Coming off of a 10-16 record and 4-13 conference mark last season, change was in order for the Wayne State men’s basketball team.
This year’s team features 10 new players, plus the return of forward Jerry Oden, who spent the 2006-07 season with the Warriors.
The team added six freshmen and four transfers, including a pair from Division I schools — Justin Sample (Detroit) and Shane Lawal (Oakland).
Lawal (6-foot-9), Sample (6-8) and Oden (6-6) provide height and depth in the frontcourt that last year’s team lacked.
Offensively, the Warriors look to improve on last season’s performance by utilizing their size and inside game.
“We’ve got some size, it’s just a matter of getting those guys the ball in a position for them to do something with it,” coach David Greer said.
Lawal finished fifth in the Summit League in offensive rebounding for Oakland last season, and Greer feels that he can be a major asset in the post for the Warriors this year.
“People will have to go down and double Shane in the post,” Greer said, “and we can shoot a high field goal percentage by throwing the ball inside and getting teams in foul trouble.
“When you get the ball inside, it opens up other avenues. When you have good flexibility, it creates an outside game based on our inside game.”
WSU added a host of wing and backcourt players to compliment its added size and depth up front.
However, the team is searching for its starting point guard and, according to Greer, the competition has been pretty fierce.
And Greer knows that the team’s size doesn’t matter if it doesn’t have good guard play.
“Larry Edwards and Bryan Smothers have some experience,” he said. “Bryan Wright comes in as a highly regarded junior college guard. Dale Brundidge is a freshman.
“It’s almost like football; you’ve got to find a quarterback.”
After last season, the Warriors gave up 68 points per game, and opponents shot 47 percent (including 34 percent from three-point range), Greer is also putting a premium on the team’s defense.
The size difference hindered WSU in the paint, as the Warriors were outrebounded on the season, and teams had nearly a 4-to-1 advantage in blocked shots.
“If you defend and rebound, you give yourself a chance to win every night,” Greer said.
“We’ve got enough size and athleticism that we should be a pretty decent defensive team, and cause other teams some problems from a defensive standpoint.”
The Warriors’ season opens on Nov. 15 against Marygrove at the Matthaei Center.
WSU plays a pair of MAC opponents on the road, traveling to Bowling Green on Nov. 20 and Eastern Michigan on Dec. 8.
Greer’s club opens GLIAC play on Dec. 4 at home against Michigan Tech.
ROSTER UPDATE:
The start of the season has not come without some early issues.
Freshman forward Andrew Tines has been sidelined with a concussion since the second day of practice.
Jerry Oden and Bryan Smothers are ineligible to play for the Warriors, but are hoping for a mid-December return.
EXHIBITION LOSS:
WSU fell on the road, 59-36, to Iowa in an exhibition contest Nov. 9.
Shane Lawal scored 13 points in 37 minutes while Ricky Rowse added 12 for the Warriors.
Wayne State, which trailed 28-20 at halftime, shot 31.9 percent from the floor.
