Men's Basketball Preview Part 3: Cleveland State
Nov. 10, 2004
This is the third in a nine-part series on the 2004-05 Horizon League men's basketball season. Each weekday leading up to the season opener on Nov. 16, www.horizonleague.org will profile a League men's basketball team, beginning with the team picked ninth in the preseason poll on Wednesday, Nov. 3, and ending with the preseason favorite on Tuesday, Nov. 16. The regular season will tip off Nov. 16, when Wright State plays at Tulsa in the Preseason National Invitation Tournament. All stories are courtesy of their respective school's sports information office.
Undaunted By The Struggles Of A Year Ago, Mike Garland Has Added The Depth & Experience To Get The Vikings Back To Playing Blue-Collar Basketball
Mike Garland looks back on his first season as head coach of the Vikings fully aware of what went right and what went wrong. Mostly, Garland is aware of the next steps that have to take place in order for Cleveland State to return to basketball prominence.
"I made the mistake of thinking that we could skip a couple of steps in the process," Garland said of his inaugural year. "But you can't skip any steps. In order to build a solid program, the foundation has to be in place, and that is what we have done over the last year.
"We had to start this program from scratch. We brought in a good first recruiting class last year, and with the addition of a second solid class this year, I believe that we will begin to see results."
In a case of Murphy's Law ringing true, everything that could have gone wrong for the Vikings during the 2003-04 season did, leaving Garland short on depth, short on experience, short on options and in the end, short on wins.
Cleveland Cavaliers radio announcer Joe Tait described it best when he joined Garland on a Friday night radio show midway through the year.
"Coaches in the NBA learned a long time ago what you are finding out this season," Tait told Garland. "You can't pull the cart if you don't have the horses."
Garland heeded Tait's advice, bringing in four new players. Factor into the mix the return of senior Modibo Niakate, the squad's leading scorer from 2002-03, and the debut of Raheem Moss, who sat out last season after transferring from Bowling Green, and Garland has rebuilt his roster with both talent and depth.
When you add the return of seven lettermen, which includes three starters and six players who averaged at least 10 minutes a game last season, Garland will have a 13-player roster at his disposal.
"I feel confident that the process that we have put into place will work," Garland said. "I can see the growth that our players have made over the last year. We were 4-25 last year and there is still that buzz about basketball at Cleveland State. People are looking forward to this season because they see that we are doing the right things and they are interested in seeing what we're going to do. It's exciting."
"One good thing that came out of last season was that we grew stronger as a team and bonded. We became a more tight knit group because we went through adversity together. That's why we were able to compete late in the year when a lot of other teams would have just given up," Garland added.
Experience & Depth In The Back Court
The two guard slots feature a good mix of experience as starters Walt Chavis and Victor Morris return. They will be challenged by a pair of talented newcomers, Steve Gansey and Mike Redell.
Chavis, a senior, is the leading candidate to start at the point for the third straight year. He started all 20 games he played in last year, missing eight games late in the year with a broken hand. He averaged 5.6 points a game, leading the team in assists (3.7 apg) and steals (1.7) for the second straight year. He is the leading returning assist man in the Horizon League.
Morris, who is expected to start again at off-guard, is coming off a promising freshman campaign that saw him average 6.2 points a game. He started the final 20 games with his performance improving throughout the year. He scored in double figures six times, five of which came during the second half of the season, and he closed the campaign by shooting .475 from the field (38-80) over the final 11 games.
"Victor made great strides last year towards becoming the solid all-around player that I believe that he can be," Garland said. "He's one of our best perimeter defenders and his work ethic and approach to the game have made him a leader on the team."
Redell and Gansey each caught the attention of Garland because of their toughness and leadership skills.
Redell, a 6-1 point guard from Rockford, Mich., earned all-state honors in each of his final two seasons. He averaged 18.1 points and 4.4 assists a game as a senior last year and played on teams that owned a 68-10 record over his final three seasons, including a 28-0 mark as a junior when he led his team to the state title.
Gansey, a 6-3 shooting guard from Olmsted Falls, Ohio, was a first team all-state choice as a senior after averaging 22.1 points a game. He capped off his season by earning MVP honors at the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association North-South All-Star game.
Also returning is walk-on Greg Vlosich, who averaged 10.4 minutes over the last 14 games, providing steady play.
Small Forwards Look Familiar
The small forward slot with have a new, but familiar look as senior Modibo Niakate and sophomore Raheem Moss return to the court after redshirting last season.
