University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Men's Basketball to Face Brevard on Monday Night in Exhibition Tilt
11.08.2009 | Men's Basketball
Expectations are high for the 2009-10 season for Asheville. The Bulldogs return three starters and eight lettermen back from last year's surprising club that finished 15-16 overall and went 10-8 in the Big South with a fourth-place finish. Eddie Biedenbach's club is a preseason pick to finish in second place in this year's Big South race.
"It's nice that were picked so high but there's a lot of work to be done before we get into conference games," stated Biedenbach.
The Bulldogs have practiced for three weeks and have been making some steady progress.
"We're working hard and our attitude has been good," explained Biedenbach. "I like the way we've practiced for the most part. Some days are better than others but overall we're doing fine. This is a nice team to work with and they're never satisfied."
One area that Biedenbach likes is the depth the Bulldogs seem to have this year.
"We have a lot of options both up front and in the backcourt," commented Beidenbach. "We have a lot of guys battling for playing time and that just makes everyone better."
Asheville faces Brevard for the first time since the teams played early in the 2007-08 season, a game won by the Bulldogs' 75-35. However, the Tornados defeated the Bulldogs in November of 2004 in an exhibition game, 81-78. Brevard, a member of the South Atlantic Conference, went 12-15 last year.
"Mike Jones (Brevard's head coach) is an excellent coach and will have his team ready to play Monday night," said Biedenbach. "When we faced them two years ago we were playing pretty well, and they were a pretty young team. I've watched their scores over the past few years and they've gotten better. I know they'll win a lot of games this season.
"This is a good test for us," added Biedenbach. "We'll have to play well to win."
Asheville opens the regular-season later this week on Friday night at Charlotte starting at 7:30 p.m.
