The 2007-08 season marked the initial campaign of the Jason Zimmerman era as head coach of the Emory basketball program and the Eagles turned in a season that, while under .500, laid the foundation for a bright and successful future.

With just one starter returning from the '06-07 team and a host of new faces to call upon, Emory ended the year with a deceptive won-lost record of 10-15, 3-11 in the University Athletic Association, a conference that sent four teams to NCAA Tournament play and that had four teams ranked among the nation's top 25.  Despite battling more experienced and often taller opponents, Emory displayed a tenacious style of basketball that saw it stay within striking distance in numerous outings. Of the 11 setbacks in league games, five were by seven or fewer points with two of those affairs going into overtime.

For the record, Emory's strength of schedule was ranked as the third-most difficult in the nation according to D3hoops.com and second toughest in the Massey Ratings.

Other notable tidbits from the 2007-08 season included:

** Defeating No. 1-ranked Rochester, 81-76 in overtime, before a raucous home crowd on Jan. 25, 2008.  It marked the program's first-ever triumph over the nation's top-ranked team.

** Playing a total of 11 games against six teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament. In addition to the eight contests against the four UAA schools that earned berths to the postseason, the Eagles split a pair of games against Maryville College (just one three losses suffered by the Scots all year) and battled No. 12-ranked Guilford and its 7-foot All-American Ben Strong.

** Closed out the 2007 portion of the schedule with a six-game win streak, Emory's longest since the 2002-03 season.

** Led the UAA and finished 46th nationally in scoring offense with a 79.0 points per- game average.  The Eagles also paced the conference in scoring in league affairs with a 76.6 per-game effort.  Zimmerman's up-tempo and aggressive style on the offensive end of the floor resulted in Emory recording three of the UAA's top five single-game point totals in '07-08; 106 vs. Oglethorpe (Dec. 15), 100 vs. Maryville (Dec. 8) and 99 vs. Case Western (Jan. 12).

** Topped the UAA and finished 55th on the national scene with a 73.1 percent mark from the free throw line.  In conference play, the Eagles knocked down a league-leading 73.5 percent from the charity stripe.

** Finished second on the school's seasonal list with 400 free throws, just six shy of the top mark of 406 set during the 1992-93 season.

** Averaged 15.2 assists per game, the highest total since 2001-02 and good for third place on the school's seasonal chart.

Senior Spiros Ferderigos capped off one of the great careers in Emory history in grand style, pacing the team in scoring for the second straight season with an 18.1 per-game average, good for the No. 2 spot on the UAA list.  The 6-foot-1 Ferderigos, garnered a first-team berth on the All-UAA Team and became the first Emory cager to be recognized by the NABC since Tim Garrett (1990) when he was chosen as a Second-Team All-South District Team member.  Ferderigos, the conference's second-leading point producer in league contests (18.0 ppg), scored in double figures in 22 games and posted nine efforts of 20 or more points.  Ferderigos led or shared for the team's scoring lead on 16 occasions including a season-high 32 points against Oglethorpe that ranked as the squad's highest individual point total of the year.  He furthered enhanced his reputation as one of the best all-around players in the UAA by ranking prominently in numerous statistical categories including rebounding (8th, 6.2 rpg), free throw percentage (6th, .789), steals (2nd, 2.04 spg) and offensive rebounds (4th, 2.52 orpg).  He established school seasonal records in both free throws (146) and free throw attempts (183) and chalked up five performances of 10 or more makes from the charity stripe.  His 453 total points in '07-08 ranked him fifth on the Eagles' list while his scoring average of 18.1 per game was good for seventh position. 

Career-wise, Spiros firmly entrenched himself on a bevy of all-time lists at Emory including scoring (2nd, 1630 pts.), scoring average (3rd, 16.6 ppg), field goals (5th, 489), field goal attempts (4th, 1085),  field goal percentage (16th, .451), three-point field goals (5th, 157), three-point percentage (10th, .365), free throws (1st, 495), free throw attempts (1st, 600), free throw percentage (.6th, .825), rebounds (4th, 560 rebs.), rebound average (10th, 5.7 rpg), assists (5th, 288), steals (1st, 201) and steals per game (3rd, 2.1 spg).

