Pre-Season

Mavericks prep for 2004-05 Season

The Dallas Wheelchair Mavericks closed out the team’s preseason camp on Sunday, November 7th, 2004. The camp consisted of three days of court work and included scrimmages with the University of Texas at Arlington’s college team on two of the days.

The goals for this year’s camp were two-fold. First, the camp signaled an end to the long off-season and a call-to-arms for the 2004-05 season. Second, the camp was the first opportunity to integrate off-season acquisitions Ryan Hundemer and Jeff Glasbrenner into the team’s offensive and defensive systems.

Hundemer (Kingwood, TX) joins the Mavs after completing his college career at the University of Texas at Arlington. At UTA, Ryan and his teammates won the Intercollegiate National Championship in 2002. With a sitting reach height of 6’8” and strong chair skills, Hundemer can play either of the forward positions.

Jeff Glasbrenner (Boscobel, WI) led the Denver Nuggets to the 2004 national championship. Probably the most active and agile big man in the game today, Glas creates match-up problems for every opponent. The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater won the intercollegiate championship in 1996 while Jeff was there. For the Mavs, Glasbrenner will play both the big forward and center positions.

The Mavs return the nucleus of the team that won the 2003 national championship and was the national runner-up in 2004. Returning guards include; Paul Schulte, Jermell Pennie, Stephen Welch, and Willie Hernandez. The forwards back in 2004 include; Raul Ortega, Jason Van Beek, and Rusty Belknap.

The depth and talent on the 2004-05 roster is a double-edged sword for third year head coach, Dug Jones. The Mavs will clearly have more line up options and improved depth, particularly in the frontcourt. Finding enough playing time for 9 elite players and managing a system that successfully integrates so many players without losing on-court continuity, however, will be tough.