Despite posting just a 14-16 mark a season ago the Titans managed to come within a point of the NCAA tournament. Detroit started last season by winning just two of their first eight games before righting the ship and posting a 9-7 conference mark and a third place finish in the Horizon League. The Titans return player of the year candidate Brandon Cotton and despite losing a key player to injury they figure to use their tough defense to make a run at the top of the league.

Cotton transferred from Michigan State and became eligible in the second semester last season. He proved that all the hype surrounding the McDonald’s All-American transfer was true. Cotton went on to average nearly 19 points a game and lead the Titans in scoring 20 of the 22 games he played in. Cotton is arguably the fastest offensive player in the league and has a tremendous ability to create his own shot with his quickness. With some better three-point shooting (30.6 %) he’d be nearly unstoppable on the offensive end.

The departure of senior James Thues leaves the Titans in search of a point guard. While Cotton most likely will take some of the duties the Titans expect Jon Goode to contribute. Goode appeared in 29 games last season as a red-shirt freshman, seeing better than 13 minutes a game. He struggled at times, posting 41 turnovers to just 24 assists. Brandon Bell, a transfer from Marquette becomes eligible in December, but Achilles’ surgery may leave him out for the season.

Junior Muhammad Abdur-Rahim started 22 contests last season, but saw just 13 minutes a game as the Titans trotted out a slew of players in the three-spot. Abdur-Rahim is a good defender who doesn’t mind giving up his body to grab a rebound. Senior Ben Green appeared in all 30 games and saw about 20 minutes of action per game. He averaged just over five points and three rebounds per contest.

Sophomore Zach Everingham is thought to be a great outside shooter despite hitting just 31% from three-point range last season. If he finds his stroke this season he will see more than the ten minutes of action per contest he saw a season ago. Junior Jonathan Kelly adds to the Titans backcourt depth and is another hard nosed defender.

Up front the loss of Ryvon Covile to injury will hurt the Titans. Covile had a disappointing season last year averaging just 7.5 points per game and just over five rebounds. He has, however, twice been named to the league’s all-defensive teams and has the ability to be a first team Horizon League performer. His loss in the frontcourt will put some added pressure on the others.

The pressure will mostly fall on the shoulders of seniors Torvoris Baker, Ethan Shaw and Chuck Bailey. The 6’7” 200 pound Baker started 22 games last season averaging better than seven points and nearly six rebounds. The 6’8” 225 pound Shaw appeared in all 30 games, starting six times. He averaged 3.5 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. Bailey stands 6’7” and also weighs in at 225 pounds. He averaged better than five points and three rebounds per game. All three will see expanded roles as the Titans try to make up for the loss of Covile.

Freshman Justin Sample might have red-shirted this season, but will probably play some minutes now. Sample is the biggest player on the roster at 6’9” and 235 pounds. He is said to have excellent athleticism for his size.

Looking at the Titans roster one might wonder how this squad is picked to finish second in the conference. Cotton is the only true star on the squad and the loss of Covile will hurt the Titans frontcourt depth. However, this squad is full of hard-nosed defenders. The Titans were tops in the league last season giving up just over 60 points a game. The Titans also led the conference in rebounding margin, snagging five more rebounds per game than their opponents. The bottom line is Perry Watson and the Detroit Titans do what it takes to win games. It doesn’t always look pretty and it doesn’t make the box score jump out at you, but the Titans will have ten or 11 players see ten minutes a game and they’ll be in their opponent’s face for each and every second. It’s been enough to win the conference before and it might just be enough again.

--article reprinted with permission of the author

--for more Horizon League information, visit www.ramblermania.com