Arkansas-Pine Bluff will experience the first of 11 consecutive road games when it plays at Washington on Nov. 3 in the season opener for both teams.
The Huskies, in their second season under coach Danny Sprinkle, are also one of four Power 4 programs Pine Bluff will face in the 11-game stretch on the road.
Between Nov. 11-18, the Golden Lions have games scheduled at Oklahoma, Vanderbilt and SMU.
“How do we respond to adversity? So, that’s why we have 11 road games to start the season,” Pine Bluff fifth-year coach Solomon Bozeman said. “How are we going to jell as a team? Are we going to be together when things get tough?
“Most people might be scared of losing their team, because you got 11 straight on the road. Like I said, this is a time for our team to come together and face through adverse situations.”
The Golden Lions return only four players from last season’s team that finished 6-25.
Two of the returners were role players — forwards Kyle Brown (6.9 points per game) and Dennis Asoro (3.5). The other two are guards Trejon Ware and Anthony Sellars. Ware sat out the entire season, while Sellars logged only five total minutes.
Top transfers include former Mississippi State and Texas-San Antonio forward Jaquan Scott, and guard Quion Williams, formerly of Abilene Christian and Oklahoma State.
Washington finished 13-18 with a last-place finish in its first season in the Big Ten last year.
Sprinkle revamped the roster welcoming 13 newcomers, who replaced the 12 players who left the program.
One of his top players is senior guard Quimari Peterson, who averaged 19.5 points a game and shot 42.2 percent from 3-point range at East Tennessee State last season.
Senior guard Jacob Ognacevic, who averaged 20 points while shooting 40.2 percent from beyond the arc last year at Lipscomb, is also one of Sprinkle’s top shooters.
Freshman point guard JJ Mandaquit, a member of the gold medal-winning U.S. Junior National Team over the summer, will combine with returner Zoom Diallo for primary ball-handler roles.
“To be honest, we could go 10 or 11 deep,” Sprinkle said. “We have talent now. We could have some good players that don’t play a lot of minutes.”
–Field Level Media
