Men's Basketball | 11/12/2015 5:00:00 PM

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's basketball program and 15th-year head coach David Greer look to improve on last season's 5-20 overall record and seventh-place finish in the GLIAC South Division.  WSU returns seven letterwinners from the 2014-15 season and welcomes five newcomers, one freshman and four transfers, to this year's roster. 

GREER NEARING MILESTONE
Head coach David Greer won his 200th game last season at Wayne State and is 11 victories shy of matching Ron Hammye's (1988-01) program record of 212 wins.

IN THE POLLS
The GLIAC released its preseason coaches poll on Oct. 28 and Wayne State was predicted to finish fourth in the South Division.  Junior Clark Bishop was voted to the All-GLIAC South Division Second Team in balloting conducted by the league's head coaches.  The Warriors totaled 99 points, behind Ashland, Findlay and Walsh.

THE SERIES
Kentucky Wesleyan leads the all-time series, 2-0.  The Warriors fell to the Panthers, 73-59, last season at the GMAC/GLIAC Challenge, hosted by Tiffin (11/15/2014).  WSU first lost to KWC 23 years ago, at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Tournament, 90-72 (3/14/1992).  The Warriors lead the all-time series, 2-0, against Alderson Broaddus.  WSU defeated the Battlers in a close, 77-74, contest at the Fairmont State Holiday Tip-Off Classic in 1995.  Almost 90 years ago, Wayne State won its first meeting, 56-19, over Alderson Broaddus on Feb. 7, 1927.    
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
In the opening weekend of the 2015-16 season, the Warriors will play two tough opponents from the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC).  Alderson Broaddus and Kentucky Wesleyan were tabbed No. 1 and No. 2, respectively in their league's preseason coaches poll.
 
Kentucky Wesleyan finished the 2014-15 season with a 22-8 overall record and a 10-4 conference mark.  The Panthers fell to Alderson Broaddus in the league championship game last season, but return six letterwinners this season.  The returners include junior Ken-Jah Bosley (GMAC First Team), and seniors C.J. Blackwell (GMAC Second Team), Devin Langford (GMAC Second Team) and Marcus Fillyaw.  Three of the four averaged double digits last season. The Purple and White rank second in the  NCAA (any division) with eight championships (1966, 68, 69, 73, 87, 90, 99, 2001), behind UCLA with 11. The Panthers have collected 13 conference titles.
 
Alderson Broaddus (22-7 overall, 11-3 GMAC) ended its 2014-15 season with its second consecutive GMAC tournament championship victory over Kentucky Wesleyan. The Battlers was predicted to finish first in the conference with five first-place votes to take the championship title for the third year. The Navy and Gold return nine letterwinners from last season and bring in six newcomers to the 2015-16 roster. Junior Malcolm Tatum, the 2015 GMAC Player of the Year, will lead the Battlers this season. Tatum averaged 14.6 points and shot 82.8 percent (125-151) from the line.

OUTLOOK
After a disappointing 5-20 season in 2014-15, the Wayne State University men's basketball program will look to return to GLIAC prominence this season.  Head coach David Greer, who is entering his 15th season at the helm, is banking on a more experienced roster to aid in the Warriors' rebuild. 

This year's team will be led by redshirt junior forward Michael Lewis and junior guard Clark Bishop.  Lewis started 23 games a season ago and averaged 11.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, while shooting 49 percent from the floor. Bishop began to regain his freshman form towards the end of his sophomore season, scoring in double digits in six of the last eight games, including a career-high 27 points at Walsh.  Redshirt junior Joel Ndondo will look to continue his development after averaging 4.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per contest.  The team's leading returning scorer Gavin Toma will take a medical redshirt in 2015-16 after scoring 14.6 points per game and shooting nearly 45 percent from behind the arc a year ago and 83 percent from the charity stripe.

A quintet of returning sophomores that all saw action last season will be the key to this season's success.  Marcus Moore led the team with 3.4 assists per game, while scoring 7.8 points per contest. Chuck Key grabbed 4.4 rebounds per game and scored in double figures on seven occasions, all coming after the calendar flipped to 2015.  Tristan Wilson gave WSU some length and athleticism. He averaged 3.0 boards and 1.1 blocks per game.  George Spencer also showed defensive ability in the 14 games he appeared, which has become a calling card of teams coached by Greer. John Draper will attempt to reclaim the starting point guard position after appearing in the team's first seven games last season before missing the final 18 contests.

Redshirt sophomore guard Oge Onwudiwe is finally healthy after missing the last two seasons due to injury.  Tim Huguley adds depth to the guard position for the Green & Gold, while redshirt freshman Nick Mutebi is ready to contribute to the maturing roster. 

A group of five newcomers have joined WSU's efforts.  Tom Cotter, a 6-7 forward, comes to the Warriors after a season at Oakland.  For the second consecutive season, Wayne State added a graduate transfer from Clarion - this year is 6-5 forward Darius Stevens.  Ronald Booth, a 5-7 guard, transferred in from Schoolcraft Community College and Damion Rashford, a 6-4 forward, comes to WSU after a playing season at both Loyola (Md.)  and Western Nebraska Community College. The team's lone true freshman is 6-2 guard Josh Reynolds out of Plymouth High School. 

Wayne State will compete in the GLIAC South Division for the second straight season after playing in the North Division for two years (2012-14). The Warriors played in the South Division from 1996 through 2012.

The season will once again begin with the GMAC/GLIAC Challenge as WSU hosts Kentucky Wesleyan and Alderson Broaddus on Nov. 14 and 15.  The Warriors' third and final nonconference contest will be at GLVC-power Lewis on Nov. 28.

Home GLIAC contests include meetings with Northern Michigan (Dec. 10), Michigan Tech (Dec. 13), Hillsdale (Jan. 7), Saginaw Valley State (Jan. 9), Tiffin (Jan. 14), Lake Erie (Jan. 21), Ashland (Jan. 23), Malone (Jan. 28), Ohio Dominican (Feb. 6),Walsh (Feb. 20) and Findlay (Feb. 25).

THE BEAT GOES ON
David Greer is in his 15th season at the helm of the Warrior basketball program during the 2015-16 academic year.   He is the third-longest tenured coach in program history and collected his 200th win as Wayne State topped Tiffin on Feb. 5, 2015.  Greer, who has directed the Warriors to a 201-181 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.

COMCAST/XFINITY
Beginning on Dec. 10th every men's and women's basketball home games with the exception of the Dec. 13th Michigan Tech contests will be broadcast live throughout the state of Michigan on Comcast CN 900. Sean Baligian, Rod Beard and Joe Abramson will call the action.