Seniors Jonathan Amos, Anthony Byrd, Ridley Johnson and Tyrone Kent Named Rockets? Captains for 2008-09 Campaign
10/27/2008 4:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
TOLEDO, OH ? Seniors Jonathan Amos (Dallas, TX), Anthony Byrd (Pepper Pike, OH), Ridley Johnson (Boston, MA) and Tyrone Kent (Chicago, IL) have been named captains for the Rockets' 2008-09 campaign, Head Coach Gene Cross announced on Monday.
"Our four seniors have shown a level of leadership you would expect out of any successful team," Cross said. "They have demonstrated an attitude that lends itself to success and have gone above and beyond to make sure our young guys understand that they want to win this year. Their leadership will be important, because you can't have a good team without good leadership."
Amos ranked eighth nationally with 2.6 steals per game last year and was the Rockets' second-leading scorer and rebounder with 12.1 points and 5.0 rebounds per contest. He also has ranked in MAC's Top 10 in steals each season as a Rocket and is fourth on UT's career steal list.
Byrd started UT's last 19 contests and averaged 6.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game in conference action while ranking second on the team with 31.7 minutes per game. He led the Rockets with an 88.1 free-throw percentage to rank sixth in school history for the best single-season free-throw percentage.
Johnson has started 50 straight games for Toledo and averaged 8.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per contest while playing 31.9 minutes per game a season ago. He ranked second on the team with 1.6 three-point field goals per game and third with a 73.3 free-throw percentage.
Kent is a preseason MAC West Division selection and earned honorable mention All-MAC honors last season. He led the league with 16.9 points per game despite playing out of position as UT's point guard. Kent was also tied for fifth in the MAC with 1.77 steals to help UT lead the conference in thefts for a fourth straight year.
Toledo will open its regular season on Friday, Nov. 14 at Florida on ESPNU as part of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic. UT will face St. Edward's (TX) Univ. in an exhibition contest on Sunday, Nov. 9 at 7:00 p.m. at Owens Community College.
