A talented mix of nine returning lettermen and six exciting newcomers comprise the 2007-2008 Penn State Altoona men's basketball roster.  Now entering his third season, head coach Alan Seretti will try to guide his team back to the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference playoffs and push toward the ultimate goal of a conference championship.

"We cannot become a championship program without taking positive steps every day and every season, and that is exactly what last year was…a step in the right direction," said Seretti, who is 17-34 in two seasons at Ivyside.  "Our returning players now have an understanding of what it is like to play in meaningful games, and we should have the desire to play in more of those types of games this season. 

The 2006-2007 season ended with the Lions winning eight of their last 12 games and qualifying for the conference playoffs for the first time in program history.  The 10 wins the squad accumulated was tops all-time for a single season.   The Lions finished last season ranked in the top half of the AMCC in scoring defense, free throw percentage, and field goal percentage.  Seretti has described this year's bunch as very versatile yet very raw.  A lot of the practice time goes toward developing individual skills and learning to play at an intensity level that will make the team successful when game action begins. 

Leading the 07-08 Lions will be seniors Quintin Dziabo and Mike Dancer.  Dziabo, a four-year player from nearby Cresson, Pennsylvania, has played 73 games and scored 677 career points.   Last season, the 6-4 forward was named an All-AMCC performer after averaging 13 points and 6.2 rebounds per game while starting all 25 contests in which he appeared.  Dancer is a 6-4 swing guard who can shoot the three from almost any range.    After transferring from Christopher Newport in 2005, Dancer has appeared in 40 games through two seasons and is a career 40% shooter from beyond the arc.

Also returning for the Lions is point guard Zach Spitz, who played and started every game last season as a freshman.  Colin and Curt Geiger, a pair of identical twin brothers from Pottstown, will provide scoring leadership at the off-guard positions along with Philadelphia native Lorenzo Carter, who may be the best pure athlete on the squad.  Sophomore Justin Gasbarre saw more and more action as last season unfolded and will be counted on to make perimeter shots.  Forwards Zach Chester and Sean Stewart will provide depth and experience in the post.

"We will rely heavily on the leadership of our returners both on and off the court," said Seretti.  "Each has improved himself during the offseason , and we expect that all of their roles will expand this season."

The program welcomes six highly decorated high school players from across the state to the 07-08 mix.  These freshmen, Jovan Brown, Matt Dukery, Eric Gaetano, Fran Kuntz, Kirk Peters, and Chad Zeigler  starred on high school teams that combined to win 229 games over the past two seasons with three District Championships and two District Runner-Up finishes.   Kuntz, Peters, and Zeigler all hail from the Harrisburg area and competed against one another in the highly regarded Mid-Penn Conference. 

"The winning attitude and tremendous work ethic of this freshmen group has already elevated our practices and made every day competitive," noted Seretti.  "These players have enjoyed excellent high school careers and understand the effort and determination necessary for success at this level."

This year's schedule will afford the Lions no favors as the non-conference and conference slates should prove equally difficult.  The season opening tip-off tournament at Lycoming will feature three perennial top 25 Division III programs in host Lycoming, King's College and The College of New Jersey.  Grove City will come to Altoona in November as the defending Presidents Athletic Conference Champion.  Albright, an annual national contender, and Franciscan, who downed Altoona last year, will also be at the Adler Gym before Christmas.  Road games at Bethany and local rival Juniata will also be rugged early season tests.  AMCC powers Lake Erie and Penn State Behrend should be excellent once again, and Seretti notes that all 10 conference teams have made positive upgrades from a year ago.

"Our entire schedule, both conference and non-conference, will be a challenge," he said.  "Hopefully, all of the league teams can play to their potential throughout the non-league portion of the schedule to continue to earn the AMCC some regional and national recognition."

Among the uncertainties of this year's bunch will be how to replace all-time leading scorer Tyler Franklin, who in his senior season last year averaged 18 points a night and accounted for 27% of the team's offense.   Consistently the Lions 'go to' player in the clutch, Franklin was the leading scorer in 15 of the team's 26 games and was named a first team all-conference performer.  Fellow senior Barry Minemyer was also lost to graduation and was the primary shot blocking presence in the paint.

It will be very difficult to replace both of our seniors from last season," Seretti acknowledged.  "Fortunately, we will not rely on just one player to replace what Barry did for us defensively or what Tyler did for us all over the floor.  We will have several guys able to defend the post on the defensive end, and offensively, we will spread our points in smaller chunks over more players."

For the third straight season, Seretti will be joined on the bench by top assistant Jim Ellis, who has been instrumental in the development of the Lion post players.  A player himself last season, Patrick Stoner will enter his first year as a student-assistant coach and five more students will serve as team managers.  The squad opens the regular season on Friday, November 16, against Lycoming in the Lycoming Tip-Off Tournament.