More on Morehead State later (right Jay) but for the Eastern Kentucky Colonels it has been a hard ride competing in the basketball crazed state especially when the other directional program (yes, they are both wicked schools) has been so dominant.  As a matter of fact, the Hilltoppers and Colonels have one of the most heated intrastate rivalries in all of college basketball.  How hard is it to be an average program in this state?  Well EKU a few years back changed their nickname from the Maroons to the Colonels to take advantage of the popularity of the great ABA franchise that the fans loved so much.  After all branding is everything!  The ‘Colonels’ have been a solid program battling in the OVC since it’s inception but have never been able to get over the hump and get the kind of players it needs to get to the next level.  Last season was no different as the Colonels played well but just did not have the horses to keep up in the OVC and fell to the middle of the pack.  Long time Coach Paul McBrayer promises to change that this season as he says this team is ready to gel and he has got some new horses to send out of the gate. 

The Eastern Kentucky Colonels had a solid season in the Ohio Valley Conference.  The Colonels were a consistent team that played solid night in night out and good contributions form several different players.  Coach McBrayer’s troops could never seem to string together more than three wins in a row and were caught being a mediocre team.  A terrible start had the fans of Richmond wondering about their boys but a solid finish got the community excited for this upcoming year.  The Panthers lost a few seniors who had considerable impact on this program.  With McBreyer’s philosophy of rotating just about everyone on the roster in for minutes this should make the job of replacing these stalwarts a little bit easier than in most places.  Still, the Colonels did play a difficult schedule but must show they can hang in against the good teams. 

Foremost of the returning players is senior legend Jack Adams who might not be confused with Adam Levine (though he is a strapping good-looking young man) but was every bit as important to this Maroon Five as the sexy one is to his group.  Adams is almost for sure the greatest player ever to suit up in the maroon (hence the nickname) and white.  Four years ago this six four skinny had no aspirations of being a star when he walked onto the Richmond campus.  He had to try out to make the team but of course he did and the rest is history.  Adams soon became not only the leader of the team but was the dominant presence down low for the Maroons.  He led the team in scoring and rebounding for his first three years and odds on he does it again one more time.  Of course, six four post players are not the ‘rage’ anymore and Richmond, which is a city caught a bit of a time warp, and McBrayer knows that no matter how good Adams is, the Colonels have to get bigger up front.   Adams may be small for a post player but he does have a future in this sport as he showed on a recent All-Star trip to Russia where he was the dominant player on both teams. The military who was there to protect the players from the US were looking blissfully at this young stud. Be careful what you wish for Traveling Man! 

Maybe even more talented than Adams and for sure more pro ready is Senior swing man Jim Baechtold.  Beachtold is a gifted all-around player who does a little bit of everything.  A good shooter who can also play underneath, Beachtold has a complete game and could get a shot at the next level after one more year in Richmond. The funny thing this Pennsylvania native was not even going to come to EKU.  He stopped off to visit some friends after he served some time in the military on his way to Tuscaloosa to play football for Bear Bryant (and moonlight on the basketball team).  Well, he liked McBrayer and Richmond and he had his bags rerouted here and the rest is Maroon history.  Baechtold has never been a great scorer for the Maroon Five and last year a nagging knee injury slowed him down even more.  He did not even get to double digits in points last season but he was still contributing in so many others ways.  The Pros love his size (six four) for a wing who can handle the ball and defend bigger athletes with both strength and quickness.  He averaged almost five boards a game and was for sure the shut-down defender on the team.  He can also pass and legendary EKU football coach Roy Kidd did everything he could to get him to come back out after his one year on the gridiron but this kid was too smart.  He saw where his future was and it was on the court, not the field, and besides who likes getting the crap kicked out of them all day especially when the pros have already contacted you after some of your All-Star games telling you that you are indeed on their short list. Good choice Jim. 

McBrayer will also have 3 big men who have had solid careers for the Colonels in Chuck Mrazovich, Eddie Bodkin and Garfield Smith.  Bodkin and Mrzavocih  have been solid contributors for most of their careers and are the leaders of the team.  Coach McBrayer put the trio in his huge rotation last year with new talent coming aboard.  Smith was the surprise as this monster of a big man finally earned the playing time he deserved in this kind of backwards town and made a huge impression with his size and strength that nobody in Richmond could match.  Mrazovich barely played last year but Bodkin and Smith were still stalwarts up front though Bodkin did not score or board as much as they had in the past.  Bodkin is a ‘machine’ with a variance of shots including a hook shot that is unstoppable and feels like it came off an assembly line.  He has been the quiet, unassuming Mr. Reliable next to Adams for three years now and has never needed the spotlight. He like Adams is undersized but more due to his skinniness as he goes a solid six seven.  This svelte big man might not get the publicity of Adams but man can he score and board.  He can mix it up and the ‘Machine’ can score from anywhere but he did lose some minutes this year as McBrayer went younger after the season was basically over.  Too bad because Bodkin is every bit the player as Adams or Baechtold and he needed to show the pro scouts a bit more to get a shot.  He deserves it. 

