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LOCATION: Bowling Green, OH
CONFERENCE: Mid-American (East)
LAST SEASON: 18-10 (.643))
CONFERENCE RECORD: 12-6 (t-3rd)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 2/3
NICKNAME: Falcons
COLORS: Orange & Brown
HOMECOURT: Anderson Arena (5,000)
COACH: Dan Dakich (Indiana '85)
record at school 28-26 (2 years)
career record 28-26 (2 years)
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ASSISTANTS: Keith Noftz (Heidelberg '78)
Jamal Meeks (Indiana '92)
Artie Pepelea (Wisconsin-Parkside '94)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 16-14-22-10-18
RPI (last 5 years) 121-135-73-206-70
1998-99 FINISH: Lost in conference semifinal.
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The key to Bowling Green's success is simple. Well, maybe not. In each of the last two seasons, the Falcons lost an all-conference caliber player because of injury. In 1997-98, when former Indiana assistant Dan Dakich took over the program, forward Anthony Stacey's season was cut to five games by an assortment of ailments. Last year, guard Tony Reid, a preseason all-league selection, appeared in only 11 games because of a back injury. Despite losing Reid (8.8 ppg) for good in early January, the Falcons still made a strong run at the Mid-American Conference championship. The 18-10 season ended with an overtime loss to Miami (Ohio) in the conference tournament semifinals. Dakich thought his team was deserving of at least a bid to the NIT after a strong finish, but it didn't happen. Maybe this year, if the Falcons stay healthy. "We need to continue from where we left off last season in terms of being a tough-minded team in all phases of the game," Dakich said. "The reason we were able to play well down the stretch last year was because of our defensive play and the toughness that came along with that. And, everyone has to get better."
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT B BENCH/DEPTH C+
FRONTCOURT B+ INTANGIBLES B
Third-year coach Dan Dakich is building a championship contender at Bowling Green. His first team won 10 games and didn't qualify for the MAC Tournament. Last year, the Falcons improved by eight games and narrowly missed getting into the finals. This year's team has more talent and better depth. And, it has Anthony Stacey, which is worth a lot. Most of the problem areas identified by Dakich were addressed. "We recruited kids who are shooters, one area which I think we need to improve," he said. "We have a number of returning players who are pretty good shooters and need to become very good shooters. One of the keys will be how well we are able to rebound and play inside. The other is how many baskets we are going to be able to generate, especially by getting the ball down the court quickly." If Stacey gets some help, the Falcons probably won't be disappointed when this season's NCAA Tournament bids go out. |
Stacey was back in the lineup, and healthy, last season and returns as a strong candidate for MAC Player of the Year. The Charles Barkley lookalike is a 6-4, 235-pound senior who led the Falcons in scoring (18.5), rebounding (5.6), steals (61), three-point field goals (30) and minutes (917). He shot .500 from the floor (170 of 340) and .441 on three-point attempts (30 of 68). His 1,451 career points are just 383 shy of the school record set by Howard Komives (1,834) in 1964. "In my mind, Anthony is an old-school player," Dakich said. "He plays hard, he leads, he practices hard, he does everything you want a player to do. We have tried to increase his game, and I think he has done that. The final step in Anthony's development is to be able to make people better with his passing, because he is such a force. That is the final piece to his game offensively." Stacey wants the ball at crunch time. He converted field goals in the final five seconds to send the MAC Tournament quarterfinal and semifinal games to overtime. "He epitomizes our league," said Buffalo coach Tim Cohane, who recruited Stacey as a high school player in Elyria, Ohio. "He was probably overlooked by the Big Ten because of his size, but he's one of the best players in the country." Bowling Green has experience, depth and talent in the backcourt. Keith McLeod came on strong as a freshman after becoming academically eligible at midseason. McLeod, a 6-2 sophomore shooting guard, came off the bench in his first game against Wisconsin-Green Bay, and, without ever practicing with the team, scored 14 points in 31 minutes. McLeod (12.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg) was Bowling Green's only other double-figure scorer. In the 20 games he played after joining the Falcons, he had 11 games of more than 10 points and four games with more than 20. He made the MAC All-Freshman team. "Considering the difficult situation he came into basically without practice or conditioning Keith did as well as he possibly could do," Dakich said. "Now he needs to become more comfortable with not only his play, but making other players better. We need to get him to the point where he does all the little things that talented players do to win games." McLeod will help ease the loss of senior DeMar Moore (8.0 ppg, 3.9 assists). This year's version of McLeod could be 6-1 sophomore guard Brandon Pardon, who becomes eligible Dec. 18 as a transfer from Wright State. Pardon (6.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg) started 24 of 28 games as a Wright State freshman. He finished third in Ohio Mr. Basketball voting at Lincolnview High School in Van Wert, Ohio, when he averaged 21.1 points. The guard corps also includes 6-1 sophomore Graham Bunn (4.5 ppg, 1.2 rpg), 6-3 junior Dubrey Black (3.2 ppg, 1.2 rpg) and 6-4 junior Trent Jackson (2.6 ppg, 1.3 rpg). Jackson also joined the squad at midseason after sitting out as an Ohio State transfer. His strength is on defense. "We have five experienced players in the backcourt," Dakich said. "We are going to try and get the ball down the court because I think McLeod and Pardon, in particular, can get it down the court." Dakich brought in two freshman guards, 6-7, 185-pound Seth Doliboa of Springboro High in Ohio and 6-5, 205-pound Cory Ryan of Northeastern High in Fountain City, Ind. Dolibia (17 ppg, 11 rpg) made second team All-Ohio in Division II. His brother, Cain, plays for Dayton. Ryan (23.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg) scored 1,400 points in high school and was honorable mention all-state. Stacey's strong presence at forward makes that position Bowling Green's strongest. The other forward is steady 6-7, 220-pound senior Dave Esterkamp, a vastly underappreciated player. Esterkamp (8.0 ppg, 4.6 rpg) was a starter in 48 of 54 games in his career. He plays the kind of hard-nosed defense Dakich loves. Redshirt freshman Jeremy King, a 6-6 forward who played at Scott High in Toledo, Ohio, sat out last season to concentrate on academics. King made the all-city team (18.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg) at Scott. The center spot filled so well by 6-7 Kirk Cowan (9.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg) the last two seasons will be manned by 6-9, 220-pound sophomore Len Matela (6.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg). Matela played a significant role as a rookie, playing in all 28 games and starting 12. Both Matela and Dakich attended Andrean HS in Merrillville, Ind. "I would think, with increased strength, that Len should be as good as any rebounder around, whether that is this season or sometime in the future," Dakich said. Sophomore Brent Klassen, 6-8, 220, appeared in 12 games (1.7 ppg, 0.8 rpg) last year. Center Kevin Netter, a tad spindly at 6-10, 195, obviously needs to add some size and strength. He averaged 18.0 points and 8.0 rebounds at Southeastern High School in Richmond Dale, Ohio. "Our inside is a bit of a concern between Matela, Klassen and Kevin Netter," Dakich said. "They are going to have to play a lot. They are going to have to produce rebounding, scoring, not making turnovers and being able to defend players who are going to be stronger than they are."
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