Post by Commissioner on Dec 18, 2021 0:24:09 GMT -5
Who: Duke Central Michigan
When: Sunday, December 19, 1:00 p.m.
Where: Historic Calihan Hall
TV:ESPN+
Radio: WLQV 1500 AM & 92.7 FM
The Titans close out the non-conference season on Sunday when they host Central Michigan. It’s been over a decade since we last played the Chips, winning 75-49 back on December 18, 2010. Freshman Ray McCallum led the way with 23 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists, while another freshman, Jason Calliste, and CMU transfer Chase Simon each added 16 points. Although we first met the Chips way back in 1913 (Central State Normal School won 38-22), we’ve played a relatively few 32 games against our northern neighbor, winning 21 and dropping 11. The Titans are 17-10 vs. the Chippewas since WWII (the first of those games in the 1958 season), 13-10 since CMU joined D-1 in 1972, and winners of 8 of the last 9 (dating back to the 1998 season).
A few games of note:
January 30, 1960: Dave DeBusschere pulls in 39 rebounds in an 82-62 Titan win. That number has been topped just once in the 61 years since, and is 6th highest all-time.
December 14, 1974. Detroit was ranked in the pre-season top 20 by Sports Illustrated, but in just their 3d season in Division I, Central came into Calihan Hall and ambushed the Titans, 72-69, in the second game of the season (yes, they started much later back then). The Titans were unable to hold a 10 point halftime lead. Seven future NBA players were on the floor—Dan Roundfield, Jim McElroy, and Ben Poquette for Central; John Long, Terry Tyler, Terry Thomas, and Dennis Boyd for Detroit. CMU went on to reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.
December 21, 1978. One of our better teams—we finished the regular season ranked 17th in the country—beat one of the Chips’ better teams—they tied for the MAC title and finished 19-9 after losing to Purdue in the NIT--79-72 at Calihan. Earl Cureton finished with 19 points and 19 rebounds for the Titans, while former Titan Dave Grauzer led Central with 16 points. Attendance at Calihan was 4213.
December 1, 1979. In a bad omen of what was to come, heavily favored Detroit lost its season opener—and Willie McCarter’s first game as head coach—to Central, 72-70 in Mount Pleasant. The Titans got an early 17-5 lead but couldn’t put the Chips away, and CMU won it on a pair of Leon Guydon free throws with 15 seconds left to play. Earl Cureton had 18 points and 16 rebounds for the Titans.
November 25, 1985. The Titans spoiled Charlie Coles’ debut as Chippewa Head Coach, winning 67-64 in overtime at Mount Pleasant. Well, sorta spoiled Coles’ debut—the new CMU head coach had triple bypass surgery earlier in the day, leaving assistant coach Dave Ginsberg to take the reins. Kevin McAdoo had 10 assists, and Greg Wendt led the Titans with 16 points, but it was juco transfer Jeff Miller who hit what would be the game-winning free throws with 13 seconds left in OT. Miller would score just 29 points all season for Detroit.
February 8, 1988. Central beat Detroit 70-68 in Calihan, the 7th of 9 consecutive wins for the Chips that year. With 2 seconds left and the Titans down two, Stacey Johnson made the front end of a one & one, but the Titans were called for a lane violation, nullifying the shot, and Central held on. Archie Tullos had 26 for Detroit.
December 3, 1994. One of the worst Central teams ever beat Perry Watson’s Titans, 57-56, in Mount Pleasant. Central would finish 3-23, ending the year on a 19 game losing streak. The Titans blew a 15-point second half lead, Central going ahead on free throws with 12 seconds left. Matt Domke drove for the game winning shot but was called for charging with 2 seconds left to play, sending the Titans home with a loss.
December 6, 1995. Leon Derricks put back a blocked shot with 1 second left to give the Titans a 56-54 lead, and the Chips were unable to inbound the ball before the 5-second clock ran out.
December 18, 2000. The Titans’ eventual NIT Final Four team hammered one of Jay Smith’s best CMU squads, 74-60 In Calihan, despite missing both Willie Green and Rashad Phillips for the night. Smith’s Chips finished 20-8, winning the MAC West.
