"Free" throws & CMU rankings down the stretch

With an RPI of 311 (out of 345 teams) CMU isn't exactly striking fear in the hearts of its opponents. Here's how the Chippewas rank in major statistical categories, updated after their embarrassing loss at Niagara:

Category	Stat	MAC rank	Ntnl rank
Pts/gm	59.0	11	336
Opp pts/gm	64.7	3	T-77
Scoring mgn	-5.7	11	290
FG%	38.4	12	333
FT%	61.8	12	332
3PM	127	10	312
3P%	32.5	11	T-257
Reb/gm	33.5	10	T-251
Opp reb/gm	34.2	5	T-168
Reb mgn.	-0.7	7	210
Blocks/gm	3.54	T-4	T-145
Assists/gm	8.74	12	345
Steals/gm	7.12	5	T-105
TO margin	+1.12	5	108
Ast/TO	0.63	12	T-337
Hm att./gm	2,532	7	N/A

Free-throw woes (again)

Team	FT%	MAC rec.
1. Miami	73.6	9-3
2. Akron	71.7	7-5
3. WMU	71.2	7-5
4. Ohio	70.4	6-6
5. NIU	70.3	3-9
6. BSU	69.9	7-5
7. Buffalo	67.8	7-5
8. Kent St.	67.1	9-3
9. EMU	63.5	4-8
10. BGSU	63.5	7-5
11. Toledo	63	1-11
12. CMU	61.8	5-7

CMU rank...free throws (Ernie Zeigler tenure)

Year	Pct.	MAC rank	Ntl rank
2010-11	61.8	12	332
2009-10	66.4	10	T-254
2008-09	63.1	9	T-320
2007-08	67.7	9	T-212
2006-07	72.5	1	T-61

As he's got more of his guys in, the free-throw percentage has hovered around 65 percent (down to a paltry 61.8 this season.

Trey Zeigler, CMU's leading scorer, is shooting 54.2 percent from the line. That's just unacceptable. That's nearing Ben Wallace-esque numbers, and when CMU gets good (it's coming) teams may resort to "hack-a-Trey." It boggles my mind how Trey still shoots such a flat shot from the line (take a look sometime — it's like watching a car navigate across Nebraska). His jumper still is sort of a line drive, too, which is partly shown in his 40.2 percent field goal mark. Of course, he's also getting hounded by the defense most of the time, too, but still, this isn't a very good sign.

Then, there's Derek Jackson (51.2 percent), Andre Coimbra (42.9 percent), William McClure (61.5 percent), Antonio Weary (44.4 percent), and it's no wonder CMU is a bad team right now. Jalin Thomas (80.8 percent) is CMU's best shooter, but the next closest is Finis Craddock (68.2 percent). There's no player who even shoots in the 70-percent range. Baffling, indeed.

This just isn't a good mesh

I was wrong.

I thought the addition of Trey Zeigler and seven others who were sold as playmakers would mean good things for this team. I thought things would get better as the season went on, as what usually happens with young teams.

It hasn't.

That's not to say that this team doesn't have the talent to be a very solid team in the Mid-American Conference. But for whatever reason, the team is playing scared. This often happens with coach Ernie Zeigler's younger players, who sometimes can't handle his tough-love style of coaching (see Jeremy Allen, Chase Simon, Lawrence Bridges, William Eddie, Adrian Hunter, all of whom left early on in their careers).

Speaking of which, let's do a "where are they now?" for Ernie's recruits who left early:

• Adrian Hunter: A junior at Southern Nazarene (Bethany, Okla.) (NAIA). He averages 14 minutes and scores 2.4 points per game for his 21-5 team.

• Jeremy Allen: A junior who's started 20 of 21 games and averages 22 minutes, 6.8 points and 2.1 rebounds per at Florida International (D-I). His Cougars are 9-16.

• Lawrence Bridges: Averaging 3.6 points and 3.0 rebounds as a junior at Robert Morris (D-I, Pa.). He averages 13.7 minutes per game for his 12-13 Colonials.

• William Eddie: Played for Gillette College (Wyo. JUCO) in 2009-10, now unknown (dad is assistant at Florida International after coaching under Zeigler).

• Chase Simon: Averaging 13.3 points, has started 27 games as a junior for Detroit (D-I), which is 14-14 overall, 8-8 in the Horizon League.

That was fun. Moving on ...

Even older players have trouble with Zeigler's coaching style (see Marko Spica, Nate Minnoy, Amir Rashid, all of whom left with eligibility remaining).

Will Zeigler ever find the right combination of players for his demanding style? He better hope so. After taking strides behind Jordan Bitzer and Robbie Harman, this program has taken a giant step back this season. The team's ranks 335th in the nation (out of 344 teams), averaging 58.4 points per game. In terms of sharing the ball and finding each other (a measure of team chemistry) CMU now ranks DEAD LAST in the nation, averaging 8.4 assists per game.

The offense is dysfunctional. I wasn't able to make it through the whole Buffalo replay on ESPN3.com. No movement, no chemistry on offense. 3 assists. This is a "recurring theme," as Ernie admitted afterward. That's on the coaching staff, something Ernie also admitted.

CMU is much better at home (4-1 in MAC, 70 points per game vs. 0-5, 57.6 points per game on the road), something that's to be expected for a young team. But THIS much better? That's just strange, and frankly, embarrassing.

We all misjudged this team's chemistry after a pretty strong start in Hawaii. Jalin Thomas is a very solid player — and so is Trey — but they don't play off each other very well. Trey forces shots knowing he needs to be the man, and so does Jalin, and they haven't found out how to get their teammates involved. There's not real leader of the team...Jalin tries, but that's just not his thing. He's a quiet leader, something that works well on a team with an outspoken leader as well, but not on this team. Will McClure can't do it either because he's got a follower's personality, and well, the other senior — Amir Rashid — he couldn't take it anymore and left.

With no leadership and with Trey still a season away from taking the reins, this team is destined for a first-round MAC tournament exit.

Austin McBroom commits to the Chippewas

Well, here's one reason to hope for the future. Austin McBroom, a 5-foot-11 guard from Campbell Hall High School in southern California, verbally committed to CMU this week over offers from a handful of California schools.

He looks like a good combo guard who can get the ball to Trey for good looks. Something this team really needs right now. Derek Jackson has shown flashes, but still is too hesitant. For that matter, everyone has been hesitant. The comfort level should increase tremendously next year...until then, we wait.