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2005-06 MAC Basketball Preview - MAC West

VanDelay Sports previews MAC basketball for the 2005-2006 season.

West Teams: Ball St. | CMU | EMU | NIU | Toledo | WMU

East Teams: Akron | Bowling Green | Buffalo | Kent | Miami | Ohio

Ball State Cardinals

* NOTE: Since the time that this article was written it was revealed that Peyton Stovall re-tore his ACL and will miss the entire upcoming season.

2004 Season
Things started out pretty well for Ball State last season. On the strength of BSU’s top trio of performers, Dennis Trammel, Terrance Chapman, and Peyton Stovall, Ball State jumped out to a solid 7-3 record in the MAC. However, things started turning sour for the Cardinals at the beginning of February. Ball State quickly dropped 4 straight to even their conference record.

However, the slide continued for BSU. They lost their bracket buster game at home to Drexel before splitting their next two Mid-American Conference contests to stand at 8-8. Ball State won the next two games to make it to 10-8, but that couldn’t help them climb out of 9 th overall in the conference, and a road game to begin the MAC Tournament.

Things went from bad to worse in BSU’s MAC Tournament game at Bowling Green when Peyton Stovall went down with a knee injury. The Cardinals hung tough, but in the end they didn’t have enough fire power to hold off BG’s big-two senior performers and lost 75-73.

The Good
Peyton Stovall is really talented and really good. Stovall was electrifying at times for the Cardinals last season and finished fifth in the MAC in scoring. However, somehow Stovall wasn’t included on the list of the top 20, All-MAC performers at year’s end. Maybe the “selection committee” forgot about Stovall. More likely, they didn’t prefer the shoot first point guard who can sometimes cause his team’s offense to be jilted as he led his team in FG attempts.

Whatever it was that kept Stovall from All-MAC honors last season, nobody should expect a repeat outcome this season. Not only is Stovall too talented to get shut out of personal accolades this season, but it’s also likely that Coach Tim Buckley is going to slide Stovall over to the 2-guard spot. Not only will this allow Ball State to get the most out of Stovall’s scoring abilities, but it will also allow them to play highly touted, true freshman, Maurice Acker at the point.

Acker is a traditional point guard who specializes in distributing the ball. Acker has a high basketball IQ, and is said to be very flashy on the court. Not only will Acker’s presence help Stovall, but it should do wonders for Skip Mills, who really started to come on at the end of the 2004-05 campaign. Mills is a sweet shooting swingman who started pouring in the points during the final month and a half of the season last year. If Mills can start off where he left out, watch-out.

Charlie Bass is healthy and ready to go at center after tearing the Achilles tendon in both legs and being sidelined for the entire year last season. Bass is the talented, yet somewhat raw center who transferred from Ohio State. Bass should be a major player for Ball State on the defensive end and on the boards. He’s a little raw offensively, but any scoring that Bass can provide in the post will be a feature in BSU’s collective cap.

The Bad
Ball State’s recent struggles make 2001, the year Ball State knocked off #3 Kansas and #4 UCLA in Maui, seem like a decade ago. Tim Buckley has had some major troubles getting the most out of his squads in Muncie ever since Theron Smith left town a year early, after his ACL injury in 2002. Buckley could be on the hot seat this season, and needs some major results from some of his lesser experienced players to quiet the rumblings that surround the program.

Ball State has some question marks when it comes to depth on this roster. There are only 5 returning letter winners from last year, but that’s a little misleading because Bass and Acker should be able to contribute right away. Another player who the Muncie faithful are expecting big things from is Landon Adler, a 6-9 freshman who red-shirted last season.

Still there are a lot of question marks that Buckley is going to need to sort through when it comes to incoming players and inexperienced returning guys. The most prominent of whom is probably Anthony Kent. Kent only averaged a little less than three points and rebounds per game last year in limited action. Buckley expected much more out of him, and it could be interesting to see if he pans out this year.

Injuries are a major concern for the Cardinals. Their best player, Peyton Stovall is coming off of knee surgery, and their top front court player, Charlie Bass has just finished rehabbing two torn Achilles tendons. Last year, Ball State’s two senior threats, Dennis Trammel and Terrance Chapman also missed time because of injury. It’s almost like they’re putting something in the water in Muncie. If Adler and Kent pan out Ball State could have enough depth up front to sustain a short-term Bass injury, but there is no replacement on this team, or even across the league, for Peyton Stovall.

