The Titans have as much talent as anyone and want to prove it with a murderous out of conference schedule.   Will this mean the Titans finally get the kind of recognition they deserve nationally (or heck even locally with Magic 50 miles down the road).  The schedule includes the likes of Michigan, Dayton, Notre Dame, Indiana, Providence, and Wichita State all of which should compete in the national tournament or at least the post season.  The Titans resume will match up with anyone’s.  At least out of conference.  Well, except for the fact Izzo and Al McGuire decided to dump the Titans and go play in a big tournament in Madison Square Garden that is going to be shown on National TV.  The big change is that Dr. Detroit is finally stepping down as the head coach of the Titans.  Bob Calihan is leaving to go run the family business which just happens to be auto parts.  After his brother Tom recently passed, Bob is going to become the CEO of this company and it has kind of left the Titans shuffling to replace him.  They decided to go with a charismatic young coach who made a name for himself with his energy and his ability to recruit.  New Coach Dick Vitale is a terrific wordsmith but will he be able to fill the small holes this team has.  Heck, he already got a couple of back court studs everyone else skipped which is by far the weakest part of the Titans team.  But will be he able to game coach?  If he does this team could seriously make a run in March. 

  As stated, the Titans, do have some talent and nowhere was this more evident than their super forward combo.   Two of the best players in the country made their home in Detroit.   Spencer Haywood and Dave Debusscherre form one of the best forward combinations in the country.  This dynamic duo got all the press and deservedly so but Vitale also has a great supporting cast for his superstars.   But anyone with a beat knows this season will be made by how well his super senior front court duo will dominate their opponents.  And more importantly if the best player this area has ever seen is actually coming back for his senior year? 

Spencer Haywood is a marvelous basketball player.  This 6’8 225 pound Mississippi native is as gifted at his position as anyone that has ever played power forward.  A great low post scorer who can do it all down low including one of the best spin moves in the country, Haywood is also a terrific shooter with range up to 18 feet.  Haywood is unparalleled in the post due to his strength and agility.  The kid grew up on a cotton farm and has great work ethic and can flat jump to the moon.   His quick jumping led to him being a terrific shot blocker who seems to snatch balls out of the sky.  Haywood can also run the floor like a wing and probably due to his upbringing never seems to stop running.  His stamina is unequaled (unless of course he has had an all-day runner).  Spencer also is a terrific rebounder who plays the game like he was born to play it.  He has a natural instinct for this game that cannot be taught or learned.  You must be born with it and his passion is obvious every time he steps on the court.  When discussing the great power forwards in the country Haywood’s name should be mentioned in the same breath with Hayes and Pettit and Walton.  He is that good. 

His sidekick on the front court is opposite of Mr. Haywood.  Nowhere near as smooth an operator but every bit as productive, Dave Debusschere is the real deal.  A Gifted mid range shooter that perfectly complements Haywood’s  inside game, Debusscherre also likes to work in the trenches.  Deubsscherre, is a great defender, who at six foot six is also a power forward by trade.   He and Haywood complement each other well down low even if they basically play he same position because within that they do not have the same skill set.  Debusschere almost always gets the other team’s best big man and usually shuts him down.  Both are terrific rebounders as they were one of only two teams (the other being the other national tournament winner in UCLA) to have two guys average double digits in boards.  Do you see how important rebounding is to winning?  Debusscherre may not be Haywood on the offensive end but he is not far behind.  He is always moving to get open for his shot (especially in the corners) and will kill you with his clutch shooting.  Can you imagine trying to guard two guys who both can go inside and can hit jump shots up to 18 feet and both can run the floor like deers.  Debusschere is a legend in his hometown of Detroit and can also pass like a guard.  Debusschere is also a thinking man’s player who seems to be just ahead of the competition and all times and knows every trick in the book to get what he needs whether it is position down low or coming off a screen or folding a corner on a card in poker.  Nobody in the country has a pair of forwards like these two.  Nobody!  Oh and DeBusschere is also the best pitcher on the team’s baseball team and was drafted by the White Sox and pitched a few games in AAA last summer.  

