Wayne State Preview: The Montgomery Era Gets Underway
Oct 26, 2024 11:30:14 GMT -5
ptctitan likes this
Post by Commissioner on Oct 26, 2024 11:30:14 GMT -5
Wayne State
Monday, October 28, 7:00 p.m.
Calihan Hall
So on Monday we fans get our first glimpse of the new Titans under Mark Montgomery. I don't know if Mark Montgomery will ultimately be successful or not, but I do know that, after what may have been one of the 10 worst seasons in NCAA history, there's only one way to go in 2024-25, and that's up. Hope springs eternal in the loyal fan, and whatever else Montgomery may or may not accomplish, at least he's brought an initial sense of energy and optimism to the Titans after the seemingly endless grind of the Davis years.
First up is this exhibition game against our old rivals, the Wayne State Warriors. Wayne was formerly Detroit City College, changing its name in 1934, and its teams were formerly the Tartars, changing their name in 1999. The first change was made in part to avoid ongoing confusion with the U of D. The second change was apparently made either to appease Detroit's powerful Mongol community, or to appease the ignorant masses who didn't know what a Tartar was. Thus the school abandoned a unique nickname for a generic one, and a generic one that was rapidly becoming un-PC at that. Of course, to be fair, the U of D has made some bad name decisions itself, and the current Titan logo of shield and sword shows that most people don't know what a Titan is, either.
Anyway, the Titans first played the Warriors, in the 1934-35 season, falling 34-26. Wayne then became a staple of Titan schedules in the 1940s and 1950s. The series was very competitive in those years, as Wayne was, like Detroit, a solid program at, in today's lingo, the mid-major level. It was a founding member of the MAC in 1947, though it dropped out the very next year. In 1952 the Tartars were ranked #20 in the AP poll on December 29, after starting the season 7-0, including wins over Detroit, Memphis State, and in the Motor City Tournament, a pair of unbeatens in St. Mary's of California and Duquesne. (Somewhat oddly, though they ran their win streak to 9 games over the following three weeks, they were not ranked again.) In 1956 the Tartars went 17-1 in the regular season, losing only to Louisville. That gained them an NCAA bid, where they beat DePaul before losing to Kentucky. Thus, the Tartars beat the Titans in being both first to be nationally ranked, and first to gain an NCAA bid.
Between the 1942 and 1955 seasons the schools played 25 times, with the Titans winning 15. But after the Titans beat the Tartars three times in the 1954-55 season--twice in regularly scheduled games, once in the finals of the Motor City Tournament (Detroit beat Toledo, and Wayne State beat Penn State in the first round)--the series was halted. Perhaps 3 meetings in one year wore everyone out. For whatever reason, they didn't meet in the 1956 season, and the next year, the NCAA split into College and University Divisions, and Wayne chose the College Division while the Titans chose the University Division.
The rivalry was resumed under Dick Vitale in the 1970s, but Wayne was no longer a match. The Titans swept six straight games from 1975 through 1980, by an average of 32 points. After a short break, the Titans then won another 5 straight between 1983 and 1987. Another, somewhat long break, and then the Titans won 7 of 8 from 1993 to 2001, the last time the schools met in the regular season.
In the 2016-17 season Bacari Alexander renewed the series as an opening exhibition game, only to be embarrassed by consecutive losses. Mike Davis's first game on the Titan sideline was an exhibition win over Wayne in November 2018, but Davis preferred "secret scrimmages" against D1 squads to exhibitions against non-D1 opponents. But last year Davis yielded, only to have Wayne knock off the Titans by 10 points, a harbinger of the disastrous season to come. Worse, the Wayne teams that beat the Titans weren't even very good D-2 teams, finishing their regular seasons with a combined record of 37-43.
