On Nov. 3, the Wilkes University men’s basketball team took the court for the first time since last February against an opponent.

The Colonels engaged in a physical and up tempo scrimmage with Lehman College at Wilkes University’s Martz Center.

Head Coach Jerry Rickrode returns for his 21st year in the Wilkes men’s basketball program for the 2012-13 season. In his 21 years, he has led the Colonels to a 363-162 record, amassing a winning percentage of .691, among the best all-time in NCAA Division III history for coaches with at least 10 years of experience. Rickrode also holds the Division III record for being the fastest coach to reach the 200-win milestone, achieving the accomplishment in only 249 games.

“It was a pretty intense scrimmage”, said Rickrode. “I felt we pushed the ball up the floor pretty well and rebounded adequately. We have much work to do and are still learning how to play together.”

“We looked pretty good, but with the season near we still have some things to work on”, said Freedom Conference and ECAC Freshmen of the Year Jourdon Wilson. Wilson looks to have another strong season this year as the sophomore takes charge as the floor general. The top scoring freshman in the conference averaged 10.5 points per-game “We have to work on transition defense and defensive rebounding”, commented Wilson.

The Wilkes University men’s basketball team was picked to finish third in the conference according to the yearly Freedom Men’s Basketball Preseason Coaches’ Poll behind DeSales and Misericordia.

The 2011-12 campaign concluded in the Freedom Conference championship game at Misericordia before making a postseason trip to the ECAC South Region Tournament quarterfinals.

Wilkes will open the 2012-13 season at home with a non-conference exhibition against Penn State Hazleton on Friday, November 16 in the Marts Center at 7 p.m. The Colonels open Freedom Conference play at defending Freedom Champion Misericordia University Nov. 28 at 8 p.m.