Outlook
Ball State could be powerful this year. They have a balanced out of conference schedule that should help them prepare for the Mid-American Conference slate. While their schedule is balanced it still includes several chances to make some noise, like with their game against in-state rival Indiana, but nothing like the noise they made at the Maui Invitational against Kansas and UCLA in 2001.

BSU has a core of guys who should be pretty good players in this league. The list includes Stovall, Mills, Bass, Acker, Adler, and guys like Christopher Ames and Darren Yates. If Ball State can get good production from guys like Anthony Kent, Jalon Perryman and D’Andre Peyton they should roll pretty well.

The thing that Ball State needs to watch-out for the most is the injury bug. While no team should use injuries as an excuse, the Cardinals certainly earned the right last year with injuries to Bass, Stovall, Trammel, and Chapman. The Cardinals can’t endure another medical catastrophe like they had last season and expect to contend in the West. Assuming everyone stays healthy Ball State will finish 3rd in the West, but if not it may be a long season for the Cardinals.

Central Michigan Chippewas

2004 Season
It seems that Jay Smith wouldn’t know a mediocre team if it jumped up and slapped him in the face. Sadly, this season should be no different. This is Smith’s ninth season in Mt. Pleasant. In two of those seasons, Central Michigan has won the regular season conference championship, advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament once. In the other 6 seasons, Smith has led his team to 10 or less wins. Unfortunately for CMU fans, this season looks to be another repeat of the latter, not the former.

The problems for Central Michigan started when Chris Kaman left campus as a lottery pick, after their 25-7 NCAA Tournament season. Central followed that up with a 6-24 campaign and watched as four players transferred out. Last year was another wilderness campaign for Central, who didn’t get much better, going 10-18, although pulling off a real shocker against rival Western Michigan late in the season.

This off-season was even worse as they lost their leading scorer, and all-around best player, guard Kevin Nelson. It also won’t help Central that Marshall, the team who they battled for the conference basement last season, has moved off to CUSA, where the Thundering Herd could put up an unprecedented goose-egg in conference play.

The Good
The Chippewas can only grow from here. The Central Michigan roster is extremely young and the glass-half-full analysis would have to consider it loaded with upside. The Chippewa roster includes seven freshman, five sophomores, and two juniors. Of course, having upside only counts if Smith can maintain the roster for several seasons and not let his best player transfer out like what happened with Kevin Nelson, or with David Hoskins the year before.

Central will count on Sefton Barrett to supply leadership, scoring, and rebounding as a 6-6 forward who played decently for the Chips last season. Insiders claim that Barrett really grew up last season, despite missing time with a stress fracture in his foot and missing time for violating team policy.

Perhaps the most important returning Chippewa is Giordan Watson who will also be a major player returning as a sophomore at point guard. Watson came onto the scene big-time last season as a freshman who ranked highly across the league in steals and assists, also averaging over 10 points per game.

Eddie Spencer is a 6-6 junior wing player, who could be a decent role-player on a better team, however on this CMU team he’s going to be counted on to provide more than he’s probably capable of. Spencer is a quick player with a fast first step, but he lacks any consistent shooting touch.

The Bad
Well, if you’re going to talk about the young upside contained on the CMU roster, you’re going to have to admit that many of their players are unproven and untested. Competing for the Conference Title this year is an afterthought anyways. The main goal should be evaluating who can play at this level, and who can not. Hopefully Smith will be able to identify 4 or so young players who are either new to the program, or who haven’t seen much time in previous seasons who can become valuable additions to the rotation next season.

If you’re a Chippewa fan at this point, you’ve got to be wondering if Jay Smith can actually coach. Sure, CMU has been to the 2 nd Round of the NCAA Tournament under Coach Smith, but did he take them there, or did NBA lottery pick Chris Kaman? If you look at the 6 seasons with 10 wins or less under Smith you might start to think Kaman was the reason for Central Michigan’s success. This is going to be another rebuilding year for the Chips; you can’t argue that. But if Jay Smith can’t lead this team to more than 10 wins and show serious signs of improvement, he could be looking for a job really soon. Most of all, he needs to keep his roster intact. CMU cannot withstand another mass-transfer of its most promising players this off-season.

The Outlook
The Outlook certainly isn’t pretty. There isn’t even a light at the end of the tunnel for this group of kids yet, however it appears that they might finally be traveling the right way down the tunnel after two long, arduous seasons. Central Michigan has a young team with room to grow.

This team is not going to be world beaters this season, by any account, but if they can get the young players some experience, and settle on an 8-man rotation, they’ll be on the right track. And like any MAC team, you can’t sleep on the Chippewas. Between Watson and Barrett there is enough fire power there to knock off a team that’s having an off-night.

