The men's basketball team's exhibition season began today against Marygrove at Rose Arena.
As expected, coach Ernie Zeigler started the following five:
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
CMU men picked to win MAC West
The Mid-American Conference preseason coaches poll was released Thursday, and the Chippewas are expected to repeat as the West Division champs.
CMU went 7-9 in the conference last season despite a 7-9 record. It was a porous showing from the division, which arguably was the worst in D-I basketball. But with the return of both Chris Kellermann and Marko Spica, the Chippewas are a solid pick to at least have a winning record this season.
CMU went 7-9 in the conference last season despite a 7-9 record. It was a porous showing from the division, which arguably was the worst in D-I basketball. But with the return of both Chris Kellermann and Marko Spica, the Chippewas are a solid pick to at least have a winning record this season.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Changes
I haven't updated this in quite awhile, as I am in Grand Rapids now for a sports copy editing internship with the GR Press.
But with all the offseason news coming in about the men's basketball team, let's look at the turnover that has gone down since the end of the season in March:
Expected departures:
Van nearly was kicked off the team before last season, but had a solid senior year. His rebounding (8.3 per game) will be missed, but his inconsistencies will not. He had the talent to go on scoring runs by himself, but also could disappear if his matchup in the post frustrated him even a little. A junior college transfer, Van played just two season with the Chippewas, averaging 9.14 points and 6.66 rebounds in 56 games.
Unexpected departures:
Two of these -- William Eddie and Lawrence Bridges -- make sense. It was obvious neither belonged on the Division I level, nor were ready to put in the work that coach Ernie Zeigler demands. My understanding is that they both were unhappy with their playing time or Zeigler's coaching philosophy.
Jeremy Allen's departure was largely puzzling. Zeigler always likened Allen to just the type of player he enjoys coaching -- tough and defensive-minded. But on the court, Allen failed to improve after a pretty solid freshman year. His strength always was his defense, but after he did not increase his size after his first year, it was evident Allen might not pan out. He, like Eddie and Bridges, just did not look like a D-I player most of the time.
Most surprising is the departure of Adrian Hunter, a promising freshman point guard who did not gain much playing time last season. Hunter, a good shooter, graduated from Grand Blanc High School and was the future at point guard. I haven't heard anything about the circumstances around his departure.
Jacolby Hardiman getting kicked off the team is the most disheartening. It seemed Hardiman had found a place at CMU after spending two years at community colleges. From a rough part of Milwaukee, Hardiman has a complicated life, as I brought to light in a story I wrote in February.
Additions:
The player to watch in this group is William McClure, who should take over rebounding responsilibites from Van. McClure averaged 8 points and 10 rebounds last season for LLCC.
Jalin Thomas adds talent and depth and size to the shooting guard/small forward role.
My projected starters to start next season:
PG Robbie Harman (Sr.)
SG Jordan Bitzer (Sr.)
SF Antonio Weary (Jr.)
PF Chris Kellermann (5/Sr.)
C William McClure
But with all the offseason news coming in about the men's basketball team, let's look at the turnover that has gone down since the end of the season in March:
Expected departures:
| Player | Position | Class | GP-GS | Min. | Ppg | Rpg | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
| Marcus Van | Forward | Sr. | 26-24 | 29.5 | 13.0 | 8.3 | .519 | .000 | .625 |
Van nearly was kicked off the team before last season, but had a solid senior year. His rebounding (8.3 per game) will be missed, but his inconsistencies will not. He had the talent to go on scoring runs by himself, but also could disappear if his matchup in the post frustrated him even a little. A junior college transfer, Van played just two season with the Chippewas, averaging 9.14 points and 6.66 rebounds in 56 games.
Unexpected departures:
| Player | Position | Class | GP-GS | Min. | Ppg | Rpg | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
| Jeremy Allen | Guard | So. | 31-17 | 25.6 | 8.5 | 2.5 | .364 | .303 | .778 |
| Lawrence Bridges | Forward | Fr. | 30-1 | 9.5 | 1.1 | 1.2 | .412 | .000 | .357 |
| William Eddie | Guard | So. | 25-0 | 8.3 | 0.8 | 0.5 | .321 | 1.000 | .500 |
| Jacolby Hardiman | Forward | Jr. | 30-28 | 32.0 | 9.7 | 4.9 | .483 | .000 | .426 |
| Adrian Hunter | Guard | Fr. | 28-1 | 12.2 | 3.2 | 1.5 | .363 | .357 | .647 |
Two of these -- William Eddie and Lawrence Bridges -- make sense. It was obvious neither belonged on the Division I level, nor were ready to put in the work that coach Ernie Zeigler demands. My understanding is that they both were unhappy with their playing time or Zeigler's coaching philosophy.
