Men's Basketball | 11/14/2014 9:00:00 AM

DETROIT -- With eight newcomers and just one upper classman on the roster the Wayne State University men's basketball program has quite a few question marks heading into head coach David Greer's 14th season at the helm. The answers will begin to roll in as the Warriors open up the season at the GMAC/GLIAC Challenge in Tiffin, Ohio on Friday and Saturday. WSU will meet Central State on Friday at 6 PM and Kentucky Wesleyan at 7 PM.

STORYLINES
The Warriors will open the season with Central State for the third time in program history. The teams have split the two previous meetings. Under David Greer, WSU is 6-7 in season openers. Last season, WSU topped Wilberforce 93-73 inside the Matthaei to begin the season. Kentucky Wesleyan is receiving 39 points in the NABC Preseason poll and is ranked 26th.

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS
Central State finished 13-7 last season and 9-5 in conference play including a win over Ashland on Nov. 16th. The Marauders are in their second season as a full-fledged member of the GMAC. Head coach Joseph Price is in his first season at the helm and comes to CSU after leading Grambling State for two seasons. He has also spent time at Lamar, Moorehead State, Ball State and IUPUI. Senior guard Antone Byrd is the team's returning scorer after averaging 12.0 points per game a season a go. Senior forward Raheem Lemons returns after leading CSU with 7.1 rebounds per game last season. As a team, the Marauders averaged 88.0 points per game last season but allowed 82.7 points per game.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Kentucky Wesleyan is an eight-time NCAA D2 National Champion (most recently in 2001) and finished 22-9 last season with a 12-2 GMAC record. The Panthers were predicted to win the GMAC by the leagues head coaches after collecting five of the eight first-place votes. KWC returns four letterwinners and two starters. The Panthers finished second last season in the conference and fell in the leagues conference championship game, 65-61, to Alderson Broaddus. Head coach Happy Osborne is in his second season with the team and 18th as a collegiate head coach. Prior to KWC, he spent 16 seasons at Georgetown College. Sophomore guard Ken-Jah Bosley, voted last year's GMAC Newcomer of the Year after averaging 16.2 points per game, headlines a group of four returners from last year's squad -- including starting forward Devin Langford and reserves Patrick Neel and Logan O'Bryan -- while the Panthers welcome eight newcomers to the lineup.

THE SERIES
WSU leads the all-time series with Central State 11-5 in a series that began in 1975. Coach Greer is 6-3 against the Marauders in his time at WSU. Kentucky Wesleyan has won the only meeting between the two teams, which came in 1991.

LAST TIME OUT
WSU had its first and only exhibition contest of the season on Nov. 10th at #23 Michigan inside the Crisler Center and the Warriors fell 86-43.? Michael Lewis finished with 15 points and five rebounds to pace the WSU attack. while junior Gavin Toma scored nine points. The Green & Gold shot just 25.9% (14-for-54) compared to Michigan's 50% clip (28-for-56). Six Warriors made their collegiate debuts as Marcus Moore, Tristan Wilson, John Draper, George Spencer, Chuck Key and Daniel Ball all saw the floor.

IN THE POLLS
The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) announced its 2014-15 Preseason Poll on Oct. 29th as voted on by local media members. The Wayne State University men's basketball team was predicted to finish third in the South Division with 90 points. Sophomore guard Clark Bishop was voted to the All-GLIAC Second Team as voted on by the league's head coaches.

YOUNG WARRIORS
When you look up and down the Warriors' roster, you will notice just one junior and no seniors. However, WSU has some experience returning in Clark Bishop, Gavin Toma, Michael Lewis and Joel Ndondo who all played a role last season. In addition, a graduate student transfer DeMarius Miller (Clarion) will add another scoring threat to the roster.

2013-14 RECAP
Last season, the Wayne State University men's basketball program knew it would be an uphill battle all-year long in the always tough GLIAC. That battle became more difficult when the Warriors lost Mike Hollingsworth to injury prior to the start of the season.  He was just the fifth player in WSU history with at least 990 points, 300 rebounds, 145 assists, 80 steals and 60 triples.

However, typical of David Greer coached teams, WSU fought its way to 12 wins including notable victories at Grand Valley State in overtime and a four-point win over No.16 Lake Superior State at home to end the season.

WSU missed the GLIAC Tournament for the first time since 2008 and will need to replace seven seniors who made a significant impact last season and in their careers.

