March 1, 2004
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Contact: Brian McCann
SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State (4-24, 0-16) will attempt to shake off the affects of a disappointing season in time to play spoiler in the 2004 Horizon League Championship. The Vikings are the ninth-seed in the tournament and will open play at fourth-seeded Detroit (17-10, 10-6) on Tuesday, March 2 beginning at 7:00 p.m. EST in Calihan Hall on the UDM campus. The task ahead for CSU is a formidable one as the Vikings will try to snap a 22-game losing streak, which includes all 16-games in Horizon League this year, against Detroit, a school that CSU is just 6-27 lifetime against. Add to the mix that the Vikings are 0-15 all-time in games played in Detroit.
CLEVELAND STATE PROBABLE STARTERS 2003-04 Statistics F 1 Jermaine Robinson, 6-2, 180, Sr., Philadelphia, Pa. 19.9 pts, 4.7 reb, 2.6 ast F 5 Omari Westley, 6-7, 205, Jr., Cleveland, Ohio 14.8 pts, 8.6 reb, 2.0 ast C 42 Pape Badiane, 6-11, 220, Sr., Les Ulis, France. 7.3 pts, 5.8 reb, 2.6 blk G 2 Walt Chavis, 5-11, 175, Jr., Steelton, Pa. 5.6 pts, 2.7 reb, 3.7 ast G 3 Victor Morris, 6-0, 175, Fr., Inkster, Mich. 6.4 pts, 2.2 reb, 2.2 ast
PREVIEWING DETROIT: The Titans are one of the hottest teams in the Horizon League, closing the regular season with eight straight wins to finish tied for third in the Horizon League standings. Detroit's strengths are depth and defense. The Titans lead the league in field goal defense (.413), are second in scoring defense (60.7) and three-point field goal defense (.413). Forward Elijah Warren (11.9 ppg), who scored 37 points in the first game against CSU this year, earned second team all-league honors this year while guard James Thues (8.8 ppg, league-best 55 steals) and center Ryvon Covile (4.9 rpg, 34 blocks) were each named to the league all-defensive team. Detroit features one of the deepest lineups in the league, rotating no less than eight players during the game.
PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: The Vikings enter the Horizon League Championship with a 4-24 overall and 0-16 Horizon League record. CSU has lost 22 straight games going back to mid-December, and injuries and other problems have left first-year head coach Mike Garland playing the last six weeks with just seven relatively healthy and eligible scholarship players. CSU has gotten steady play from senior guard Jermaine Robinson, who has led the team in scoring in 17 games and averages 19.9 points a game, the second highest total in the league. Omari Westley, a junior college transfer, has shaken off the rust from a year off to average 14.8 points and lead the league with 8.6 rebounds a game. Center Pape Badiane, who missed 11 games with a broken hand, averages 7.3 points and 5.8 rebounds a game and leads the Horizon League with 45 blocked shots. Freshman Victor Morris (6.4 ppg) has emerged over the second half of the season as a promising all-around guard.
CSU IN THE HORIZON LEAGUE TOURNEY: Tuesday's game at Detroit will mark the ninth year that the Vikings have played in the Horizon League Championship, owning a 3-8 record in those games. CSU has played four of those 11 games against Detroit, owning a 1-3 record. The Vikings upended the Titans in the 1997 tourney in Dayton but dropped decisions in 1999 and 2001 in Chicago and 2002 in Cleveland.
CSU IN ALL CONFERENCE TOURNEYS: The Vikings carry into Tuesday night's game a 13-14 record in 15 years of conference tournament postseason play. CSU has claimed one tourney title (1985-86), finished second twice (1983-84 & 1986-87) and third once (1984-85).
WESTLEY NAMED TO HORIZON LEAGUE ALL-NEWCOMER SQUAD: Junior forward Omari Westley was the only Viking to receive mention when the Horizon League announced its postseason awards on Sunday (Feb. 29), earning a spot on the five-player all-newcomer team. Westley, who leads the league with 8.6 rebounds a game, ranks among the conference leaders in scoring (8th, 14.8), field goal percentage (10th, .480), free throw percentage (14th, .709), steals (14th, 1.14), blocked shots (8th, 0.86), offensive rebounds (1st, 3.11) and defensive rebounds (2nd, 5.50).
