FSU Men’s Basketball At A Glance - The Ferris State University men’s basketball team will open the 2002-03 campaign this Friday (Nov. 22) versus Saint Joseph’s (Ind.) in a 7:30 p.m. (EST) contest at SJC’s Richard F. Scharf Gymnasium in Rensselaer, Ind. The non-league encounter marks the debut of first-year FSU head coach Bill Sall.

The Season Ahead - Ferris State concluded the 2001-02 campaign with a 4-22 overall mark, which included a seventh-place 1-17 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) North Division finish. Eight letterwinners and three starters return this season. Senior center Adam Anderson (Kent City) and senior guard/forward Jeff Guernsey (Buckley) will serve as the Bulldogs’ 2002-03 team captains.

The Bulldog Tradition - The 2002-03 campaign marks the 75th season of Bulldog men’s basketball. The program began in 1925 although Ferris did not field a team from 1942-45 due to World War II. FSU has compiled a 867-807 (.518) all-time mark. The Bulldogs have won nine GLIAC titles, made six NCAA Division II Tournament appearances and reached the 1988 NCAA-II Elite Eight. Ferris, which last won the GLIAC Tournament championship during the 1997-98 campaign, captured four consecutive league titles from 1986-90.

The Bill Sall Era Begins - FSU tips off a new era this season as Bill Sall was appointed the program’s 11th head coach on April 23, 2002. Sall, who served the past four seasons (1998-2002) as the assistant men’s basketball coach at GLIAC member Hillsdale, was the unanimous choice of a five-member search committee. In four seasons at Hillsdale, the 35-year-old Sall was instrumental in leading the Chargers to a 72-41 (.637) overall record and two consecutive (2001-02) NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional tournament appearances under head coach Ed Douma. The Chargers reached the regional semifinals during the 2000-01 campaign while posting a 24-8 overall mark en route to a first-place 13-4 GLIAC South Division title.

Preseason All-America Honoree - Adam Anderson has been named to the 2002-03 Street & Smith’s Division II Preseason Honorable Mention All-America Team for the second consecutive season. Anderson, a 2000-01 Daktronics NCAA-II All-Great Lakes Region First-Team selection, was among 31 individuals receiving preseason accolades and joined Michigan Tech’s Matt Cameron, Hillsdale’s Matt Mlynarchek and Josh Morgan of Gannon as the only representatives from a GLIAC-member institution. Five individuals were named to both the first and second-team squads while 21 others attained honorable mention honors. The 6-10 Anderson, who missed the final 23 games last season due to a bone bruise injury (knee) suffered in a 79-59 non-conference home win versus Olivet (11/20/01), petitioned for and was granted an extra season of eligibility last summer through the NCAA’s medical redshirt process. Prior to his injury, Anderson had played in three contests and was averaging 15.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game.

A Look At The Bulldogs - Adam Anderson, the younger brother of FSU assistant coach Cory Anderson, returns as one of the league’s top interior threats. As a junior in 2000-01, Anderson led the league in scoring (21.3 ppg) while attaining first-team GLIAC North Division and GLIAC All-Defensive Team accolades. Ferris’ 2002-03 roster, which features only four players 6-6 or taller, includes four other players with significant starting experience. Sophomore guard Carlton Epps (Benton Harbor) placed third among the team’s 2001-02 scoring leaders with 228 points (9.5 ppg) while his twin brother, sophomore guard Corey Epps (Benton Harbor), made 14 starts and averaged 6.2 points per game. Senior guard Brian Monahan (Ypsilanti/Ann Arbor Pioneer), who totaled 6.1 points per contest, started 14 of his 21 appearances in 2001-02. Junior forward Nathan Wruble (Harbor Beach) averaged 2.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per game last season in 26 outings. Ferris will play nine of its first 11 games away from home, including an eight-game stretch covering the entire month of December.

Head Coach Bill Sall - A 1994 Calvin graduate, first-year FSU head coach Bill Sall previously held assistant coaching positions at Calvin (1992-95), Ferris State (1995-98) and Hillsdale (1998-02) prior to being named Ferris State’s 11th head coach. The Zeeland, Mich., native served as Ferris’ interim head coach for a portion of the 1995-96 campaign and led the Bulldogs to a 5-8 mark. As an assistant under former head coach Edgar Wilson, Sall helped guide FSU to a 21-12 finish along with a GLIAC Tournament Championship title and a NCAA-II National Tournament berth during the 1997-98 season. Before joining the coaching ranks, Sall was a standout player at Calvin from 1985-90. A two-time Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Co-Most Valuable Player Award winner, Sall presently ranks as the Knights’ third-leading all-time scorer with 2,063 points. He twice (1989-90) received second-team National Association of Basketball Coaches Division III All-America honors and led Calvin to three MIAA championships, four NCAA-III Tournament bids and the 1990 NCAA-III Final Four.