Niakate is the best athlete among the guards and will easily fit into Garland's up-tempo game. He earned Horizon League All-Newcomer team honors in 2002-03 after leading the team in scoring (11.9 ppg) and three-point field goal percentage (48-108, .444).
"Modibo used last season to really grow and mature as a man, and his return to the court will be a big addition for us," Garland said. "He will be one of our top offensive players because he is quick, he knows how to finish and he can flat out shoot the basketball."
Moss, a transfer from Bowling Green, is one of the most versatile players on the team, owning the shooting range to be dangerous from three-point while also possessing the strength and quickness to score off the dribble or inside. He averaged 2.5 points and 2.4 rebounds as a freshman at BG in 2002-03.
"Raheem is probably the best all-around newcomer that we have this year," Garland said. "Sitting out last year was frustrating for him so he is ready to get back on the court. He is big and strong and has the body to be able to take the punishment of a scorer while also having the ability to score from the perimeter."
Senior Omari Westley, who was named to the Horizon League All-Newcomer squad last year, returns but will most likely see the majority of his time at power forward.
A New Look Inside
The struggles during the 2003-04 season were partly due to the gradual erosion of the squad's depth inside. A strength of the team at the start of the year, injuries and other problems left the Vikings undermanned and mismatched in the paint by the end of the campaign.
To counteract this, Garland focused his recruiting on the interior, adding a pair of talented newcomers to the four returning regulars.
Senior Omari Westley is the lone returning starter inside though sophomore Patrick Tatham started 14 of the 29 contests and senior Amadou Koundoul and sophomore Luke Murphy each saw considerable action as reserves.
Heading the list of returners is Westley, who is one of the most talented all-around players in the conference. He ran away with the Horizon League rebounding title, averaging 8.6 rebounds a game, more than one rebound a contest better than the second place finisher. He was second on the squad in scoring (14.8 ppg) and third in both assists (56) and steals (32).
"Omari learned a lot about himself last year and that has served to challenge him this year," Garland said. "He has focused on improving his shooting range so that he can consistently make shots from 15-17 feet and add another dimension to his offensive game."
Tatham is the leading candidate to start at center because of his work ethic and relentless playing style. He averaged 3.8 points and 4.7 rebounds a game last year despite being limited by a knee injury for most of the season. He had surgery in early February and returned to the court in early summer.
Koundoul's availability is in question for his final season of eligibility after having surgery on both knees in successive springs. He played through the pain following a first surgery last year, providing an emotional boost to the team far exceeding the 1.8 points and 1.9 rebounds he averaged.
At 6-9, Murphy is the tallest Viking on the roster, though he has the shooting and ball handling skills to play on the perimeter. He benefited from some on the job training as a true-freshman last year, seeing action in every contest including six starts, and then improved his strength considerably during the team's off-season strength training program.
Newcomers Frashon McGee and Justin Henderson will round out the playing rotation inside, giving Garland the combination of talent and depth that was missing a year ago.
McGee, an honorable mention All-America choice last year at Des Moines Area Community College, impressed the coaching staff with his leadership ability during the offseason conditioning program. Capable of scoring both outside and inside, he averaged 14.0 points and 7.4 rebounds a game last year, shooting .515 from the field (190-369) and .420 from three-point (47-112).
Henderson, an all-region choice last season at Glen Oaks Community College, is most comfortable playing with his back to the basket. At 6-8, 261 pounds, his size and strength will provide a complement to CSU's perimeter offense.
Tar Heels Lead Non-League Schedule
Garland will find several challenges in the nine-game non-conference slate, the biggest of which comes when the Vikings visit Chapel Hill, N.C. for a rematch with North Carolina on Dec. 30th.
The 13-game home schedule features five non-conference contests, including a Dec. 11 meeting with regional foe Kent State, a Feb. 19 game against an undetermined opponent in the annual Bracket Buster Saturday and eight games against Horizon League opponents.
Other non-conference road contests include a Dec. 8 game at Akron and a Dec. 23 meeting with Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti, Mich.
The 16-game Horizon League schedule gets underway in early January with the Vikings playing a home-and-home double round robin slate with the other eight league schools.
The only non-conference game after the new year will come when CSU takes part in the third annual Bracket Buster Saturday, which creates matchups from mid-major conferences in order to improve postseason chances. Pairings for the event will be determined in early February.
The Horizon League Championship begins on March 1 with three first round games at campus sites. The championship game will be played on Tuesday, March 8 at a site to be determined.
