Welcome to The Sports Bank’s second annual college basketball season preview series. Last year we looked at 99 teams in 99 days. This year, we are being slightly more aggressive and expanding to 111 teams in 111 days. We will rank the 74 power conference teams and top 37 mid-majors in reverse power ranking order. We’ll break down rosters, non-conference schedules, and pick a player to watch for each team.
It would be sacrilegious to pick anybody but Butler to win the Horizon League. However, if any team is capable of knocking off the back-to-back National Runner-up, it is the Detroit Titans. Ray McCallum returns everybody from last season including a pair of potential NBA Draft picks.
DETROIT TITANS
Last Season: T-5th, 10-8 in Horizon, 17-16 overall
Predicted Horizon Finish: 2nd
Projected Depth Chart
C: Eli Holman (Sr)/LeMarcus Lowe (Sr)/John Hoskins (Jr)
F: Nick Minnerath (Sr)/Doug Anderson (Jr)/Evan Bruinsma (So)
G/F: Chase Simon (Sr)/Connor Clark (So)
SG: Chris Blake (Sr)/Jason Calliste (Jr)
PG: Ray McCallum (So)/Donavan Foster (Sr)/P.J. Boutte (Fr)
Gone: Nobody
2011-2012 Outlook:
The younger Ray McCallum will be the catalyst for the Titans this season. As a freshman, he led the team in scoring, assists, and steals and will be a Horizon League Player of the Year candidate. He will be joined in the starting backcourt by Chase Simon and Chris Blake. Simon and Blake are both versatile scorers and bring a lot of experience to the wing.
Jason Calliste is the team’s sixth man and top three point threat. He will play a major role off the bench. Donavan Foster is a pest of a defender and will back-up McCallum at the point. The duo will also see time on the floor together with Foster allowing McCallum to play off the ball at times. Minutes will be hard to come by for seldom used small forward Connor Clark and freshman P.J. Boutte.
Potential NBA Draft pick and former Indiana Hooiser Eli Holman will hold down the fort inside. He is a beast on the boards especially by Horizon League standards and one of the more underrated big men in the nation. Nick Minnerath will start alongside Holman and possesses more of an inside/outside game with the ability to stretch defenses with his three-point range.
Shot blocking specialist LeMarcus Lowe will be the first big off the bench. He averaged 2.4 blocks per game last season despite only playing about 16 minutes a night. Junior college transfer Doug Anderson is a high-flying, highlight reel, dunking machine who will add athleticism to the forward spot. John Hoskins and Evan Bruinsma played sparingly a year ago and that will likely be the case again in 2011-2012.
The Detroit Titans will have no problem scoring the basketball this season. If they can tighten up their defensive effort, there is no reason to believe that they can’t compete with Butler for the Horizon League crown. The experience, size, and athleticism is there, but can it all come together?
Player to Watch: Ray McCallum
After spurning offers from several major colleges, McCallum chose to stay at home and play for his father. He certainly did not disappoint in his freshman season. Even more is expected from the 6-1 point guard as a sophomore, especially since he is coming off the experience of representing the U.S. at the World University Games. If he elevates his play even more this season, it could be his last at Detroit as the NBA Draft will be calling his name.
Key Non-Conference Games:
11/14 at Notre Dame (CBE Classic)
11/21 vs. George Washington (CBE Classic)
12/5 vs. St. John’s
12/8 vs. Western Michigan
12/11 at Alabama
12/17 vs. Mississippi State
2/18 vs. TBA (ESPN BracketBuster)
OTHER 111 IN 111’S:
#59 UCF Knights
#60 Long Beach State 49ers
#61 Virginia Tech Hokies
#62 Clemson Tigers
#63 New Mexico State Aggies
#64 Tennessee Volunteers
#65 Iona Gaels
#66 Murray State Racers
#67 N.C. State Wolfpack
#68 Fairfield Stags
#69 George Washingon Colonials
#70 Indiana State Sycamores
#71 Oklahoma State Cowboys
#72 Indiana Hoosiers
#73 UAB Blazers
#74 Iowa State Cyclones
#75 Creighton Bluejays
#76 USC Trojans
#77 Weber State Wildcats
#78 Maryland Terrapins
#79 Tulsa Golden Hurricane
#80 Minnesota Golden Gophers
#81 Western Michigan Broncos
#82 Dayton Flyers
#83 Stanford Cardinal
#84 Yale Bulldogs
#85 Georgia Bulldogs
#86 Rutgers Scarlet Knights
#87 Richmond Spiders
#88 Ball State Cardinals
#89 Utah State Aggies
#90 Arizona State Sun Devils
#91 Marshall Thundering Herd
#92 Oregon State Beavers
#93 Washington State Cougars
#94 Iowa Hawkeyes
#95 Ole Miss Rebels
#96 Nebraska Cornhuskers
#97 Oklahoma Sooners
#98 South Florida Bulls
#99 LSU Tigers
#100 Colorado Buffaloes
#101 DePaul Blue Demons
#102 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
#103 Wake Forest Demon Deacons
#104 Seton Hall Pirates
#105 Providence Friars
#106 Auburn Tigers
#107 South Carolina Gamecocks
#108 Texas Tech Red Raiders
#109 Penn State Nittany Lions
#110 Boston College Eagles
#111 Utah Utes
David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Honolulu. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft on the web.
You can follow him on Twitter at DavidKay_TSB.
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