Complete PDF Notes
Upcoming in Gray Wolves Basketball: Lourdes opens its sixth season of intercollegiate basketball this weekend as the Gray Wolves travel to the Windy City.  Lourdes will face Saint Xavier in the season opener on Friday evening before battling Silver Lake (Wis.) in a Saturday matinee.

Head Coach Andre Smith: In his sixth season both on the Lourdes bench and overall as a men's collegiate head coach, Andre Smith has a 84-73 (.535) record.  He is the only head coach in Lourdes program's history.  Smith was the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2012-2013.

Series Notes: Lourdes is 0-1 all-time against Saint Xavier.  The Gray Wolves fell 84-73 to the Cougars in Chicago, Ill. on Dec. 23, 2014 in the only previous meeting between the two schools.  Lourdes will be meeting Silver Lake (Wis.) on the hardwood for the first time in program history.

Wrapping Up Last Season: The Gray Wolves posted a 17-14 record overall and a 13-9 mark in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference.  Lourdes finished sixth in the league.  Zach Steinmetz was a NAIA Second Team All-American and garnered First Team All-WHAC honors for the second straight year.  Jake DuPree was named Honorable Mention All-WHAC and to the WHAC All-Defensive Team while E.J. Blackwell was selected to the WHAC All-Newcomer Team.

Wrapping Up Last Week: Lourdes opened up the exhibition portion of its season on Saturday afternoon, falling 77-69 to NCAA Division II national tournament participant Lake Superior State.  E.J. Blackwell led the Gray Wolves with 24 points while Anthony Swanigan added 19 more.  Lourdes shot 46.7% from the floor but committed 23 turnovers offensively.

Scouting Saint Xavier: The Cougars finished 2014-2015 with a 20-11 record overall and a 13-6 mark in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference.  Saint Xavier fell in the semifinals of the CCAC tournament.  Stanley Moore is the team's top returning scorer after averaging 12.9 points per game as a junior.  Larry Motuzis added 11.3 points per night during his rookie season.

Scouting Silver Lake (Wis.): The Lakers finished 2014-2015 with a 9-15 record overall as members of the USCAA.  Stevens Alexis is the team's top returning scorer, averaging 10.3 points per night one season ago.  He also grabbed 9.1 rebounds per game.  Jordan Portee chipped in 9.3 points per night for Silver Lake.

Lourdes Tabbed Fourth in Preseason Poll: The Gray Wolves were selected to finish in fourth place in the WHAC this season in the preseason poll conducted of the league's head coaches.  Lourdes was picked just ahead of Aquinas, and just behind Northwestern Ohio.  Cornerstone was tabbed as the conference's preseason favorite after winning the 2014-2015 NAIA Division II national championship.  Davenport, a national semifinalist a year ago, was tabbed second.

Lourdes in Season Openers: Lourdes is 2-3 all-time in season openers, having fallen 65-63 at Spring Arbor to open the 2014-2015 season.  Lourdes has never opened a season at home, playing four road games and a neutral site contest.

Solid Defense a Staple: Lourdes finished third in NAIA Division II last season surrendering just 58.7 points per game.  The Gray Wolves have ranked in the top-five in scoring defense nationally in four straight years.  In 2013-2014 Lourdes was fifth (63.10), one year after leading the country in 2012-2013 at 51.3.  

Not Many Returnees: Lourdes has just six players on this season's roster that were on the squad one year ago.  Only four players though, Zach Steinmetz, E.J. Blackwell, Julian Johnson, and KyJuan Grace saw action.  Daniel Steen and Virgil Walker were both a part of the program, but sat out the season.

Lots of New Faces: The Gray Wolves have 12 new faces to begin the 2015-2016 campaign.  Andre Smith brought in seven freshmen as well as five transfers to help blend with the returnees.

This and That: Zach Steinmetz is the team's top returning scorer (17.4 ppg) and rebounder (8.5 rpg) ... E.J. Blackwell averaged 13.1 points per night one season ago ... Julian Johnson led all returnees with 59 assists and 31 steals in 2014-2015 ... no one on the Gray Wolf roster started all 31 games last year ... Steinmetz had 10 double-doubles in 2014-2015 and has 26 total in his Lourdes career.