MAC primer

A team-by-team glance at the MAC heading into the 2007-08 season.

EAST DIVISION

Akron

Strengths: Center Jeremiah Wood was a monster during the MAC Tournament. Very few MAC teams have a legit space eater with his mobility. Keith Dambrot's teams are difficult to score against -- defense will again be Akron's trademark.

Weaknesses: Ultimately, free-throw shooting killed the Zips last season. Akron shot 67.1 percent in its seven losses. The Zips also need to break in a new starting point guard.

Scouting the newcomers: Duquesne transfer Steve McNees is expected to take over at point guard for four-year starter Dru Joyce. Keith Dambrot anticipates a smooth transition with Chris McKnight picking up major minutes at power forward.

Bowling Green

Strengths: The Falcons have an entire new coaching staff. The negativity that led to disappointing records the last two years should be a thing of the past. Nate Miller has the potential to be one of the best players in the Mid-American Conference. Ryne Hamblet is a versatile player ready for a big senior season.

Weaknesses: The Falcons will struggle early in the season determining their roles. They won't be able to rely on high-scoring guard Martin Samarco to bail them out. Finding dependable team leaders is important. The Falcons have to hit the boards hard to overcome some of their flaws.

Scouting the newcomers: The Falcons have two new recruits in Joe Jakubowski and Cameron Madlock. Jakubowski, a 6-2 guard, is a local product and Madlock (6-8, 200) is expected to help the Falcons in the frontcourt. Redshirt freshman Chris Knight should receive valuable minutes coming off the bench.

Buffalo

Strengths: The Bulls have a deep, talented and experienced backcourt with Andy Robinson, Byron Mulkey, Rodney Pierce, Sean Smiley and John Boyer. Starting a three-guard lineup will enable the Bulls to play a tick faster than in previous seasons.

Weaknesses: The entire frontcourt is loaded with questions, the most significant being who is going to score in the low post and rebound? Addison has the potential but nearly every one of Reggie Witherspoon's successful teams had two or more players to get the job done in the post. One of the young big men has to step up or Buffalo could be in for another long season.

Scouting the newcomers: Coach Reggie Witherspoon signed two players last season, the best being junior college transfer Brian Addison, who averaged 12 points and seven boards while shooting 51.1 percent from the field for Monroe (N.Y.) Community College as a sophomore. He will be asked to fill the void left by Yassin Idbihi on the low blocks. That will enable 6-8 freshman power forward Jawaan Alston to develop at his own pace. The third freshman is walk-on Dave Barnett, a 6-5 swingman, who averaged 16.5 points and 11 rebounds as a senior. Considering Mulkey was a walk-on when he arrived on campus and ended up starting the last 10 games of the season, Barnett could have a shot at earning some playing time.

Kent State

Strengths: Tradition. Sixth-year coach Jim Christian has put five 20-plus win seasons on the back end of streak started by Gary Waters. Relative to the rest of the MAC, Kent State probably has as much athleticism on its roster as any other team.

Weaknesses: The Golden Flashes were a miserable free-throwing shooting team last season (64.2 percent) and two of the team's better player at the line have graduated in Omni Smith and Armon Gates. Depth at point guard is a concern. Mincy is a great defender and good distributor. Sherman probably will pick up the slack.

Scouting the newcomers: Three Juco transfers figure to keep Kent State stocked. Seven-footer Gabe Garcia (250 pounds), from Sao Paulo, Brazil, via Schoolcraft Community College, is the most interesting prospect of the bunch.

Miami (Ohio)

Strengths: The RedHawks will have one of the more intimidating frontcourt presences in the MAC this season with the return of power forward Tim Pollitz, who can seemingly do everything from posting up to hitting the clutch jumper. Pollitz is the RedHawks' top returning scorer and rebounder and will team with frontcourt mates Michael Bramos and Tyler Dierkers in applying a suffocating man-to-man defense that few teams employ as successfully.

Weaknesses: If there is an identifiable weakness for the RedHawks, it is in the backcourt and it will remain to be seen if the RedHawks will be able to find a consistent point performer. Last season, not one Miami player averaged above three assists per game, as point guard Alex Moosman topped the squad averaging only 2.8 assists per game.

