They had a variance of different nicknames that have been assigned to the fabulous duo from Bowling Green.  Mr Outside and Mr. Inside, Mr Big and Mr. Little, Nate and Butch.  No matter what you call them one thing is for sure they have been the face of Bowling Green basketball for the last three years.  Big man Nate Thurmond and shooter extraordinaire Howard “Butch” Komives come into their senior year with high expectations.  Their goal is to take the Bowling Green Falcons to the promised land of the NCAA tournament.  This duo is also going to finally get the recognition they deserve and put this mid-major team on the national map.  

There is no better combination big guy little guy in the Midwest! Especially a pair that play so well together and are so opposite on what they bring to the court.  Nate the Great is a monster of man.  Huge and intimidating, Thurmond is best on the defensive end.  This Akron kid can match up with anyone in the country playing low post defense and only a few can play the weak side help defense like he does and their names are Russell and Ewing.  He will block anything coming into the key and he is also a physical force on the boards as he finished his junior year in the top five in the country in rebounding.  Huge and built like a brick you know what, Thurmond is as talented as anyone playing center in this country on the defensive end.  His offensive is coming but usually relies on his sheer will to get the ball into the hole.  He has a solid if inconsistent mid-range jumper that he used much more often this year than he did in years past.  Thurmond does not need to throw one down to show his authority, he does that as soon as he walks on the court.  This hulk of man is one heck of player who was tested as he played against a murderer’s row of other big men and showed he belonged with any of them.  Nate is also one heck of a passer for a big man though he never gets mentioned with the elites like Walton and Wilt here.  How good was he?  Well ask the boys of Akron as he came up with a quadruple double scoring 16 with 14 boards, 10 blocks and 10 assists in front of his hometown crowd albeit in a double overtime game.  No, Really, he did that.  If he would have played in a major conference every kid in the country know who he is but he was a bit under recognized playing in the MAC.  Thurmond did have his chance to go to a big school as he turned down a scholarship from The Ohio State to play for the Falcons.  Why you may ask?  His biggest rival in high school was one Jerry Lucas from just down the road in Middletown.  Thurmond was not going to go to the same program as Lucas and compete with that cat for playing time.  Of course if he had he would probably be a household name like Lucas is now.  Still, he was without question the best mid major big man in the country!   

His compatriot Mr. Komives is the opposite.  A great shooter who could care less about defense, Komives is all about the O.  This Toledo product loves scoring and scoring and scoring.  And he does it very well.  ‘Butch’ as he is now known all across Ohio started the year as the point guard as to be honest he was the best choice for the job.  Butch did not like this and to be honest it was not what he wanted to be doing.  ‘I just want to shoot’ was his moniker and this smooth lefty was better suited as a shooting guard.  Butch might not be the lefty version of Pistol Pete but he can flat shoot.  There is no way the Falcons will ever replace this dynamic duo and this city in Northern Ohio will never forget them.  

 Senior big man Charlie Share gave the Falcons two huge guys in the middle to rely on.  Share, from Cincinnati, was actually the BMOC for a minute here in Bowling Green before Thurmond grew into those tree trunks of arms.  Share takes pressure off Thurmond as he usually guards the other team’s big man straight up and lets Nate roam.  The greatest thing about Share is that he did not mind when Thurmond superseded him as the star of the team.  He is the complete team player and only cares about winning.   At one point Share was a huge offensive threat equaling Thurmond in points but as the long armed wonder improved and got more shots Share gracefully and to the betterment of the team (or so we though) became more of a role player.  That’s what captains do!   Share played great defense and was great on the boards.  Just ask Butch how thick this sly smiling big man’s screens are?  He was chosen team captain mainly because of his ability to produce and take on responsibility.  He was a great role player for the Falcons but like Thurmond and Komives has a bright future in front of him at the next level.  You might not ever hear of the six eleven 235 pound big man who does all of the dirty work with a smile on his face but I guarantee you his teammates sure know who he is.  