. . . BUT THE REST OF THE VIKINGS WERE SNUBBED: It is understandable that by going winless through the Horizon League slate that the Vikings would be overlooked in the all-league balloting. Still, several CSU players were deserving of recognition:
Jermaine Robinson: He was leading the league in scoring long before injuries crippled CSU. As each Viking went down, he drew more and more attention by opposing defenses, forcing his statistics to take a downward turn. Still, he ranks second in the league with a 19.9 scoring average and 16 20-point games.
Omari Westley: He leads the league in rebounding by such a wide margin that Wright State's Seth Doliboa would have to grab 35 rebounds in his next game and Westley go board-less for him to lose the lead. Like Robinson, Westley's numbers have leveled as the Viking frontline became depleted.
Pape Badiane: The numbers are quite simple. Despite playing 10 fewer games than the rest of the league blocked shot leaders, he has seven more blocks than any other player in the league and deserved inclusion on the all-defensive team for the second straight year.
CSU IN THE NCAA STATS: The Vikings received a single mention in the latest NCAA statistics, which were released on Feb. 24. Senior Jermaine Robinson was 23rd in the nation in scoring (20.1 ppg). The statistics will be released by the NCAA every Tuesday through the end of the season.
ROBINSON READY CONTINUES CLIMB UP SCORING CHART: A 12-point effort against Butler on Feb. 12 allowed senior Jermaine Robinson to move into ninth place on the CSU career scoring chart. He enters the Horizon League Championship with 1,397 points. He can move up as many as three spots on the career scoring chart this week. He needs six points to pass eighth-place Eric Mudd (1985-88), who scored 1,402 points; 12 points to catch seventh-place Weldon Kytle (1961-65), who had 1,408 points; and 27 to pass sixth-place Darren Tillis (1978-82), who scored 1,423 points. Robinson is one of 16 players in CSU history to score 1,000 career points.
CHAVIS IS BACK: After missing eight games with a broken right hand, junior point guard Walt Chavis returned to the lineup last Thursday against Loyola, scoring six points with three steals in 39 minutes of action. Chavis earned the start in both games last week, giving him 20 starts this year and 47 in his career.
. . . BUT RITZEMA IS OUT: The return of Walt Chavis to the lineup was offset by the news that junior center Pete Ritzema will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a broken nose in the first half of the Eastern Michigan game on Feb. 21. Originally thought to be a minor injury, Ritzema endured complications that kept him out of three straight days of practice and ultimately prevented him from making the season-ending road trip. Ritzema has now missed 10 games this year because of four different injuries.
A STARKS CONTRAST: Head coach Mike Garland has told the Vikings all year long that hard work in practice translates to results in games. So when walk-on guard Sanchez Starks impressed Garland with his hard work in practice over the last two weeks, Garland rewarded the sophomore with playing time in the first half in each of the last three games. Starks had his breakout game as a Viking on Saturday at UW-Milwaukee, setting career highs for points (6), rebounds (3), assists (2), steals (2) and minutes played (13). A native of Cleveland, he has now totalled 22 minutes in eight games this year.
MORRIS EMERGES AS OFFENSIVE LEADER: One of the true bright spots this season has been the development of freshman guard Victor Morris. Morris, who has started 18 straight games, has shown more aggressiveness offensively lately. He is averaging 8.7 points over the last 11 games, shooting .475 from the field (38-80) during that span. His ball-handling has improved as well. He has had three or more assists in six of the last seven games, including a career-high nine assists vs. Eastern Michigan on Feb. 21. Over the last five games, Morris has handed out 21 assists while committing just seven turnovers.
THE BREAK DID BADIANE SOME GOOD: Senior Pape Badiane has been shooting the lights out since returning to the lineup on Feb. 5. Badiane, who was just 22-of-56 (.393) from the field in the 10 games before the injury, has connected on 25-of-48 field goal attempts (.521) since returning to the lineup seven games ago. He has been even better over the last four games, making 19-of-31 shots (.613), including a 9-for-13 effort vs. Eastern Michigan on Feb. 21, averaging 13.3 points a game.
A SENIOR SALUTE: The Horizon League Championship will serve as the final contests in the careers of Viking seniors Jermaine Robinson and Pape Badiane. Robinson ranks ninth in CSU history with 1,397 points while Badiane, a three-year regular in the lineup, is third with 136 career blocks.