Bulldog Bites - Ferris State was picked to finish seventh in the GLIAC Preseason Men's Basketball North Division Coaches Poll with 13 points ..... Carlton Epps registered a team-leading 58 steals while compiling the program’s eighth-best single-season steals mark during the 2001-02 season ........ Brian Monahan has 94 career steals to date and needs eight more to tie David Tuck (102; 1986-90) for 10th place on Ferris’ career list. He has led the Bulldogs in assists each of the past two seasons ........ Highlighting a list of seven newcomers this season are transfers Dennis Springs (Toledo, Ohio/Scott) of Bowling Green State and Muskegon Community College’s Willie Thomas (Columbus, Ohio/Eastmoor Academy) ......... The 2002-02 schedule features eight non-conference contests and 18 GLIAC games ....... The 2002-03 GLIAC men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will return to campus sites after three years at the DeltaPlex in Grand Rapids, Mich. This season’s men’s title game is slated for Saturday, March 8.

Scoring Streak Alive - Adam Anderson, a 2000-01 Daktronics NCAA Division II All-Great Lakes Region First-Team selection, has scored 10 points or more in 36 of his past 37 career outings, including each of his previous 30 contests. The 6-10 Anderson has scored 1,144 career points to date and presently ranks 17th on the school’s career scoring chart. He notched the school’s ninth best single-season scoring output (555 points) and recorded the fifth-best single-season scoring average by a Bulldog junior during the 2000-01 campaign. Anderson currently ranks as Ferris’ career blocks leader (102) and is ninth on the school’s career made free throw chart (326-512). He established FSU single-season records in made free throws (179) and blocks (50) during the 2000-01 season while becoming the 22nd player in FSU history to score 1,000 career points. 75th Season Opener - Ferris State will open its 75th men's basketball campaign this Friday at Saint Joseph’s. The Bulldogs, who have won two of their last six openers, hold a 38-36 all-time record in season-opening contests. FSU’s last won its first game in 2000-01 (11/21) when the Bulldogs defeated NCAA-I Oakland 75-70 (11/21) at Rochester, Mich. The win represented Ferris’ first opening day road victory since the 1987-88 campaign. The 2002-03 campaign marks the sixth consecutive season the Bulldogs have opened the season away from home.

Saint Joseph’s Preview - Ferris and Saint Joseph’s will square off for the seventh time this Friday with the Pumas holding a 5-1 series advantage. In the last meeting (12/18/01), Saint Joseph’s recorded a 103-75 win at FSU’s Jim Wink Arena in Big Rapids, Mich. The Pumas have won four consecutive meetings to date and are coached by first-year head coach Linc Darner, who previously served as an assistant coach at Ashland. Ferris posted its lone series victory by virtue of its 91-44 win at FSU’s Old Jim Wink Arena during the 1996-97 (12/14) campaign. SJC registered an 8-18 overall record during the 2001-02 campaign and was picked to finish 11th in the 2002-03 Great Lakes Valley Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. Ferris holds a 0-3 all-time record versus the Pumas in Rensselaer, Ind. Saint Joseph’s returns three starters from last year's team, including 6-8 forward Corey Seegers. He led SJC with 13.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game last season.

Looking Ahead - Ferris State will return home to face the Calvin Knights in non-conference action next Tuesday (Nov. 26) at 7:30 p.m. (EST) in FSU’s Jim Wink Arena. The Bulldogs will open league play next Saturday (Nov. 30) hosting the Findlay Oilers in a 3 p.m. (EST) tilt.

FSU Ticket Prices - Individual game tickets to all FSU home basketball games can be obtained at the door or by calling the Bulldog ticket office at (231) 591-2888. Adult tickets are $5 and student tickets are $3. A family pass can be purchased for $10. Ferris State faculty/staff ticket prices are $4. Special group pricing is available for groups of 20 or more.

Ferris On The Internet - Ferris State University Athletics’ official web site can be found at www.ferris.edu/sports. The site features information on all of FSU’s varsity athletics programs including rosters, schedules and the latest results.