Back on a Winning Crusade

Despite having one of the most youthful teams of his 13-year tenure at Susquehanna University, head coach Frank Marcinek returns four regulars and welcomes a Division I transfer to a squad that faded down the stretch last season and finished last in the Commonwealth Conference.

Sophomore guard Nick Griffiths (Shamokin, PA/Shamokin Area H.S.) saw most of the action at the point last season, but showed that he had scoring touch as well by averaging 9.4 points and shooting 38 percent from three-point range. Griffiths made a splash in his first start last season by draining three three-pointers en route to 23 points in a 79-68 win at York College on November 20.

Griffiths will shift over to shooting guard this year as Bucknell transfer Chris Zimmerman (Coal Township, PA/Shamokin Area H.S.) will take over as the playmaker this season. A dynamic performer on the court, the 5-8 Zimmerman scored over 2,000 points and dished out over 1,000 assists in high school. A sign of his leadership is the fact that his teammates voted him as a co-captain before he ever played a game in orange and maroon.

Up front, two-year starter Zigmas Kaknevicius (Silute, Lithuania/Long Island Lutheran H.S.) will patrol the paint for the Crusaders. The 6-7 junior returned well from a shoulder injury that cost him the final third of his freshman season by averaging 7.7 points and 5.2 rebounds while leading the Crusaders in blocked shots with 21.

Kaknevicius also led the Crusaders in field-goal percentage (52.8 percent) and hit 35-of-44 attempts (79.5 percent) from the free-throw line.

Should Marcinek choose to go with a small lineup, as he did often at the end of last season, 6-3 junior Tim Hurd (Montvale, NJ/Pascack Hills H.S.) will see plenty of action. Last season, Hurd emerged as a scoring threat over the last half of the schedule, averaging 8.8 points and 4.0 rebounds in the final 12 games.

Hurd scored in double figures four times, including a career-high 16 points in a 78-75 loss at Lebanon Valley on February 7. His putback with 0.5 seconds remaining was the difference in the Crusaders’ 57-55 win over Juniata on January 17.

Meanwhile, 6-6 junior Jose Arrieta (Susquehanna, PA/Susquehanna Community H.S.) will see action at power forward after averaging 2.3 points and 2.0 rebounds in 24 games off the bench last season.

A pair of sophomores, 6-4 guard Dan Rathmell (Windsor, NY/Windsor H.S.) and 6-6 center Glenn Weinrich (Ashland, PA/North Schuylkill H.S.) saw increased minutes throughout their rookie seasons and will be part of the rotation this winter. Rathmell appeared in 15 games and averaged 1.5 points and 0.6 rebounds, while Weinrich was promoted from the junior varsity at midseason and averaged 2.4 points and 2.1 rebounds in eight games.

Among the freshmen, 6-5 forward Bubba Mills (Reading, PA/Reading Central Catholic H.S.) should see the most playing time after helping Central Catholic to Berks County League titles in each of the last two years.