Jan. 15, 2010

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Game 19
Cleveland State (7-11, 3-3) at Valparaiso (7-11, 2-4)
Date: Saturday, January 16, 2010
Time: 1:00 p.m. CST
Site: Athletics-Recreation Center (5,000), Valparaiso, Indiana
Radio: WHKW 1220 AM (Cleveland) & WHKZ 1440 AM (Warren) (Al Pawlowski)
TV: Horizon League Game of the Week (Will Haskett & Adam Coppinger)
SportsTime Ohio will air game live
Series: CSU leads, 26-7
Last Meeting: CSU 71, @Valpo 64, 2/26/09
Tickets: Available At Site

SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State concludes its brief two-game road swing through the state of Indiana when the Vikings travel to Valparaiso on Saturday, Jan. 16 beginning at 1:00 p.m. CST (2:00 p.m. EST) in the Athletics-Recreation Center on the Valparaiso campus. The game is the Horizon League Game of the Week and will be televised throughout the midwest by the Horizon League Network and in Ohio by SportsTime Ohio, with Will Haskett and Adam Coppinger providing the commentary. The Vikings (7-11, 3-3) had their three-game Horizon League win streak snapped at No. 22 Butler on Thursday night (64-55). Valparaiso (7-11, 2-4) is entering the game on a high note, upending Youngstown State, 70-66, on Thursday night. Cleveland State owns a 26-7 lead in the all-time series, including victories in all five games since Valparaiso joined the Horizon League for the 2007-08 season. The Vikings are 12-4 in games played at Valparaiso.

PREVIEWING CLEVELAND STATE: Gary Waters finds himself in a bit of a rebuilding season for the Vikings after posting the first back-to-back 20 win seasons since the late 1980's. With just two starters and four players back who saw significant action last year, Waters has had to incorporate eight new players into the lineup this season. The starting lineup is built around guard Norris Cole (16.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 3.4 apg), a first team preseason all-league choice this year who ranks fourth in the league in scoring, and small forward D'Aundray Brown (7.6, 5.4), the lone returning starters from a season ago. The strength of the returners is at guard where sophomores Jeremy Montgomery (12.1, 1.7 apg) and Trevon Harmon (10.3, 2.1) are back with each landing a spot in the starting lineup. Injuries to sophomore Josh McCoy (0.8, 1.0) and JC transfer Lance James (2.0, 1.0 apg) have hurt the depth at guard, allowing freshman Anthony Wells (1.7, 1.1) to see his first playing time. Brown is firmly entrenched at small forward with redshirt freshman Charlie Woods (0.9, 0.4 apg) and redshirt freshman Tim Kamczyc (2.1, 2.2 rpg) also capable of seeing time at the position. Sophomore Joe Latas is the lone returner inside and he and JC transfer Jared Cunningham (6.8, 3.2) spell sophomore Aaron Pogue (6.8, 6.5) at center. First-year sophomore Nigel Ajere (6.0, 4.0) and junior Kevin Anderson (1.4, 0.7) are both capable of seeing minutes.

TV TIMEOUT: Saturday's game at Valparaiso is the Horizon League Game of the Week and will be televised throughout the midwest by the Horizon League Network, including throughout Ohio on SportsTime Ohio. It is the 10th of what should be at least 14 games that will be available to Viking fans on either a national or regional basis and the third of seven games on STO.

AJERE OUT: Sophomore forward Nigel Ajere will not return to the Vikings after sitting out the last six games for personal reasons. Ajere is not enrolled for spring semester classes at CSU, which will begin on Saturday (Jan. 16). A starter in two of the 12 games that he played in, Ajere averaged 6.7 points and 6.4 rebounds a game.

CSU IN THE NCAA STATS: Cleveland State received several mentions in the most recent NCAA men's basketball statistics, which were released on Monday (Jan. 11). As a team, the Vikings are 15th nationally in steals (9.8 spg), 33rd in turnover margin (+3.9) and 52nd in free throw percentage (.729). Individually, D'Aundray Brown ranks 10th nationally in steals (2.8 spg).

THEY AREN'T SAD TO SEE HIM GO: One player that nobody at Valparaiso will miss on Saturday is J'Nathan Bullock, who graduated from CSU after leading the Vikings in scoring in all four seasons. There was no opponent that Bullock excelled better against than the Crusaders, averaging 20.6 points and 6.6 rebounds in the five games he played against them. Bullock shot .643 from the field (36-56), .636 from three-point (7-11) and .800 from the line (24-30). He was even better in the two games last year, averaging 27.0 points while shooting .792 from the field (19-24) and .824 from the line (14-17).

