Little Giants Face the Colonels of Centre, Kick Off 2021-22 Campaign
for the 2021-22 season. With a healthy mix of experienced upperclassmen and talented underclassmen adding to the depth of the team, the expectations for the Little Giants are sky high this season. The schedule this year will offer plenty of challenges, and that begins tomorrow at Centre College.
While Wabash and Centre have played just once since 1981, that matchup came two seasons ago in 2019. The then-ranked No. 14 Little Giants battled in a back-and-forth contest with the Colonels. With just over three minutes remaining, Wabash held a 76-67 lead in that game. The Little Giants were held scoreless for the remainder of time. Centre battled back, and a last-second shot pushed the Colonels to a 77-76 win. This time around, Wabash is hoping to start the season a bit differently.
“You know, we go on the road to Centre College [to start off the season] and they’ve been a regular NCAA tournament team and have won their conference consistently,” Head Coach Kyle Brumett said. “They kind of upset us two years ago. We led that whole game, and lost by a point. So that’s gonna be one that we’ve had circled.”
The Little Giants return a potential All-American trio in Jack Davidson ’22, Kellen Schreiber ’22, and Tyler Watson ’22. Cam Chadd ’22 and Jack Hegwood ’22 round out an extremely talented senior class.
Wabash had two scrimmages prior to the season opener against Centre, facing No. 4 Illinois Wesleyan last Saturday before taking on Manchester on Tuesday. Against the Spartans of Manchester, the Little Giants did not play Davidson, Schreiber, or Watson.
Johnson-Hall ’25 led all scorers in the scrimmage, and will be a player to watch develop in his time at Wabash.
“These scrimmages were really important for us because they were our first opportunity to lay the foundation of what type of team we will be this year,” Redmond said. “We competed well, and though we have much to learn and grow from, there is one thing that is evident to anyone who was watching: We are not a team who will give up. We will compete with any team, and have the goal of winning every game, no matter who we play.”
A hard road lies ahead for Wabash, with games against No. 3 Marietta College, No. 13 Emory University, and No. 22 Wittenberg all in the first semester. But before those games, the Little Giants will get their first sense of competitive action tomorrow. Wabash opens up the 2021-22 season against Centre College tomorrow in Danville, Kentucky at 2 p.m. The first home game of the season will be on Wednesday, November 10, when the Little Giants face the Panthers of Hanover in a tough matchup on Chadwick Court at 7 p.m.