2008-2009 Men's Basketball Season Preview:

As the San Antonio Spurs, UNC Tar Heels, and Ursinus Bears are about to find out, improving on semifinal finishes is no easy task. The Yeshiva University men's basketball team - participants in last year's Skyline Conference semifinals - finds itself facing a similar challenge, albeit under highly different circumstances.

Three of the Maccabees starting five (Michael Pollack, Zack Gordon, and David Schaulewicz) completed their matriculation or otherwise left Yeshiva University and three bench players also no longer call Amsterdam Avenue home. Combined, these players accounted for over fifty percent of the 2007-2008 Macs rebounding, sixty percent of their assists, sixty-five percent of their baskets, and the large majority of the minutes played. Aside from statistics, the team will miss Pollack's locker-room leadership, Schaulewicz's uncanny knack for coming through in the clutch, Gordon's Division I talent (this summer Gordon transferred to the University of Pennsylvania where he will sit out the season as a red-shirt), and the overall cohesiveness and familial atmosphere that permeated the locker-room and helped propel the team to the semifinals.

This year's version of the Maccabees will be hard-pressed to attain the measure of success that last year's squad managed, and everyone knows it. "Yes, you could term it a rebuilding year," said long-time coach Jonathan Halpert.

Coach has tempered expectations not only because of the plethora of lost talent, but also because these Macs have only practiced together about a dozen times. Coach also "is not sure who will fill the vacuum on and off the court" that exists now that Pollack and Schaulewicz graduated.

"Still," said Coach Halpert in his heavy New York accent, "Reaching the playoffs and going five-hundred are always two of [my] goals at the beginning of every season. This year is no different." With that simple declaration Coach Halpert let it be known that even though this team is not the 2007-2008 Macs, it is not a team that should be overlooked either.

The fans will get their first look at the Macs this Wednesday, as they scrimmage Queensboro Community College. Then, they will open their regular season the weekend of November 15th at the annual Ramapo College Tournament. The first home game is against CCNY, November 19th; by that time Coach Halpert and the Macs' faithful will have seen enough to know what to truly expect from this year's roster of seventeen Maccabees.

Position by Position Breakdown

Although Coach Halpert does not really label his players by position, to thoroughly analyze the team, a position-by-position list is needed, especially since Coach Halpert believes the team is extremely deep.

Point Guard: The starter for the last three seasons was, according to Coach Halpert, "one of the best point guards ever at Yeshiva University." With David Schaulewicz now gone, Benjamin Lockspeiser (Highland Park, NJ/MAYHS) will take over as the floor-general. Juniors Josh Genet (Miami Beach, FL/RASG Hebrew Academy), David Gilboa (Tenafly, NJ/Frisch), and Senior Noam Block (Teaneck, NJ/TABC) will share time off the bench. The play of this group will be the key to the season as all are unproven at the point guard position, and the opponents, knowing that, will be pressuring the ball from baseline to baseline. If they can run the offense and keep the turnovers to a minimum, the Macs definitely have a chance of making the Skyline Conference playoffs. If not, this team will find itself watching February action from the sidelines for the first time in a long time.

Shooting Guard: Lockspeiser, last season's starter, has moved over to play the point guard spot. In his stead will be the supremely talented but often injured Simon Brookim (Los Angeles, CA/Valley Torah). Backing him up will be the versatile transfer student Yechiel Boussi (Fair Lawn, NJ/Frisch) and the oh-so-athletic Jeremy Pressman (Philadelphia, PA/Pennsbury). Between the three of these athletes, many points, rebounds, and key defensive plays should come from this position.

Small Forward: Say goodbye to Mikey Pollack and hello to the Freshman Chen Biron (Kfar Saba, Israel/Katzanelson). Standing six-foot-five and possessing a good feel for the game and nice touch, Biron has the chance to be an impact player in the conference. However, he has yet to prove himself, so exercise optimistic caution until he does. Coming off the bench will be dead-eye shooter Daniel Somech (Jerusalem, Israel/Masorti Jerusalem), Zvi Glustein (Toronto, Canada/Or Chaim) - who will also see some action at the two guard spot, and Pressman. Though unproven, the small forward spot is in highly capable hands.

Power Forward: Zack Gordon, last year's starter, was the leading rebounder and scorer on the team; to expect the same from transfer Martin Leibovich (Buenos Aires, Argentina/ORT) would be unfair to the newcomer. However, the muscular junior just may be able to do just that. Playing in stereotypical Argentinian fashion, Leibovich has a knack for getting into the paint by twisting and bending his body in pretzel-like fashion. The only question is whether or not he can adapt to Coach Halpert's unique system of offense. If he does, he has the potential to be Skyline Conference newcomer of the year. If not, look for Ohad Babo (Kiryat Ono, Israel/Ben Zvi), a man who worked himself into excellent shape over the summer, to steal some minutes from Leibovich and rebounds from opponents.

Center: Though he stands only six-feet-three inches, Alex Claster (Kansas City, Kansas/Hyman Brand) will not be overmatched on the block, due to the positionless system and his body-strength. After picking up his game near the end of last season Claster needs to ensure that he is in peak condition. If he is, he will become a better shooter, an apt defender, and will be able to play more minutes. Also, the hot-headed Claster needs to keep his emotions in check, lest he get himself into foul trouble or, even worse, thrown out of a game. In addition to Babo, six foot six Marc Ladenheim (Lower Merion, Pa/Lower Merion) and Dani Wizenfield (Los Angeles, CA/YULA) round out the crop of bigs.

Recap: It is hard to predict how this team will fare; there are just too many variables at play. However, it is fair to say that the team will play hard every game and will be in contention for a playoff spot throughout most of the season.