Jeremy Allen's departure was largely puzzling. Zeigler always likened Allen to just the type of player he enjoys coaching -- tough and defensive-minded. But on the court, Allen failed to improve after a pretty solid freshman year. His strength always was his defense, but after he did not increase his size after his first year, it was evident Allen might not pan out. He, like Eddie and Bridges, just did not look like a D-I player most of the time.
Most surprising is the departure of Adrian Hunter, a promising freshman point guard who did not gain much playing time last season. Hunter, a good shooter, graduated from Grand Blanc High School and was the future at point guard. I haven't heard anything about the circumstances around his departure.
Jacolby Hardiman getting kicked off the team is the most disheartening. It seemed Hardiman had found a place at CMU after spending two years at community colleges. From a rough part of Milwaukee, Hardiman has a complicated life, as I brought to light in a story I wrote in February.
Additions:
| Player | Position | Class | Ht. | Wt. | Previous school |
| Tyler Brown | Forward | Fr. | 6-7 | 220 | Eau Claire (Wis.) HS |
| Finis Craddock | Guard | Fr. | 6-1 | 180 | Garland (Texas) HS |
| William McClure | F/C | Jr. | 6-7 | 240 | Lake Land College (Ill.) |
| Amir Rashid | Guard | Jr. | 5-9 | 165 | Trinity Valley CC (Texas) |
| Jalin Thomas | G/F | So. | 6-4 | 200 | Pensacola Junior College (Fla.) |
The player to watch in this group is William McClure, who should take over rebounding responsilibites from Van. McClure averaged 8 points and 10 rebounds last season for LLCC.
Jalin Thomas adds talent and depth and size to the shooting guard/small forward role.
My projected starters to start next season:
PG Robbie Harman (Sr.)
SG Jordan Bitzer (Sr.)
SF Antonio Weary (Jr.)
PF Chris Kellermann (5/Sr.)
C William McClure
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Eastern Michigan 57, CMU 56 - Feb. 28, 2009
EMU wins 57-56 and stuns the Rose Arena crowd. I've never heard this place so eery.
Robbie Harman had a seemingly good look from underneath the basket when CMU got the ball down one with 9.7 seconds remaining. But his shot fell short and a scramble ensued in the middle of the lane as time ran out. Some pushing and shoving between Harman and some EMU players occurred as well, but it did not escalate further.
Ernie Zeigler threw his hands over his head and walked down the sideline after Jordan Bitzer was called for a foul on a 3-point attempt by EMU freshman Antonio Green. Green pump-faked, got Bitzer up into the air and drew minimal contact.
Green made all three free throws to give EMU a 57-56 lead.
Jordan Bitzer found Marcus Van open along the baseline, and he two-hand dunked it to give CMU a 56-54 lead. Van has scored six consecutive points for CMU.
Two turnaround jumpers by senior Marcus Van tied the Eagles at 54 after EMU went 3-of-5 from the free throw line.
EMU's Zane Gay made a 3-pointer off the glass to give the Eagles a 51-50 lead.
Freshman guard Adrian Hunter made a 3-pointer with less than 10 seconds left in the half to give the Chippewas the lead. He's had to take most of the playing time at point guard after junior Robbie Harman picked up two early fouls. Hunter has six points, which came on two 3-pointers.
Senior forward Marcus Van is having a lot better night than he did Wednesday at Ball State, scoring 10 points. He had none against the Cardinals and fouled out.
EMU sophomore Brandon Bowdry is having a solid night as well, totaling 8 points to lead the Eagles.
It's a pretty evenly-matched and clean game so far, with both teams only committing seven team fouls. EMU has five turnovers while CMU has four.