 BeeGee (no not the Disco Kings, the University) has a plethora of big men to choose from. Besides Thurmond and Share who became a true twin towers next to each other the Falcons have Senior brothers Don and Mac Otten who though they might not have been quite as talented could also eat up some space.  The brothers put Bellefontaine Ohio on the map and Don was a high profile recruit before even Share and Thurmond decided to come this way.  He set the tone for what is now one of the true Big Men U’s in the country as they now have three almost seven footers that all can flat dominate in the key.  Don is six eleven and goes 240 and is developing a reasonable low post game.  He is nowhere near as athletic as Thurmond and not the warrior Share is but he can play and brought some gusto to the table.  An injury opened the door for Thurmond and Share to pass him by on the depth chart and this program never looked back.  His brother Mac, much smaller at ONLY 6’7 220, got injured last year and could go the same route which is too bad as they could use some more wings for the Falcons.  Another Senior, Jim Gerber, hurt his knee early on and barely played last year.  Gerber is another Akronite but only goes 6’6 185 but is a true post so what not getting many minutes behind those monsters in front of him.  Junior Cornelius Cash jumped into Mac’s old rule and had a solid year underneath for the Falcons.  Cash hails from down the road in Dayton (had a huge game against his home town Flyers who did not recruit him) and goes a solid six eight 215.  A solid all-around contributor Cash makes his money on the boards and might be the toughest kid on this roster full of bruisers.  He is scheduled to backup once again this year but who knows what happens and this kid is ready to go.  Heck, he might even try playing the three as that is the one front line position that is not already taken and could use somebody to take the job.    

The toughest positon for Anderson to fill will be the small forward.  Wyndol Gray has decided to pick up roots and transferred to of all places Harvard.  Obviously basketball is not his top priority but Gray was the perfect three next to Thurmond and Share and the Falcons do not have anyone on their returning roster that fills the void he has opened up.  Senior Walt Piatkokwski will get the first shot and he most definitely can play.  Piatkowski is fine shooter who has benefitted from having the three point line.  The problem is not his offense but Piatkowski will playing somewhat out of position at the three.  He is going to have a hard time guarding the quicker wings of the MAC.  At six eight and 220 this Toledo kid can get his shot off and is an offensive weapon but as Dylan might say ‘you got to guard somebody.’  Anderson has another Senior who rotated last year splitting time behind both the two and the three in Al Bianchi.  Bianchi is a New York kid who really knows how to play the game.  Bianchi will flat out think his opponents but is limited as he only goes about six three and 180 pounds soaking wet.  This does not seem to matter to him as he will keep coming at you and he will defend all day but he is a bit overmatched athletically especially when he plays the three.  Of course if Bianchi wants to get on the court it will be primarily at the three so Anderson has some decisions to make.  

Anderson goes into the year with undersized Jimmy Darrow next to Komives in the back court.  Darrow can score and dish a little but at five ten is not going to guard anyone especially at the two.  Leo Kubiak and Johnny (Take this job and shuv it) Payak are solid players who have been solid backups since they got to Bowling Green but neither is going to push for starter’s roles.  Junior Jeff Montgomery has a good chance to get more minutes as he can score and dish.  Sophomore Melvin Newbern is also a good scorer and could play some and his sidekick on the JV David ‘Two Snaps Up’ Greer is a true point who could push for serious minutes if Komives moves back to the two as he should.    

The Bowling Green Falcons have the kind of size and experience that most teams dream of having.  Led by a potentially all senior starting five the Falcons behind Coach Harold Anderson understand this is their time.  This team can finally put Bowling Green Ohio (not to be confused with the city in Kentucky) on the national college basketball landscape but understand that this window of opportunity will only be open for this one year.  After all both Thurmond and Komives as well as Share, Otten and Piatkowski and perhaps even Bianchi will be competing at the next level next year.  No other team in MAC boasts that kind of talent but this is not a perfect lineup.  The late transfer (love that portal) of senior small forward Wyndol Gray to Harvard has left Coach Anderson scrambling to fill that void.  If he does and the perimeter can get a bit more athletic this might just be the season these Falcons fly high in the MAC.