The 2007-2008 recruiting class joins 11 returning players, including five letter winners who all drew multiple starting assignments.  The front line has been bolstered by the addition of Gordon Brown (San Diego, CA) a 6’7” 245lb. post who is ready to go after a year of practice with the Swedes while gaining his eligibility.  The backcourt returns three letter winners including point guard Marcus Wells who started every game for the Swedes last year.

Joey Dickinson:  Joey Dickinson is a highly skilled 6’5” swing man from Arcadia High School in Phoenix, AZ where he averaged 12 points per game.  Joey is a very intelligent player who has a great understanding of the game and can play multiple positions as he is very versatile.  Right now Joey is a bunch of toothpicks connected together but as he gets bigger and stronger and he adapts to the more physical college game we feel that he will be a dandy.  Joey has tremendous basketball instincts and has tremendous offensive skills on the perimeter for his size.

Quenton Jennings:  Quenton Jennings comes to us with an assist from Bob Gottlieb (a former college assistant coach to Coach Tex Winter).  Quenton is our first player ever from the state of Alaska where he was a Bartlett High School backcourt mate of Mario Chalmers (University of Kansas).  As a senior Quenton averaged 13 points and 5 assists while shooting 55% from the field, 85% from the free throw line and he made 40% of his 3’s.  “Q” is a long 5’11” freshman prototype point guard who is very unselfish and really runs a team well.  He is a lefty who can score as well.  His quickness and defensive aggressiveness makes him a great defender.  Joey has a tremendous teachable spirit and as he adapts to our level of energy on defense (which he is doing very quickly) he will become a very good college player.

Justin Brewer:  Justin Brewer is a quick, long and athletic 6’0” guard from Allen High School in Texas.  He is well suited for a full court pressure defensive team like we are here at Bethany.  “JT” has the potential to someday be a nice college player.

Joshua Hughes:  Josh Hughes is another quick and athletic guard from Texas.  He is a product of Life High School in Dallas.  He can really get out and defend the ball and is also well suited for playing full court pressure defense.  As he further develops his offensive skills he will be a nice player.

Transfers:

Dilton “DD” Gibbs:  Dilton Gibbs is a great pick-up for Bethany Basketball and Bethany’s environment will be great for “DD” as he focuses on being a true student-athlete.  DD comes to us from Scottsdale Community College where longtime Illinois connection, John Spezia, is assisting while in retirement.  As a senior at skyline High School in Mesa, AZ DD averged 17.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals per game.  DD is a very complete, long  6’0”, multi-skilled guard who does many things well and very importantly, he will have 3 years with the Swedes.  DD is strong, can get to the basket, has a great pull up jumper off the dribble and can knock down the 3.  Most important, this guy can really defend.  As he adapts to our high energy, pressure defense and proves himself in the classroom….then he will be a real catch.

Isiah Green:  Isiah Green could end up being the real steal of the transfers.  Isiah is a 6’6” long, athletic wing player (he can also play the 4) with phenomenal, effortless looking explosion.  He is a great three point shooter, tremendous high post jump shooter and can operate well with his back to the basket.  Most excitingly, this guy can really block shots and rebound the ball at both ends.  If Isiah will move out of his comfort zone and buy into a tough, aggressive defensive mentality then this guy could really be something special.  Coach Shawn Dirden (now at Montana State) really got it out of Isiah at George Washington High School in Denver when he averaged 16 point and 12 rebounds per game his senior year..  Isiah will have 3 years with the Swedes after transferring from Otero Community College in Colorado where he redshirted as a freshman and had a medical hardship as a sophomore.

Brandon Jimerson:  We have got to give Coach Francis Flax of Brown Mackie an assist for getting Brandon Jimerson.  Francis told us about Brandon when the Cagerz were practicing down here at Bethany back in June.  Brandon is a 6’0” guard from Southeast Nebraska Community College of Beatrice where he was an all region player averaging 18.5 points, almost 6 rebounds, 4.5 assists and almost 3 steals per game.  This guy is a very highly skilled player who can really score and shoot but has that rare combination of being an extremely unselfish player and a great passer with tremendous court vision.  As he immerses himself in our high energy, pressure defense style of play then he will be a real gem as this guy is really quick as well as strong.  He is a high profile addition to Bethany Basketball.

Manuel Honeycutt:  Manuel Honeycutt is a great nephew of Steve Honeycutt, who was an All Big 8 guard for Coach Tex Winter at Kansas State in the 1960’s.  Another of his great uncles, Phil Honeycutt, was a teammate of Coach Oleen at Pittsburg State back in the 1970’s.  Manuel is an exceptional athlete who is simply amazing at guarding the ball.  What makes him such an exceptional defensive player is the fact that he combines tremendous work ethic and desire with his athleticism.  Manuel is as coachable as they come.  As he continues to develop his offensive skills (and he has already made strides this summer) he could really become a good college player.  Manuel is a 6’0” guard transfer from Allen County Community College  in Kansas and has a full 4 years of eligibility.  He also played for Coach Shawn Dirden at George Washington High School where he averaged 10 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.5 steals as a junior before moving to Texas.

C.J. Littlejohn:  CJ Littlejohn is a 6’1” transfer guard from Otero Community College where he was a teammate with Isiah Green.  CJ was one of the leading scorers in Colorado his senior year at Rangeview High School where he averaged over 20 points and 3 assists per game.  He was a medical redshirt as a freshman and then played as a sophomore at Otero (averaging 7 points and 3 assists per game) so he comes to Bethany with 3 years eligibility.  CJ is a combo guard who can excel at either backcourt position.  He is a great ballhandler and works very well off the dribble both to score and to set up his teammates.  CJ always has a very positive smile on his face and as he consistently brings positive energy defensively every possession, then he will really be a good one.

Roddrick Williams:  Roddrick Williams brings 2 years of college experience from College of Sequoias (CA) where he was a captain and double figure scorer as a point guard.  Rod played his high school ball in Colorado Springs at Roy Wasson High School.  Rod has really been a surprise.  This guy is a great athlete who is tremendous at getting to the basket but also very good at passing off the penetration.  Rod will really be a great defender as he learns to get real aggressive and confident to utilize his superior quickness on defense.  Rod could end up being a tremendous steal for us in the KCAC and NAIA.

The team's theme this year comes from Ecclesiastes 9:10……Whatever your hand finds to do, do with all your might.  The theme is……”rentlentless passion.”