ROBINSON CLAIMS A THREE-POINT RECORD: Lost in the Eastern Michigan loss was that Jermaine Robinson's four-for-11 shooting effort from three-point allowed the senior to break the CSU season record for three-point field goals attempted in a season. In 28 games, Robinson has now attempted 211 treys, 18 more than the previous mark of 193 set by James Madison during the 1999-00 campaign. Robinson has made 62 treys this year, the eighth-highest season total in school history. He needs eight three's to equal the record of 70 treys set by both Theo Dixon (2000-01) and Damon Stringer (1999-00).
. . . AND ROBINSON ASCENDS THE FREE THROW CHARTS: With at least one game left in the 2003-04 season, Jermaine Robinson is also chasing a couple of free throw records. He enters the week having made 137 of 211 free throws this year, ranking sixth in free throws made and third in attempts. Both records were set by Ken McFadden in 1987-88 when he made 177 of 233 free throws.
RITZEMA CELEBRATES A START: With Patrick Tatham out with a knee injury, Mike Garland inserted Pete Ritzema into the starting lineup against Butler on Feb. 12, allowing the junior to start for the second time in his career and the first time this year. Ritzema responded by scoring a career-high 13 points, on six-for-eight shooting, while adding a career-high-equalling five rebounds. He scored seven of CSU's first nine points of the game. He surpassed his previous best of nine points set against Detroit last year.
BADIANE'S BACK: Senior center Pape Badiane returned to the lineup on Feb. 5 after missing 11 games with a broken right hand that he suffered in the opening moments of the Dec. 29 game against Georgia Southern at the Islander Classic. Badiane, who had surgery on Jan. 2, returned to practice on Feb. 2 for limited participation and played 22 minutes against UW-Green Bay. He scored two points with seven rebounds and four blocks. He has started the last six games, scoring a season-high 18 points against Eastern Michigan last week.
. . . BUT TATHAM IS OUT: The return of Pape Badiane to the lineup afforded freshman center Patrick Tatham the opportunity to take himself out of the lineup in order to get a painful knee injury corrected. Tatham had been playing with considerable pain since the condition flared up just before Christmas but has battled to play no less than 20 minutes in each of his last 20 games. Tatham had surgery on the knee on Feb. 13 and will miss the remainder of the season. He started 14 of the 23 games he played in, averaging 3.8 points and 4.7 rebounds a game.
BADIANE IS BACK AFTER THE BLOCKED SHOT LEAD: It is almost like the story of the tortoise and the hare. Pape Badiane blocks 27 shots in the first 10 games to open a huge lead on the Horizon League blocked shots chart, only to sit out 11 games with a broken hand. The rest of the league finally caught up with Badiane in early February when Loyola's Louis Smith and Demetrius Williams passed his early season total. With the blocked shot lead out of his hands for the first time in over a year, Badiane returned to the lineup on Feb. 5 and blocked 18 shots in his first seven games to regain the lead. In 17 games, Badiane is averaging 2.60 blocks per game, well ahead of Smith (38 blocks in 27 games, 1.41).
A BAD BREAK: When senior center Pape Badiane broke his right hand in the opening minutes of the Georgia Southern game on Dec. 29, it not only caused the Vikings to lose one of the top defensive players in the conference, but it gave CSU a totally different look on the court. In the nine games leading up to the injury, CSU used its interior defense to lead the Horizon League with 55 blocked shots, a +7.8 rebounding margin and a .390 field goal defense (223-572) while allowing 71.9 points a game. In the 12 games without him following the injury, the Vikings were out-rebounded, 409-395 (-1.2) and blocked just 26 shots. An even more significant stat was that CSU's opponents shot .486 from the field (319-657) and averaged 76.3 points a game. Only one of CSU's first nine opponents shot above .431 from the field, a figure that was achieved in all but two games with Badiane out of the lineup.
. . . AND THE SURVEY SAYS: With Pape Badiane playing over 20 minutes in each of the last seven games, it is pertinent to see which set of statistics held true from the note above. In the seven games, the Vikings blocked 33 shots (4.7 bpg) and were out-rebounded, 275-214 (-8.7/game). The five opponents shot .457 from the field (187-409).
VIKING MASH UNIT: When the Vikings opened the season on Nov. 22nd, they featured one of the biggest and deepest front lines in the country. That depth has disappeared somewhere in the training room as just about every Viking player on the front line has missed time with some ailment. They are:
Pete Ritzema: Missed 10 games with four different injuries this year, the latest being a broken nose that will sideline him for the rest of the year. In the first 28 games, he played in just 18 contests, totalling 132 minutes.
