Feb. 9, 2010
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Game 25 SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State returns home to start a stretch that will see it close the regular season by playing five of its final seven games in the Wolstein Center when the Vikings host Valparaiso on Thursday, Feb 11 beginning at 7:00 p.m. The Vikings ran their current win streak to five last weekend when CSU swept its annual trip to Chicago for the second straight season, upending both UIC (74-63) and Loyola (59-56) to reach the .500 mark for the first time since Nov. 25. The Vikings (12-12, 8-4) enter the week in second place in the Horizon League standings, a half-game ahead of both Wright State and Green Bay (8-5) and a game ahead of Valparaiso (8-6). Valparaiso (13-13), which was picked to finish eighth in the league this year in the preseason poll, has played well with a young lineup, already improving on last year's 9-22 overall and 5-13 league marks. This will be the 35th meeting between CSU and Valpo with the Vikings owning a 26-8 series lead, including a 5-1 record since the Crusaders joined the Horizon League three seasons ago. PREVIEWING CLEVELAND STATE: Gary Waters finds himself in a bit of a rebuilding season for the Vikings after posting the first back-to-back 20 win seasons since the late 1980's. With just two starters and four players back who saw significant action last year, Waters has had to incorporate eight new players into the lineup this season. The starting lineup is built around guard Norris Cole (16.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 3.9 apg), a first team preseason all-league choice this year who ranks fourth in the league in scoring, and small forward D'Aundray Brown (8.2, 6.0), the lone returning starters from a season ago. The strength of the returners is at guard where sophomores Jeremy Montgomery (12.9, 1.9 apg) and Trevon Harmon (11.2, 2.0) are back with each landing a spot in the starting lineup. Injuries to sophomore Josh McCoy (0.8, 1.0) and JC transfer Lance James (2.0, 1.0 apg) have hurt the depth at guard, allowing freshman Anthony Wells (1.2, 1.2) to see his first playing time. Brown is firmly entrenched at small forward with redshirt freshman Charlie Woods (0.7, 0.5) and redshirt freshman Tim Kamczyc (2.3, 2.3 rpg) also capable of seeing time at the position. Sophomore Joe Latas is the lone returner inside and he, along with JC transfers Jared Cunningham (6.4, 3.2) and junior Kevin Anderson (1.4, 0.7) spell sophomore Aaron Pogue (6.5, 5.8) at center. CSU IN THE NCAA STATS: Cleveland State received several mentions in the most recent NCAA men's basketball statistics, which were released on Monday (Feb. 8). As a team, the Vikings are 15th nationally in steals (9.2 spg), 29th in turnover margin (+3.4), 35th in free throw percentage (.735), 84th in three-point field goals per game (7.0) and 99th in turnovers per game (13.0). Individually, D'Aundray Brown ranks 13th nationally in steals (2.6 spg). HARMON NAMED HORIZON LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: After averaging 15.5 points in the two Viking wins last week, sophomore guard Trey Harmon has been named the Horizon League Player of the Week. In the two games, Harmon shot .500 from the field (11-22), .273 from three-point (3-11) and a perfect six-for-six from the line, adding eight rebounds, five assists and two steals. He scored 17 points with five assists in the win over UIC and then came back to tally 14 points with a career high six rebounds as CSU rallied to edge Loyola. Harmon is the second Viking to earn the honor this year, joining Norris Cole (Jan. 25). VIKINGS DRAW TOLEDO IN BRACKETBUSTER: Cleveland State will host Toledo (3-18) on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 6:00 p.m. as part of the annual BracketBusters. This will be the third time that CSU will face a team from the Mid-American Conference. Toledo leads the all-time series, 6-2, but the Vikings took the most recent meeting, a 77-56 decision at the CBE Classic in Miami, Fla. last season. VIKINGS PUT HOME WIN STREAK ON THE LINE: When the Vikings take the court against Valparaiso on Thursday (Feb. 11), they will be attempting to extend its home winning streak against league opponents to 14 straight, an