COLE PASSES 900 POINT MARK: Norris Cole's 20-point effort at Youngstown State on Jan. 2 allowed the junior to surpass the 900-point mark for his career. He added 11 points at Butler on Thursday, giving him 947 career points, putting him well on his way to becoming the 18th player in CSU history to score 1,000 career points. In 18 games, he leads the team and ranks fourth in the league, averaging 16.0 points a game (288 total).

A TOUGH SCHEDULE: The 2-8 record that CSU put up against non-conference Division I teams this year is a little misleading. After all, not only were four of the teams ranked in the top 15 at the time CSU played them (Kentucky No. 5, West Virginia No. 6, Ohio State No. 12 & Kansas State No. 12), but the 10 opponents have combined to post a 91-36 (.716) record in non-conference games with four games left to play.

GUARDED RESULTS: The switch that Gary Waters made to the starting lineup four games ago, foregoing the traditional lineup that had two guards, two forwards and a center in favor of a four guard, one center unit, has produced a 3-1 record. More importantly, it has thrust CSU back into the thick of things in the league race. "We are going to get back to doing what we do and not what others think we should do," Waters said. The switch has paid off as CSU, which allowed opponents to shoot .487 (330-678) in the first 14 games with eight games of 50-percent or better, has limited opponents to .448 shooting in the last four games (86-192). The same is true from long-range where opponents were shooting .425 from three-point (79-186) before the change but have managed just .356 (16-45) since. Jeremy Montgomery (16.5 ppg) and Norris Cole (16.0) lead a balanced offense during the stretch while D'Aundray Brown (9.3, 7.5 rebounds), Trey Harmon (9.8 ppg) and Aaron Pogue (8.3 rebounds) have each played major roles.

CSU VS. RANKED OPPONENTS: The loss on Thursday at Butler was a school record fifth game against a ranked opponent for the Vikings this season. Cleveland State is 5-34 all-time against ranked opponents, including a 4-27 record away from home. The first win against a ranked opponent came in the 1986 NCAA Tournament when the Vikings knocked off Indiana. Two of the four wins have come in true road games on an opponent's court with both wins coming last season, at Syracuse (72-69) and at Butler (57-54) in the Horizon League Championship.

. . . BUT THINGS HAVE PICKED UP LATELY: Although the 5-34 all-time record against ranked opponents seems daunting, the Vikings have fared much better of late, going 4-9 against Top 25 teams in the four seasons under head coach Gary Waters. Last year, CSU went 3-1 against ranked opponents, defeating No. 11 Syracuse (72-69), No. 18 Butler in the title game of the Horizon League Championship (57-54) and 12th-ranked Wake Forest, 84-69, in the first round of the NCAA Championships. CSU is 0-4 against ranked teams this year, falling to No. 4 Kentucky, No. 6 West Virginia, No. 17 Ohio State and No. 12 Kansas State.

GETTING THE JUMP: One of the lesser appreciated statistics in CSU's favor this year comes on the jump ball where sophomore center Aaron Pogue has managed to gain the Vikings the first possession of the game in 15 of the 18 games this season, including five Horizon League games. The only games that Pogue lost the jump have been on the road for games at St. Bonaventure, Detroit and Ohio State.

. . . BUT NOT THE FINISH: It is no secret that Gary Waters is trying to find a way to keep sophomore center Aaron Pogue out of foul trouble. After all, in 18 games, he leads CSU with 72 fouls and six disqualifications. It is even worse in league games where he has been whistled for 25 fouls in six games, fouling out three times. As a point of comparison, heading into this season, CSU players had only fouled out 10 times over the last two years combined. Things may be picking up as Pogue payed 30 minutes at Butler, committing just three fouls.

DEGREE WORK: Sophomore center Joe Latas will begin the spring semester on Jan. 18 needing just 24 hours to graduate and when he finishes his coursework at the end of summer, he will have done so in just three years. Latas, who is taking 16 hours this semester, will take the final eight during the summer to earn his degree in both communications and religious studies.

POGUE CLEANS THE GLASS: The 16 rebounds by sophomore Aaron Pogue at Youngstown State on Jan. 2 was the most by a Viking since Pape Badiane grabbed 18 caroms at Florida A&M on Nov. 25, 2003. He shares the highest rebounding game in the Horizon League this season with Loyola's Andy Polka (16 vs. St. Francis, Ill.).

