PLU hopes to win with blend of experience and depth

Photo courtesy of PLU

GUNNER. Junior Josh Dressler was Pacific Lutheran’s leading scorer last season. He scored 15.9 points per game last year as the Lutes went 9-14. He will be part of a PLU team that lost just two players from last season’s squad.

The Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) Lutes are going to run up and down the floor this season. They will try to tire out their opponents and force them into turnovers that lead to easy scoring opportunities in transition.

And while they do that, they expect to win.

In coach Steve Dickerson's second year at the helm of the PLU men's basketball team, he has the experience and talent to make some noise for a program that has been all too quiet on the basketball court as of late. With all five starters returning and an incoming freshman class that Dickerson thinks will be one of the best classes the Lutes have had in "quite some time," success could be in the cards for PLU this season.

Last year, the Lutes finished 9-14 overall and 6-10 in Northwest Conference play in their first season under Dickerson. For the coach, it was about getting in there and helping the Lutes – who haven't had a winning season in six years – get back on their feet after back-to-back 5-20 seasons.

"We had to change a lot of things, including the culture of the program," Dickerson said. "We changed the style of play that they were used to and made some progress."

The Lutes were picked fifth in the preseason Northwest Conference coaches' poll.

This season, PLU loses only two players, Josh Vandlandingham and Lawrence Brooks, and adds six freshmen that were brought in with their abilities to make instant impacts in mind.

"We recruited with the idea of coming in and helping us this year as well as down the road," Dickerson said. "I'm pretty much not going to single any one of them out. I think all six of them will make a contribution."

Though they will be playing a style of basketball that relies on quickness and strong guard play, the Lutes will be counting on 6-foot-6-inch post player Scott McDaniels to be a key contributor down low.

"He will be one of the better post players in the league," Dickerson said.

McDaniels averaged 12.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game as a junior last season. Josh Dressler returns as the team's leading scorer last season. The junior scored 15.9 points per game last season while heaving up 157 three-point attempts.

Point guard Landon Heidenrich will be looked to as a crucial leader for the team this season. He will be starting at the point for the fourth straight year and was one of two players who started all 23 of the Lutes' games last season.  

"He is the unquestioned focal point of our offense and defense," Dickerson said. "He's a tremendously tough young man, and he's the type of guy who will do anything to win games."

Heidenrich, who Dickerson described as "not a prototypical point guard," scored 9.3 points and dished out 5.3 assists per game last season.

One player who Dickerson hopes to see lighting it up from downtown is senior Jared Brandeberry. The wing shot an efficient 45.1 percent from three-point range last season while scoring 12.2 points a contest.

"He's another one of those guys who is probably not a prototypical wing but he's a very good shooter and he's a tremendous leader," Dickerson said.

Even with all of the experience returning to the program this year, Dickerson said the biggest key to his team's success this year is going to be how quickly the freshmen adjust to college basketball.

"I'm sure they're going to be nervous early but if they learn the system and learn their roles, I think we could be 10 or 11 deep without a whole lot of drop off," Dickerson said.

And that is just the kind of depth that could put the Lutes back into the winning column more times than not this season.

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