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Local Sports

Thursday, October 08, 2009

College Basketball: UF to play exhibition games in Toronto
Ohio Automotive Supply Co.
By BRIAN LESTER

STAFF WRITER

Marcus Parker is a veteran point guard who has proven time and again that he can rise to the occasion in big games.

He was a two-time state champion in high school with Canton McKinley and helped lead the University of Findlay men's basketball team to its first NCAA Division II national championship and a 36-0 season last March.

Parker will now need to take his game to an even higher level. He will be the leader of a UF squad that lost five players to graduation, including D-II Player of the Year Josh Bostic.

Parker, a senior point guard, is one of only two starters back for the Oilers, who have four freshmen and a transfer.

But the Oilers have been able to practice for 10 extra days this fall and will play three exhibition games against Canadian teams in Toronto this weekend.

“The new guys will get a chance to learn their roles and what our system is all about,” Parker said. “We feel like the extra time is going to give us a chance to gel as a team and will help us be good enough to make another tournament run at the end of the year.”

UF plays York University at 8 p.m. Friday, battles Brock University at 2 p.m. Saturday and wraps up the trip on Sunday with a 2 p.m. encounter against the University of Toronto.

The NCAA allows schools to take exhibition trips every four years, and veteran head coach Ron Niekamp said his team will play against quality competition across the border.

Toronto has actually played two games already, topping Tennessee-Chattanooga 85-70 and knocking off Sheridan College 84-68. York fell 78-71 to Chattanooga in its exhibition opener.

“The Canadian schools have improved a lot over the last 10 years,” Niekamp said. “We will be playing international rules up there, and that will make things interesting, but it will be good for our team. There is no substitute for game experience.”

Parker is coming off a season in which he averaged 10.7 points per outing and dished out 146 assists. Junior guard Nathan Hyde is the other returning starter. He averaged 10.4 points per game and made a team-best 77 3-pointers.

UF returns five other players, along with redshirt freshman Rob Marsden from England who has been cleared to play and sophomore Greg Avery, a sophomore transfer from Western Carolina.

“I know I have to step up and be a leader, be more vocal in games,” Parker said. “It's exciting to have a leadership role and I'm looking forward to making the most of it.”

UF will be back in action on Nov. 3 when they take on Duke in a 7 p.m. exhibition game at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C.

UF plays at Utah (2 p.m.) four days later and opens the regular season against Concordia (Mich.) in a 7:30 p.m. game on Nov.17 at Croy Gymnasium. The Oilers have a 73-game regular-season home win streak.

“We're keeping everything pretty basic for now. We don't want to overload the team with too much because of the younger players we have,” Niekamp said. “We'll use the trip to Canada to find out about our strengths and weaknesses, get an idea of what direction we need to go in as a team. The trip will be a big plus for us.”

Lester: 419-422-5151,

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