COLE KEEPS STARTING STREAK GOING: When Norris Cole takes to the court against Valparaiso on Saturday, he will be starting his 56th consecutive game at CSU. Cole became the 14th player in Viking history to start 50 straight games when he started the Dec. 22 game at Ohio State. One of three players to start a school-record 37 games last year, Cole is the only player to go from playing in every game as a reserve in one season (34 games as a freshman in 2007-08) to starting every game the next in school history.

MONTGOMERY NAMED ATHLETE OF THE MONTH: December was a good month for Jeremy Montgomery as the sophomore was selected as the CSU Male Athlete of the Month. In seven games last month, the sophomore from Chicago, Ill. averaged 14.0 points, shooting .508 (32-63) from the field, .439 (18-39) from three-point and .889 (24-27) from the line. He scored in double figures in six of the seven games, including back-to-back games of 25 points at Ohio State and 20 points at Kansas State.

. . . AND MONTGOMERY HAS BEEN EVEN BETTER OF LATE: Over his last seven games, four of which have come against ranked opponents, Montgomery is averaging 17.7 points while shooting .503 from the field (40-76) and .480 from three-point (24-50). He started the stretch with 13 points against No. 6 West Virginia, including a driving basket with 13 seconds left that tied the game at 78-78. He came back to score a career-high 25 points, on five-for-eight shooting from three-point, at No. 12 Ohio State, and scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half at Kansas State. Over the last two weeks, he scored 12 points at Youngstown State, 15 vs. Loyola, 17 against UIC and 22 vs. Butler.

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU? Junior forward D'Aundray Brown has returned to the floor this season, showing no ill effects from the two injuries that sidelined him for 13 games last season, including the final five games of the postseason. In the 18 games since coming back, Brown is averaging 7.6 points and 5.4 rebounds a game, leading the team and ranking 9th in the league averaging 32.3 minutes a game. More importantly, he keys the Vikings' pressure defense, leading the league with 48 steals.

. . . AND BROWN IS PASSING HIS BOARDS: After averaging 5.7 rebounds a game a year ago, D'Aundray Brown was being counted on to help the Vikings offset the loss of 64% of their rebounding from a year ago. Brown however started slowly, grabbing just 47 caroms in the first 12 games (3.9 rpg). He has caught fire of late, averaging 8.3 rebounds over the last six games to move into 11th in the league with a 5.4 average. He has been dominant on the offensive glass, grabbing 24 offensive boards over that span (4.0/game) to move up to fourth in the league, averaging 2.8 offensive rebounds a game.

JAMES & McCOY ARE OUT: The depth the Vikings enjoyed at guard took a hit in early December when both sophomore Josh McCoy and junior Lance James were sidelined with injuries. McCoy, who is out for the season after having surgery on Dec. 18 to repair a torn labrum in his hip that has plagued him back into the preseason. James suffered a Jones fracture of the left foot in practice on Dec. 2 and had surgery on Friday (Dec. 11). He is expected to be out approximately six weeks.

. . . SO WELLS TAKES THE REDSHIRT OFF: The injuries at guard have led to the insertion of freshman Anthony Wells into the playing rotation. Wells, a native of Shaker Heights, Ohio, was slated to redshirt this year simply because head coach Gary Waters feared that with the number of players ahead of him, that Wells would not play enough minutes to warrant using a year of eligibility. Wells, who sat out the first seven games, made his Viking debut against Wright State on Dec. 3, playing eight solid minutes, making one steal. He came back to score six points against Detroit on Dec. 5 and three points vs. Wilberforce on Dec. 12. He is averaging 1.9 points a game, shooting .538 from the field (7-13) in 13.2 minutes a game.

"PROTECT THIS HOUSE": Gary Waters believes that in order to have a championship program, the team first needs to be successful at home. With that in mind, he has chosen, "Protect This House" as the team motto for the 2009-10 season. With a 17-game home schedule, the second highest season total in school history and the most since 1983-84, CSU can go a long way in achieving another successful campaign by winning at home first. The Vikings have heeded Waters' advice in the past, going 30-7 in the Wolstein Center over the last three years, a significant improvement from the 25-42 record in the Wolstein Center over the previous five seasons. The success started in 2007-08 when CSU tied the Wolstein Center record for wins in a season with a 12-2 mark. The Vikings did that mark one better, going 13-2 at home last season. CSU is just 5-3 this season at home.