 Bodkin did lose time to big Garfield Smith down low. Smith is not much of a scorer but boy can he bang.  He gives the team size and toughness and a desire to get rebounds, like every rebound.   Too bad he did not make much of an impact (or wasn’t allowed to) before the last year.  Suddenly, out of the blue, he was first guy off the bench and came in to do the dirty work.  Of course, when he enrolled at EKU he was only six foot four and a half and 175 pounds and by the end of last year he was a monster at six foot nine and a solid 230 pounds.  This kind of growth spurt does not happen often but the best thing is that this kid has kept most of his agility as he has grown.   Some question whether McBrayer moved up this kid fast enough as after all he was the first African-American ever to get a spot on the basketball team but we think Paul knew what he was doing.  His coming out party was a showdown with Wes Unseld where Smith more than held his own after McBrayer started him against the Louisville All-American.  Last year McBrayer did not hesitate putting Smith into the mix with the big boys down low primarily out of need as his other big men were getting eaten alive in the paint.  In the ultra-tough OVC having a player like this is a need.  He led the team in rebounding and his offense is getting better all of the time.  Smith practices playing one on one with anyone who will take the challenge and he is the king of the court at EKU.  No one not even Bodkin can hang with big Gar.  He has a legitimate shot at the next level after his coming out party this year but like many of his teammates he has to give a few years to Uncle Sam but that might just help this cat as he adjusts to his new bad self and size.  He might not have had the biggest career in Richmond but with the growth spurt his upside is undeniable.  Teammates look up to Smith because of his winning attitude and the fact he always has their back.  Oh and he is the baddest man in Kentucky not named Wes! 

Back court stud and team leader Bobby Washington will be back to lead this team one more year.  Cat quick and a great penetrator, Washington is the point guard, quarterback and the perimeter defensive stopper of this team. This Lexington Kentucky kid was UK’s loss as they were not recruiting black athletes then and oh what a huge get it was for the Colonels.  This Dunbar High graduated had led his team to the Kentucky State finals only to lose to Unseld and an almost all-star team from Seneca.  That still bothers him but it has not got in his way of having a brilliant career for the Colonels.  Washington is Mr. Everything to this team as there is no one near him in this program (and quite possibly in the state) who can run an offense so proficiently.   He is a terrific ballhandler but is even better at knowing how to get his teammates in the ball in the right spot so that they can score.  He almost averaged 7 assists a game and his ability to get his teammates the rock will be impossible to replace.  Washington is a good all around athlete who can score going to the hoop and has a decent jump shot that he will use if left open.  As good as his offense he Washington might be better on the defensive end as he is a shutdown defender.  How important was Washington to the team’s success.  Well he missed four games and the Colonels lost all four by large margins and McBrayer knows the hardest of his great senior class he will have to replace is his waterbug of a point guard.  Junior George Bryant was the heir apparent to Washington for three years but will be pushed as he is more of a scorer than a distributor and might well end up at the two spot.  That is if fellow Junior Charles Mitchell doesn’t come back after leaving the team midway through the year for personal reasons.  He can flat play but there is much competition in this crowded back court.  Seniors Fred Lewis, Carl Cole, Willie Woods, Larry Wood and Toke Coleman are also on the roster and they are not exactly minced meat.  Lewis was the first star here after matriculating down from Brooklyn but injuries have slowed him down and even cost him a season.  Woods is a terrific athlete who is the one guy on this list who could get some real minutes.  The other Wood guy is better on the diamond anyway as he hit .430 last year.  These guys are good but there are better coming and way more athletic then even Woods. 

Sophomore Antonio Parris gives the panthers another legitimate scorer from the wing. Parris did not get the PT early on as McBrayer does believe in seniority but he has got mad game and can jump out of the gym.  His athleticism takes the Panthers to another level they usually don’t get to.  His matchup with Darrell Griffith was highly anticipated and he did not let the fans down throwing one down from about ten feet away from the basket over Pervis Ellison though of course it was long after the game was decided. Parris was heavily recruited from across the border in Chattanooga Tennessee but was actually on JV for a minute.  Once McBrayer went with his youth movement the main proprietor of the increased time was the kid with the 46 inch vertical.  Parris showed amazing offensive upside and that does mean up as he was a highlight machine with his ability to rise up and throw down some monster jams.  It also doesn’t hurt his ability to get above defenders for a terrific jump shot and he added solid range from beyond the arc.   

The Eastern Kentucky Colonels had another solid season in the OVC.  Coach Payl McBrayer has a senior laden team filled with solid contributors but no super talent to get them to the top of the heap in this conference that has been around since Lassie was a pup.  The Colonels have a proud history and are losing some of those gladiators who helped develop their reputation as such a dangerous school to play.  They have had real issues when playing more talented teams and McBrayer is hoping a new group of more athletic players will get them there. WE shall see. Maybe they need a television show to bail them out because we all know that Maroon Five was sinking fast before Adam Levine got his meal ticket with the Voice.  Of course, the most popular musical TV show in Richmond is reruns of Hee-Haw so maybe the most important thing is for this program is to become a bit more modern.  And you don’t have to be from LA to be modern and cool?  Just ask Blake Shelton about that!