This year’s Chippewa squad has struggled under new head coach Tony Barbee, and enters Sunday’s game at 1-9. CMU’s lone win is a one-point victory at Eastern Illinois, which has yet to beat a D-1 team this year. In their last two games, Central has fallen at Youngstown State, 84-77, and at home against UIC, 71-67, so this is a bit of chance for the Titans to measure ourselves against other Horizon teams (recognizing that we’ve already beaten UIC). Those three opponents notwithstanding, Central has played a pretty brutal non-conference schedule, losing to Gonzaga on a neutral floor, and at Kentucky, Xavier, DePaul, and Missouri, plus to a very good Western Illinois team at home. If Coach Davis is right about the value of early, difficult road games, Central is going to be better than their record and give the Titans a serious challenge.
Barbee has already had 9 different players start at least two games, and no one has started all 10, as he looks for a winning combination. One familiar face for Titan fans will be Jermaine Jackson, Jr.. Triple J left CMU’s game with Xavier in the first half and has missed the last 3 games. At one point I read that he was ill, but it sound likes an injury. I can’t find any word on whether he’ll make one last appearance in Calihan this weekend. Before the illness/injury JJJ was leading the Chips in scoring and assists and shooting 41% from three. I haven’t seen Jackson play since that 2018 season in Detroit, but I suspect his basic style is the same, and his stat lines have been remarkably consistent through two years at LIU and now this season, save some improvement this year in three-point shooting. Jackson was coming off the bench at the start of the year before starting a couple games, but either way, he’ll get minutes—assuming he can play.
When Jackson in not in the game—and sometimes when he is—the point will be manned by freshman Kevin Miller, who is averaging just under 10 points and shooting over 40% from three, although he doesn’t take a lot of three point shots. Oscar Lopez, another likely starter, is a junior shooting guard who transferred in from DePaul. Injuries limited Lopez to just 4 games last year, but he was effective when he played. He’s averaging about 9 points on the season but scored 38 in the Chips last two games, against the HL opponents.
In the forecourt expect to see 6-11, 240 lb. Harrison Henderson. That name may be familiar—after starting at Southern Cal, Harrison transferred to Milwaukee, whose fans expected much and got little. After a year in the Brewery City, he moved on to Southern for a season, and is now playing his “covid bonus” year at CMU, his 4th school. He’s averaging 8 plus points, but appears to be the same Henderson we knew in Milwaukee—soft in the middle, and a very poor finisher for a man of his size.
Ralph Bissainthe, another Horizon refugee—he started at UIC back in the McClain daze—is likely to start at forward. He’s been Central’s leading rebounder. Cameron Heath, an Aussie who arrived at Mt. Pleasant via the Montverde Academy and the University of Albany, is a likely starter if Jackson doesn’t start. He’s a deadly shooter, both from behind the arc and in close. Except for a 24 point outburst against Western Illinois, he hasn’t been a go-to guy for the Chips, but that could change any game. At Albany, he averaged over 16 points as a freshman, breaking the school freshman record for point, and was selected to the America East all-freshman team and third team all-conference. He averaged over 14 points as a soph. But last year he was plagued by injuries, appearing in just 12 games and starting only 2. He averaged just 3 points and his three-point shooting plummeted to 23 percent. He’s seems to be regaining his footing at Central and definitely should not be overlooked as a scoring threat.
There’s Horizon transfers all-over this CMU team, and another whom we’ll surely see—though he seems to have lost his starting spot—is Detroit Edison alum and UIC transfer Brian Taylor, a 6-5 small forward. Also expect plenty of minutes for 6-4, walk-on freshman Jack “Just the Facts” Webb. Webb seems to have won Barbee’s confidence with hustle and tough defensive play. Aundre Polk, a 6-10 soph from Detroit, has been unable to establish himself and his playing time has dwindled to single digits, but he’s a big body off the bench. Polk didn’t play against UIC, but that appears to have been due to injury or illness, not a coaching decision. Another big body is 6-10 Miroslav Stafl, a transfer from Hartford, but he missed the UIC game with a knee injury. No official word on his return, but I’m guessing he’s out.
Beyond the ten mentioned, no one else has played significant minutes this year.
