Western Michigan Team Report

GETTING INSIDE

   Western Michigan has won at least a share of the MAC West title in four of the last six seasons. But last year’s share of the West crown, accomplished with a 7-9 record in a downtrodden division, didn’t exactly feel like success.

The Broncos lost a slew of close games, then lost three starters from that team to graduation. As an added non-bonus, promising center LaMarcus Lowe isn’t back to build on his MAC-leading 48-block freshman year because he transferred to Detroit.

But all is not gloom and doom in Kalamazoo. Western Michigan boasts senior guard David Kool, last year’s MAC scoring champ at 17.9 points per game. Along with senior center Donald Lawson and senior forward Martelle McLemore, Kool serves as a shining example to the Broncos’ four sophomores and six freshmen.

“Nine of our 12 scholarships are in the freshmen and sophomore classes,” said ninth-year coach Steve Hawkins, “but we’re more experienced than last year.”

Much of Western Michigan’s preseason workouts will be devoted to figuring out who’ll run the show and how they’ll do it. The Broncos graduated a traditional point guard in Michael Redell (5.0 ppg, 3.2 apg), but Hawkins wants to switch to a style where there’ll be several capable ballhandlers on the floor at a given time and they’ll all have the green light to get things going.

For example, Kool and sophomore wing Demetrius Ward are considered to have strong enough handles to run the point without being considered the point guard. Freshmen David Brown (Rockton (Ill.) Hononegah HS) and Austin Harper (Grand Haven (Mich.) High School) are combo guards in this vein, while 6-foot sophomore Mike Douglas is regarded as a “true” point guard.

Regardless of who runs things, Hawkins expects the Broncos to get back to running with the MAC’s big dogs.

“I would be disappointed if we weren’t,” he said.

  

NOTES, QUOTES

  —Western Michigan coach Steve Hawkins can’t figure it out. As a sophomore, guard David Kool earned first-team all-MAC honors after averaging 16.3 points, hitting 71 3-pointers and shooting 86 percent from the line. Last year, Kool followed that up with a MAC-best 17.9 scoring average, 58 3-pointers and an .894 free-throw percentage (good for sixth in the nation). Kool also improved his rebounds and steals, yet dropped to second-team all-MAC honors.

This year, Hawkins has a plan to help Kool return to first-team status: Make his numbers decrease. Hawkins believes he played Kool too much, so he plans to shave a few minutes off his 34.1 minutes to make him more efficient.

• The Broncos boast five scholarship recruits and one walk-on in their freshman class. At least three of the rookies (guard David Brown, shooter Brandon Pokley and forweard Nate Hutcheson) figure to be immediate hits. The 6-foot-7 Hutcheson, for example, touched a spot 11-foot-3 off the ground when the Broncos conducted their standing high jump test.

• If sophomore Mike Douglas (Finney HS) wins the point guard competition, then Western Michigan could have three Detroit Public School League alums in its starting lineup. Sophomore small forward Demetrius Ward (Pershing HS) and sophomore power forward Flenard Whitfield (King HS), who made the MAC’s all-freshman team last year, are expected to win their position battles.

   LAST YEAR: 10-21 overall, 7-9 in the MAC West; lost in first round of the MAC Tournament.

   HEAD COACH: Steve Hawkins (career 243-195); 9th year at Western Michigan (106-84).

   QUOTE TO NOTE: “In the past, we’ve run a system that’s a straight point guard system where one guy handles it a majority of the time. This year we have several ball handlers, several guys who are combo guards.”—Western Michigan coach Steve Hawkins in the Blue Ribbon Yearbook.

 

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

   SCOUTING THE NEWCOMERS: According to Rivals.com, Western Michigan brought in a pair of three-star recruits in combo guard David Brown and forward Nate Hutchison. Brown, who hails from the western Illinois town of Roscoe, received considerable initial interest from Big Ten and Big East schools. Hutchison, a 6-foot-7 Linn-Mar (Iowa) High School product, received an offer from Saint Louis of the Atlantic 10. Their all-around skill sets should get them on the floor early, while late signee Brandon Pokley (Clarkston, Mich.) is a pure shooter who should play right away. Point guard Austin Harper and center Shayne Whittington (6-10, 22) will compete for spots in the rotation while walk-on center Nick Stapert (6-8, 230) looks like a redshirt.

   KEY EARLY-SEASON GAMES: Western Michigan welcomes VCU (Nov. 18) and Temple (Dec. 1) to University Arena before traveling to perennial NCAA Tournament invitee Illinois on Dec. 13. The Broncos also get to spend the holidays in Honululu, where they’ll start the eight-team Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic against another perennial NCAA team in USC.

   PROGRAM DIRECTION: The bottom fell out for the Broncos last year. After averaging 17.5 wins and posting an average RPI of 140 over the four previous year, they managed just 10 wins and a 302 RPI last season. Though they lose three starters as well as MAC blocked shots champion LaMarcus Lowe, Hawkins believes his six-man freshman class has the talent to return WMU to its customary standing.

   PROBABLE STARTING LINEUP: PG David Brown, SG David Kool, SF Demetrius Ward, PF Flenard Whitfield, C Donald Lawson.

   ROSTER REPORT:

   —G David Kool is a preseason first-team all-MAC selection according to the Blue Ribbon Yearbook.

• C Donald Lawson missed nine games last year with an irregular heartbeat. After using blood thinners to fix the problem, Lawson returned for the last half of MAC play. Coach Steve Hawkins says Lawson is fine this year.

• C LaMarcus Lowe led the MAC in blocks last year (1.7 bpg), but the freshman transferred to Detroit during the offseason. Lowe tied the school’s single-game record with a 7-block night against Eastern Michigan.