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LOCATION: Murfreesboro, TN
CONFERENCE: Ohio Valley (OVC)
LAST SEASON: 12-19 (.387)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 9-9 (t-3rd)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 2/3
NICKNAME: Blue Raiders
COLORS: Blue & White
HOMECOURT: Murphy Center (11,520)
COACH: Randy Wiel (North Carolina '79)
record at school 50-40 (3 years)
career record 82-90 (6 years)
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ASSISTANTS: Jim Ryan (Montclair State '90)
Andy Herzer (UNC Asheville '84)
Victor Newman (UNC Asheville '96)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 12-15-19-19-12
RPI (last 5 years) 246-85-156-136-232
1998-99 FINISH: Lost in conference semifinal.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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In its season opener last year, Middle Tennessee State played a game that would be its season in a nutshell. The Blue Raiders were at home against East Tennessee State. They had a good chance to win, but left their court with a 64-59 loss. It started a trend that would last a season. Three of the Blue Raiders' losses against OVC foes Eastern Illinois, Morehead State and Austin Peay were by a total of four points. They also lost to Tennessee Tech in overtime. If they had won one of those games, the Blue Raiders would have finished alone in third place instead of locked in a four-way tie for third. It wasn't the kind of season to which Blue Raiders coach Randy Wiel is accustomed. He won close games the previous year at Middle Tennessee, and he did the same, for the most part, in his three seasons at UNC Asheville. "We were in a lot of close games," Wiel said. "We were right there where it could have gone either way with a tip-in. Those were the same games two years ago with a veteran team that we pulled out." Those are the games that Wiel intends to win this season. Seven players return from last year's 12-19 team, inlcuding three starters. Plus, the Blue Raiders welcome three players to the roster who sat out last season after transferring from other programs, and two freshmen recruits join the team.
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT B- BENCH/DEPTH B
FRONTCOURT B- INTANGIBLES C
No doubt Wiel has loaded the Blue Raiders with talent. He welcomes six newcomers to the team, including three transfers who are familiar with the program. Getting these new players to mesh with three returning starters and four other returnees will be the key to a successful season. Wiel must settle on a point guard to run the show, and that will be up to a newcomer, either Chisholm or Whitworth. "I think we will be much-improved from last season," Wiel said. "We have some players who have been battle tested and will give us experience on the floor." This season will be a test of Wiel's coaching abilities. He has enough talent to make a run at the OVC title, but finding the right combination of players will be the tricky part. |
Wiel said balance and depth will be keys to a successful season. "We're not a team that relies on one person," he said. "We like to be a team by committee, but you always like to have an ace in the hole, a player you can go to when you need a basket." Their ace in the hole this season could be one of several players. One of them is 6-6 senior forward Cedrick Wallace. Last season, Wallace (12.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg) led the Blue Raiders in scoring and was the team's second-leading rebounder and third-leading assist man with 63. A transfer from Northeast Mississippi JC, Wallace can play either forward position. He started 26 games. "Cedrick is a player who can score points by driving to the basket and getting tip-ins, and he's a good rebounder," Wiel said. "He's a very good all-around player." Dale Thomas, a 6-6 junior, returns at power forward after starting 30 games last season. Thomas (7.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg) has good range on his jump shot, but not the kind of range that he thinks he has. "Thomas is a mobile power forward, but he can shoot the ball up to 15 feet," Wiel said. "But he's more effective around the basket. Of course, he doesn't think so. He wants to shoot the three. He's strong and has very good hands." Lee Nosse, a 6-10 junior center, is the third returning starter. Nosse (10.