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LOCATION: Ypsilanti, MI
CONFERENCE: Mid-American (West)
LAST SEASON: 5-20 (.200)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 5-13 (5th)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 1/4
NICKNAME: Eagles
COLORS: Dark Green & White
HOMECOURT: Convocation Center (8,824)
COACH: Milton Barnes (Albion '79)
record at school 47-40 (3 years)
career record 47-40 (3 years)
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ASSISTANTS: Chad Walthall (Concordia '91)
Terence Greene (DePaul '94)
Mike Shedd (Purdue '97)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 20-25-22-20-5
RPI (last 5 years) 75-31-77-67-221
1998-99 FINISH: Did not qualify for postseason.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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On the heels of Eastern Michigan's 20th loss, coach Milton Barnes didn't give up, but he did take a different approach. The Eagles went back to square one, focusing their practice time on individual work and fundamentals, all with an eye on this year. Eastern Michigan's players responded, finishing the season with victories over Western Michigan and Central Michigan, gaining a sense of accomplishment and creating some much-needed momentum. "We've just got to come back and continue to believe in ourselves," Barnes said. Nobody expected Eastern Michigan to go 5-20, but a step back wasn't a total shock after losing five key seniors from a Mid-American Conference championship and NCAA Tournament team in 1998. The Eagles entered last season with only three lettermen and nine players who had never been in an NCAA Division I game. The Eagles lost their first 14 games. After losing to Ball State on Jan. 9, Barnes apologized for the performance, saying it was "pathetic" and "unacceptable." On Jan. 16, the Eagles finally picked up a victory, defeating Northern Illinois, 51-48, on the road.
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT C+ BENCH/DEPTH C
FRONTCOURT C+ INTANGIBLES C+
Things improved for the Eagles as last season wore on. The best thing to do now is to move forward. That's exactly what fourth-year coach Milton Barnes is doing. One thing working in Eastern Michigan's favor is a new MAC Tournament format that includes all 13 schools. The recruits and transfers make Eastern Michigan a better shooting team, an area where drastic improvement was needed. Depth will be much-improved as well. Overall, the Eagles will be better. How much better is anyone's guess. "You don't really know how to deal with adversity until you've faced it," Barnes said. At least Barnes won't have to make apologies for the way Eastern Michigan performs. |
It was too little, too late, however, because the Eagles were eliminated from MAC Tournament contention on Feb. 6 by Marshall. The Eagles had qualified for 18 of the 19 previous tournaments, winning the title in 1988, 1991, 1996 and 1998. The losing record was Eastern Michigan's first in seven years, but it didn't dampen the spirit of Barnes. In fact, it made the coach more determined to return the program to MAC prominence. "A season like 1998-99 is inevitable for all programs in a tough conference like the Mid-American," Barnes said. "Over the last 10 years, this program has experienced great success, and I think that with the players we have returning plus some very talented newcomers, Eastern Michigan will be back in its familiar position among the contenders." Hoping to avoid a repeat, Barnes softened this year's non-conference schedule. Instead of Boise State, Colorado State, Michigan, Minnesota and Rhode Island, the Eagles face Hampton, Chicago State, Hillsdale and Northwood. They still have a potential matchup with Michigan State in the Spartans' Coca Cola Classic and a road trip to TCU, but the chances of more wins are greatly improved. Whether it's good news or bad, most of last year's team is back. The only lettermen lost were forward Jared Van Orden (4.2 ppg, 1.7 rpg), a walk-on who left on a Mormon mission for two years, and starting center Ajani Williams (3.9 ppg, 3.2 rpg). Center K.C. Tanner (3.1 ppg, 2.4 rpg) left the team after eight games. Forward Craig Erquhart (11.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg), a 6-6 senior, returns after leading the team in scoring. Erquhart had 15 double-figure scoring games, with a high of 28 points against Rhode Island. Calvin Warner (10.