Men's Basketball Preview - Part 2: Cleveland State

Oct. 25, 2005

Vikings Ready To Turn Rebuilding Into Rewarding
Two Years of Hard Work Has Given Head Coach Mike Garland The Talent & Depth That He Needs To Play His Style Of Basketball.

Through all of the adversity and change during the first two seasons of Viking basketball under head coach Mike Garland, one factor has proven to have a greater impact on the CSU's ability to achieve success than all others.

Depth.

The results of playing with depth - or in most cases, without it - lead to a pretty simple statistic.

CSU is 7-4 over the last two years when Garland has had his full roster available for a game and just 6-40 when one or more pieces to the puzzle are missing.

In order for the Vikings to maintain the style of play that Garland prefers for 40 minutes, CSU must have a deep bench. Otherwise, the up-tempo offense loses a step and the aggressive, full-court defense results in covering less than the required 94-feet.

As he embarks on the third year of his plan to return championship basketball to Cleveland, Garland has achieved a goal that he had been striving to attain for two years. . . develop options.

With an 18-player roster at his disposal made up of eight returning lettermen, six newcomers and a handful of walk-ons, Garland should finally have the depth that the Vikings need to give him those options.

"Depth is the most crucial element that we need for our system to be successful," Garland said. "If we don't have the ability to rotate 10, 12 or even as many as 14 players thoughout the game, then we won't be able to sustain pressure. That is when things tend to break down."

The depth of the Vikings will be apparent in several ways this winter. Not only will more players factor into the rotation, but expect the average minutes played for the starters to drop as well.

"Two years ago, we had three players average more than 30 minutes a game simply out of necessity. Last year, it was just one. I would prefer that nobody play that many minutes," Garland said. "The fresher a player is when he is on the court, the more focused he will be."

The group of eight returners feature an interesting blend of youth and experience. They have combined to start 117 games in their careers but they average less than a season-and-a-half on the team. In fact, the lone seniors on the squad - Frason McGee and Justin Henderson - both transferred to CSU from junior colleges before last season.

The balance is also evident as Garland will have several playing options at every position, including at least one returning veteran and one newcomer.

Morris & Moss Lead Back Court

Three of the five players who are expected to share the playing time in the back court are returning veterans, but it will probably be a newcomer who determines the split in playing time.

The departure of point guards Walt Chavis and Mike Redell has left Garland with only one returner - junior Victor Morris - with experience at the position.

Morris, who is better suited to play on the wing, is the most-experienced of the Viking guards. He has started 33 games during his first two seasons, averaging 5.1 points a game last year. That leaves junior college transfer Carlos English as the key player to watch this season.

English, who averaged 8.7 points and 6.3 assists last year at Mott Community College, is the only true point guard on the team. His ability to adjust to the speed of Division I basketball will go a long way in dictating the playing rotation.

If he adapts quickly - as Garland believes he will - then English will see the lion's share of the point guard minutes with Morris serving in a backup role. A slow transition will result in Morris playing more at point guard and less at wing guard.

Freshmen Bahaadar Russell and Robbie Clark also have experience at the position, but it may take them awhile to adjust to the pace of Division I basketball.

Once the point guard rotation is determined, wing guard will be a little easier to figure out as four players are slated to split the playing time.

Leading the list at this position is junior Raheem Moss, a preseason All-Horizon League second team choice who was selected to the Horizon League All-Newcomer team last year, Morris, sophomore Steve Gansey and Russell.

Moss, the team's leading returning scorer with a 12.8 points average last year, will also see time at small forward and should be one of the team's leaders in minutes played. He made 63 of his 158 three-point field goal attempts to rank fourth in the league with a school-record 2.6 three-pointers a game.

Gansey, a native of Olmsted Falls, also proved to be dangerous from the perimeter last year, ranking 12th in the league in three-point shooting (33-90, .367) and averaging 5.3 points a game.

Morris is the playmaker of the group, using a driving and slashing style to create offensive opportunities inside.

Russell is the wild card in the group. Added to the roster late in the summer, his 6-2 frame gives CSU another big shooter from the perimeter. The nephew of former NBA standouts Campy Russell (Cleveland) and Walker Russell (Detroit), he averaged almost 24 points a game in his lone season at Maine Central Institute.

More Production From Small Forward

The small forward spot should be one of the most productive positions for CSU this year with five players vying for playing time.

