By: Dustin Terry, sports information graduate assistant
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University men's basketball team is back on the court for the 2023-24 season with a new look.
The Raiders lose its top four players in points, rebounds and minutes from last season after graduating
Rashon Johnson,
Carlos Carter,
Dom Sleva and
Luke Nedrow. The foursome led Shippensburg to a 19–11 overall record and an appearance in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Semifinals.
Graduate guard
Andrew Recchia is the only returning starter. Recchia started in all 30 games last season at point guard, averaging 6.6 points per game.
Recchia said the team is working hard in preseason to get the most out of every rep, and the Raiders focused on the preparation needed to win games.
"[We're] making sure we are going 100 percent every play, getting better every single day," Recchia said. "The biggest thing for us is [to] build every day, so that we're peaking on [gamedays] and playing our best basketball towards the end of February."
Head Coach
Chris Fite, who enters his 11th season as head coach, said work rate and comradery within the team have been the biggest strength throughout the preseason.
"We really have to take advantage of every day that we're out on the court," Fite said. "There's so many little details that allow us to develop into a really good team, so I ask them daily to value those details."
The Raiders got an extra boost when they traveled to Italy in August to face off against international teams. SU picked up two exhibition wins during the trip and toured various locations in Italy.
"The Italy trip was very productive for us, allowing us to reset a little bit from last year's team and give all these new guys a chance to settle into some new roles and get comfortable with each other," Fite said. "It's been a very productive preseason."
Redshirt-junior
Ty Crespo said the team is excited for the possibilities the new season.
"There's a lot of opportunities for new guys to get in, play a lot and show what we can do," Crespo said. "I think we're going to be looked at as underdogs, so we just have to work and perform."
Shippensburg was ranked fifth in this year's PSAC Eastern Division preseason poll voted on by the league's coaches.
"We got a chip on our shoulder and a lot to prove," Recchia said. "Our MO right now is to go out there and take it and prove [people] wrong every time."
SU is in action for its season-opener at No. 3 West Liberty on Friday night for a 7 p.m. tip-off as part of the West Liberty Tip Off Tournament.
