Patrick Fitzgerald, Staff Writer—
The Denison Men’s Basketball team lost to Wooster 54-79 on Friday, Feb. 24 in the NCAC Tournament Semifinals, ending their season.
The Big Red shot poorly this game, 4-23 from the three-point line, including 1-13 in the second half. They also were outrebounded 20 to 32 by the Fighting Scots.
Despite the disappointing loss, it is important to reflect on the season as a whole. The Big Red had a mediocre start to the year, being pretty much deadlocked at .500 for most of the campaign.
However, they went on a tear in the latter stages, winning six out of their last seven games leading up to the season-ending loss in the tournament.
This included a historic home win against Wooster in the regular season, the Fighting Scots being 18-4 in conference play at the time.
The team was middle of the pack in scoring for the year. They shot the three ball poorly at 30.5%, last in the NCAC.
They excelled in taking care of the ball with an NCAC-best turnover margin of 1.96, but struggled to rebound, averaging 23.5 defensive rebounds per game, which was last in the conference.
Additionally, they shot poorly from the charity stripe this season, only managing a 69.9% team free throw percentage compared to the league average of 75.1%.
Defense was another positive as they averaged more steals and blocks per game than their opponents, and allowed the fourth-least points per game in the NCAC.
If the Big Red can carry the momentum they ended the season with onto next year, they could finish top two or three in the conference.
The returning roster indicates an extremely bright future, headlined by two returning All-NCAC selections, Ricky Radtke ‘25 and Darren Rubin ‘24.
The 2022-23 team was comprised of five first-years, nine sophomores, three juniors and only a single senior.
With the majority of the squad remaining intact and the team being so young, there is definitely room for growth. This past season showed how sophomore players can make tremendous progress.
Radtke was an All-NCAC Second Team recipient, and made improvements in every statistical category from his freshman year. “It was a confidence thing, just playing a year and the coaching staff has helped a lot. I also got bigger,” said Radtke.
Asked if this year’s first-years could make a similar jump, he said, “Yeah for sure! I think that gap between freshman year and sophomore year is huge, and that’s where you see a lot of improvement.”
He added that the rising sophomores would not be seen as first-years anymore. The play of both stretch-forward Aidan King ‘26 and Nick Heath ‘26 are especially exciting for the Big Red.
When they develop and improve into the next season, they could be much bigger contributors.
Radtke laughed when asked about what he wanted to improve on personally next year. “Hopefully we can extend to the perimeter a little bit…we’re gonna try to shoot some threes next year, get my free throw percentage up a little bit,” he said.
Radtke only attempted three three-pointers and shot a tad over 53% from the free-throw line. Despite the lack of range, he still shot an NCAC second-best 63% from the field.
If Radtke achieves what he hopes in terms of evolving his game, he could become a lethal threat. Big, dominant centers that can hit free throws can be massive problems for opponents and the greater skillset would also make Radtke’s play inside much easier.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see him improve to over 17 points per game. Radtke is expected to continue to better his strength and stellar defense, which has already seen a dramatic progression since last year.
He was a constant presence in the middle, blocking and affecting shots at an astounding rate. Radtke had a great season and is primed for another one in 2023-24.
Darren Rubin ‘24 also earned an All-NCAC Second Team nod. He led Denison in scoring at 16 points per game. He ran the Big Red offense and had some great performances at the end of the season that earned him an NCAC Athlete of the Week award.
His relentlessness in driving to the basket drew in defenders and created open shots for his teammates.
Rubin has a real chance of making the All-NCAC First Team next year, likely being the offensive engine for the Big Red in his senior season.
Head Coach Chris Sullivan commented on the outcome of last season and his thoughts on next year. He believed the season was bittersweet.
Ending the season with a loss is never the dream, but the team did improve. At times, they even looked like a complete and competitive team.
Asked how they turned it around at the end of the season, Coach Sullivan said, “We started playing defense. A problem we have had in the last few seasons is [the] first half [of the season’s] defense.”
He also discussed the benefit of having almost all of the players back for 2023-24. “The rotation has been pretty much set for next season. We know what we are capable of and there is only space to grow for everyone from this season to the next,” Sullivan said.
Denison’s play at the end of the year is certainly promising. With only one player leaving the team, the Big Red will be running it back very soon.
All-NCAC Second Teamers Ricky Radtke ‘25 and Darren Rubin ‘24 are slated to make a big return and carry the end-of-season momentum into next year for a Big Red team set to gain from having even more experience under their belt.