Motor City Madness #HLMBB Analysis
Lance Rinker
Drive to Detroit is a series that prepares fans for Motor City Madness. Each article will take fans behind the scenes of a team’s journey or preview what fans can expect when they arrive in Detroit.
In this installment of Drive to Detroit, Horizon League contributor Joey Yashinsky previews the upcoming Horizon League Men’s Basketball Tournament with analysis by coaches and scouts from around the league.
1) NORTHERN KENTUCKY NORSE (22-8, 15-3)
“I think they are better than they were last year. When you look at the returning guys like Lavone Holland II, Drew McDonald, Carson Williams -- they all play with a real confidence about them and a lot of swagger. Last year during the regular season, this team might not have been sure if they belonged in that top group or not, and now they definitely play like they belong.”
“Another reason I think they’re better is that they’re more committed defensively. They are completely bought in on that end now and the numbers really back that up.”
“Holland is so tough-minded. He’s not a player that lets mistakes hinder him. He moves on to the next play. He seems to really want the moment. Some guys are great players, but they might not want to take the big shots. And he’s just a guy that always wants the ball in his hands, and is usually able to make a play when they need it.”
“Jordan Garnett is an underrated piece. When you look at a stat sheet, he may appear like just a role player, but he hits some really big shots. He’s got a great body, and he especially helps them rebound. Brings a lot of athleticism to the glass, someone you always have to account for on both ends of the floor.”
“Tyler Sharpe and Mason Faulkner can be real X-factors for them. Either one can come off the bench and knock down four or five 3s. Then with McDonald and their other top guys, you look up and all of a sudden you’re down 20. They can put it on you quickly.”
2) WRIGHT STATE RAIDERS (22-9, 14-4)
“The hardest thing about playing Wright State? They don’t beat themselves. They are a very sound team, especially on the defensive end. They really pack the lane in, they contest everything, they never give you easy looks and they don’t get out of position.”
“Having a guy like Grant Benzinger; he obviously brings a lot to the table with his shooting, but he does more things that don’t even appear on the stat sheet than anyone else in our league. In terms of communicating on defense, getting guys in position, knowing the scouting report. He does it better than anyone in the conference.”
“Loudon Love is such a load. It’s not just that he has all that size. He’s patient. He has good touch. A lot of times, I think you’ll see young guys that are imposing with their size, but might not have the skill level to go with it -- but coming in, he’s had the total package. I’m not sure anyone knew that he’d have the kind of immediate impact that he’s had this whole season.”
“Cole Gentry is really steady. His scoring can be the difference for them. When he shoots a high percentage from the field, they become almost impossible to beat with all the other weapons they have.”
3) UIC FLAMES (17-14, 12-6)
“The difficult part in preparing for UIC is just how talented they are all around. They have different guys that can attack you. They’ve got length, athleticism, and outside shooting. If you make too many mistakes defensively, you’ll get torched.”
“When you look at it, they had a rough start to conference play, but then they got Tarkus Ferguson back and things flipped. He’s basically the top guy in assists now that (Brailen) Neely is out for Oakland. He really added that dimension they were missing when he was out, which is the ability to control a game without needing to get a whole lot of shots up.”
“Dikembe Dixson came out firing right away. Took a lot of shots in non-conference play. They just didn’t have their chemistry together yet. As the season has gone on, Dixson has toned back some of his shots and become more effective. Also, you’ve got Marcus Ottey and Godwin Boahen shooting the living daylights out of the ball.”
“I think Tai Odiase is someone you have to prepare for in terms of, ‘How can we score inside when he’s on the floor?’ He’s the only guy that shows up defensively on other teams’ scouting reports. You’ve really gotta be smart in how you attack him.”
4) OAKLAND GOLDEN GRIZZLIES (18-13, 10-8)
“Really scary team coming into the season. So many seniors, so much firepower on offense. And it just seems like they have been snakebit with different things during the year. But I’ve seen enough of Kendrick Nunn to know that he can win a game by himself. If his outside shot is dialed in, it almost doesn’t matter what you do defensively. The thing we don’t know is if someone can play at that pace for 40 minutes over three straight days.”
