Men's Basketball 11/9/2022 11:29:00 AM Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Men's Basketball Visits Hillsdale on Friday, Hosts Malone on Sunday

Warriors start season with GLIAC/GMAC Crossover

DETROIT -- Wayne State will officially begin a new era in the men's basketball program as 2020 Hall of Fame inductee Bryan Smothers becomes just the second former WSU student-athlete to lead the program (joining Newman Ertell who lettered from 1921-25, then became head coach in 1929 for the College of the City of Detroit). Smothers is the 11th head coach (including interim) since Detroit Junior College began playing basketball in January of 1918. The 2022-23 campaign will be the 105th season of Wayne State basketball (no games were played in 1943-44 due to World War II).

STORYLINES
WSU begins the 2022-23 regular season with the GLIAC/GMAC Crossover. The Warriors travel to Hillsdale for a 7 p.m. contest on Friday, before entertaining Malone in a 3 p.m. game on Sunday at the Wayne State Fieldhouse.

THE SERIES
Wayne State has a 47-39 edge in the all-time series against Hillsdale, including a 16-24 mark on the Chargers home court. The teams battled as GLIAC rivals from 1977 through the 2016-17 campaign. The teams have met twice since with the road team winning each time - WSU 65-60 at HC on November 27, 2019, and Hillsdale claiming a 68-62 win at the Wayne State Fieldhouse on November 20, 2021.

The Warriors are meeting the Pioneers for the first time since February 18, 2016, when the squads met for the sixth time as GLIAC foes. Malone won the first meeting in 1977 and the Akron Classic. The Pioneers lead 5-2 in the all-time series, and have four straight since a WSU victory (66-63) at the Matthaei on January 4, 2014.

SCOUTING THE CHARGERS
Hillsdale went 2-0 at the Small College Basketball Tip-Off Classic in Lakeland, Fla. this past weekend. HC defeated Dallas Baptist 64-57 on Saturday, then upended Valdosta State 79-65 on Sunday.

Forward Joe Reuter posted a double-double against DBU with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Kyle Gossler chipped in with 16 points, including three triples. Both Jack Gohlke and Cole Nau dished out four assists (stats from the VSU game were unavailable).

Head Coach John Tharp is in his 16th season guiding the Chargers. He is the program's all-time leader in coaching victories with 297.

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Malone will begin its 2022-23 season with a home contest against Saginaw Valley State this Friday.

The Pioneers have seven returning letterwinners highlighted by Bo Myers, who started all 28 games a season ago for an 18-10 MU squad. He averaged over 16 points per game and made a team-best 76 triples. Justin Miller contributed 13 points and 5.1 rebounds per contest last year, while notching a team-high 112 assists.

Casey Kaufman has compiled a 107-87 mark through his first seven seasons leading the Pioneers.

LAST TIME OUT
Wayne State suffered a 75-66 setback on Monday at Eastern Michigan in an exhibition contest for the Warriors. Carmelo Harris led three Warriors in double figures with 17 points, while Kylin Grant chipped in with 11 second half points, and Kaimen Lennox added 10 points. Harris also had a team-high nine rebounds, all defensive.

SEASON OUTLOOK
Wayne State aims to return to the GLIAC and NCAA postseason in 2022-23 under first-year head coach Bryan Smothers. The WSU Hall of Famer returned to his alma mater in March after spending time on the coaching staffs at Wayne State, Michigan and Niagara.

Smothers constructed an impressive staff led by Raymoan McAfee, Jr. who spent time at Ferris State and Indiana Tech. Will Vergollo had been a part of the Butler coaching staff since 2017-18 and spent time at Milwaukee and Michigan prior to that. Matt Bullinger, who will serve as the graduate assistant, has roots in the state, coaching at Kalamazoo Valley Community College.

The 2021-22 season started with long-time head coach David Greer announcing his retirement on Nov. 17th. The Warriors battled and were in several close games throughout the season but were never able to find their footing, finishing with a 5-18 overall record, including a 4-16 GLIAC mark.

The roster has a significant amount of turnover from last season. The group of seven returners includes Avery Lewis, Antonio Marshall, Ray Williams, Jr., Kylin Grant, Tyree Martin, Cortez Jackson and Nate Talbot.

Marshall is a four-year letterwinner, who has averaged 9.3 points and 4.0 rebounds in 64 career games, while shooting 33 percent (71-of-215) from beyond the arc. Lewis has started 37 of 38 career games since transferring from Saginaw Valley State. As a Warrior, Lewis is averaging 12.3 points and 7.6 rebounds per contest. Grant has played nearly 1,200 minutes over the last three seasons and set a career-high with 16 triples a year ago. Talbot has started 24 times for WSU.

Williams, Jr. is averaging 7.1 points and 6.0 rebounds, while playing in 41 games in his first two seasons. Martin averaged nearly a block per game in his inaugural season with the Green and Gold, while Jackson returns for his third year at WSU.

The coaching staff will look to a group of seven newcomers to take the program back to the top of the GLIAC. That group consists of Matt Coffey, Bryce Esman, Justice Gordon, Carmelo Harris, Kaimen Lennox, Eli Lohr and Chris Mutebi. Wayne State claimed the GLIAC regular-season title during the COVID shortened 2020-21 campaign with a 12-5 conference ledger.

LIVE ON WDTK
Kevin Brechmacher will call every Wayne State contest live on WDTK - The Patriot (1400 AM / 101.5 FM). Fans can also stream the action online at PatriotDetroit.com. Former Warrior Chuck Key will serve as the analyst for the November 13th game.

WARRIOR ALL-ACCESS
Every regular season home game, will be available to stream via Warrior All-Access at WSUAthletics.com.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#44 Matt Coffey: C; 6' 8"; Freshman

#21 Bryce Esman: F/C; 6' 8"; Freshman

#3 Justice Gordon: G; 6' 4"; Freshman

#5 Kylin Grant: F; 6' 6"; Senior

#11 Carmelo Harris: G; 5' 11"; Freshman

#4 Cortez Jackson: G; 6' 1"; Graduate Student

#22 Kaimen Lennox: G; 6' 2"; Junior

#33 Avery Lewis: F; 6' 6"; Redshirt Senior

#34 Eli Lohr: G; 6' 5"; Freshman

#1 Antonio Marshall: G; 6' 4"; Redshirt Senior

Players Mentioned

#44 Matt Coffey
: 6' 8"; Freshman
: C

#21 Bryce Esman
: 6' 8"; Freshman
: F/C

#3 Justice Gordon
: 6' 4"; Freshman
: G

#5 Kylin Grant
: 6' 6"; Senior
: F

#11 Carmelo Harris
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: G

#4 Cortez Jackson
: 6' 1"; Graduate Student
: G

#22 Kaimen Lennox
: 6' 2"; Junior
: G

#33 Avery Lewis
: 6' 6"; Redshirt Senior
: F

#34 Eli Lohr
: 6' 5"; Freshman
: G

#1 Antonio Marshall
: 6' 4"; Redshirt Senior
: G