ongoing school record. After losing on a last second shot to Butler in December, 2008, CSU ran off seven straight wins to close the regular season and then defeated Detroit in the opening round of the league tourney. The Vikings have won all five games this year to break the old record of 12 games, which was originally set from Jan., 1985 to Jan., 1987. JAMES DUE BACK SOON: The Vikings may get a little good news from the training room in the near future as junior guard Lance James is close to returning to the hardwood after missing the last 17 games with a broken left foot. He was averaging 2.0 points in 7.6 minutes in the first seven games until he suffered a Jone fracture that required surgery on Dec. 2. COLE MOVES INTO 16TH PLACE ON SCORING CHART: An 11-point effort against Loyola on Saturday allowed junior guard Norris Cole to move into 16th place on the CSU career scoring list with 1.048 points. He now needs 75 points to catch Anthony Reed (1991-93), who is 15th with 1,123 points. Cole, the 18th player in CSU history to score 1,000 points in a career, reached the milestone in the Jan. 24 win over Milwaukee. He is only the eighth player to accomplish it as a junior. In 24 games, he leads the team and ranks second in the league, averaging 16.2 points a game (389 total). JACKSON GETS HIS NBA SHOT: Good news from the Alumni Department came on Jan. 23 when former guard Cedric Jackson, who had been playing professionally this season for the Erie BayHawks of the NBDL, signed a 10-day contract to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA. Jackson subsequently signed a second 10-day contract on Feb 2. Jackson became just the fourth Viking to make it to the NBA, joining Franklin Edwards (1981-90), Clinton Smith (1986-97 & 1990-91) and Darren Tillis (1982-84). In 23 games with the BayHawks, Jackson was averaging 14.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game. A TOUGH SCHEDULE: The 2-8 record that CSU put up against non-conference Division I teams this year is a little misleading. After all, not only were four of the teams ranked in the top 15 at the time CSU played them (Kentucky No. 5, West Virginia No. 6, Ohio State No. 12 & Kansas State No. 12), but the 10 opponents have combined to post a 93-37 (.715) record in non-conference games with one game left to play (not counting any BracketBusters matchups). The College Basketball RPI ranks CSU's non-conference schedule the third-toughest in the nation, trailing only California (1) and Long Beach State (2). FINISHING STRONG: With wins over Loyola, Youngstown State and UIC to open the second half of the league schedule, the teams currently in the last three spots in the league standings, the Vikings have as tough road ahead if they are to gain the No. 2 seed in next months Horizon League Championship. With an 8-4 league record, CSU currently sits all alone in second place in the league standings, and must play the top six teams in the standings to finish the year. Butler (14-0) has already assured itself of a share of the league title and can clinch the No. 1 seed and outright crown with a win on Thursday at Youngstown State. After opening the year with a pair of road losses, CSU has bounced back to win eight if its next 10 games. . . . A SCHEDULE REVERSAL AHEAD: The schedule only gets tougher for the Vikings down the stretch. The four losses that CSU suffered in the first half of the league schedule came on the road against Butler (14-0), Detroit (7-6), Wright State (8-5) and Valparaiso (7-6), which are coincidentally the four home opponents left for CSU to play this year. CHARITY STRIPE HAS BEEN KIND: One strength of the Vikings this year has come at the foul line where CSU is on a pace to challenge the school record for free throw percentage. Through 24 games, the Vikings have gone 335-for-456 from the line (.735), which is slightly ahead of the record .724 set in 1979-80. Jeremy Montgomery (54-63, .857) and Norris Cole (86-113, .761), rank fourth and 13th in the league, respectively, in free throw percentage. D'Aundray Brown (32-40, .800), Trevon Harmon (45-56, .804) and Jared Cunningham (24-32, .750) and Tim Kamczyc (15-21, .714) are each above 70-percent but have not taken enough free throws to qualify for the league stats. . . . AND