“Martez Walker was a real glue guy for them. Seemed to always come up with a big play. They have clearly missed him. The point guard Neely, too. Seemed like he was starting to figure things out. Those two injuries are not something you can just make up for this late in the year. It puts more pressure on Jalen Hayes to really be that consistent second option every time out. If he struggles from the floor, they could have a hard time winning games.”
“Nick Daniels needs to play well for them. He has deep range, but also can be a streaky shooter. He is more of an offensive threat than Neely was, so it gives them a little more firepower at the point.”
“I could see them taking advantage of the ‘underdog’ role. They weren’t comfortable the last couple of years as a big favorite, so not having those huge expectations might wind up serving them well.”
5) MILWAUKEE PANTHERS (15-16, 8-10)
“Jeremiah Bell has been really big for them. Last year’s team really struggled in terms of scoring and finishing. With Bell and Brock Stull, it gives them two guards that are smart and that can score. Stull is a great leader and Bell is always out there with good body language. The maturation of those guys has really allowed them to adjust to that coaching change and has helped the whole team play at a more consistent level than they did last year.”
“Bryce Nze is an interesting guy. He’s averaging double figures, seven or eight rebounds per game. Just watching film on him, he seems more engaged. He’s really a key for them. You’re gonna get 15 apiece from Bell and Stull, you know what Brett Prahl is going to give you; but I think if they’re gonna make a run, Nze is the guy that will push them over the edge.”
“If you spend too much time worrying about the other guys, then the floor starts to open up for Carson Warren-Newsome. He’s been a really good role player and is the key to their bench.”
6) IUPUI JAGUARS (11-18, 8-10)
“You look at their four guards (T.J. Henderson, Ron Patterson, Jaylen Minnett, D.J. McCall) and they’re all pretty interchangeable. Each of them has had games where they’ve carried the load. McCall is a dangerous guy in our league, being 6’6” with that type of athleticism. Minnett and Patterson can kill you with the 3-ball.”
“I don’t think Aaron Brennan gets enough credit for the mismatch problems he can cause. He’s tough. Him and Evan Hall are really physical in there. Brennan’s ability to go out behind the 3-point line and space the floor really opens things up for those guards.”
“Maurice Kirby is an underrated guy for them. He doesn’t play a ton of minutes, but he gives them another physical presence inside that you have to account for.”
“I think coaches are still trying to figure out Jason Gardner’s coaching style. He likes to run a lot of ‘four out, one in stuff,’ especially with Brennan’s ability to shoot. They run some good motion. You can tell that they scout well. They’ve been very prepared the second time through the league. They don’t make the same mistakes against you that they did in the first game.”
7) GREEN BAY PHOENIX (12-19, 7-11)
“One thing about Khalil Small is that he’s just so aggressive. He can do a little bit of everything. He’s got the body. He’s got such a physical build that if you put someone smaller on him, he can kind of bully you, but if you get a bigger guy on him, he can step out and knock down shots. Fourth in the league in scoring. With all the pieces that Green Bay lost after last year, Small has really been able to step up for them.”
“Just talking about Sandy Cohen III; having guards in this league that are legitimately 6’5” or 6’6” is not very common. Sometimes you get guards that size that can’t really shoot it, or they might be strictly shooters. But Cohen has a very diverse offensive game. Again, you kind of have to pick your poison. Put a smaller guy on him and he’ll get too many easy shots. Put a bigger player on him, he’ll go around you, and he’s a very good finisher going to his right. Him becoming eligible really changed the dynamic of that team.”
“Coach Darner is obviously very experienced. He’s just a really good coach. You see the way they push the ball and once they get in a rhythm, it can be tough to keep up. They get in their motion, they move the ball, they’re very unselfish. It seems like a team where they don’t care who scores, they just want to get the best available shot. The way they’re capable of shooting the ball from the outside, they have a chance to be that bottom-four seed that gets hot and pulls off an upset or two. It becomes a matter of whether they can get enough stops.”
