NCAA: Keno Davis Is Excited About Central Michigan’s New Additions
Central Michigan had just three players on scholarship when head coach Keno Davis took over the program three seasons ago. But there is now plenty to be excited about as the Chippewas return 96 percent of their scoring, and Davis brought in some talented youngsters who have some height to them.
"“It is a new team. It’s not about adding one player, but or adding three players who are all freshmen on the inside. It’s also about John Simons and Blake Hibbitts being a year older or a year stronger. If we hadn’t added the new players, we’d look different. But of course when you do have those new guys, it allows Simons and Hibbitts to move to a true off-center position.”"
– Davis told Nate Schneider of the Morning Sun.
The influx of height includes true freshmen 6’8.5” DaRohn Scott (Grand Rapids, Mich.), who was rated as a two-star prospect by ESPN, and 6’11″ Luke Meyer (Addison, Mich.) along with redshirt freshman Milos Cabarkapa (Belgrade, Serbia).
More from Hoops Habit
- The 5 most dominant NBA players who never won a championship
- 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
- Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
- Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
- Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
Scott is an athletic and long power forward with great ability to block shots while Meyer can stretch defenses with his shooting ability, and Cabarkapa is a true center at 7’.
Last year, Davis didn’t have a player over 6’9” and used the 6’8” Simons and 6’7” Hibbitts to guard the opposing teams centers. As a result of having no true inside presence, the Chippewas permitted teams to shoot 49.1 percent from the field, and were outrebounded nearly three rebounds a game.
The Chippewas also only registered 34 blocked shots. Central Michigan went 10-21 last year, including 3-15 in the Mid-American Conference, and is now 21-41 under Davis.
While defense was an issue for the Central Michigan, they had little problem scoring. The Chippewas averaged 72.3 points a game and had three players average double-figures.
6’1” junior point guard Chris Fowler led the way with 17.5 points and 5.3 assists a game. He can score from anywhere on the floor and is very good shooter as he shot 49.7 percent from the floor and 38.2 percent from beyond the arc. Fowler will likely be joined in the backcourt by 5’9” Braylon Rayson (10.7 PPG) though Davis said Fowler is the only definite starter.
Rayson, who has the ability to score in bunches, knocked down 41 three-pointers but must be more consistent as he shot 41.2 percent from the floor and just 29.2 percent from beyond the arc. 6’4” junior Rayshawn Simmons (4.6, 3.1 RPG), who is very athletic, and 6’3” senior guard Austin Keel (6.3) will likely see major minutes again.
6’2” freshman guard Filip Medio (Belgrade, Serbia) averaged 20 points a game at Impact Academy last year and could see some time on the court this year.
Simons, who was the other Chippewa in double-figures last year, averaged 10.8 points and 5.7 rebounds a game while Hibbitts averaged 9.2 points and 3.7 rebounds. The two juniors combined for 124 three-pointers while shooting 37.0 percent from long-range.
Austin Stewart, a 6’6” junior swingman, will see time at both the 2 and 3 positions. Stewart, who is athletic and a good defender, averaged 7.2 points and 4.1 rebounds.
Davis likes an up-tempo offense and has the roster to play that style — with the exception of Cabarkapa – so expect the Chippewas to put up a lot of points. However, they do need to shoot better as they shot 43.4 percent from the field and only 32.0 percent from beyond arc while launching 777 attempts.
The verdict: Davis has the Chippewas on the right track and has built the program the right way. This year’s squad has just one senior and is likely a year or two away from competing in the MAC. The success of the team this year will depend largely on the three freshmen bigs.
Central Michigan has a fairly easy non-conference schedule with nine home games and three of those games are against non-Division I teams – Alma, Central Penn and Concordia (Mich.). However, they play in the MAC’s West division which features three of the league’ s top four teams so 15 victories may be the bar.
"“We want to be playing better in the middle of November than we are now. We want to continue to improve. I think by the time we get into conference play, by the time we get into the conference tournament, that we can have a goal to be the best team in the MAC”."
– Davis told Andy Sneddon of CMUChippewas.com.