Mid American Conference Overview

The Falcons of Bowling Green (yes, they are from Ohio and not Kentucky) are the slight favorites over the Redhawks of Miami of O primarily due to a more experienced lineup and a dominant big man who takes up more space in the paint than Johnny Bench!  Senior Nate Thurmond leads Harold Anderson’s boys into action with his six foot eleven inch frame but an even longer wing span and the ability to defend and board like no one this league has ever seen.  Big Nate is not alone in these MAC wars.  Fellow seniors Howard ‘Butch’ Komives can do a bit of everything but will be counted on to score in bunches while Don Otten and Chuck Share are two more huge bodies underneath and Walt Piatkowski, Jimmy Darrow and Al Bianchi fill their supporting roles like ten-year-old sneakers.  The amazing thing for Anderson and the Falcon fans is that every one of these guys we mentioned is a senior and have all have produced at this level.  A tough out of conference schedule including a trip to San Francisco to play Bill Russell and his Dons will test this team but this team should be there at the end if Thurmond stays healthy.  He is the most dominant player in this league by far, perhaps not quite at the level of the ‘Don’ but he is not far behind and seriously might be the second best defensive big man in the country. 

The most complete player in this league resides in Miami as the Redhawk sophomore Ron Harper does it all.  Harper can score, defend, rebound, pass and sometimes takes out the trash after games if you get my drift?  He truly is at a level with the greats such as Jordan (love to see that matchup), Thompson and Havlicek but playing in a mid-major he does not get near the recognition he deserves.  This year should change some of that as Coach Darrell Hedric has scheduled some big-time opponents including the usual suspects and trips to the West Coast to play in a big time holiday tourney in the Northwest.  The Battle in Seattle with UDub and fellow mid-major powers Gonzaga and Wichita State will also be there so the RedHawks will have a chance to shine against teams that they will be up against on the board when the selection committee meets in March.  There were rumors of them finally getting their shot at the hated and cocky Buckeyes in their early season tourney with the likes of NC and Jordan but the AD for OSU bumped the Redhawks at the last minute further increasing the hatred for the Big Ten powerhouse.  As a matter of fact the Redhawks have no games against the Big Ten which is not a good thing especially if it comes down to a bubble situation for the Redhawks getting into the BD but those games with Dayton, Xavier and especially Cincinnati (the Big O versus Harper should be heavenly) will help!  Harper does have help as Senior stalwarts Wayne Embry and Fred Foster are back but Hedric better have found another jewel like Harper in this freshman class (specifically at the point) if they are going to beat the Falcons.  Or the Bobcats of Ohio U?  At least these guys get a shot at the Ohio State as Gentlemen Jim Snyder pulled some of his magic and used his relationship with Fred Taylor to finally get a MAC team on the mighty Buckeyes schedule.  Heck, Snyder almost had a game with Kentucky but the Baron pulled out after the Bobcats big upset of the Wildcats a few years back.  These big programs do not want any part of giving credence to these tough mid-majors and these coaches have to adjust and still get some quality opponents.  This schedule is solid and more so Snyder has a veteran team at his disposal and this Gentleman knows how to get the most out of his roster.  Senior Frank Baumholtz and junior Walt Luckett are a terrific back court and sophomore Dave Jamerson can fill it up on the wing when he is healthy.  Sixth man wing sophomore Snoop Graham can do a bit of everything so if he can find a couple of big men that can come even close to matching up with Thurmond or Embry down low the Bobcats could make the move to the top of the MAC! 