Pape Badiane: The Vikings' starting center missed 11 games with a broken right hand suffered vs. Georgia Southern on Dec. 29. He returned to the court and played over 20 minutes in the last seven games.
Patrick Tatham: The freshman, who started 14 games at center, will miss the rest of the season (5 games to date) after surgery on Feb. 13. He played for over six weeks with considerable pain caused by tendonitis in his knee.
Amadou Koundoul: Hasn't fully come back from off-season surgery to alleviate tendonitis in his knee and the condition continues to limit him this year. He has missed two games completely and seen minimal action in several others.
Walt Waters: Missed both games at the Islander Classic following a death in his family and is sidelined for the remainder of the year because he did not meet institutional academic eligibility standards.
Walt Chavis: Okay, he's not a post-player but he did miss eight games with a broken right hand. He started the first 18 games at point guard before a fluke injury sent him to the bench. He returned to play both games last week.
HERE'S TO YOU, MR. ROBINSON: No player has benefitted more from the change in offensive philosophy this year than senior Jermaine Robinson. Robinson has led the team in scoring 18 times, posting 16 games of 20 points or more, the second highest total in the Horizon League. He is second in the league with a 19.9 scoring average, quite a jump from the 10.5 points he averaged a year ago. He has scored in double figures in every game, tallying 19 points or more 21 times. His ability to penetrate and score has led to him attempting a league-leading 7.5 free throws a game (211 total). His 27 points against Eastern Michigan on Feb. 21 was his 25th career game of 20 points or more.
40-MINUTE MAN: Senior Jermaine Robinson loves media timeouts. He has to because they are pretty much the only breaks that he gets during a game. Over the last 21 games, Robinson is averaging 37.8 minutes played (it would be higher except he missed eight minutes because of injury vs. Youngstown State), including 40-minute efforts against Boston University (12/22), Wright State (1/8), Detroit (1/19), Youngstown State (1/24), UW-Green Bay (2/5) and Detroit (2/7). He was the first Viking to play 40 minutes in a game that wasn't decided in overtime since Jamaal Harris went wire-to-wire against Detroit in the final game of the 2001-02 season. He has now played 35 minutes or more 41 times during his career, including in 19 of the last 21 games and 22 times in 28 contests this year. He has played 40 minutes or more in a game (counting OT) eight times in his career. Robinson played a career-high 43 minutes in an OT game against California last year and 41 minutes in an OT contest against Florida State as a freshman in 2000-01.
. . . ROBINSON ISN'T THE ONLY VIKING TO GO THE DISTANCE: The depth problems that CSU has had during the second half of the season has led four different Vikings to play all 40 minutes in a game this year. Robinson leads the way with six 40-minute games this year. Walt Chavis played 40 minutes at UIC while Omari Westley and Victor Morris joined the group with 40-minute efforts at Butler on Jan. 29.
. . . THE MINUTES FOR MORRIS INCREASE: The loss of Percell Coles and Walt Chavis led to an increase in the playing time for Victor Morris as well. Morris has played 30 minutes or more in 11 of the last 13 games, averaging 35.8 minutes over that span. He played a full 40 minutes at Butler on Jan. 29. He has played a total of 777 minutes this year, the fourth-highest total by a freshman in CSU history.
GIVING CHARITY: Although the Vikings have been to the free throw line 626 times this year, CSU is being outscored by its opponents at the stripe. In 28 games, Vikings opponents have attempted 652 charity tosses and own a 456-404 scoring edge from the line. CSU opponents are converting at a .699 clip, which is well ahead of the Vikings' .645 percentage. The difference has come recently as CSU has shot more free throws then its opponents only six times in the 19 games since Christmas, being outscored 310-221 over that span.
ACCEPTING CHARITY: Along with the outrageous team free throw shooting numbers come some pretty hefty individual free throw totals as well. The tandem of Jermaine Robinson (211 attempts) and Omari Westley (175) rank first and third, respectively, in the Horizon League in free throw attempts. Wright State's Vernard Hollins ranks second with 194 attempts. Westley made 14-of-18 free throws against Florida A&M, the sixth-highest single game total for attempts while ranking fourth for makes. Robinson opened the year by making 14 free throws in 17 attempts against Central State.
