2022-23 Men's Basketball Season Preview

By Press release submission

Nov 11, 2022

On paper, it looks as if 2022-23 could be a re-building year for Bellarmine men's basketball.

However, the Scott Davenport-coached Knights have made a habit of out-performing expectations. Two years ago, when Bellarmine made the jump to Division 1, the ASUN Conference preseason media poll ranked the Knights last in the then-9-team league, and the Knights responded by finishing second in the regular-season standings and strung together 10 straight league victories at one point.

Last season, the Knights made history by becoming the first team to win their conference tournament then not receive the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Bellarmine was (and still is) in the 4-year transitional period to D1, during which Knights teams are ineligible for NCAA postseason play. The ASUN Championship victory spurred a national media debate on the fairness of the NCAA rule and the Knights appeared to have earned the respect of many national media commentators.

This year, the respect may still remain, but the expectations have dipped. In the preseason ASUN polls, the Knights placed fifth and sixth in the media and coaches rankings. Again, on paper, there's a reason for that dip, namely 57 percent of the offense and three of the starting five from last year's team was lost to graduating seniors.

The top returning scorer for Bellarmine is Alec Pfriem, who started 16 games a year ago, but missed the last month of the season with an injury. His 7.6 scoring average was helped along by a nice touch from beyond the 3-point arc where he made 31 of 67 (46.3 percent).

Bellarmine's top returner is graduate student Juston Betz, who is known more for his defense and hustle than his ability to put the ball in the basket. The New Albany, Indiana native earned Academic All-Conference honors as well as a spot on the Academic All-District Team in 2022, and he's already earning accolades this season by being named the ASUN Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

Betz averaged 7.0 points a game last season, but the 6-3 guard made a name for himself by running down 7.1 rebounds a game to rank third in the league. He also ranked among the ASUN's top 10 in minutes played, steals, and assist-to-turnover ratio. His value to the team was recognized at the conclusion of last year's conference championship by being named to the ASUN's All-Tournament Team.

The other returning starter for Coach Davenport is 6-8 forward Curt Hopf. Last season, Hopf found himself in the starting lineup for 31 of 33 games, and the true freshman had to learn quickly to adapt to the college game as he squared off with some of the best big men in college basketball: Zach Edey (Purdue), Jaime Jaquez, Jr. (UCLA), and Drew Timme and Chet Holmgren (Gonzaga). Hopf averaged 7.0 points a game in 2022 and was second on the team in rebounding at 4.2 per game.

Again this season, whoever laces up the sneakers for Coach Davenport will get a chance to compete against the best in the nation. Last year, Bellarmine played the second toughest non-conference schedule in the country, including taking on three teams that held the No. 1 ranking at some point in the season.

This year promises to be just as challenging. The Knights open in town at the University of Louisville on Nov. 9 ahead of another short-"ish" road trip to Morehead on Nov. 12. After hosting in-state foe Campbellsville-Harrodsburg on Nov. 14 in Knights Hall, Bellarmine embarks on quite a challenging stretch. From Nov. 18 to Nov. 29, the Knights will play road games at Clemson, Duke, Loyola Marymount, UCLA, and Kentucky, competing in some of the most iconic college basketball arenas along the way (Cameron Indoor, Pauley Pavilion and Rupp Arena). Only four other schools have played at those venues--St. John's, Louisville, North Carolina and Notre Dame—and none has come close to doing it just nine days. The closest is 333 days over two seasons.

After that whirlwind of a road trip, the Knights will finally open at Freedom Hall when they host Alice Lloyd, another in-state foe, on Dec. 4. That will start a four-game homestand that also includes dates with Wabash College, Murray State and Miami (Ohio). After a quick Dec. 21 road trip to Evansville to take on the Aces, the Knights open their ASUN slate at home on Dec. 29 by taking on preseason favorite Liberty.

The ASUN Conference has expanded to 14 teams this season with the addition of Austin Peay and D1 newcomer Queens University of Charlotte. As a result, the Knights will play 18 league games this season.

Bellarmine opened the 2022-23 season with a 71-34 exhibition win against Division III Centre College on Oct. 27. In that contest, Davenport opted for a combination of youth and experience to round out the starting five. Joining Betz and Hopf as starters were seniors Garrett Tipton and Bash Wieland along with true freshman Peter Suder. That trio came through for Coach Davenport as the team's three leading scorers. Tipton netted 15 to lead the way with Wieland adding 14 and Suder dropping in 11. Wieland and Suder were the leading rebounders, each hauling in seven.

Tipton's contributions certainly weren't a surprise to many Bellarmine faithful, as the 6-4 senior came through many times last season when Davenport called his number. In the 11 games Tipton logged 20 or more minutes a year ago, he averaged. 8.5 points a game including a career-high 15 against Murray State.

Wieland, on the other hand, looks to see his minutes dramatically increase this year. Last season, the 6-6 Cincinnati native played more of a supporting role, making 26 appearances and averaging eight minutes per game.

Suder, meanwhile, looks to be the rare Bellarmine freshman that Davenport will entrust to take on a leadership role. Recently recognized as one of 20 "Under the Radar Freshmen" by the website HeatCheckCBB, Suder has a long history of doing what it takes for his team. During his four years as a player at Carmel High School, his team was a combined 88-17 with two Indiana state championships.

In addition to the five starters in the exhibition, Davenport got a good look at many other players but five wore street clothes due to injuries. Pfriem was still a week or two away from full competition, and Nick Thelen, Drew Comer, Ben Johnson and Michael Bova were also held out due to injury. The progression of that quintet will greatly impact the success of this year's squad. Pfriem proved himself last year while Thelen was a solid post player for the Knights before succumbing to injuries last season. Thelen's career-high came against Duke in the 2020-21 season. Meanwhile Johnson and Bova come in with impressive high school credentials. Johnson was Mr. Basketball in the state of Kentucky in 2021, and Bova was an all-state performer in Ohio.

In the absence of the sidelined players, redshirt freshman Jaylen Fairman saw quite a bit of court time in the exhibition, and his quickness and ability to defend and score off the dribble suggest he could be called upon with regularity this season.

Other top contributors against Centre were a pair of 6-10 forwards. Sam DeVault, who is in his third season with the Knights after transferring from Austin Peay, is another candidate to help carry some of the scoring load this season. The Evansville, Indiana native has a career-high of 18 points and has shown that he can score from the perimeter, has a nice touch from mid-range and can finish at the rim.

Bellarmine's other 6-10 forward is Langdon Hatton, who also is a transfer originally from southern Indiana. After graduating from North Harrison High School, Hatton enrolled at William and Mary where he appeared in 30 games and made six starts. He proved he can contribute at the Division I level and was named Colonial Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week after notching a double-double (13 pts, 14 rebs.) against James Madison.

In addition, Coach Davenport has experienced front line players to log minutes for the Knights this season with 6-7 Eli Roberts and 6-5 Zac Jennings ready to fill a role.

In the backcourt, redshirt freshman Landin Hacker made his Bellarmine debut against Centre and was impressive against the Colonels with five rebounds in just 15 minutes of play. True freshman Zach Reed also made a positive contribution in the exhibition in his four minutes of court time.