Wayne State is entering its third season under Head Coach Bryan Smothers, a Wayne State Hall of Famer who wore the Green and Gold from the 2008 through 2011 seasons and is the school's #11 all-time scorer. Smothers took over a team that won just 5 games the year before his arrival, and improved to 8 wins his first year and 14 last season, when the Warriors closed strong, winning 6 of 8 before falling to GLIAC power Ferris State in the semi-final round of the conference tournament.
The Warriors bring back 3 regular starters--all guards--and a 4th player who started 9 games last year.
Wayne State Probable Starters
G: Carmelo Harris, 5-11 Jr., 12.9 ppg, 2.1 apg, 35% from three. Wayne's all-time top free throw shoots at 88.2%.
G: Tamario Adley, 6-1 Jr., 8.8 ppg, 2.2 apg, 4.6 rpg.
G: Rob Lee, 6-2 Soph., 10.3 ppg, 48.6% from 3 pt.
SF: Ray Williams, 6-4 RS Sr., 9.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg; started 9 games.
C: Kareem Aburashad, 6-10 Jr. 4.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg.
Key Reserves
G: Jordan Briggs, 6-0 Soph., 7.2 ppg, 1.9 apg
G: Jon Brantley, 6-2 Grad., 2.4 ppg at Lafayette
F: Kelvin Tamakloe, 6-6 Jr.,
C: KJ Oduor, 6-8 RS Jr., 1.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg at Central Michigan
Wayne has a balanced attacked, as seen in last year’s individual scoring numbers, when their top 6 scorers averaged between 7.2 and 12.9 points. The major three point threats are Harris (35%) and Lee (a blistering 49% in 72 attempts). But the big center, Aburashad, can also step out and knock down the long shot—he made 48.5% in 33 attempts—and that will make him a challenge for the Titans’ young bigs. Lee was last year’s GLIAC Freshman of the Year, and averaged over 20 points per game in Wayne’s 6-3 finish to the season. Williams, the 6-4 swing man, and Briggs will also shoot the three, but not as effectively—both were at 30% last year. Williams is much more effective finishing at the rim, shooting 52% on two-point attempts. He was also a member of the GLIAC all-defensive team last year, and while he rarely started, he was second on the team (to Harris) in minutes per game.
Wayne is a good passing team, and a good free throw shooting team, with the returning rotation players shooting 77% last season, paced by Harris at 89%. The type of young bigs that populate Detroit’s roster are often foul-prone, and they can’t afford to be against Wayne.
The bottom line is that Wayne State is not a particularly good D-2 team, but they’re not a bad one either—they’ve got experience, some outside shooting, and a balanced attack that will test the young Titans in several ways. They’re a team on the upswing, and are poised for a first division finish and a winning season in the tough GLIAC.
As for our Titans, it’s hard to know what to predict. I presume the starters will be drawn from 6 returning players and experienced transfers—that is, Geeter, Lovejoy, Kuac, Tchikou, Hurst, and Manciel, although it wouldn’t shock me to see Miles Mitchell or another freshman, or two, in the starting lineup. And we shouldn’t take these exhibitions too seriously—for example, Oakland lost an exhibition to Walsh last year, then went on to win the Horizon and take out Kentucky in the NCAA tournament. Still, for the young Titans, a win would be a valuable confidence builder.
Montgomery will be the 4th of the last 5 Titan coaches to debut against Wayne State. Mike Davis’s first game as Titan HC was an exhibition against Wayne, with the Titans winning 79-76 and celebrating on the floor after a losing the two prior exhibitions against the Warriors. Bacari Alexander also debuted against Wayne State, losing an exhibition 85-79 despite a fairly talented squad that included Josh McFolly, Jaleel Hogan, Cory Allen, and Chris Jenkins, among others, and which in retrospect was a real warning sign. Ray McCallum debuted with an 85-60 exhibition win over D-2 Tiffin in the fall of 2008, but the Titans struggled to a 7-23 mark once the real season began. And Perry Watson’s first Titan game was an 82-76 loss to Wayne State to open the 1993-94 season.