THE VIKINGS HAVE FARED WELL DURING CRUNCH TIME: Although the Vikings have performed well from the foul line this season, it is when the game is on the line when they have really stepped up their play. In 23 games this season, CSU has made 107 of its 129 free throws attempted in the final five minutes of games (.829). Kevin Anderson has been a perfect six-for-six to lead the team, but the lion's share of the work has been done by Norris Cole and Jeremy Montgomery, who have combined to take 67 of the 129 attempts. Montgomery is connecting on .870 of his shots (20-23) while Cole is 38-for-44 from the line down the stretch (.864). Cole is a .818 shooter for his career (72-88), improving each season. He was 11-for-15 as a freshman (.733) and 23-for-29 as a sophomore (.793). Montgomery's improvement is significant after he made just seven of his 15 attempts in crunch time last year (.467). Last year, CSU shot just .695 from the line during this period (130-187). GETTING THE JUMP: One of the lesser appreciated statistics in CSU's favor this year comes on the jump ball where sophomore center Aaron Pogue has managed to gain the Vikings the first possession of the game in 20 of the 24 games this season, including an 11-1 mark in Horizon League games. The only games that Pogue lost the jump have been on the road for games vs. St. Bonaventure, Kentucky and Ohio State and at home against Youngstown State. . . . BUT NOT THE FINISH: It is no secret that Gary Waters is trying to find a way to keep sophomore center Aaron Pogue out of foul trouble. After all, in 24 games, he leads CSU with 93 fouls and six disqualifications. It is even worse in league games where he has been whistled for 46 fouls in 12 games, fouling out three times. As a point of comparison, heading into this season, CSU players had only fouled out 10 times over the last two years combined. DEGREE WORK: Sophomore center Joe Latas began the spring semester on Jan. 18 needing just 24 hours to graduate and when he finishes his coursework at the end of summer, he will have done so in just three years. Latas, who is taking 16 hours this semester, will take the final eight during the summer to earn his degree in both communications and religious studies. COLE KEEPS STARTING STREAK GOING: When Norris Cole takes to the court against Valparaiso on Thursday, he will be starting his 62nd consecutive game at CSU, ranking him 10th in school history. Cole became the 14th player in Viking history to start 50 straight games when he started the Dec. 22 game at Ohio State. One of three players to start a school-record 37 games last year, Cole is the only player to go from playing in every game as a reserve in one season (34 games as a freshman in 2007-08) to starting every game the next in school history. Cole has played in all 95 games in his career (11th in school history). NOTES FROM SCOTT: CSU athletic historian Scott Yaeger provides these notes of interest for this week: • CSU's winning percentage against Valparaiso (26-8, .765) is the highest against any opponent the Vikings have played at least 25 times. • The 26 wins against Valpo is the fifth highest total against any single opponent. • CSU's home winning percentage against Valpo (13-3, .813) is the highest of any opponent that CSU has played at least 10 times at home. • The UIC game was the 125th for Gary Waters at CSU with his winning percentage (68-57, .544) ranking third behind only Kevin Mackey (89-36, .712) and Mike Boyd (69-56, .552) after 125 games. • If D'Aundray Brown hands out eight more assists, he will become just the eighth player in CSU history to have 50 assists, 50 steals and 100 rebounds in a season. • With 148 career assists and 403 rebounds in his career, Brown also needs just two assists to become the fifth Viking to total 150 assists and 400 rebounds in a career. • With his steal at Loyola on Saturday, Brown is the fifth Viking all-time to have a steal in 20 straight games. • The 10 assists by Norris Cole at UIC last week allowed him to become the eighth player in school history to have two 10-assist games in the same season. COLE NAMED ATHLETE OF THE MONTH FOR JANUARY: Junior guard Norris Cole has been named the CSU Male Athlete of the Month for January. A Dayton, Ohio native, he averaged 17.