Barbee is a John Calipari protégé and spent the last 7 years on Cal’s staff at Kentucky. He likes an up-tempo approach to the game—one can see why JJJ would want to play for him—but hasn’t really had the personnel to run well at Central. He was very successful at UTEP from 2007-2010, and played some of the fastest ball in the country. But an ensuing 4 year stint at Auburn was a dud, and the Tigers never quite seemed to get with the program. He’s had a very balanced offense, with 8 players averaging 6 to 12 points, At the other end, Central plays quite a bit of zone defense, and it has actually worked pretty well for them this year, helping them come back from 20 down for their lone win at Eastern Illinois, and also in a big (but ultimately unsuccessful) comeback at Missouri. That said, the Titans should be able to score against CMU—defense is definitely the Chips Achilles Heel, which is not to imply that they’re anything like invincible otherwise. Come to think of it, rebounding is another achilles heel—they’ve got one of the worst rebounding deficits in the country. If Central can get a late lead, their guards are excellent free throw shooters. Triple J has been a steady 85% shooter throughout his career, and Healy was 5th in the nation in free throw percentage as a sophomore, and is a career 90% shooter from the line. Lopez is shooting 78%.
On the Titan end of things, is this where we see Mr. Phillips? Maybe? Is Noah Waterman ready for more significant minutes? We’ll see. Anyway, playing at home, the Titans should score lots of points and get a “W.” But these things are always easier said than done. Hopefully the guys will be ready right out of the blocks, set the early tempo and gain control.
Probable CMU Starters
G – Kevin Miller, 6-0 Fr. (9.6 ppg, 2.6 apg, 41.2% 3Pt)
G – Cameron Healy, 6-3 Sr. (7.6 ppg, 50.0% 3Pt)
G – Oscar Lopez, 6-4 Jr. (9.1 ppg)
PF – Ralph Bissainthe, 6-7 Sr. (8.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg)
C – Harry Henderson, 6-11 Gr. (8.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg)
Bench
G – Jermaine Jackson, Jr., 5-10 Sr. (11.4 ppg, 3.0 apg, 41.0% 3Pt) (Questionable)
G – Jack Webb, 6-4 Fr. (0.9 ppg)
SF – Brian Taylor, 6-5 Jr. (5.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg)
F – Aundre Polk, 6-10 Soph. (3.1 ppg, 1.3 rpg) (Questionable)
PF/C – Miroslav Stafl, 6-10 Jr. (5.8 ppg, 2.2 rpg) (Doubtful)
When: Sunday, December 19, 1:00 p.m.
Where: Historic Calihan Hall
TV:ESPN+
Radio: WLQV 1500 AM & 92.7 FM
The Titans close out the non-conference season on Sunday when they host Central Michigan. It’s been over a decade since we last played the Chips, winning 75-49 back on December 18, 2010. Freshman Ray McCallum led the way with 23 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists, while another freshman, Jason Calliste, and CMU transfer Chase Simon each added 16 points. Although we first met the Chips way back in 1913 (Central State Normal School won 38-22), we’ve played a relatively few 32 games against our northern neighbor, winning 21 and dropping 11. The Titans are 17-10 vs. the Chippewas since WWII (the first of those games in the 1958 season), 13-10 since CMU joined D-1 in 1972, and winners of 8 of the last 9 (dating back to the 1998 season).
A few games of note:
January 30, 1960: Dave DeBusschere pulls in 39 rebounds in an 82-62 Titan win. That number has been topped just once in the 61 years since, and is 6th highest all-time.
December 14, 1974. Detroit was ranked in the pre-season top 20 by Sports Illustrated, but in just their 3d season in Division I, Central came into Calihan Hall and ambushed the Titans, 72-69, in the second game of the season (yes, they started much later back then). The Titans were unable to hold a 10 point halftime lead. Seven future NBA players were on the floor—Dan Roundfield, Jim McElroy, and Ben Poquette for Central; John Long, Terry Tyler, Terry Thomas, and Dennis Boyd for Detroit. CMU went on to reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.
December 21, 1978. One of our better teams—we finished the regular season ranked 17th in the country—beat one of the Chips’ better teams—they tied for the MAC title and finished 19-9 after losing to Purdue in the NIT--79-72 at Calihan. Earl Cureton finished with 19 points and 19 rebounds for the Titans, while former Titan Dave Grauzer led Central with 16 points. Attendance at Calihan was 4213.