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg) had an outstanding freshman season. The 6-7, 230-pound forward probably deserved a spot on the MAC All-Freshman Team, but wasn't voted in by the media. Warner started in all 25 games and was the league's fifth-leading rebounder. Warner forced opponents to respect EMU's inside game, and he will do even better if the Eagles can come up with some perimeter scoring. Eastern Michigan was ranked near the bottom of the league in scoring (59.6 ppg), field-goal percentage (.392) and three-point shooting percentage (.294). They were the MAC's worst free-throw shooting team (.605 percent). Returning backcourt starters are 6-3 senior DeSean Hadley (7.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg), 6-4 senior Larry Fisher (6.5 ppg, 1.4 rpg) and 6-1 junior Avin Howard (4.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3.4 assists). Howard, a two-year letterman, was the only starter with Division I playing experience before last season. Another veteran guard in the picture is 6-4 senior Corey Tarrant (6.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg). He scored 14, 20 and 15 in the final three games of the season. The other returning players are 6-4 junior guard Ben Romano (2.3 ppg, 1.5 rpg), 6-7, 230-pound sophomore forward Solomon McGee (3.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg), 6-7 junior forward Tyson Radney (2.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg) and 5-10 junior guard Rod Wells (1.0 ppg, 0.6 rpg). Romano is an interesting story. He is a native of Angola who played in the 1996 Olympics and scored six points against the U.S. Dream Team. Romano didn't think he was good enough to go out for the Eastern Michigan team and was playing intramurals when the coaching staff spotted him. He was invited to the annual walk-on tryouts and was added to the roster. Eastern Michigan's returning players all logged quality playing time. The luxury of having 10 players back isn't lost on Barnes. "That doesn't necessarily guarantee a championship, but it puts us right back, I think, in the mix of the top eight teams in the league," he said. Three players who sat out last season are waiting for their chance to contribute. Mosi Barnes, a 6-0 junior guard, and 6-5 sophomore guard Dante Darling are eligible for the start of the season while 6-3 sophomore guard Antonio Gates becomes eligible in December. Barnes is a transfer from Purdue (0.9 ppg, 0.5 rpg) where he was hampered by injuries. He is a good shooter who scored 21 points per game at Ritter High in Indianapolis. He is not related to Milton Barnes. Darling (10 ppg, 10 rpg) and Gates were teammates at Detroit (Mich.) Central High on a Class A state championship team in 1998. Darling sat out last season after not meeting NCAA initial eligibility requirements. Gates originally signed to play football at Michigan State, but left there after one semester to enroll at Eastern Michigan in January, 1999. Gates made Michigan all-state teams in football and basketball, averaging 27 points and 15 rebounds as a senior. Three other newcomers, all freshmen, complete one of the MAC's top recruiting classes. Michigan all-stater C.J. Grantham, a 5-9 freshman guard, helped lead his team at Belleville (Mich.) High to the Class A state finals against Darling and Gates. Last season, Grantham (19.4 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 4.4 apg) was chosen first team All-Metro by the Detroit Free Press. Early reports compare Grantham to former EMU star guard Earl Boykins because of his size and speed. Freshman forward Adam Hess, 6-7, of Grosse Pointe (Mich.) South High, averaged 23.0 points and 9.0 rebounds as a Class A all-state player. Hess also was on the All-State Academic Team with a 3.8 GPA. Another freshman, 6-7 forward Ryann Prillman of McDonough High in New Orleans averaged 14.0 points and 9.0 rebounds. Ron Briscoe's regional scouting service in Lafayette, La., rated Prillman as one of the top 15 players in the state. "There is no doubt that this is one of the most talented groups of recruits that Eastern Michigan University has signed in one year," Barnes said. "They not only have great athletic ability, but all three are also outstanding students. All three players will definitely contribute as freshmen." Redshirt freshman Melvin Hicks of Romulus (Mich.) High is a 6-3 guard who averaged 17.6 points and 6.3 rebounds as a prep senior. The Eagles continued the rebuilding process by picking up Ohio State transfer Shamar Herron, a 6-9, 250-pound center, who is sitting out this season. Herron (1.1 ppg, 1.4 rpg) played sparingly for the Buckeyes last year, appearing in only 10 games and averaging 5.1 minutes per game.
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