Post by ptctitan on Oct 22, 2018 15:21:02 GMT -5
Horizon League's preview of our Titans.
Detroit Mercy
Last season: 8-24 overall, 4-14 Horizon League
Head coach: Mike Davis (1st year)
By Joey Yashinsky, Horizon League Contributor. Follow on Twitter @oneseatover
In the classic heist movie Ocean’s Eleven, a group of individuals, each a master craftsman in his own right, band together to bring down Las Vegas tycoon Terry Benedict. At the beginning of the journey, they didn’t know one another’s names or have any idea where each member hailed from. For all intents and purposes, they were strangers. But the crew committed to a plan set forth by their leader and worked diligently toward achieving a common goal.
Meet the 2018-19 Detroit Mercy Titans, the Horizon League’s version of Clooney, Pitt, Damon and the rest. The new-look Titans might need name tags for the first few weeks of the season and it could take a couple of months for the chemistry to fully develop, but make no mistake -- this team has some supremely gifted athletes and they’re eager to show what they can do.
Mike Davis takes over the Detroit Mercy program fresh off an outstanding six-year stint as head man at Texas Southern. Davis guided the Tigers to four NCAA Tournament appearances, one trip to the NIT, and captured four outright SWAC regular season titles. Prior to that, Davis led UAB to four postseason appearances in six years. Astute college hoops fans will also remember Davis taking over for the legendary Bobby Knight and steering the Indiana Hoosiers all the way to the national championship game in 2002, where they lost to Maryland.
Now being handed the keys to a Titans team coming off back-to-back eight-win campaigns, Davis relishes the chance to turn around another program.
“I love challenges,” said Davis. “I coached in the SWAC for six years and every single non-conference game was a big challenge. We have a number of guys that we feel good about here. I’m very excited.”
A reason for optimism would be the return of senior guard Josh McFolley, one of the top long-range marksmen in the Horizon League. McFolley is coming off a solid junior season where he scored over 11 points per game and dropped in 53 shots from beyond the arc. Opposing ball-handlers must also be wary of McFolley’s lightning-fast hands; he grabbed 49 steals last year, second most in the Horizon League.
Also returning to the Titans is 6-foot-8 junior Cole Long, a versatile player capable of doing damage both inside and outside.
“Cole has worked really hard,” said Davis. “I’ve been impressed with him. His energy and effort were really good this summer and he’s carried that into practice.”
One player drawing quite a bit of buzz around the Motor City is Antoine Davis, an explosive guard with unlimited range that could start at the point as a true freshman. Does the last name ‘Davis’ sound familiar? It should. Antoine is the son of the new head coach.
“Antoine's been around me his whole life,” said Coach Davis. “He understands my style, he knows what I like. He’s going so hard in practice and that’s good for all our players to see. He’s setting the standard for the type of effort that I want.”
The Titans also welcome in a pair of exciting graduate transfers.
Derrien King, a sweet-shooting 6-foot-7 swingman, played two years at Washington State in the highly competitive Pac-12. Jacob Holland, a guard with good size at 6-foot-4, was once a Fresno State Bulldog before moving on to play for Division II New Mexico University. Both players are expected to be key members of Davis’s rotation.
An area in need of improvement for the Titans comes on the defensive end. Last year, they allowed close to 86 points per contest, most in the Horizon League. In consecutive losses to Green Bay to close out the season, they coughed up a total of 200 points. Davis knows the effort will need to get better.
“It’s all about the work,” said Davis. “Right now, the most important thing for me is to get this team to be able to play as hard as they can for long periods of time. That way, once the season starts, they’ll be able to rise to the occasion. Because they will have put all that work in.”
The responsibility in the paint will be a shared effort between senior Gerald Blackshear Jr., and the 6-foot-8 rookie duo of Boe Nguidjol and Willy Isiani. Davis and his staff are still waiting to get official word from the NCAA regarding the status of Louisiana Tech transfer Harrison Curry. If eligible, the 6-foot-7, 230-pounder, could make things very difficult for opposing big men in the Horizon League this winter. (emphasis added)
There’s a new voice on the sidelines. A whole bunch of new nameplates in the locker room.
And a new sense of hope surrounding the future of Detroit Mercy Titans basketball.