The group is headed by senior Frashon McGee, who played mostly inside last year, juniors Patrick Tatham and Moss, who will both most likely see the majority of their time at other positions, and freshmen J'Nathan Bullock and Jason Holder.

The player on the floor at this spot will probably be determined by the game plan that Garland wants to employ as each candidate bringing different skills to the lineup. Garland can go big with either McGee or Tatham, add more perimeter scoring with Moss, more athleticism with Bullock or Holder, or more defense with Tatham or Holder. The depth gives Garland many combinations.

McGee is happy to be healthy again. A broken right hand suffered last December limited him offensively for the remainder of the season. Despite the handicap, he gradually improved his production, averaging 5.3 points and 3.6 rebounds a game, including a career-high 13 points at UIC in the final game of the season.

Early indications are that Bullock, a 6-4, 246-pound freshman from Flint, Mich., may be the best athlete of the newcomer class. He averaged 20.6 points and 13.0 rebounds a game as a high school senior to earn fourth team all-state honors from the Detroit Free Press, and turned down the opportunity to play major college football in favor of attending CSU.

The most intriguing candidate for playing time at small forward may be Tatham, who out of necessity, has played a little out of position the last two years at center.

A 6-7 junior, Tatham averaged 8.8 points and 5.1 rebounds a game last year. His offensive skills make him better suited to play farther away from the basket - in fact the coaches have even toyed with the idea of giving him some minutes at point guard - which will also let CSU take better advantage of his defensive ability.

Seven Vie For Time Inside

No area on the floor will benefit more from the improvement in depth than the two inside positions, where Garland can turn to as many as seven players, each of whom is 6-6 or taller. That definitely was not the case last season.

In the Horizon League opener at Loyola last year, injuries and early foul trouble left Garland with just two of his regular post players, requiring 6-3 Steve Gansey to play significant minutes at power forward.

Leading the list of returners inside are Tatham, McGee, senior Justin Henderson and sophomore Luke Murphy. They will be joined by newcomers Ije Nwankwo, a junior transfer from Purdue, and freshmen Renard Fields and Terry Walker.

The quality and quantity of players makes forecasting the playing rotation inside a difficult task.

Tatham, who has started 29 games over the last two years, is the most experienced of the Viking posts and is expected to be one of the key players in the rotation.

Henderson is next on the experience list, averaging 4.2 points in over 13 minutes a game last year. He is most comfortable playing with his back to the basket, making him best suited to play at center.

Murphy is the most interesting option among the returners after redshirting last season. The year was well spent, allowing him to grow to 6-9, 215-pounds - which gives him the ability to play inside - but his athleticism, agility and shooting range make him an effective offensive performer around the perimeter.

Vikings fans will have to wait until Dec. 18 to see Nwankwo, who does not become eligible until the end of fall semester. When he finally does step onto the court, he should be one of the top post players in the Horizon League.

Nwankwo was a first team all-state choice and ranked among the top 75 players in the nation as a high school senior. He came off the bench to average 2.5 points and 1.4 rebounds as a freshman at Purdue in 2003-04.

Fields may be the most interesting of the newcomers inside. He did not start during either of his two years of prep basketball at Hargrave Military Academy, but the three players who he played behind ended up going to Maryland, Pittsburgh and UNLV. He should see most of his action at power forward.

Garland considers 6-9 Walker to be the Vikings's center of the future, one whose shot-blocking and rebounding can create the defensive post presence that was lacking last year. He averaged 9.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 5.1 blocks a game last year.

Tar Heels & Spartans Lead Non-League Slate

Garland will lead the Vikings against a balanced schedule that includes five games against postseason teams from a year ago, four of which are on the road.

Matchups at defending national champion North Carolina (Nov. 22) and Final Four participant Michigan State (Dec. 16) will serve as early season barometers for Garland to see if CSU is ready to face the likes of UW-Milwaukee, Detroit and Loyola in league play.

The 15-game home slate features contests against Mid-American Conference teams Akron (Jan. 16) and Central Michigan (Nov. 30), the return game as part of last year's Bracket Buster.

The non-conference season opens with a Nov. 19 meeting with Florida A&M, which went to the NCAA Tournament in 2004, and ends with a Feb. 18 home game in the Bracket Buster against a team to be determined in February.

The league schedule will be a challenge, but unlike a year ago when CSU played six of its first seven league contests on the road, the Vikings will host three of the first four at home and never play more than three straight contests on the road.

Story provided by Cleveland State University Office of Sports Information