WMU readies for tough environment
Sunday, December 12, 2004
Western Michigan's men's basketball team is on a roll, no question.
The Broncos have won four consecutive games since an 0-2 start in the Top of the World Classic at Fairbanks, Alaska. Their 70-53 victory last Saturday at Buffalo, the preseason favorite to win the Mid-American Conference East, delivered a message that sounded throughout the league. Their bench is so deep that head coach Steve Hawkins rolls five off the bench at a time.
Yet Hawkins realizes what awaits the Broncos today at the College of Charleston's John Kresse Arena for WMU's first-ever visit, where the Cougars have never lost a home opener.
"It won't be a test," Hawkins said. "It'll be everything we can do to win the game."
Just like last year, when Charleston took WMU's best team in more than 20 years to overtime in a nationally televised Bracket Buster game. The Broncos won, 83-78, one of a school-record 26 wins.
This may be an even quicker Charleston team than the Broncos faced that day at University Arena. The Cougars (3-2) have forced at least 22 turnovers on their last three opponents, turning them into fastbreak opportunities. Charleston's only losses were to BCS schools: Auburn and Colorado. And the Cougars might have given Auburn a run Tuesday night had they not missed all 13 3-point attempts.
"This team really wants to run," Hawkins said. "Charleston will push it up every time. They're really going to push it up and down."
The key to that is guard Drew Hall, if he is recovered from an injury he suffered in the Auburn game. He has 13 assists and zero turnovers his last three games.
But if the Cougars run, they're still going to have to stop Western forward Levi Rost, who hit a school-record nine 3-pointers in the game's first 25 minutes at Buffalo. Rost, the Broncos' leading scorer with 16.5 points per game, has a deadly shot from the outside and scored in double figures every game except one.
What concerns Hawkins is the success opposing teams have had in offensive rebounding. Nineteen of Buffalo's 36 rebounds came on the offensive boards and Detroit also had 19 offensive rebounds against Western.
"Charleston is a team that is going to crash the glass offensively," Hawkins said.
Sunday, December 12, 2004
Western Michigan's men's basketball team is on a roll, no question.
The Broncos have won four consecutive games since an 0-2 start in the Top of the World Classic at Fairbanks, Alaska. Their 70-53 victory last Saturday at Buffalo, the preseason favorite to win the Mid-American Conference East, delivered a message that sounded throughout the league. Their bench is so deep that head coach Steve Hawkins rolls five off the bench at a time.
Yet Hawkins realizes what awaits the Broncos today at the College of Charleston's John Kresse Arena for WMU's first-ever visit, where the Cougars have never lost a home opener.
"It won't be a test," Hawkins said. "It'll be everything we can do to win the game."
Just like last year, when Charleston took WMU's best team in more than 20 years to overtime in a nationally televised Bracket Buster game. The Broncos won, 83-78, one of a school-record 26 wins.
This may be an even quicker Charleston team than the Broncos faced that day at University Arena. The Cougars (3-2) have forced at least 22 turnovers on their last three opponents, turning them into fastbreak opportunities. Charleston's only losses were to BCS schools: Auburn and Colorado. And the Cougars might have given Auburn a run Tuesday night had they not missed all 13 3-point attempts.
"This team really wants to run," Hawkins said. "Charleston will push it up every time. They're really going to push it up and down."
The key to that is guard Drew Hall, if he is recovered from an injury he suffered in the Auburn game. He has 13 assists and zero turnovers his last three games.
But if the Cougars run, they're still going to have to stop Western forward Levi Rost, who hit a school-record nine 3-pointers in the game's first 25 minutes at Buffalo. Rost, the Broncos' leading scorer with 16.5 points per game, has a deadly shot from the outside and scored in double figures every game except one.
What concerns Hawkins is the success opposing teams have had in offensive rebounding. Nineteen of Buffalo's 36 rebounds came on the offensive boards and Detroit also had 19 offensive rebounds against Western.
"Charleston is a team that is going to crash the glass offensively," Hawkins said.