Scouting the newcomers: Miami will have several new players pushing for playing time and potentially starting roles this season. Probably the newcomer that is getting the most attention around Oxford is Cincinnati State JUCO transfer guard Kenny Hayes. At 6-2, Hayes can play either the point or shooting guard spot and has long-range shooting ability. Coles fully expects Hayes to earn a starting role this season. Isiah Carson, a transfer from St. Bonaventure who sat out last season under NCAA transfer rules, is a hard-nosed player willing to crash the floor to make plays and will also contend for minutes in the suddenly crowded Miami backcourt. True freshman Rodney Haddix, a 6-3 mid-range shooter comes to the RedHawks following an All-State high school career. Haddix could also contribute meaningful backcourt minutes.

Ohio

Strengths: The Bobcats should be a team that can compete in the paint and on the glass. With PF Jerome Tillman and C Leon Williams, Ohio has two preseason all-conference selections along the front line and enough big bodies backing them up to keep the team competitive should foul problems arise. With three returning starters, and a fourth a veteran at another Division I program, the 'Cats will have experience in the starting lineup and a means to stretch defenses with SG Bubba Walther.

Weaknesses: With four freshmen and nine new faces overall, the Bobcats will have trouble developing consistency and will be prone to some mistakes. Ohio will be tested with a tough non-conference schedule but the lessons learned there could push the Bobcats toward that consistency by the time conference play rolls around.

Scouting the newcomers: Of all the Ohio newcomers, and the Bobcats nine to look at, Justin Orr could have the biggest early-season impact. A classic 6-6 swingman, Orr should help in a number of areas including giving the Bobcats a dependable defense, a steady shooter on the perimeter and dose of experience earned from two seasons at Murray State -- which included an NCAA Tournament berth. Junior college transfer Bert Whittington IV will also loom large for the Bobcats' plans. A true point guard, Whittington will give Ohio more direction on the court. It played the last half of the 2006-07 campaign without a true point guard on the roster, and it showed during critical situations in close conference games.

WEST DIVISION

Ball State

Strengths: Ball State should have a good guard corps this year, led by senior Peyton Stovall. He got lost in the shuffle last season, but look for him to become a lead player this year. Rob Giles is expected to provide some outside shooting punch, and freshman PGs Deontay Twyman and Melvin Goins should elevate the team's athletic ability.

Weaknesses: The Cardinals aren't just lacking on the inside, they have no inside game. The tallest player on the roster is 6-5 small forward Anthony Newell, who probably will play power forward. He was a good rebounder for his size last season, but Ball State has no way to compete against teams that have any kind of inside attack.

Scouting the newcomers: Ball State is excited about the potential of two freshman guards: Deontay Twyman and Melvin Goins. Twyman was a basketball and football standout in Sandy Spring, Md., who led both programs to high school tournament championship games. Goins is a quick point guard who can score. Rob Giles provided perimeter shooting in junior college. Malik Perry ended up at Ball State last January and sat out the season after initially committing to Iowa in 2005. Perry is a big body who might be needed to supply some pop to an inside game that is non-existent.

Central Michigan

Strengths: The Chippewas will rely heavily on the leadership and production of talented point guard Giordan Watson. Last season, Watson was forced to take on the role of both shooting and point guard in many games but with the development of his surrounding cast, Watson should be able to dish out more assists and focus on defense. It will all start in the backcourt this season for the Chips and when the game is on the line there are few players that have shown the ability to handle late-game pressure better than Watson.

Weaknesses: Central Michigan suffered from the lack of a serious post presence last season and it will remain to be seen if either Chris Kellerman or possibly Justin Blevins can fill that role. Rebounding must also improve as not a single returning player averaged more than 3.4 rebounds per game last season for CMU.