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg) led the team in rebounding last season and his 55 blocks were the third most in school history. He should be one of the better centers in the league. "Nosse has gotten better every year he's been here," Wiel said. "With that natural progress, we hope he's better this year. He's gotten a little stronger and that should make him a better rebounder. He's a very good scorer and a very good player. He's one of our better outside shooters. One of the reasons Lee shoots so well is because he had a late growth spurt. He was playing a little outside (before the growth spurt)." One projected starter was 6-5 shooting guard Freddie Martinez, who averaged 12.3 points and 2.8 rebounds two years ago. Martinez, a junior, only played five games last season before being sidelined by a knee injury. He has been slow to recover. He had surgery again in late August and is questionable for the start of the season. Swingman Gerald King, who averaged 9.6 points and 3.0 rebounds last season, is no longer on the team. King, who would have been a junior, played in all 31 games and was the third-leading scorer. The point-guard job is up for grabs with two newcomers in the running. It will be crucial for the Blue Raiders to find a replacement for three-year starting point guard Richard Duncan (9.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg), who was fifth in the OVC in assists (142) and led the league in steals (87) with 29 more than second-place Andae Betts of Tennessee-Martin. Jonathan Whitworth, a 5-11 junior transfer from Aquinas Junior College in Nashville, and Kenyata Chisholm, a 6-0 freshman from Eau Claire High School in Columbia, S.C., are the frontrunners at point guard. "Both are different, but they're very good point guards," Wiel said. "Chisholm is coming out of high school, but he's played a lot of basketball. He's played AAU basketball and been to the Nike camps. He's not like a high school player. Jonathan is a little smaller. He's a very good defensive player and really plays very good up-tempo. He pushes the ball up and looks for people." Eric Jones, a 6-0 redshirt freshman, is also in the point-guard mix. Chisholm averaged 15.5 points and 8.2 assists as a senior last season. He can also play shooting guard. Chisholm got looks from some high-profile Division I programs, including Clemson, Connecticut and South Carolina. Whitworth averaged 8.3 points and 6.7 assists last season, leading Aquinas to the NCJAA Tournament. "Kenyata is a little more of a scorer (than Whitworth)," Wiel said. "He's a very good ballhandler and passer. Kenyatta is more of a combination guard and Jonathan is strictly a point guard. Defensively, they're both quick defenders." Jones was a walk-on who didn't see action last season, but as a senior at Chester County (Tenn.) High School averaged 24.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists. Other returnees are 6-7 senior forward Ellious Swanigan (3.4 ppg, 2.1 rpg), 6-9 senior center Johnny Cobb (1.7 ppg, 2.0 rpg) and 6-2 junior guard Kevin White (3.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg). Cobb played in all 31 games last season as a reserve, averaging 11.9 minutes. Swanigan played in 19 games and earned three starts. White played in 25 games, starting four, and twice scored in double figures. Wiel his high hopes for his newcomers, with 6-5 swingman Fernando Ortiz leading the way. Ortiz, a NAIA Division II transfer from St. Vincent (Penn.) College, is a native of Comoa, Puerto Rico and one of the Blue Raiders' most athletic players. He played on the Puerto Rican national team last summer against the U.S. team, which included NBA players, and put on a show. "He had some nice dunks against the U.S. team," Wiel said. "He doesn't shoot the ball as well as Freddie (Martinez), but he's more of a scorer. He's a very good athlete." Ortiz, who practiced with the Blue Raiders last season, averaged 18 points and seven rebounds two years ago and earned NAIA All-American honors. Ron McKnight, a 6-5 junior guard, sat out last season after transferring from DeKalb (Ga.) Junior College. He averaged 17.0 points and 8.0 rebounds two years ago in junior college. "He's kind of a slasher," Wiel said. "He's a very good athlete. I recruited him out of high school (in Fayetteville, N.C.), but he didn't make his grades. He's a combination (shooting guard and small forward). He and Ortiz will be our two best athletes." Iiro Tenngren, a 6-8 sophomore forward, practiced with the Blue Raiders last year after transferring from Vanderbilt. He can play power forward or low post and runs well for his size. A native of Finland, Tenngren played at Episcopal High School in Lynchburg, Va. and averaged 25.8 points and 11.0 rebounds. Wiel looks for 6-7 freshman Jani Hiltunen to give the Blue Raiders some scoring punch from the perimeter. Hiltunen, a native of Helskinki, Finland, played pro ball in his homeland and averaged 15.0 points and 5.0 rebounds. "He's almost a clone of Freddie Martinez," Wiel said. "His strength is outside shooting. He has size. We'll have to see how he adjusts to our style of play."
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