CMU sophomore Antonio Weary came out right before halftime with an apparent shoulder injury after getting fouled hard on a drive to the basket. It looked like an EMU defender landed right on it. But Weary returned to start the second half and looked fine, scoring CMU's first basket of the half on an offensive rebound putback and drew a foul.
Robbie Harman had a seemingly good look from underneath the basket when CMU got the ball down one with 9.7 seconds remaining. But his shot fell short and a scramble ensued in the middle of the lane as time ran out. Some pushing and shoving between Harman and some EMU players occurred as well, but it did not escalate further.
Ernie Zeigler threw his hands over his head and walked down the sideline after Jordan Bitzer was called for a foul on a 3-point attempt by EMU freshman Antonio Green. Green pump-faked, got Bitzer up into the air and drew minimal contact.
Green made all three free throws to give EMU a 57-56 lead.
Jordan Bitzer found Marcus Van open along the baseline, and he two-hand dunked it to give CMU a 56-54 lead. Van has scored six consecutive points for CMU.
Two turnaround jumpers by senior Marcus Van tied the Eagles at 54 after EMU went 3-of-5 from the free throw line.
EMU's Zane Gay made a 3-pointer off the glass to give the Eagles a 51-50 lead.
Freshman guard Adrian Hunter made a 3-pointer with less than 10 seconds left in the half to give the Chippewas the lead. He's had to take most of the playing time at point guard after junior Robbie Harman picked up two early fouls. Hunter has six points, which came on two 3-pointers.
Senior forward Marcus Van is having a lot better night than he did Wednesday at Ball State, scoring 10 points. He had none against the Cardinals and fouled out.
EMU sophomore Brandon Bowdry is having a solid night as well, totaling 8 points to lead the Eagles.
It's a pretty evenly-matched and clean game so far, with both teams only committing seven team fouls. EMU has five turnovers while CMU has four.
CMU sophomore Antonio Weary came out right before halftime with an apparent shoulder injury after getting fouled hard on a drive to the basket. It looked like an EMU defender landed right on it. But Weary returned to start the second half and looked fine, scoring CMU's first basket of the half on an offensive rebound putback and drew a foul.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Live blog from Muncie, Ind.
I'm here at Worthen Arena on the campus of Ball State University for tonight's men's game.
I'll be posting photos ( point-and-shoot quality) and updates periodically throughout tonight's contest.
BSU leads 47-42 with 52.6 seconds remaining. The only reason CMU is still in this one is because of junior guard Robbie Harman's 19 second-half points.
Robbie Harman is on fire.
The junior guard has 10 of CMU's 12 points in the second half as BSU leads 32-26 with 14 minutes left.
On another note, the referees are atrocious — and it goes both ways. Antonio Weary picked up 4 fouls in 1:03 to start the half on a charging foul, a reach, a technical foul and another ticky-tack reach-in.
Here's some scene-setting photos from before the game.
Football coach Stan Parrish waves to the crowd before the game:
The national anthem:
The opening tip:
It's 16-14 with 3:45 left in the first half. Refs are letting them play, but offense is hard to come by in this one. Both teams are having trouble getting off shots because of the defensive pressure.
Ball State closed the half on a 9-0 run and holds a 25-14 lead as CMU was unable to score in the half's last 4:53. CMU's point total matched its season low of 14, set on the road against Akron on Jan. 31. CMU trailed 28-14 at the half of that game and eventually lost 64-43. This game is eerily similar to the first half of that one, although CMU is shooting 6 percent better percentage (38.9 percent vs. 32.3) and is instead having trouble even getting shots off. The Chippewas did not shoot a free throw in the first half, either, while Ball State went 4-for-4. The referees are not giving them respect down low, as Marcus Van has been called for traveling multiple times after being body-checked.
Not many 3-pointers have been shot either. BSU is 1-for-2 and CMU is 0-for-2, one of those a Jordan Bitzer shot that missed everything.
Halftime Stats: Ball State 25, CMU 14
BSU CMU
10-22 (45.5%) FG 7-18 (38.9%)
6 Turnovers 12
CMU scorers:
Hardiman 6
Allen 4
Harman 2
Bitzer 2
BSU:
Brandon Lampely 7
Laron Frazier 6
Eric Wormely 2
M. Hubbard 4
Jarrod Jones 4
Malik Perry 2
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)