Scouting the newcomers: The Chippewas recruited one of the top classes in the MAC this past season and two JUCO transfers are expected to be immediate contributors this season. Marcus Van, a 6-7, 220 pound junior transfer from Wabash Valley Community College, will contend for a starting role and could provide the rebounding edge that was missing from last season's squad. Van was WVCC's MVP last season and excels at crashing the glass on the offensive end. Nate Minnoy has football player size at 6-3, 270 pounds and the JUCO transfer out of Schoolcraft (MI) Community College could present serious matchup problems across the MAC. Ziegler and his staff believe that Minnoy can excel at the 2,3 or 4-spots with his long-range shooting skills.

Eastern Michigan

Strengths: The Eagles will be a team that will rise and fall on the play of its point guard, Carlos Medlock. Medlock brings a strong sense of leadership and is well respected by his teammates. Often referred to as another coach on the floor by Ramsey, Medlock has game changing abilities on both ends of the floor.

Weaknesses: Rebounding. The Eagles lost their top returning rebounder when Brandon Bowdry was lost before the season with a fractured foot and will need their bigger players such as Justin Dobbins to crash the glass with greater regularity. Dobbins averaged 4.1 rebounds per game but after him there was a significant drop off with James Matthews -- who has academic issues entering the season -- the next highest at three boards per game.

Scouting the newcomers: Wendale Farrow, a 6-7 junior transfer from Loma-American River Junior College, is EMU's top recruit entering the new campaign and could easily land a starting role. Farrow may not only provide an answer in the rebounding department (eight boards per game at ARC), but has a solid scoring touch as well. Solomon Farris, a 6-4 wing player out of Detroit's Osborn High School, will also have a shot at some playing time this season if he can put together a strong camp.

Northern Illinois

Strengths: The Huskies don't have much size, many reliable shooters or much bulk. But first-year coach Ricardo Patton promises to push the ball on the offensive end, battle strong on defense and wear out teams with an aggressive attitude and relentless style. With so many newcomers, the Huskies will take some lumps early, but should rebound for a strong second half. The four seniors will be asked to carry the leadership role until the younger players learn the ropes. The play of senior guard Ryan Paradise is essential in the first two months.

Weaknesses: The Huskies don't have much size or bulk in the frontcourt. With senior guard Zach Pancratz redshirting, the Huskies don't have many reliable shooters to spread teams out defensively. The Huskies must find some capable shooters and be able to attack the glass to offset the influx of newcomers and inexperience at several positions.

Scouting the newcomers: Eight newcomers dominate NIU's roster. Junior college recruits Najul Erwin and Sean Smith will be key players this year, along with freshman Jake Anderson and Jeremy Landers. Darrius Gaters and Jarvis Nichols both sat out last season, but have a good knowledge of the conference and program.

Toledo

Strengths: The Rockets are battle-tested after winning big games in the conference last year. They lost the bulk of their scoring and rebounding, but senior Kashif Payne is ready to become one of the elite guards in the conference. The Rockets will continue to run the ball and play aggressive defense, wearing out opponents with their depth and quickness.

Weaknesses: The lack of senior leadership should take a toll on the Rockets. Kashif Payne and Jerrah Young are the only seniors on the roster. The Rockets have added eight new players. It will take some time for the newcomers to adapt to coach Stan Joplin's aggressive defensive style. The Rockets had trouble in the rebounding category last year, and that will be another area of weakness with all the new players and lack of size.

Scouting the newcomers: Freshmen Paul Becklens and Corey Bingham both are expected to play immediately in the backcourt. Freshman Justin Anyijong, at 6-foot-9 and 190, will try and help Toledo's rebounding problems. Freshmen Terrance Tubbs and Mohammed Lo should receive playing time in the frontcourt.

Western Michigan

Strengths: Western Michigan could be the most balanced offensive team in the Mid-American Conference West. The Broncos can go inside with C Joe Reitz, and they have good outside scoring threats in guards David Kool and Derek Drews.

Weaknesses: The Broncos must work on their ball-handling and ball movement. They committed 15.4 turnovers per game last season, a number exceeded by only four other MAC schools.

Scouting the newcomers: The only new player is freshman guard/forward Juston Hairston. He's an athletic performer from whom much is expected, but there are so many returning players that the Broncos have the luxury of being patient with Hairston and letting him grow into the system.