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists, helping CSU to a 6-2 month. He shot 45-percent from the field, 44-percent from three-point and 73-percent at the free throw line. He scored 22 points in wins over Green Bay and Milwaukee, earning Horizon League Player of the Week honors on Jan. 25. In the win over Milwaukee, Cole surpassed the 1,000 point mark for his career. . . . AND MONTGOMERY CLAIMS IT FOR DECEMBER: December was a good month for Jeremy Montgomery as the sophomore was selected as the CSU Male Athlete of the Month. In seven games in December, the sophomore from Chicago, Ill. averaged 14.0 points, shooting .508 (32-63) from the field, .439 (18-39) from three-point and .889 (24-27) from the line. He scored in double figures in six of the seven games, including back-to-back games of 25 points at Ohio State and 20 points at Kansas State. . . . AND HAS BEEN EVEN BETTER OF LATE: Over his last 13 games, four of which have come against ranked opponents, Montgomery is averaging 16.5 points while shooting .496 from the field (69-139) and .466 from three-point (41-88). He has four 20-point games during the stretch, all of which have come on the road. He scored 25 points at Ohio State (Dec. 22), 20 at Kansas State (Dec. 29), 22 at Butler (Jan. 14) and 20 at Valpo (Jan. 26). WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU? Junior forward D'Aundray Brown has returned to the floor this season, showing no ill effects from the two injuries that sidelined him for 13 games last season, including the final five games of the postseason. In the 24 games since coming back, Brown is averaging 8.2 points and 6.0 rebounds a game. He leads the team and ranks eighth in the league in rebounding and is ninth in minutes played (32.7). More importantly, he keys the Vikings' pressure defense, leading the league with 63 steals. . . . AND BROWN IS PASSING HIS BOARDS: After averaging 5.7 rebounds a game a year ago, D'Aundray Brown was being counted on to help the Vikings offset the loss of 64% of their rebounding from a year ago. Brown however started slowly, grabbing just 47 caroms in the first 12 games (3.9 rpg). He has caught fire of late, averaging 8.1 rebounds over the last 12 games to move into seventh in the league with a 6.0 average. He has been dominant on the offensive glass, grabbing 48 offensive boards over that span (4.0/game) to move up to fourth in the league, averaging 2.8 offensive rebounds a game. POGUE CLEANS THE GLASS: The 16 rebounds by sophomore Aaron Pogue at Youngstown State on Jan. 2 was the most by a Viking since Pape Badiane grabbed 18 caroms at Florida A&M on Nov. 25, 2003. He shares the highest rebounding game in the Horizon League this season with Loyola's Andy Polka (16 vs. St. Francis, Ill.). "PROTECT THIS HOUSE": Gary Waters believes that in order to have a championship program, the team first needs to be successful at home. With that in mind, he has chosen, "Protect This House" as the team motto for the 2009-10 season. With a 17-game home schedule, the second highest season total in school history and the most since 1983-84, CSU can go a long way in achieving another successful campaign by winning at home first. The Vikings have heeded Waters' advice in the past, going 32-7 in the Wolstein Center over the last three years, a significant improvement from the 25-42 record in the Wolstein Center over the previous five seasons. The success started in 2007-08 when CSU tied the Wolstein Center record for wins in a season with a 12-2 mark. The Vikings did that mark one better, going 13-2 at home last season. CSU is 9-3 this season at home, including 8-3 in the Wolstein Center. TAKING CARE OF THE BALL: Another area in which the Vikings have excelled this season is in turnovers where CSU ranks second in the Horizon League with a +3.4 turnover margin. In 24 games, the Vikings have committed 312 turnovers (13.0 tpg), including 11 games of 12 or fewer. The Vikings tied the school record with just five turnovers in the win over Milwaukee (Jan. 24), had seven vs. Loyola on Feb. 6 and also made just eight miscues against Wichita State on Nov. 28 and vs. Loyola on Jan. 7. At the other end of the spectrum, CSU has forced 393 miscues (16.4 tpg), including 17 or more 11 times. A BIG NIGHT FOR NORRIS: Despite