December 1, 1979. In a bad omen of what was to come, heavily favored Detroit lost its season opener—and Willie McCarter’s first game as head coach—to Central, 72-70 in Mount Pleasant. The Titans got an early 17-5 lead but couldn’t put the Chips away, and CMU won it on a pair of Leon Guydon free throws with 15 seconds left to play. Earl Cureton had 18 points and 16 rebounds for the Titans.
November 25, 1985. The Titans spoiled Charlie Coles’ debut as Chippewa Head Coach, winning 67-64 in overtime at Mount Pleasant. Well, sorta spoiled Coles’ debut—the new CMU head coach had triple bypass surgery earlier in the day, leaving assistant coach Dave Ginsberg to take the reins. Kevin McAdoo had 10 assists, and Greg Wendt led the Titans with 16 points, but it was juco transfer Jeff Miller who hit what would be the game-winning free throws with 13 seconds left in OT. Miller would score just 29 points all season for Detroit.
February 8, 1988. Central beat Detroit 70-68 in Calihan, the 7th of 9 consecutive wins for the Chips that year. With 2 seconds left and the Titans down two, Stacey Johnson made the front end of a one & one, but the Titans were called for a lane violation, nullifying the shot, and Central held on. Archie Tullos had 26 for Detroit.
December 3, 1994. One of the worst Central teams ever beat Perry Watson’s Titans, 57-56, in Mount Pleasant. Central would finish 3-23, ending the year on a 19 game losing streak. The Titans blew a 15-point second half lead, Central going ahead on free throws with 12 seconds left. Matt Domke drove for the game winning shot but was called for charging with 2 seconds left to play, sending the Titans home with a loss.
December 6, 1995. Leon Derricks put back a blocked shot with 1 second left to give the Titans a 56-54 lead, and the Chips were unable to inbound the ball before the 5-second clock ran out.
December 18, 2000. The Titans’ eventual NIT Final Four team hammered one of Jay Smith’s best CMU squads, 74-60 In Calihan, despite missing both Willie Green and Rashad Phillips for the night. Smith’s Chips finished 20-8, winning the MAC West.
This year’s Chippewa squad has struggled under new head coach Tony Barbee, and enters Sunday’s game at 1-9. CMU’s lone win is a one-point victory at Eastern Illinois, which has yet to beat a D-1 team this year. In their last two games, Central has fallen at Youngstown State, 84-77, and at home against UIC, 71-67, so this is a bit of chance for the Titans to measure ourselves against other Horizon teams (recognizing that we’ve already beaten UIC). Those three opponents notwithstanding, Central has played a pretty brutal non-conference schedule, losing to Gonzaga on a neutral floor, and at Kentucky, Xavier, DePaul, and Missouri, plus to a very good Western Illinois team at home. If Coach Davis is right about the value of early, difficult road games, Central is going to be better than their record and give the Titans a serious challenge.
Barbee has already had 9 different players start at least two games, and no one has started all 10, as he looks for a winning combination. One familiar face for Titan fans will be Jermaine Jackson, Jr.. Triple J left CMU’s game with Xavier in the first half and has missed the last 3 games. At one point I read that he was ill, but it sound likes an injury. I can’t find any word on whether he’ll make one last appearance in Calihan this weekend. Before the illness/injury JJJ was leading the Chips in scoring and assists and shooting 41% from three. I haven’t seen Jackson play since that 2018 season in Detroit, but I suspect his basic style is the same, and his stat lines have been remarkably consistent through two years at LIU and now this season, save some improvement this year in three-point shooting. Jackson was coming off the bench at the start of the year before starting a couple games, but either way, he’ll get minutes—assuming he can play.
When Jackson in not in the game—and sometimes when he is—the point will be manned by freshman Kevin Miller, who is averaging just under 10 points and shooting over 40% from three, although he doesn’t take a lot of three point shots. Oscar Lopez, another likely starter, is a junior shooting guard who transferred in from DePaul. Injuries limited Lopez to just 4 games last year, but he was effective when he played. He’s averaging about 9 points on the season but scored 38 in the Chips last two games, against the HL opponents.
In the forecourt expect to see 6-11, 240 lb. Harrison Henderson. That name may be familiar—after starting at Southern Cal, Harrison transferred to Milwaukee, whose fans expected much and got little. After a year in the Brewery City, he moved on to Southern for a season, and is now playing his “covid bonus” year at CMU, his 4th school. He’s averaging 8 plus points, but appears to be the same Henderson we knew in Milwaukee—soft in the middle, and a very poor finisher for a man of his size.