Eastern Michigan Eagles

2004 Season
The 2004-05 season started off so promising for the Eastern Michigan Eagles. It looked like the team had finally started to live up to its potential, as they posted a 9-4 record (3-1 MAC) through the first couple months of the season. Unfortunately for Coach Jim Boone and Eagles fans, Eastern posted a 3-14 record the rest of the way, sliding out of contention in the West and costing Jim Boone his job.

Enter Charles Ramsey along with a staff of assistants who attended and starred at EMU. Ramsey’s first goal will be finding some guards. EMU’s starting backcourt from last season; Darryl Garrett and Rico Harris have transferred out of the program. Harris was serviceable at the point, but is replaceable. The loss of Garrett, a talented freshman last season, will sting a little more.

The Good
January 21st. Mark that date down right now. That’s when Eastern Michigan travels to Akron and MAC fans will get to watch two of the premier big men in the conference tangle, as 6-8 250 pound forward John Bowler will tangle with Romeo Travis. If that’s not enough for you, the two meet again in Ypsilanti on February 11th. Both contests should be absolute sloberknockers.

John Bowler is Eastern’s best player, and is arguably the best big-man in the West. Bowler has a big body and knows how to bang inside. Expectations for a 20/10 average this season is probably stretching it a little, but that’s the kind of talent he has. Bowler plays the game the right way, and if you like to watch physical post play, Bowler’s definitely your kind of player. He should be the heart and soul of this EMU team this season.

If you need a three-pointer, Danny McElhinny is your man. McElhinny is the other senior on this team. He’s a catch and shoot guard, who’s deadly from 3. Unfortunately he can’t do much else, including shoot 2-pt field goals or get to the foul line. If Ramsey can clearly define McElhinny’s role though, he should excel as a 3-pt threat this season. He’s a true specialist in every sense of the word.

Nick Freer will be a sophomore this season. Freer did not see much time under Jim Boone last season. Freer is a very athletic wing player who should fit Ramsey’s system well. Freer should see regular action and could even crack the starting lineup for Eastern this season.

One of the best recruits in the MAC is coming to Eastern Michigan this season. Gino Smith is a 6-7 forward who was recruited heavily by Southern Miss and Seton Hall before finally deciding on Eastern Michigan. Smith did a little bit of everything in high school, scoring, rebounding, blocking shots, and stealing the ball. In four years we could be saying Smith’s name in the same breath as other EMU stars like George Gervin, Grant Long, and Earl Boykins.

The Bad
They Eagles are going to rely on Bowler, Smith, McElhinny, and Freer. That’s four guys. It’ll take another four to round out their rotation, and that could be a tall order. Much of the remainder of EMU’s roster is untested and unproven. Here’s guessing that junior center Craig Cashen, guard Derek VanSolkema, and freshman guard Carlos Medlock, who could get the nod at the point, help round out the rotation by year’s end, but at this point it’s anybody’s guess.

Eastern Michigan is going to need to establish some solid backcourt play and in a hurry if they want to compete at all this season. Losing their two backcourt freshman from a year ago hurts. Not having an experienced point guard to handle the load for a team in transition mode, like EMU this season, hurts even more. Good backcourt play wins games in the MAC. EMU has the talent in place in other spots to compete, but until they can get some solid, trusted performances from their guards, they could have some serious difficulties.

Outlook
There’s no doubt about it, the Eagles are poised to struggle this season. However they’re moving in the right direction, there’s light at the end of the tunnel, and they could be a scary team to face as a potential spoiler as the season wears on.

Eastern Michigan has some top talent, which of course starts with big-man senior John Bowler. Freshman Gino Smith should be a fantastic freshman and should challenge for the FOTY award. Danny McElhinny is a fantastic 3-pt specialist who can knock down shots all day from outside. Freer is an athletic player who Eastern needs to come into his own this season. Carlos Medlock is a freshman who Ramsey would love to see handle the point.

However, despite the talent, and the good vibes surrounding the Eastern Michigan program it’s going to take Ramsey some time to create the depth needed to win. It also could take some time to get his system installed, as he preaches solid defense to his team. Eastern Michigan will finish 5th in the MAC West. The Eagles haven’t been to the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament since the MAC began playing the final 3-rounds in Cleveland. Maybe they’ll miss out again this year, but Ramsey should have the Eagles back in contention in this conference soon.

West Teams: Ball St. | CMU | EMU | NIU | Toledo | WMU

East Teams: Akron | Bowling Green | Buffalo | Kent | Miami | Ohio

By Dan Whitmyer, VanDelaySports.com Writer