.
“I am very happy with the results of our team’s vote for captains,” said Friday, who is entering his first season at the helm of the Saint Francis program. “These three individuals are leaders in the classroom, on the court and in the community. They are all very responsible and have tremendous work ethics. In my experience as a coach, I have found that a strong leadership corps is imperative to any team’s success, and I feel that we have good leadership on this team.”
Ford is entering his senior season having played in 79 games, including 51 starts. He had accrued 556 points (7.0 ppg), 193 rebounds (2.4 rpg), 232 assists (2.9 apg) and 62 steals. Ford led the Northeast Conference in 3-point field goal percentage as a sophomore when he hit 51 of 100 attempts (51.0 percent).
Hoffman started in 11 of 27 games as a sophomore, and has played in 54 contests during his career. He shot 59.0 percent from the field last season, which was best among Red Flash players with 30 or more attempts. Hoffman was second on the 2007-08 squad with 12 blocks, and he had an assist-to-turnover ratio of over 1.0.
Jukic has developed into a low-post presence for Saint Francis, and is competing for quality minutes in 2008-09. As a sophomore, he played in a career high 24 games, including three starts.
The Red Flash begin preseason practice at 7 p.m. on Friday before hosting the first annual Rim Rally, which will be held at DeGol Arena beginning at 10 p.m. The public is welcome to attend the event, which will feature both the SFU men’s and women’s basketball teams, as well as an intro from Hall of Fame broadcaster Dick Vitale.
Saint Francis opens the 2008-09 campaign on Nov. 14, at Texas Tech.