playing on a senior-dominated team as a sophomore, Norris Cole showed the ability at times to take over a game. Now the unquestioned leader of a young and generally inexperienced Viking squad, Cole is getting much more attention this year by opposing defenses but at no time in his past has he ever taken over a game like he did in the win over Florida A&M. Cole obliterated his career scoring high by 12 points, totalling 38 points against the Rattlers, the eighth-highest single game total in school history. He was 11-for-16 from the field, three-for-four from three-point and made all 13 of his free throw attempts. He fell one point short of equalling J'Nathan Bullock's Wolstein Center scoring record (39 vs. Green Bay) but did tie Bullock's 13-for-13 free throw effort against South Florida in 2007-08 as the third-most free throws made while shooting 100% from the line. IT HAS BEEN A STEAL: The Vikings have found success predicated on their defense over the last three seasons and the season results to date have been extraordinary. In 24 games, CSU has forced 393 turnovers (16.4 tpg), making 220 steals (9.2 spg). D'Aundray Brown leads the league and ranks 13th nationally with 63 steals (2.6 spg) while Norris Cole is third with 44 thefts (1.8 spg) and Trevon Harmon is seventh with 37 steals (1.5 spg). In addition, Jeremy Montgomery has 24 steals (1.0). Norris Cole made seven steals vs. Wilmington, the seventh-highest single game total in school history, and Brown turned in a six theft game against Youngstown State (1/30/10). CSU's 9.2 steals a game is easily tops in the Horizon League, ranking 13th nationally in the latest NCAA stats. SUCCESS 401: The fourth edition of Success Class under Gary Waters is utilizing the book The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player by John Maxwell as the course text. Instituted at CSU in the summer of 2006, Waters uses Success Class to teach the Viking players the finer points of what it takes to succeed. Success Class 101 used John Wooden's book, The Pyramid of Success. In 2007-08, Waters relied on John Maxwell's book Talent Is Never Enough to instruct the Vikings and then turned to former Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy's book, Quiet Strength for a text last year. The non-credited class is taught weekly by Waters to the Viking players over the summer and preseason months. THE FIFTH DEGREE: All five of the Viking seniors on last year's roster have graduated. J'Nathan Bullock, Cedric Jackson, Renard Fields and George Tandy each earned their sheepskin during spring commencement ceremonies with Chris Moore picking up his degree in August after taking a couple of classes during summer session. VIKINGS ADD TWO DURING EARLY SIGNING PERIOD: Gary Waters has already taken time to look ahead to next year when he announced the signing of two student-athletes to national letters of intent to attend CSU and play basketball starting next fall. Devon Long (Detroit, MI/Crockett) and Ludovic Ndaye (Montreal, Quebec/Westwind Prep) each signed with CSU and will be freshmen with four years of eligibility remaining. Long, a 6-8, 270-pound forward, earned first team all-league honors last year after averaging 18 points and 13 rebounds a game. He is currently ranked as the second-best center and ninth-best player in the state of Michigan by Prep Spotlight. Ndaye, a 6-9, 220-pound forward from Montreal, Quebec, has played 18 games this season at Westwind Prep in Phoenix, AZ, averaging 11.9 points and 7.8 rebounds a game. BROWN RECEIVES AVIS SCHOLARSHIP: Junior guard D'Aundray Brown is the 2009-10 recipient of the Danferd C. Avis Endowed Basketball Scholarship, the first fully endowed scholarship for basketball at CSU. The scholarship is named in honor of Dan Avis, a member of the men's basketball team from 1947-50, who has been involved in Viking athletics for more than 50 years. A captain on the Fenn College teams in each of his last three years, Avis was inducted in the CSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1980 and remains active with the Varsity "C" Club. NEXT UP: The Vikings remain at home to host first place and No. 15 Butler on Saturday, Feb. 13 beginning at 2:00 p.m. in the Wolstein Center.
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