The Detroit Titans hobbled to an 11-19 record last season and their once formidable home court advantage took a tumble as well, as the Titans posted just a 6-6 mark at Calihan Hall. The loss of center Ryvon Covile will sting, as well as the loss of starters Brandon Bell and Muhammad Abdur-Rahim. Despite the departures, the Titans do have plenty of experience returning and hope to parlay that into victories on the court.
Anyone who follows the Horizon League knows that Titans point-guard Brandon Cotton is one the most exciting players in the league, having the ability to score seemingly at will. The 6-foot sixth year senior posted some of the best numbers of his career last season, scoring better than 18 points a game and shooting better than 47% from the floor.
A pair of fifth year seniors will also see extensive time in the backcourt. Jon Goode at 5’10” and a slight 150 pounds put up better than nine points a game last season and was among the few Titans able to consistently hit a free-throw, hitting almost 89% of his freebies. He can expect to see significant minutes at the point position.
Unfortunately for the Titans, Goode and Cotton were both suspended indefinitely by head coach Perry Watson on November 1. Not the kind of leadership one would expect from a pair of senior leaders.
The 6’4” Zach Everingham is not much of an offensive threat, but he doesn’t make mistakes and plays tough. He posted a better than two-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio while chipping in almost five points a game.
Sophomores Eulis Stephens and Woody Payne both saw limited minutes last season and will reprise their roles this season off the bench. Neither showed much ability to score and will have to improve offensively to see extended minutes. The 5’10” Payne has become a bit of a defensive specialist and is bound to see some significant minutes for the always defensive minded Titans.
Newcomer Josh Samarco comes from Schoolcraft Community College with the reputation of being a good long range shooter, something the Titans are in need of. Detroit shot just over 32% from three-point range last season, seventh in the conference. If Samarco’s shot is on look for him to garner plenty of court time.
Freshman David Boarden is another defensive minded guard in the mix for the Titans. It will be difficult to garner playing time, though, behind the deep and experienced group the Titans have this season.
The loss of Covile is easily the largest obstacle the Titans must overcome this season. Sophomore Justin Sample will be given every opportunity to become the star that Covile was. The 6’8” 235 pound Sample has plenty of athleticism and ability; he must now show it on the court.
Junior Chris Hayes started 30 games last season and showed much improvement, averaging over five points a game and the second highest rebounding total for the Titans. Hayes has also improved his outside shot this off-season in an effort to further increase his improvement.
Junior college transfer Michael Harrington stands 6’8” and weighs in at 230 pounds. He averaged 11 points and seven rebounds at the juco level and has the ability to score on the block and from the high post. Red-shirt freshman Russell Allen is a huge specimen at 6’8” and 255 pounds, with a year under his belt in the program he may be ready to contribute.
The Titans still hold out hope for Serbian forward Nemanja Jokic. Though just a sophomore academically the 6’6” Jokic is 23 years old and has the ability to put the ball on the floor, a rare commodity in the Horizon League. He struggled to find his shooting touch, but if he does he could be a valuable weapon for the Titans.
Another juco transfer, 6’5” Mychael Broom has a torn ACL and is likely to miss the entire season.
With two all-league performers a season ago the Titans managed just 11 wins and got bounced in the first round of the Horizon League Tournament. A wealth of experience comes back, though, and the Titans will look to use defense to their advantage once again. If the defense improves the Titans must still find someone more than Cotton to put the ball in the basket on a consistent basis. Those are two pretty big “ifs.”
--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.
