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Rockhurst University Athletics

Curtis Lewis
Doug Schveninger

Men's Basketball

Hawks return four starters heading into new season

Junior guard Curtis Lewis led the Hawks in scoring and assists last year.
Drew Diener likes the makeup of his roster heading into his fifth season as the head coach of the Rockhurst Hawks.

The return of four starters from last year's 17-12 team is a major positive for the Hawks, who open exhibition play this week at Benedictine (Monday night) and at Tulsa (Thursday night).

"We have four guys who not only started for us but had big individual games for us last year," Diener said. "They have an outstanding mentality as far as what it takes to make the next step in our program and being good leaders on and off the floor."

Juniors Curtis Lewis and Quinton Curry return for their third seasons at Rockhurst. Lewis was a first-team All-GLVC guard last year, ranking ninth in scoring (14.8 pg) and eighth in assists (3.6 pg) in the conference. Curry earned a spot on the All-GLVC second team. He ranked eighth in rebounding (6.1 pg), 20th in scoring (12.9 pg) and 11th in field goal percentage (54.0).

Junior guard Chris Hamil and sophomore center Nick Volz also started most of last season. Hamil was one of the top three-point shooters in the GLVC. Volz, who made the GLVC All-Freshman team, ranked among the top shooters and rebounders in the GLVC.

Senior Walt Eckelkamp, junior Charlton Offermans, sophomore Spencer Moes and freshman Thomas Faber will provide depth to the backcourt.

"Offermans has made a step and could be a glue guy at defender and doesn't need to score," Diener said. "Eckelkamp is a senior who is making open shots and he is just a guy who has a motor. Thomas (Faber) has been shooting really well in practice and has a good IQ."

The frontcourt will be aided by three newcomers in junior Lasse Gummerus along with freshmen Charlie Hoehne and Rich Byhre.

"Lasse (Gummerus) is a shooter with size and is a passionate defensive player," Diener said. "Charlie Hoehne has a chance to help us. Rich Byhre is coming off an ACL tear and hopefully will be able to help us this year."

Diener's biggest concern heading into the 2019-20 season is avoiding foul trouble due to the Hawks' injuries and overall team depth.

"We need guys to play big minutes. We've been shooting the ball pretty well this fall. We were able to play well inside-out in a scrimmage at Northwest Missouri last week. We had a good flow offensively and took good shots," added Diener, whose Hawks were picked to finish sixth in the GLVC Preseason Coaches; Poll.

"Our main objective early in the year is to take care of the ball and keep our turnovers down. The team wants to win the conference and get into the NCAA Tournament. I think our guys have gotten more confident based on how we played at the end of the year and how we played in the scrimmage at Northwest Missouri."
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Players Mentioned

Quinton Curry

#44 Quinton Curry

C
6' 7"
Junior
Walt Eckelkamp

#32 Walt Eckelkamp

G
6' 3"
Junior
Chris Hamil

#20 Chris Hamil

G
6' 5"
Junior
Curtis Lewis

#2 Curtis Lewis

G
5' 11"
Junior
Spencer Moes

#10 Spencer Moes

G
5' 8"
Sophomore
Charlton Offermans

#14 Charlton Offermans

G
6' 0"
Junior
Nick Volz

#13 Nick Volz

F
6' 8"
Redshirt Sophomore
Lasse Gummerus

#11 Lasse Gummerus

F
6' 8"
Junior
Rich Byhre

#33 Rich Byhre

F
6' 8"
Freshman
Thomas Faber

#5 Thomas Faber

G
6' 3"
Freshman
Charlie Hoehne

#12 Charlie Hoehne

F
6' 6"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Quinton Curry

#44 Quinton Curry

6' 7"
Junior
C
Walt Eckelkamp

#32 Walt Eckelkamp

6' 3"
Junior
G
Chris Hamil

#20 Chris Hamil

6' 5"
Junior
G
Curtis Lewis

#2 Curtis Lewis

5' 11"
Junior
G
Spencer Moes

#10 Spencer Moes

5' 8"
Sophomore
G
Charlton Offermans

#14 Charlton Offermans

6' 0"
Junior
G
Nick Volz

#13 Nick Volz

6' 8"
Redshirt Sophomore
F
Lasse Gummerus

#11 Lasse Gummerus

6' 8"
Junior
F
Rich Byhre

#33 Rich Byhre

6' 8"
Freshman
F
Thomas Faber

#5 Thomas Faber

6' 3"
Freshman
G
Charlie Hoehne

#12 Charlie Hoehne

6' 6"
Freshman
F