*******************
The writer, Joey Yashinsky, writes for DeadlineDetroit and occasionally for the Free Press sports.
Detroit Mercy
Last season: 8-24 overall, 4-14 Horizon League
Head coach: Mike Davis (1st year)
By Joey Yashinsky, Horizon League Contributor. Follow on Twitter @oneseatover
In the classic heist movie Ocean’s Eleven, a group of individuals, each a master craftsman in his own right, band together to bring down Las Vegas tycoon Terry Benedict. At the beginning of the journey, they didn’t know one another’s names or have any idea where each member hailed from. For all intents and purposes, they were strangers. But the crew committed to a plan set forth by their leader and worked diligently toward achieving a common goal.
Meet the 2018-19 Detroit Mercy Titans, the Horizon League’s version of Clooney, Pitt, Damon and the rest. The new-look Titans might need name tags for the first few weeks of the season and it could take a couple of months for the chemistry to fully develop, but make no mistake -- this team has some supremely gifted athletes and they’re eager to show what they can do.
Mike Davis takes over the Detroit Mercy program fresh off an outstanding six-year stint as head man at Texas Southern. Davis guided the Tigers to four NCAA Tournament appearances, one trip to the NIT, and captured four outright SWAC regular season titles. Prior to that, Davis led UAB to four postseason appearances in six years. Astute college hoops fans will also remember Davis taking over for the legendary Bobby Knight and steering the Indiana Hoosiers all the way to the national championship game in 2002, where they lost to Maryland.
Now being handed the keys to a Titans team coming off back-to-back eight-win campaigns, Davis relishes the chance to turn around another program.
“I love challenges,” said Davis. “I coached in the SWAC for six years and every single non-conference game was a big challenge. We have a number of guys that we feel good about here. I’m very excited.”
A reason for optimism would be the return of senior guard Josh McFolley, one of the top long-range marksmen in the Horizon League. McFolley is coming off a solid junior season where he scored over 11 points per game and dropped in 53 shots from beyond the arc. Opposing ball-handlers must also be wary of McFolley’s lightning-fast hands; he grabbed 49 steals last year, second most in the Horizon League.
Also returning to the Titans is 6-foot-8 junior Cole Long, a versatile player capable of doing damage both inside and outside.
“Cole has worked really hard,” said Davis. “I’ve been impressed with him. His energy and effort were really good this summer and he’s carried that into practice.”
One player drawing quite a bit of buzz around the Motor City is Antoine Davis, an explosive guard with unlimited range that could start at the point as a true freshman. Does the last name ‘Davis’ sound familiar? It should. Antoine is the son of the new head coach.
“Antoine's been around me his whole life,” said Coach Davis. “He understands my style, he knows what I like. He’s going so hard in practice and that’s good for all our players to see. He’s setting the standard for the type of effort that I want.”
The Titans also welcome in a pair of exciting graduate transfers.
Derrien King, a sweet-shooting 6-foot-7 swingman, played two years at Washington State in the highly competitive Pac-12. Jacob Holland, a guard with good size at 6-foot-4, was once a Fresno State Bulldog before moving on to play for Division II New Mexico University. Both players are expected to be key members of Davis’s rotation.
An area in need of improvement for the Titans comes on the defensive end. Last year, they allowed close to 86 points per contest, most in the Horizon League. In consecutive losses to Green Bay to close out the season, they coughed up a total of 200 points. Davis knows the effort will need to get better.
“It’s all about the work,” said Davis. “Right now, the most important thing for me is to get this team to be able to play as hard as they can for long periods of time. That way, once the season starts, they’ll be able to rise to the occasion. Because they will have put all that work in.”
The responsibility in the paint will be a shared effort between senior Gerald Blackshear Jr., and the 6-foot-8 rookie duo of Boe Nguidjol and Willy Isiani. Davis and his staff are still waiting to get official word from the NCAA regarding the status of Louisiana Tech transfer Harrison Curry. If eligible, the 6-foot-7, 230-pounder, could make things very difficult for opposing big men in the Horizon League this winter. (emphasis added)
There’s a new voice on the sidelines. A whole bunch of new nameplates in the locker room.
And a new sense of hope surrounding the future of Detroit Mercy Titans basketball.
*******************
The writer, Joey Yashinsky, writes for DeadlineDetroit and occasionally for the Free Press sports.