CHARITY STRIPE HAS BEEN KIND: One strength of the Vikings this year has come at the foul line where CSU is on a pace to challenge the school record for free throw percentage. Through 17 games, the Vikings have gone 248-for-339 from the line (.732), which is slightly ahead of the record .724 set in 1979-80. Jeremy Montgomery (38-43, .884) and Norris Cole (64-80, .800), rank third and sixth in the league, respectively, in free throw percentage. Nigel Ajere (18-22, .818), D'Aundray Brown (17-21, .810), Tim Kamczyc (10-13, .769) and Jared Cunningham (19-26, .731) are each above 70-percent.

TAKING CARE OF THE BALL: Another area in which the Vikings have excelled this season is in turnovers where CSU ranks second in the Horizon League with a +3.9 turnover margin. In 17 games, the Vikings have committed 237 turnovers (13.9 tpg), including eight games of 12 or fewer. The season low was set against Wichita State on Nov. 28 and then matched again on Jan. 7 vs. Loyola when the Vikings committed just eight miscues. At the other end of the spectrum, CSU has forced 300 miscues (17.6 tpg), including 17 or more 10 times.

A BIG NIGHT FOR NORRIS: Despite playing on a senior-dominated team as a sophomore, Norris Cole showed the ability at times to take over a game. Now the unquestioned leader of a young and generally inexperienced Viking squad, Cole is getting much more attention this year by opposing defenses but at no time in his past has he ever taken over a game like he did in the win over Florida A&M. Cole obliterated his career scoring high by 12 points, totalling 38 points against the Rattlers, the eighth-highest single game total in school history. He was 11-for-16 from the field, three-for-four from three-point and made all 13 of his free throw attempts. He fell one point short of equalling J'Nathan Bullock's Wolstein Center scoring record (39 vs. Green Bay) but did tie Bullock's 13-for-13 free throw effort against South Florida in 2007-08 as the third-most free throws made while shooting 100% from the line.

IT HAS BEEN A STEAL: The Vikings have found success predicated on their defense over the last three seasons and the early season results to date have been extraordinary. In 18 games, CSU has forced 312 turnovers (17.3 tpg), making 171 steals (9.5 spg). D'Aundray Brown leads the league with 48 steals (2.8 spg) while Norris Cole is fifth with 32 thefts (1.8 spg) and Trevon Harmon is seventh with 29 steals (1.6 spg). In addition, Jeremy Montgomery has 19 steals (1.1). Norris Cole made seven steals vs. Wilmington, the seventh-highest single game total in school history. CSU's 9.4 steals a game is easily tops in the Horizon League, ranking 15th nationally in the latest NCAA stats.

SUCCESS 401: The fourth edition of Success Class under Gary Waters is utilizing the book The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player by John Maxwell as the course text. Instituted at CSU in the summer of 2006, Waters uses Success Class to teach the Viking players the finer points of what it takes to succeed. Success Class 101 used John Wooden's book, The Pyramid of Success. In 2007-08, Waters relied on John Maxwell's book Talent Is Never Enough to instruct the Vikings and then turned to former Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy's book, Quiet Strength for a text last year. The non-credited class is taught weekly by Waters to the Viking players over the summer and preseason months.

THE FIFTH DEGREE: All five of the Viking seniors on last year's roster have graduated. J'Nathan Bullock, Cedric Jackson, Renard Fields and George Tandy each earned their sheepskin during spring commencement ceremonies with Chris Moore picking up his degree in August after taking a couple of classes during summer session.

VIKINGS ADD TWO DURING EARLY SIGNING PERIOD: Gary Waters has already taken time to look ahead to next year when he announced the signing of two student-athletes to national letters of intent to attend CSU and play basketball starting next fall. Devon Long (Detroit, MI/Crockett) and Ludovic Ndaye (Montreal, Quebec/Westwind Prep) each signed with CSU and will be freshmen with four years of eligibility remaining. Long, a 6-8, 270-pound forward, earned first team all-league honors last year after averaging 18 points and 13 rebounds a game. He is currently ranked as the second-best center and ninth-best player in the state of Michigan by Prep Spotlight. Ndaye, a 6-9, 220-pound forward from Montreal, Quebec, has played four games this season at Westwind Prep in Phoenix, AZ, averaging 12.1 points and 6.2 rebounds a game.

NEXT UP: The Vikings return home to close the first half of the league schedule when CSU starts a three-game homestand against Green Bay on Friday, Jan. 22 at 7:00 p.m. in the Wolstein Center.