With two superstars Vitale’s job is to fill in the holes with great role players.  He has recruited well, as we stated, but he also has some real studs coming back that are used to being overshadowed by that dynamic duo in the paint.  Junior forward Terry Tyler rotated with a slew of big man in a strange but successful rotation of post players.  Tyler, at only 6’7, is a shotblocking forward who can jump out of the gym.   Another Detroit kid who plays great defense on the wings and hits open shots and will flat smash a backboard on a putback or a fastbreak.  His defensive presence is unique in that he can guard wings and gets steals but is also one of the best weak side shot blockers in the county.  His best attribute is his consistency and the fact he is a lunch pail guy who never misses a game or a practice.  He worked perfectly with Haywood and Debusscherre as they guarded bigger guys and the more athletic Tyler could roam off his man and swat away shots from the weak side with ferociousness.   The defense never knew where the shot blocking was coming from.  Tyler does not have to score much and liked his role as he was the glue that held this team together but Vitale still needs some size down low at least to rotate in for this triumphant trio.  Vitale will use a four headed monster of big men to eat up fouls and grab boards off the bench.  Seniors Dick Dzik, Charlie North and Dorie Murray and Sophomore Joe Kopicki will combine to give the Titans plenty of inside muscle.  These guys come to cause damage and that they will do, grabbing boards, setting screens and taking up space.  Dzik brings more than a unique name (no he is not in a hard rock band) as he can ‘bang’ with the best of them.  North has good talent but, like Dzik, is undersized at 6’6 and might be last in line here.  Kopicki is bigger than the rest as ‘the body’ brings size (he is huge at six nine and 240) and toughness and a little offense.  Murray like all of the rest of these big guys is from Motown and was the most consistent throughout the year.  He even started some games early on when Haywood was absent (for some unknown reason).  Murray is big enough to guard centers and boards well but he is limited offensively.  None of these guys will eat up huge minutes but they will all contribute what this team needs which is beef in the middle to keep the pressure off their dynamic forwards.  Senior Bill Ebben will also got some minutes on the wing as he is a true scorer off the bench this team needs.  At 6’4 he has range and can run the court but is not great defensively.   

Vitale has to find a backcourt to complement his great front line.  He has one of the pieces in place with a kid from up the road who is a great shooter in junior John Long.  Long John fits his nickname and we are not talking some kind of porno DD with Dzik.  He is tall and lanky for a wing and he can flat shoot from way out.  He opens things up for Haywood and company with his gifted long range bombing.  He loves the arc.  It is his friend.  Long has the size and length and mentality to be a great shooter and he performs in the clutch.  He just wishes the ball didn’t have to go inside so much to the big guys.  He also was a pretty good board guy at one point but with Haywood and Debusschere he knows what his role is in Motown.  He was recruited by Vitale with his buddy Tyler and these two started every game together and have become the ‘Thunder and Lightning’ of the Titan team.  John and Tyler were meant to play together forever as they complement each other skills perfectly. 

Going into the season point was the primary issue for the Titans.  Junior Terry Deurod has moved over and tried to convert to the point.  Getting the ball to his teammates has proved to be harder than expected as Deurod is a scorer first and this team has enough of them.  Don’t get me wrong, Vitale appreciates having Duerod off the bench but he was a two guard more than a one and Vitale needed a distributor.  Fellow junior Frank Russell is from royalty around these parts but like Duerod is a two guard simulating a point.  The Russell clan has players all over the D-1 programs around here and Frank can play but is not beating out Long at the two and is not a one.  Senior Al Cech is the same type player but has played some big minutes here in the past.   The best passer on the team is Junior Dennis ‘Oil Can’ Boyd.  Boyd can get the ball where it needs to go (Haywood) and is a good defensive player but Vitale wanted someone who could score a little more from the point ala Isiaih Thomas in Indiana. Sophomore Kevin McAdoo is of the same ilk coming up from JV with scoring stud Archie Tullos next to him in the backcourt.  If Vitale finds a true number one point from his recruits this team will be hard to beat.  At least in the Horizon.

Coach Dick Vitale takes the controls of a limousine this season.  He has some diaper dandies in tow and is just looking for a driver.  If he finds anyone near the level of point guard he found in Jersey for Coach Tom Young, the Horizon is in trouble.  No team in this league can come evne close to matching up with the talent of the Titans up front with a pair of potential All-Americans.  Vitale loves to promote and will get some kids to come to Detroit but will he be able to match manuevers from the bench with the great coaches he will be up against?  Haywood has said he is coming back after leading the US team in the world championships this summer but that can change especially with the money the new pro league has been throwing his way to join them.  If he stays, this team will be the team to beat in the Horizon but is he leaves, all bets are off for the Motown Titans.