Ralph Bissainthe, another Horizon refugee—he started at UIC back in the McClain daze—is likely to start at forward. He’s been Central’s leading rebounder. Cameron Heath, an Aussie who arrived at Mt. Pleasant via the Montverde Academy and the University of Albany, is a likely starter if Jackson doesn’t start. He’s a deadly shooter, both from behind the arc and in close. Except for a 24 point outburst against Western Illinois, he hasn’t been a go-to guy for the Chips, but that could change any game. At Albany, he averaged over 16 points as a freshman, breaking the school freshman record for point, and was selected to the America East all-freshman team and third team all-conference. He averaged over 14 points as a soph. But last year he was plagued by injuries, appearing in just 12 games and starting only 2. He averaged just 3 points and his three-point shooting plummeted to 23 percent. He’s seems to be regaining his footing at Central and definitely should not be overlooked as a scoring threat.
There’s Horizon transfers all-over this CMU team, and another whom we’ll surely see—though he seems to have lost his starting spot—is Detroit Edison alum and UIC transfer Brian Taylor, a 6-5 small forward. Also expect plenty of minutes for 6-4, walk-on freshman Jack “Just the Facts” Webb. Webb seems to have won Barbee’s confidence with hustle and tough defensive play. Aundre Polk, a 6-10 soph from Detroit, has been unable to establish himself and his playing time has dwindled to single digits, but he’s a big body off the bench. Polk didn’t play against UIC, but that appears to have been due to injury or illness, not a coaching decision. Another big body is 6-10 Miroslav Stafl, a transfer from Hartford, but he missed the UIC game with a knee injury. No official word on his return, but I’m guessing he’s out.
Beyond the ten mentioned, no one else has played significant minutes this year.
Barbee is a John Calipari protégé and spent the last 7 years on Cal’s staff at Kentucky. He likes an up-tempo approach to the game—one can see why JJJ would want to play for him—but hasn’t really had the personnel to run well at Central. He was very successful at UTEP from 2007-2010, and played some of the fastest ball in the country. But an ensuing 4 year stint at Auburn was a dud, and the Tigers never quite seemed to get with the program. He’s had a very balanced offense, with 8 players averaging 6 to 12 points, At the other end, Central plays quite a bit of zone defense, and it has actually worked pretty well for them this year, helping them come back from 20 down for their lone win at Eastern Illinois, and also in a big (but ultimately unsuccessful) comeback at Missouri. That said, the Titans should be able to score against CMU—defense is definitely the Chips Achilles Heel, which is not to imply that they’re anything like invincible otherwise. Come to think of it, rebounding is another achilles heel—they’ve got one of the worst rebounding deficits in the country. If Central can get a late lead, their guards are excellent free throw shooters. Triple J has been a steady 85% shooter throughout his career, and Healy was 5th in the nation in free throw percentage as a sophomore, and is a career 90% shooter from the line. Lopez is shooting 78%.
On the Titan end of things, is this where we see Mr. Phillips? Maybe? Is Noah Waterman ready for more significant minutes? We’ll see. Anyway, playing at home, the Titans should score lots of points and get a “W.” But these things are always easier said than done. Hopefully the guys will be ready right out of the blocks, set the early tempo and gain control.
Probable CMU Starters
G – Kevin Miller, 6-0 Fr. (9.6 ppg, 2.6 apg, 41.2% 3Pt)
G – Cameron Healy, 6-3 Sr. (7.6 ppg, 50.0% 3Pt)
G – Oscar Lopez, 6-4 Jr. (9.1 ppg)
PF – Ralph Bissainthe, 6-7 Sr. (8.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg)
C – Harry Henderson, 6-11 Gr. (8.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg)
Bench
G – Jermaine Jackson, Jr., 5-10 Sr. (11.4 ppg, 3.0 apg, 41.0% 3Pt) (Questionable)
G – Jack Webb, 6-4 Fr. (0.9 ppg)
SF – Brian Taylor, 6-5 Jr. (5.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg)
F – Aundre Polk, 6-10 Soph. (3.1 ppg, 1.3 rpg) (Questionable)
PF/C – Miroslav Stafl, 6-10 Jr. (5.8 ppg, 2.2 rpg) (Doubtful)