SEASON OUTLOOK
Greer enters his 14th season at the helm and is just four wins shy of 200 with the Green & Gold. He will lead a roster comprised of just one upperclassman, junior Gavin Toma (Troy, Mich. / Southfield Christian). Redshirt sophomore Michael Lewis (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Huron) returns after a medical redshirt season and showed improvement early in the 2013-14 season prior to the injury. Sophomore Clark Bishop (Detroit, Mich. / Renaissance) looks to be a go-to scorer for the Warriors in 2014-15. Last season, he led the squad in three-point field goal percentage at 40.7 (24-59), while ranking second on the team with 22 steals and posting eight double-digit scoring performances.

The Warriors signed four freshmen during the offseason. John Draper (Dayton, Ohio / Eastmoor Academy), a 5-9 guard, averaged 17 points per game and five assists per contest in 2012-13. Last season, he played at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.

Chuck Key (Detroit, Mich. / Cass Tech), a 6-5 forward, was a three-year letterwinner for Cass Tech and averaged 12 points and 10 rebounds per game last season. 

Marcus Moore (Lansing, Mich. / Waverly), a 6-1 guard, helped Lansing to three league titles in 2012, 2013 and 2014 and earned Detroit Free Press Class A All-State Honorable Mention recognition as a senior. 

Tristan Wilson (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Skyline), a 6-8 forward, was a two-year letterwinner for Skyline and led the Eagles to regional and district championships in 2014. Wilson scored at least 26 points in three straight 2014 state tournament games. Graduate student DeMarius Miller (Bolingbrook, Ill. / Romeoville (Clarion)) transfers to WSU after averaging 16.4 points per game a year ago including a 42-point performance for the Golden Eagles. 

WSU will open with an exhibition contest at Michigan on November 10 before heading to the GMAC/GLIAC Challenge in Tiffin, Ohio, where the Warriors will meet Central State and Kentucky Wesleyan. The home schedule begins on Nov. 29 when Lewis visits the Matthaei. 

Other home opponents include Lake Superior State, Northwood, Grand Valley State, Ferris State, Ohio Dominican, Walsh, Findlay, Tiffin, Lake Erie, Ashland and Malone.

The Warriors will return to the GLIAC South Division (trading with Hillsdale) this season after spending the last two seasons in the North. WSU played in the South from 1996 until 2012.

THE BEAT GOES ON
David Greer is in his 14th season at the helm of the Warrior basketball program during the 2014-15 academic year.  He is the fourth-longest tenured coach in program history and is just four wins shy of 200 victories with Wayne State. Greer, who has directed the Warriors to a 196-161 record, was voted the 2012-13 GLIAC Coach of the Year by his peers. Greer coached his 300th WSU (non-exhibition) game vs. Northwood on Feb. 11, 2012, and his 200th GLIAC game vs. Grand Valley State on Feb. 18, 2012.  Coach Greer passed Joel Mason for second place in victories with his 187th win in the victory over Ohio Dominican on Dec. 7, 2013.

NEELY INDUCTED INTO EMU HALL OF FAME
Current and longtime assistant coach Lorenzo Neely was inducted in the E-Club Athletic Hall of Fame. The Eastern Michigan University E-Club Alumni Chapter, the official varsity athletic letterwinners club, announced Neely as well as six other former standouts who were enshrined at the Hall of Fame ceremony on Friday, Oct. 24. Neely is entering his 11th season with the WSU men's basketball program, all spent with head coach David Greer, and has been a collegiate coach for the past 16 years. He finished his Huron career with 1,528 points, 433 free throws, 317 rebounds, and his 521 assists rank second in EMU's all-time record book. Neely served as an assistant men's basketball coach at EMU for two seasons including an NCAA Tournament appearance in 1998.

COMCAST/XFINITY
Beginning on Jan. 17th every men's and women's basketball home game will be broadcast live throughout the state of Michigan on Comcast CN900.  Sean Baligian, Ryan Ermanni, Rod Beard and Joe Abramson will bring you the action.

WDTK - THE PATRIOT
Russ McNamara will call all of the men's action this season on WDTK - The Patriot (92.7 FM / 1400 AM). Fans can also listen online at WDTKAM.com. WSU Hall of Famer Cliff Russell will return to provide his insights for each home game.

ALL-NEW MATTHAEI
The Matthaei has received a face lift over the course of the past decade. In January of 2014, a new scoreboard and video board were installed which features live action and replays. During the offseason, the Warriors added a new parquet floor and the sub-floor (circa 1965) was replaced. And finally a new basketball office expansion was completed in the fall on the northwest corner of the Matthaei. The new expansion includes six coaches offices, a theater-style film room and a reception area.

NEXT UP
WSU will return home to host #17 Lewis on Nov. 29th. The Flyers handled last year's meeting on Nov. 30th. 78-57.