The Colby College men's basketball team will have one of the top players in the New England Small College Athletic Conference and all of Division III New England in senior forward Adam Choice during the 2009-10 season.

Choice, who is a preseason honorable mention All-American selection by DIII Basketball News, heads into his senior season with 1,077 points and 486 rebounds in his career. C

Head coach Dick Whitmore, back for his 39^th season at Colby after earning career win number 600 last year, loses point guard and All-NESCAC selection Artie Cutrone to graduation. Who will step into Cutrone's role will be a key to the season for the Mules.

Choice is a fine ball-handler and will help out bringing the ball up the court. Sophomore guard Christian Van Loenen saw some minutes at the point last year and averaged 4.6 points and 1.6 assists per game. Justin Sherman, a senior, also returns after finishing third on the team in scoring (8.9) and first in 3-point field goal percentage (.447). Junior guard Gil Haylon also is back after leading the club in made 3-point field goals (32) while averaging 4.6 points per game. Choice, Sherman, and Van Loenen will each serve as a team captain.

Junior forward Michael Russell is one of the more physical players in the NESCAC and returns at forward after averaging 12.8 points and leading the team in rebounding at 8.4 per contest. He was 12^th in the conference in scoring, second in rebounding, and fifth in field goal percentage (53 percent). Sophomore forward Kyle Donovan (3.9 ppg) and Chas Woodward (1.5 ppg, 2.4 rpg) also return on the forward line after playing in nearly every game.

Guards Noah Atlas, Ben Foreman, Gus David, and Tim Concannon also return as do forwards Eric Beaulieu, and Alex Swanson. Burton Gildersleeve, a transfer from Kenyon College, will look for minutes at guard. The Mules also add first-year players Dominique Kone, Gordon Fischer, and Nick Rimsa. Kone will play at guard, while Fischer and Rimsa are both 6-foot-5 forwards.

Choice led the Mules in scoring (18.0), rebounding (7.8), and blocked shots (1.36) in being named to the NESCAC second team. He also averaged 1.44 steals per game and shot nearly 79 percent (146-for-185) from the foul line. Choice finished in a tie for second among Maine State players in scoring, was second in blocks, and ninth in free throw percentage to earn Maine State Player of the Year honors. Choice has 685 points, 347 rebounds, 75 steals, and 49 blocked shots in two years at Colby (13-12).  

Cutrone averaged 13.5 points and led the Mules in assists with 82, while Simpson averaged 9.3 points per contest. Michael Russell ’11 played the sixth man role during his first year at Colby and contributed 9.8 points and 6.8 rebounds a game. Russell led the Mules in field goal percentage at nearly 53 percent. Justin Sherman ’10 also saw significant playing time and averaged 4.2 points.

The Mules finished last year at 13-12 and made the NESCAC playoffs. The team clinched a playoff bid with an impressive sweep of Bates and Tufts at home in the final regular season games of the season.

Colby averaged 76.6 points per game a year ago and also had a 4.3-plus margin in rebound over the opponent.