Basketball (Men's) | 11/13/2014 4:58:00 PM

CLARION, Pa. – The Marcess Williams Era of Clarion University men's basketball gets underway at 3 p.m. Friday when the Golden Eagles take on Felician at the Wolf Bus Lines Classic at Shippensburg.
 
The Golden Eagles will then take on Georgian Court at 3 p.m. Saturday also in Shippensburg.
 
Williams comes to Clarion from Penn St.-Beaver where he led the Lions to 158 wins in nine years. He replaces Ron Righter, the winningest coach in school history.
 
"We want to play at a past pace for 40 minutes," Williams said. "We want to make the other team play 90 feet for 40 minutes.
 
"They guys are picking up our system pretty well. It's mainly just getting them into shape to react to playing the way we want to play for extended periods of time."


Because of the style of play the Golden Eagles will use, Williams plans on using pretty much his entire roster every game with the potential for a different starting five every contest.
 
"We plan on playing at least 10 guys," Williams said. "We definitely do."
 
Leading the way for Clarion will be sophomore guard BJ Andrews, who was the PSAC West Rookie of the Year last season after averaging 8.0 ppg and 3.4 rpg as a freshman.
 
"BJ is the leader," Williams said. "I could tell that from the first day I walked into the locker room. That is unique for a sophomore, but he is our leader."
 
Also returning for the Golden Eagles after missing all but six games last year is junior forward Darius Stevens. In those six games before an injury cut short his inaugural Clarion campaign, Stevens made an impression averaging 13.8 ppg and 8.3 rpg.
 
Also back for Clarion are junior forward Aaron Johnson (7.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg), senior guard Tyrone McFadden (1.3 ppg), sophomore guard Justin Grant (9 games, 1.0 ppg) and junior guard Ralph Naples III (5 games, 2 points).
 
Five Golden Eagles are expected to make their Clarion debuts vs. Felician including junior forward Kyheim Hall, freshmen guards Brandon Williams, Cameron Grumley and Matt D'Amico and freshman forward Tony Gates.
 
Hall, who last played at Olney Central Junior College in 2013, averaged 11.9 ppg and 5.8 rpg that season.
 
Williams played a Spire Academy prep school last year after graduating from Iona Prep in New Rochelle, N.Y., where he scored 16 ppg to go with 5 rpg and 3 apg as a senior.
 
Grumley, from nearby Johnsonburg High School, led the Rams to the PIAA Class A title game as a junior and then averaged 21.1 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 4.7 spg and 3.5 apg as a senior while being named second-team All-State, his second all-state selection.
 
D'Amico scored over 1,400 career points in the WPIAL's highest classification and is the all-time leading scorer at Fox Chapel High School outside of Pittsburgh, while Gates led Central Valley High, also outside of Pittsburgh, to the WPIAL Class AAA title and a berth in the final four of the state by averaging 14.4 ppg in his lone year at the school.
 
NOTES – Clarion starts PSAC West play at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Pitt-Johnstown. The Golden Eagles open their home season at 4 p.m. Sunday Nov. 23 when they host Carlow … The weekend games at Shippensburg will be broadcast live on WCUC, 91.7 FM and on the internet at www.redzonemedia.com.