8) CLEVELAND STATE VIKINGS (9-22, 6-12)
“I’d put Tyree Appleby as the second best freshman in the league (behind Love). He’s really good with the ball. Developing as a shooter. Does a good job of running that offense. They don’t seem to get frantic or sped up even with a freshman at the point. I don’t know that people expected him to be as far along as he is right now so early in his college career.”
“They have two very experienced guards with Bobby Word and Kenny Carpenter. Both diverse players with different skill sets. Anytime you have two veteran guys in the backcourt, and combine that with a talented young guy like Appleby -- as you saw last year in this tournament, teams can just get on a roll. Carpenter is such a versatile defender. Can really guard well 1 through 3, maybe even some smaller 4s. He’s one guy for them that really seems to try and lock in defensively.”
“Stefan Kenic. You had to believe he could knock down shots because even when he wasn’t hitting them, he was still taking them. So the coaching staff obviously had faith in him and he’s shooting the ball really well now. Cleveland State is just so guard-oriented right now; if they can get Kenic going, it could really open the floor for Appleby, Word, Carpenter, and Kasheem Thomas. If Kenic is hitting 3s, it will really help them stay in games during the tournament.”
“It’s a different style of play under Dennis Felton. Under Coach Waters, they really got after you defensively. Turned it into an ugly game. Even though they had offensive deficiencies, their defense really kept them in games. They’re not a bad defensive team this year, but they don’t get quite the ball pressure or hard double teams that they did under Waters.”
9) YOUNGSTOWN STATE PENGUINS (8-23, 6-12)
“Not having Francisco Santiago, that was just a big loss. He’s a guy that’s played a ton of games for them, a ton of minutes, a top two scorer on their team. It’s also put Cam Morse in a different role. He’s not getting quite the volume of shots that he’s had in the past.”
“They’ve really bought in to what Coach Calhoun is trying to do. They’re playing better defensively than they did last year. Braun Hartfield has really made improvements from his freshman to sophomore year.”
“The thing I like most about those freshmen (Garrett Covington, Naz Bohannon) -- they are just tough and they’re very physical. They don’t get bullied, they do the bullying. They crash the glass really hard and attack the basket. With freshmen sometimes, the biggest adjustment can be the speed and physicality of the game. With them, it’s just not the case. Even if those guys aren’t necessarily scoring the most points, they give the Penguins some much needed grit.”
“Jaylen Benton has been big for them down the stretch. He’s a guy teams might not have known about earlier in the year, but are aware of him now.”
10) DETROIT MERCY TITANS (8-23, 4-14)
“Kameron Chatman is one of the hardest players to guard in this league because of his skill set. 6-foot-9, shoots over 40 percent from 3, close to 90 percent at the line. A matchup nightmare.”
“You’ve got three guards in Josh McFolley, Corey Allen, and Jermaine Jackson Jr. that have all had really big games of 25 or 30 points. If they can put it together, if they can get focused and locked in, they could get on a little roll and become a tough out.”
“I think not having Jaleel Hogan has really hurt them. Obviously last year he was such a load in the paint. They’ve had some injury problems too, which has contributed to their record being what it is.”
“I don’t think Allen has necessarily taken a step back, but there are other guys there now and it’s changed his role. You have the freshman Jackson and he’s been given a lot of freedom. It’s been hard for Allen to be quite as productive without having the ball in his hands as much as he did last year.”
MOTOR CITY MADNESS
The 2018 Little Caesars Horizon League Men’s & Women’s Basketball Championship will take place March 2-6 at state-of-the-art Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. Tickets can be purchased now at campus box offices or at HorizonLeague.com.
Drive to Detroit series
1: The District Detroit
2: College Hoops Invades Little Caesars Arena
3: #HLWBB Garners National Acclaim as League Play Tips Off
4: A Visitor's Overview
5: Five Awesome Spots to Eat During Motor City Madness
6: Horizon League Schools Making an Impact in the Detroit Community
7: Metro Detroit Talent Takes the Stage at Motor City Madness
8: A Midpoint Look Ahead to Motor City Madness
9: Motor City Madness Esports Championship
10: Horizon League Stories Gaining National Attention
11: Be Part of the Madness
12: Motor City Madness #HLWBB Analysis
13: Motor City Madness #HLMBB Analysis