The Toledo Rockets might be the best of the bunch with an experienced team full of talent and a nice mix of size and athleticism and the all-important long range shooting that is so needed in today’s game.  Led by senior stalwarts Steve Mix, Phil Martin and Larry Jones the Rockets might be the team to beat even though they have the kind of average out of conference schedule that would hurt them getting an at large big.  Ironically, the most talented player on the roster could be sixth man and fellow senior John Brisker who has a rep for landing long range bombs and we don’t necessarily mean shooting the basketball.  Brisker is a brawler and is famous for knocking out opponents but if he can keep his temper in check he could be the key to this team competing with their Buckeye brethren for MAC supremacy.  As a matter of fact, if the Rockets stay healthy and keep this team together they could be the team to beat.  The MAC is not top heavy and as of this year is a huge conference.  After adding in Buffalo and Akron and having Northern Illinois reup (they did lose Marshall to the Southern) this league has 12 members and though these three schools are long shots to make a run to the top half there is some talent in these programs especially the Huskies with Mr. Everything Jim Bradley.

Akron was a D-2 powerhouse but has gone though some coaches recently and are leaving their program in the hands of a local high school coach who has some recruiting connections.  They have not done well since entering D-1 but have some talent led by senior big man ‘Bootstrap’ Bill Turner.  New Coach Keith Dambrot does need to upgrade the talent as this program still relies on some D-2 type of players (outside of Turner) and needs much more quickness and size to compete in the mighty MAC. 

The Bulls are in the same boat but do have a trio of players to float their boat with.  Senior wing (they love their wings in Buffalo) Jim Horne and junior big men Curtis ‘the Show’ Blackmore and Sam Pellom at least give the team a chance to compete.  And with those two down low nobody is going to intimidate this team, even the Rockets and the infamous Mr. Brisker.  There are, however, five teams in the middle that could stir things up and make it difficult for the Ohio three to not only win the league but for one of those to be an at large. 

The three directional Michigan schools lead the way and all three have talent though Eastern and Central seem to be a little more stacked than Western.  George Gervin and Kennedy McIntosh give the Eagles the edge though new coach Ben Braun’s wants these Eagles to play better defense (that has not been their forte).  With those two around they will win some games this year but outscoring opponents will not work even if they do average over 95 a game like they have done the last few years.  There are some gifted players in Ypsilanti besides just the big time studs but Braun has to get players like Harvey Marlatt, Stick Higgins and Gary Tyson to accept support roles and most importantly play defense.  Sophomore Grant Long will help as he showed in his first year he is willing to do the dirty work underneath but this team needs a couple more of his ilk and perhaps a true point guard and rim protector but doesn’t every team?  Central has a great junior class led by power forward supreme Dan Roundfield who is just as good defensively as he is on the offensive end and that is saying something.  Coach Dick Parfitt has a great all-around team with size and some solid perimeter players including juniors Ben Poquette (a solid rim protector) and guards Ben Kelso and Leonard Drake plus some sweetness in sophomore Melvin ‘Sugar’ McLaughlin.  If this team gets a little better point guard play and shoots the ball better from behind the arc they could definitely surprise.  Western has a more experienced roster but nowhere near the talent of the other directionals but like always will compete under legendary Coach Buck Read.  5’9 senior Manny Newsome is the primary offensive force and this kid can and will let it fly.  The Broncos have accumulated some size up front but this roster needs to get more athletic if it is going to compete.

Ball State had a great young coach in Rick Majerus but he is off to Utah to resurrect the Utes and he has left understudy Dick Hunsaker in charge with a team that surprised many with their 4th place finish last season.  Senior Ed Butler and Junior Larry Bullington lead the way but this program will go the JC rank or anywhere they can find to get talent and we will see if the Cardinals’ magic last year was Majerus or not? 

The last but not least is another Ohio school more known for tragedy than basketball.  The Kent State Golden Flashes are the epitome of an average program with nothing sticking out including the talent, coaching or schedule so do not look for them to overtake their brethren from Ohio.  The MAC could be the best mid-major in D-1 but without a super team like UNLV or Utah they do not get their due especially playing in the shadow of the Big Ten.  The goal this year is to get multiple teams in the BD but with the competition high in this league that will be difficult so all of these teams know to get an invite they have to be the bell of the ball in league tourney in March.