1. Matt Stainbrook. From all but certain redshirt to starting the season opener, the Broncos? freshman big man from suburban Cleveland has been the big talk throughout Western Michigan?s practices and preseason. The question becomes, how do his crowd-pleasing lefty hooks, vision out of the post and 6-foot-9, 275-(and-shrinking)-pound frame translate tangibly? Is he ready to defend at the Division I level? Can he be productive late in games while his conditioning improves? Stainbrook has done enough to this point to warrant featuring him in the middle without any of this really answered. Coach Steve Hawkins said the Broncos might use Stainbrook like the Lakers used to use Shaq ? run the break and if nothing?s there, wait for the big fella? to catch up and run some offense. There is no question Stainbrook was a steal of a recruit. With touch around the basket like no big man the Broncos have had in years and a natural feel of the game midmajor big men simply don?t possess, he has program-altering potential. But as of now, it is only that.
2. Flenard Whitfield?s junior season. The strides taken by Whitfield over the final month of last season were immense. But averaging 12.2 points and 6.3 rebounds for nine games with David Kool in your backcourt is different than doing so without him. Whitfield doesn?t have to be the Broncos? leading scorer. In fact, it might be better if he?s not. He must be whatever the defense dictates. If that?s being a double-teamed decoy that allows for open looks elsewhere, so be it. Whatever his scoring average is, his work on the glass, defensively and in the heads of his teammates can?t change. It?s still his team, regardless. And the success of his junior season should be tied only to WMU?s record, nothing else.
3. David Kool?s actual replacement. It may be Whitfield?s team but somebody actually has to fill the position of WMU?s all-time leading scorer. For now, that?s Demetrius Ward to start and Alex Wolf off the bench, with Ward also backing up Mikey Douglas at the point. Ward isn?t near the shooter Kool was and Wolf, while dangerous from long range, can?t attack the basket in the manner in which Kool did. That?s OK. You don?t have to replace Kool with the next Kool, as long as the dynamic of the rest of team changes for the better. When Ward is at the 2, the pressure will be on small forwards Nate Hutcheson and Juwan Howard to knock down shots from the perimeter to keep defenses from collapsing. When Wolf is there, others have drive and create. All of this changes when David Brown re-enters the mix ...
No. 4. David Brown?s health and head. Brown?s tenure as Kool?s heir apparent lasted about three minutes of court time in WMU?s exhibition opener, before he badly sprained his right ankle. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound sophomore (down 25 pounds from last season) won?t be back until the Nov. 20 game against Loyola of Chicago at the earliest, and probably not until the following weekend or even later. By then, he?ll either be desperately needed or have to fight to regain the role that once seemed his. Last season, Ward?s preseason injury and recovery kept him from ever really finding a groove or taking hold of the role he held at the end of summer workouts ? as WMU?s point guard and floor leader. WMU needs to make sure this doesn?t happen with Brown. He is the Broncos? most complete off-guard, potentially a combination of some of the best of Wolf and Ward ? but only if he?s healthy and confident.
No. 5. The impact of repositioning. Ward and Wolf flipped positions and Hutcheson is, for the time being, exclusively a small forward. These moves alone might be worth a few wins. Last season, Wolf backed up point guard Mikey Douglas and Ward spent his time mostly on the wing. So, in essence, you had a shooter driving to kick to a driver. Some of this was created by circumstance ? the stress fracture in Ward?s leg kept him from becoming the starting point guard and Wolf spent the early part of his career at point guard because of his size and, well, no one figured he?d ever play much anyway. Wolf enters the season as the Broncos? best shooter and Ward is fit and healthy and best with the ball in his hands. Moving Hutcheson from power forward was done to get him on the court with Whitfield, as two of WMU?s best players. Hutcheson may be 6-7 and athletic but his shoulders don?t resemble a power forward and his skill set fits the wing. The problem now ? and it?s not a horrible problem ? is that Howard has become one of the Broncos? better players, too. So, to maximize minutes for Hutcheson, Howard and Whitfield, they need Hutcheson to re-learn the 4 spot (which is planned for next week) and play both positions. In WMU?s playbook, the 2 and the 3 are similar, as are the 4 and 5. Switching between the 3 and the 4 takes a bit more concentration, which has never been Hutcheson?s strong suit.
2. Flenard Whitfield?s junior season. The strides taken by Whitfield over the final month of last season were immense. But averaging 12.2 points and 6.3 rebounds for nine games with David Kool in your backcourt is different than doing so without him. Whitfield doesn?t have to be the Broncos? leading scorer. In fact, it might be better if he?s not. He must be whatever the defense dictates. If that?s being a double-teamed decoy that allows for open looks elsewhere, so be it. Whatever his scoring average is, his work on the glass, defensively and in the heads of his teammates can?t change. It?s still his team, regardless. And the success of his junior season should be tied only to WMU?s record, nothing else.
3. David Kool?s actual replacement. It may be Whitfield?s team but somebody actually has to fill the position of WMU?s all-time leading scorer. For now, that?s Demetrius Ward to start and Alex Wolf off the bench, with Ward also backing up Mikey Douglas at the point. Ward isn?t near the shooter Kool was and Wolf, while dangerous from long range, can?t attack the basket in the manner in which Kool did. That?s OK. You don?t have to replace Kool with the next Kool, as long as the dynamic of the rest of team changes for the better. When Ward is at the 2, the pressure will be on small forwards Nate Hutcheson and Juwan Howard to knock down shots from the perimeter to keep defenses from collapsing. When Wolf is there, others have drive and create. All of this changes when David Brown re-enters the mix ...
No. 4. David Brown?s health and head. Brown?s tenure as Kool?s heir apparent lasted about three minutes of court time in WMU?s exhibition opener, before he badly sprained his right ankle. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound sophomore (down 25 pounds from last season) won?t be back until the Nov. 20 game against Loyola of Chicago at the earliest, and probably not until the following weekend or even later. By then, he?ll either be desperately needed or have to fight to regain the role that once seemed his. Last season, Ward?s preseason injury and recovery kept him from ever really finding a groove or taking hold of the role he held at the end of summer workouts ? as WMU?s point guard and floor leader. WMU needs to make sure this doesn?t happen with Brown. He is the Broncos? most complete off-guard, potentially a combination of some of the best of Wolf and Ward ? but only if he?s healthy and confident.
No. 5. The impact of repositioning. Ward and Wolf flipped positions and Hutcheson is, for the time being, exclusively a small forward. These moves alone might be worth a few wins. Last season, Wolf backed up point guard Mikey Douglas and Ward spent his time mostly on the wing. So, in essence, you had a shooter driving to kick to a driver. Some of this was created by circumstance ? the stress fracture in Ward?s leg kept him from becoming the starting point guard and Wolf spent the early part of his career at point guard because of his size and, well, no one figured he?d ever play much anyway. Wolf enters the season as the Broncos? best shooter and Ward is fit and healthy and best with the ball in his hands. Moving Hutcheson from power forward was done to get him on the court with Whitfield, as two of WMU?s best players. Hutcheson may be 6-7 and athletic but his shoulders don?t resemble a power forward and his skill set fits the wing. The problem now ? and it?s not a horrible problem ? is that Howard has become one of the Broncos? better players, too. So, to maximize minutes for Hutcheson, Howard and Whitfield, they need Hutcheson to re-learn the 4 spot (which is planned for next week) and play both positions. In WMU?s playbook, the 2 and the 3 are similar, as are the 4 and 5. Switching between the 3 and the 4 takes a bit more concentration, which has never been Hutcheson?s strong suit.