Anyway, the season is finally here. For now, the Titans are unbeaten and in first place in the Horizon. Let the Montgomery era begin!
Monday, October 28, 7:00 p.m.
Calihan Hall
So on Monday we fans get our first glimpse of the new Titans under Mark Montgomery. I don't know if Mark Montgomery will ultimately be successful or not, but I do know that, after what may have been one of the 10 worst seasons in NCAA history, there's only one way to go in 2024-25, and that's up. Hope springs eternal in the loyal fan, and whatever else Montgomery may or may not accomplish, at least he's brought an initial sense of energy and optimism to the Titans after the seemingly endless grind of the Davis years.
First up is this exhibition game against our old rivals, the Wayne State Warriors. Wayne was formerly Detroit City College, changing its name in 1934, and its teams were formerly the Tartars, changing their name in 1999. The first change was made in part to avoid ongoing confusion with the U of D. The second change was apparently made either to appease Detroit's powerful Mongol community, or to appease the ignorant masses who didn't know what a Tartar was. Thus the school abandoned a unique nickname for a generic one, and a generic one that was rapidly becoming un-PC at that. Of course, to be fair, the U of D has made some bad name decisions itself, and the current Titan logo of shield and sword shows that most people don't know what a Titan is, either.
Anyway, the Titans first played the Warriors, in the 1934-35 season, falling 34-26. Wayne then became a staple of Titan schedules in the 1940s and 1950s. The series was very competitive in those years, as Wayne was, like Detroit, a solid program at, in today's lingo, the mid-major level. It was a founding member of the MAC in 1947, though it dropped out the very next year. In 1952 the Tartars were ranked #20 in the AP poll on December 29, after starting the season 7-0, including wins over Detroit, Memphis State, and in the Motor City Tournament, a pair of unbeatens in St. Mary's of California and Duquesne. (Somewhat oddly, though they ran their win streak to 9 games over the following three weeks, they were not ranked again.) In 1956 the Tartars went 17-1 in the regular season, losing only to Louisville. That gained them an NCAA bid, where they beat DePaul before losing to Kentucky. Thus, the Tartars beat the Titans in being both first to be nationally ranked, and first to gain an NCAA bid.
Between the 1942 and 1955 seasons the schools played 25 times, with the Titans winning 15. But after the Titans beat the Tartars three times in the 1954-55 season--twice in regularly scheduled games, once in the finals of the Motor City Tournament (Detroit beat Toledo, and Wayne State beat Penn State in the first round)--the series was halted. Perhaps 3 meetings in one year wore everyone out. For whatever reason, they didn't meet in the 1956 season, and the next year, the NCAA split into College and University Divisions, and Wayne chose the College Division while the Titans chose the University Division.
The rivalry was resumed under Dick Vitale in the 1970s, but Wayne was no longer a match. The Titans swept six straight games from 1975 through 1980, by an average of 32 points. After a short break, the Titans then won another 5 straight between 1983 and 1987. Another, somewhat long break, and then the Titans won 7 of 8 from 1993 to 2001, the last time the schools met in the regular season.
In the 2016-17 season Bacari Alexander renewed the series as an opening exhibition game, only to be embarrassed by consecutive losses. Mike Davis's first game on the Titan sideline was an exhibition win over Wayne in November 2018, but Davis preferred "secret scrimmages" against D1 squads to exhibitions against non-D1 opponents. But last year Davis yielded, only to have Wayne knock off the Titans by 10 points, a harbinger of the disastrous season to come. Worse, the Wayne teams that beat the Titans weren't even very good D-2 teams, finishing their regular seasons with a combined record of 37-43.
Wayne State is entering its third season under Head Coach Bryan Smothers, a Wayne State Hall of Famer who wore the Green and Gold from the 2008 through 2011 seasons and is the school's #11 all-time scorer. Smothers took over a team that won just 5 games the year before his arrival, and improved to 8 wins his first year and 14 last season, when the Warriors closed strong, winning 6 of 8 before falling to GLIAC power Ferris State in the semi-final round of the conference tournament.
