Inside NMU Athletics Men's Basketball Preview

MARQUETTE – Last Season the NMU Wildcats basketball team failed to compete at the level that head coach Dean Ellis had hoped they would. At 6-16 in the GLIAC North and 11-16 overall, the ‘Cats failed to match their goals set in the preseason. After  starting the season 4-0, it seemed the Wildcats had shown that they could compete for a spot in the GLIAC tournament.  This team believed that they could make it to the NCAA Tournament.

Most of the nucleus from the 2008-2009 season return to prove that they can match those goals they set forth last season. Chris Warner, Mark D’Agostino, Marc Renelique, Austin Rowe and Eric Hawley return for their final seasons. GLIAC Freshman of the Year Raymont McElroy is back at the point for his sophomore season and Carney-Nadeau produce Jared Benson will get a lot of chances offensively low in the post.

Last season, the Wildcats faced adversity off the bat. Mark D’Agostino, Sebastien Salois, Chris Warner and Alex Sabino-Ifill, along with Natalie Larocque from the women’s team, were declared by the NCAA to be ineligible just before the start of the season. Due to NCAA investigation of CEGEP; a post-secondary education institution exclusive to the province of Quebec in Canada, these Wildcats careers were in jeopardy. Three weeks before the season, the NCAA decided to investigate the institution that allows high school juniors to forgo their senior year and go through the two year program without losing NCAA eligibility. Last year’s players were grandfathered in and now they have one last chance to put together a solid run towards post-season play.

The Wildcats open up the season this Saturday in Ann Arbor against no. 15 University of Michigan. Though this weekend’s game will be an exhibition match up and will not count against their record, it will be a good way for the Wildcats to open the season. With University of Wisconsin Green Bay right around the corner, and GLIAC play in early December the Wildcats will need to gel on the court quickly. Head coach Dean Ellis will depend on fifth year senior Chris Warner to lead his team on and off the court this season.

“He understands what needs to happen in a program to win,” said Ellis. “He’s a fifth year senior with a lot of experience. He understands what it takes to win in this league. He is not going to let his teammates slip in any way. Chris is going to encourage them and make them better and it will give us a better chance to win.”

Warner will be surrounded by a group of talented guards. Senior Austin Rowe was a catalyst at times off the bench and red shirt freshman Alex Sabino-Ifill could bring an offensive spark to the floor off the bench, after recovering from knee surgery. Depth will play a major role in the 2009-2010 season, especially if the coaching staff decides to mix up rotations early in the season to find the best chemistry.

“I think we are very well off in that department,” stated Ellis. “We have five seniors on our team and when you have that many seniors and they are focused in the right direction you have a chance to be successful. We’ve got a good number of veterans and some depth that can certainly help us as the year goes on.”

Alongside depth, coach Ellis will look for continued maturation from his younger players. Sophomore point guard Raymont McElroy will continue to develop into a major contributor on both sides of the floor.  The Freshman of the Year in the GLIAC conference last season will need to continue working on ball control, shot selection and his passing, despite being the best on the team in most categories. The offense will live and die with his play, and he is the type of competitor you want game in and game out leading this squad.

Junior Jared Benson will be the go to big man down low and a lot of expectations have been placed in the the 6′10″ center. Last season Benson was limited in playing time but showed his ability on the court. Defensively and offensively head coach Dean Ellis believes now is the time for Benson to shine. Especially since he has now expected to become a major contributor on offense.

“He’ll play many more minutes,” said Ellis on his starting center. Jared will now be a main part of our offense. He had a tremendous summer. He’s in great shape. He’s actually playing bigger and stronger than he did for us last year. At 6’10” he is going to be a major factor for us.

“One thing about Jared is that he has a great understanding of the game,” Ellis added. “He has a great savvy that you can’t teach players. That will definitely help him in his career.”

On the defensive side of the floor Benson will be asked to bring down a majority of the rebounds and create many fast breaks by blocking shots and moving up the floor quickly. His shooting touch will create many mismatches when the Wildcats run their perimeter style offense.

The Wildcats will also look to newcomer Mylan Murphy off the bench to provide an offensive and defensive spark. The Akron Ohio native has impressed the coaching staff with his will and determination in practices. Head coach Dean Ellis has been impressed with his ability and want to learn the NMU system.

“Mylan Murphy is going to be a key guy for us,” said Ellis. “He is 6’9 very long and athletic. He has a lot to learn getting into a new system but he is learning quickly.  I am really impressed with his determination to understand what our system is like. He is getting better by the minute. he is going to play a lot of major minutes for us.”

The Wildcats open their home schedule on November 24th against non-conference foe Northland College On the 30th the Wildcats will take on Finlandia. Both home games will be important to win with conference play right around the corner. Starting the following week, NMU will take on three GLIAC opponents at home. In a pretty balanced conference to start the year, it will be important for the ‘Cats to come out strong.

“This conference is really balanced this year and you need to win at home as a result,” said Ellis. “Those three games will be very important for us. Last year there were three given games in the conference. Findlay was going to beat you on the road and at home, they proved that with an undefeated record. You had a great chance of beating tiffin at home. Those three givens are now gone.

“No matter who you are or where you are playing it is going to be a battle,” added Ellis. “It should be an interesting conference.”

A lot of the success will not lay in the hands of talent or coach, but it will come down to the defining moments of the ball game.

“I think we need to learn how to be mentally tough and play with an edge,” said Ellis. “We have been working a lot on that this preseason. We have to be more demanding and they have been demanding on themselves. We need to get more competitive and more determined at times and in situations. That is a point we have been emphasizing in practices all pre-season.”