It’s year two of the Gary Waters project at Cleveland State and the Vikings already have the look and feel of a Waters team. Starting just his second season at the helm for the Vikings just two players remain from previous regime. With ten, yes ten, new faces added to the roster fans will certainly want to get a media guide to start the season in order to tell who is who. If Waters plans work, the Vikings and some of those new faces will be household names in Horizon League kitchens by the end of the season.
Junior forward J’Nathan Bullock is one of the two holdovers from the Garland era and the centerpiece of the Vikings squad. Named to the Horizon League pre-season second team Bullock at 6’5” and 240 pounds led the team in scoring and rebounding a season ago. Bullock is very adept at scoring in the low post and has, apparently, added some outside touch to his game. With the addition of some frontcourt help look for Bullock to play in his more natural small forward position.
Allowing Bullock to do that is the arrival of 6’8” junior power forward George Tandy. Tandy transferred from Eastern Illinois University where he was named the Ohio Valley Conference freshman of the year in 2004-05 and put up better than nine points and seven rebounds his sophomore season. He sat out last season after transferring to CSU and will be a constant threat to put up a double double on any given night.
Senior forward Kevin Francis appeared in 18 games a season ago before grades finished his season. Despite seeing just 18 minutes a contest he averaged nearly 4.5 rebounds a game. Another newcomer, Chris Moore, a 6’9” 240 pound junior who transferred from UC-Santa Barbara will see plenty of time in the center spot.
Senior Renard Fields, the other Garland era survivor, appeared in 29 games a season ago and will continue to help in the much improved and much bigger Cleveland frontcourt. Fields is a solid defensive presence who was second on the club in blocks despite seeing just over 11 minutes a contest.
Incoming freshmen Joe Latas and Daitwan Eppinger will provide depth if nothing else this season, but the future looks bright. The 6’11” Latas is recovering from ankle surgery, but has already been tabbed the Vikings center of the future. In a league that thirsts for big men Latas has the potential to be a star. Eppinger is a 6’6” forward who averaged better than 19 points and eight rebounds as a high school senior.
Yet another incoming freshman, 6’7” Corey Neale led the Greater Cleveland are in scoring as a high school senior. He averaged better than 27 points and ten rebounds in being named to the second-team all-state.
In a guard heavy conference like the Horizon League it is crucial to have talent at those positions. CSU believes it has several answers with an influx of freshman and transfers vying for playing time at the guard positions.
Sophomore Joe Davis, Waters first recruit, started 19 games a season ago and averaged just over nine points a contest. Davis was thrust into the starting lineup a season ago due to injuries and struggled a bit on defense and shooting the ball. He should find a better groove this year as he won’t be responsible for the point guard duties very often, letting him do what he does best. Score.
Freshman D’Aundray Brown will also see some time at the two and three spot as the Vikings have him pegged as the star of the future. A 6’4” wing player, Brown was first-team all-state as a high school senior from Youngstown. If he blossoms this season he could possibly surprise and make the league’s all-newcomer team.
Junior Cedric Jackson, a transfer from St. John’s, will be handed the keys to the Vikings point guard position. Jackson started 35 games in two seasons at St. John’s and will give the Vikings the experience and leadership at the point guard position that is so desperately needed at this level of competition.
Freshman Norris Cole should see some minutes at the point too as he is groomed for the role in the future. Cole was a football and basketball standout in high school where he always managed to put up big numbers in big games.
Another interesting name added to the mix is freshman Eric Schiele. A one-time high school teammate of Lebron James, he can score in bunches. Schiele averaged almost 40 points a game as a high school senior and will shoot from the restroom according to one opposing coach. He becomes eligible in the second semester.
Senior Breyohn Watson appeared in 30 games a season ago, seeing 15 minutes of action per contest. As one of just five Vikings familiar with the Horizon League he should continue to see game time.
With all the scoring and athleticism the Vikings boast they still have some areas of concern, namely a league worst .306 three-point shooting percentage. It is hoped that juco transfer Nick Weaver can help a bit in that area. He shot better than 43% from beyond the arc last season at Glendale Community College, and has already been dubbed the Vikings best shooter without having played a minute of D-1 basketball.
It’s nearly impossible to put together a team in one season and expect to compete. Waters certainly went out and hit the recruiting trail hard and landed some decent talent for the Horizon League, but to think that a group of ten new faces is going to gel and compete this season is a stretch. The Vikings appear to have the talent to compete with any team in the Horizon League on any given night, but it is asking a lot for this group to go out there and get it done against other teams that have been together three and fours seasons already. A .500 conference slate would be a huge success for the Vikings this season.
--Joe Dlugosz is the editor of Ramblermania.com, a website dedicated to Loyola-Chicago sports information. For more of Joe's writing, visit: www.ramblermania.com --ed.