The Warriors bring back 3 regular starters--all guards--and a 4th player who started 9 games last year.
Wayne State Probable Starters
G: Carmelo Harris, 5-11 Jr., 12.9 ppg, 2.1 apg, 35% from three. Wayne's all-time top free throw shoots at 88.2%.
G: Tamario Adley, 6-1 Jr., 8.8 ppg, 2.2 apg, 4.6 rpg.
G: Rob Lee, 6-2 Soph., 10.3 ppg, 48.6% from 3 pt.
SF: Ray Williams, 6-4 RS Sr., 9.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg; started 9 games.
C: Kareem Aburashad, 6-10 Jr. 4.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg.
Key Reserves
G: Jordan Briggs, 6-0 Soph., 7.2 ppg, 1.9 apg
G: Jon Brantley, 6-2 Grad., 2.4 ppg at Lafayette
F: Kelvin Tamakloe, 6-6 Jr.,
C: KJ Oduor, 6-8 RS Jr., 1.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg at Central Michigan
Wayne has a balanced attacked, as seen in last year’s individual scoring numbers, when their top 6 scorers averaged between 7.2 and 12.9 points. The major three point threats are Harris (35%) and Lee (a blistering 49% in 72 attempts). But the big center, Aburashad, can also step out and knock down the long shot—he made 48.5% in 33 attempts—and that will make him a challenge for the Titans’ young bigs. Lee was last year’s GLIAC Freshman of the Year, and averaged over 20 points per game in Wayne’s 6-3 finish to the season. Williams, the 6-4 swing man, and Briggs will also shoot the three, but not as effectively—both were at 30% last year. Williams is much more effective finishing at the rim, shooting 52% on two-point attempts. He was also a member of the GLIAC all-defensive team last year, and while he rarely started, he was second on the team (to Harris) in minutes per game.
Wayne is a good passing team, and a good free throw shooting team, with the returning rotation players shooting 77% last season, paced by Harris at 89%. The type of young bigs that populate Detroit’s roster are often foul-prone, and they can’t afford to be against Wayne.
The bottom line is that Wayne State is not a particularly good D-2 team, but they’re not a bad one either—they’ve got experience, some outside shooting, and a balanced attack that will test the young Titans in several ways. They’re a team on the upswing, and are poised for a first division finish and a winning season in the tough GLIAC.
As for our Titans, it’s hard to know what to predict. I presume the starters will be drawn from 6 returning players and experienced transfers—that is, Geeter, Lovejoy, Kuac, Tchikou, Hurst, and Manciel, although it wouldn’t shock me to see Miles Mitchell or another freshman, or two, in the starting lineup. And we shouldn’t take these exhibitions too seriously—for example, Oakland lost an exhibition to Walsh last year, then went on to win the Horizon and take out Kentucky in the NCAA tournament. Still, for the young Titans, a win would be a valuable confidence builder.
Montgomery will be the 4th of the last 5 Titan coaches to debut against Wayne State. Mike Davis’s first game as Titan HC was an exhibition against Wayne, with the Titans winning 79-76 and celebrating on the floor after a losing the two prior exhibitions against the Warriors. Bacari Alexander also debuted against Wayne State, losing an exhibition 85-79 despite a fairly talented squad that included Josh McFolly, Jaleel Hogan, Cory Allen, and Chris Jenkins, among others, and which in retrospect was a real warning sign. Ray McCallum debuted with an 85-60 exhibition win over D-2 Tiffin in the fall of 2008, but the Titans struggled to a 7-23 mark once the real season began. And Perry Watson’s first Titan game was an 82-76 loss to Wayne State to open the 1993-94 season.
Anyway, the season is finally here. For now, the Titans are unbeaten and in first place in the Horizon. Let the Montgomery era begin!