ROBINSON PLAYS IN HIS 100TH CAREER CONTEST: Jermaine Robinson reached a career milestone against Wright State on Jan. 8, playing in his 100th career game as a Viking. He enters the week having started 97 of the 114 games during his career, totalling 3,257 minutes. His 31-minute effort against Loyola on Thursday allowed him to move into fifth place on the career minutes played list, passing Darren Tillis (1978-82), who had 3,214 minutes.
A SHOT-BLOCKING FAMILY: The shot-blocking performance by Pape Badiane this year should not be a surprise. After all, blocking shots is a trait that is shared by his younger brother, Moussa, who is a junior at East Carolina. Moussa Badiane has blocked 79 shots in the Pirates' 24 games this year (3.3 bpg), giving him 229 blocks in his career. Moussa Badiane ranked seventh nationally in blocked shots last week while Pape Badiane's 2.60 blocks per game would have been 18th had he played in the required 75% of CSU's games.
THE BLOCKED SHOT RECORD LOOKS SAFE: The Vikings will need to advance past the opening round of the Horizon League Championship if they are to break the school record for blocked shots in a season for the third time in four years. In 28 games this year, CSU has blocked 115 shots, 17 less than the school record of 132 set last year. The Vikings originally set a school record with 130 blocks in 2000-01 and then narrowly missed resetting the mark with 128 blocks in 2001-02. The record fell again last year when the Vikings swatted away 132 shots to lead the Horizon League.
A VIKING BLOCK PARTY: Even though it appears that the Vikings will fall short of the blocked shot record, there have been several blocked shot highlights this year, including a school record 12 blocked shots against Central State. Some interesting notes about the shot blocking performance this season: * The Central State performance topped the old school record of 11 set against IUPUI on Nov. 16, 2002. * Pape Badiane rejected five shots against Central State, UW-Milwaukee and Florida A&M, tying him for the fourth-highest single game total in school history. * Five different Vikings blocked at least one shot against Central State, the most since five players accomplished it against IUPUI in the first game of the 2001-02 season. * Badiane leads the Horizon League with 45 blocked shots this year, despite missing 11 games with a broken hand. * Badiane has 17 career games of four blocks or more and 35 games with multiple blocks.
BLEDSOE GAINS NATIONAL NOTICE: It is the goal of every young assistant coach to gain national acclaim for his performance and first year Viking assistant Sean Bledsoe has done just that. In the latest Fashion Power Index, which is compiled by Angela Lento for CollegeInsiders.com, Bledsoe is ranked as the ninth-best dressed assistant in the country. Lento writes, "This sharp-young understudy is in his first season at Cleveland State, but he brings a wealth of coaching AND clothier experience to CSU. Bledsoe, who had success as a head coach at Wilberforce University, is smooth." Bledsoe disputes the ranking. "Ninth? The blue jacket and slacks combo that I wore for the Butler game is definitely worthy of being ranked much higher but mid-major assistants never get their proper due," Bledsoe said. "I'll have to turn my wardrobe up for the rest of the season."
VIKINGS INK ONE ON SIGNING DAY: The Vikings received an added bonus on Nov. 12 when Rockford (Mich.) High standout Mike Redell signed a national letter of intent to attend CSU and play basketball beginning next fall. Redell, a 6-1 point guard, is ranked as the No. 2 point guard in Michigan this year while also being tabbed as the best defender in the state by Prep Spotlight. He is coming off a junior campaign which saw him earn first team all-state honors from the Associated Press after helping his team to win the state title and, in the process, become only the second Class A squad to go undefeated in state history (28-0). He averaged 14.3 points and 4.8 assists per game, shooting 42 percent from three-point (80-191) and 72 percent from the line (82-114).
TAKING ATTENDANCE: The crowd of 11,534 that attended the North Carolina game was the second-largest crowd to see a Viking game in the Convocation Center. It trails the record 13,055 who saw CSU open the building against Michigan on Dec. 7, 1991. The crowd ranks as the fourth-largest crowd to see a Viking game in Cleveland. Crowds of 15,314 (vs. Rhode Island in 1998-99) and 12,617 (vs. Ohio State in 1994-95) saw CSU play games in the Gatorade Rock-N-Roll Shootout at Gund Arena.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Vikings need a win over Detroit on Tuesday to advance in the Horizon League Championship. The six remaining teams in the tournament field advance to the second round, which will be played on Friday, March 5 at either Butler or UIC. A loss at Deroit will conclude the 2003-04 season.