After being sidelined with a season-ending injury just nine games into the 2006-07 campaign, Anthony Fernandez bounced back with a memorable campaign that saw him emerge as a consistent scoring threat and hard-nosed rebounder.  More often than not, the 6-foot-3 Fernandez battled taller and more experienced players but still managed to haul down a team-leading 6.6 rebounds per outing, good for sixth place among UAA players.  Fernandez, an honorable-mention pick to the All-UAA Team, led or shared for the club's lead in boards in 11 games and chalked up six double-figure efforts in that category.  Fernandez's offensive game blossomed and saw him average 14.1 points per game, second on the Emory scoresheet and ninth on the UAA chart.  A starter in 23 of the 24 games he saw action in, he scored in double figures in 19 contests and closed out the year by scoring 10 or more points in his last 12 outings including four performances of 20 or more points.  His scoring pace picked up during the conference portion of the schedule with his 16.0 per-game showing placing him fifth on the league's ladder.

Junior John Kresse gave the Eagles a big boost with steady play from his point guard post.  The 6-foot-3 Kresse played in all 25 games, 24 in a starting capacity, and doled out a team-high 4.40 assists per game, good for second place among UAA players.  Kresse was the team's top assists man in 16 games and his season total of 110 tied him for fifth place on the school's seasonal list.  Playing with an increasing amount of savvy every time he took to the court, his 2.16 assist/turnover ratio placed him third in the UAA.  While running the Emory offense with deft precision, he also tossed in 7.1 points while logging 27.6 minutes per game.

Freshman Julien Williams  provided Emory fans an optimistic glimpse of the future after drawing starting assignments in 22 of 23 games and averaging 7.7 points and 5.0 rebounds with his board total placing him third on the team and 14th in the UAA.  The explosive 6-foot-2 Williams came through with eight double-figure scoring performances including a season-high 18-point effort against Maryville College on Dec. 8.  The first-year cager also played a big role in the win over No. 1-ranked Rochester with his lone double-double of the season, a 17-point, 12-rebound evening in the 81-76 overtime triumph. 

After seeing sporadic action as a freshman, sophomore sharpshooter Daniel Curtin made the most of his playing time as a key reserve.  Coming off the bench in every Emory game, the 6-foot Curtin wound up third on the team in scoring with an 8.9 points per game average.  His long-range shooting kept opponents off balance and he ended the year shooting a team-best 39.1 percent (45-of-115) from three-point range, good for 11th place among UAA players.  He converted two or more treys in 11 contests including a career-high seven against New York University (Feb. 1), tying for second most in Emory history. Curtin notched double-figure point production in nine games including a pair of 20-plus point efforts.  His 45 three pointers ranked among the top 20 seasonal marks at Emory and his 1.8 treys per game slotted him 10th in the league in '07-08.

Junior Brian Giometti, a transfer from the University of Denver, was another of the reserves who made an impact, averaging 20.6 minutes per stint while playing in all 25 contests.  The 6-foot-1 Giometti gave the Eagles an athletic performer who ranked fourth on the team's scoring list with an 8.2 points per-game average.  He finished with 11 double-figure scoring performances (seven in UAA games) including a season-high 16 points against Case Western on Jan. 12.  Giometti displayed to hit the three-ball as well, knocking down 36.9 percent (38-of-103) from distance and registering 13 outings of two or more three-pointers.

Joining Ferderigos as other members of the Emory senior class were Seth Kramer (Winter Park, FL), Austin DeAngelis (St. Augustine, FL), Claude Pardue, Jr. (Myrtle Beach, SC) and Dan Smith (Weston, FL).  Smith paced the team and finished third in the UAA with a keen mark of 85.9 percent (55-of-64) from the free throw line.  The 5-foot-10 Smith finished his two-year career as the school's career leader with an 88.3 percent showing from the charity stripe (83-of-94).

All-District (South)
Spiros Ferderigos                     Second Team               Oldsmar, FL

All-University Athletic Association
Spiros Ferderigos                     First Team                    Oldsmar, FL
Anthony Fernandez                   Honorable Mention       Miami, FL

UAA Player of the Week
Anthony Fernandez                   (Jan. 28, 2008)             Miami, FL
Spiros Ferderigos                     (Dec. 17, 2007)           Oldsmar, FL

D3hoops.com Team of the Week
Spiros Ferderigos                     (Dec. 10-16, 2007)      Oldsmar, FL
Anthony Fernandez                   (Jan.  21-27, 2008)      Miami, FL

CoSIDA Academic All-District
John Kresse                     Second Team       Charleston, SC