Location: Ypsilanti, Mich. | Founded: 1849 | Enrollment: 23,500 | Colors: Green and White
Coach: Charles Ramsey | Home Court: Convocation Center | Capacity: 8,824 Record:
(14-17, 8-8
Mid-American)
WHAT WENT RIGHT Eastern Michigan literally launched its way into a second-place tie in the MAC West. No other team in the MAC let fly with 3-pointers with as much abandon as the Eagles, who were forced to use their perimeter game to overcome a lack of post play. EMU topped the MAC in 3-point attempts and placed second in the MAC by converting nearly 37 percent of its threes in conference play. The Eagles used the 3-point line to great effect in overcoming their weaknesses and placed three players among the top 15 3-point shooters in the MAC with F Travis Lewis ranking third (.436), G Jared Axon ninth (.391) and G Carlos Medlock 13th (.371).
WHAT WENT WRONG The flip side of a strong outside game unfortunately for the Eagles this past season was an inside game that was frequently missing in action. The Eagles spent most of the season struggling to contain the opposition's post players. The Eagles had serious depth issues in their frontcourt entering the season with an injury to MAC All-Freshman performer Brandon Bowdry, which were compounded after the dismissal of troubled C James Matthews early in the MAC season, leaving sophomore Justin Dobbins, whose game was still developing, without any real backup support. Both Kyle Dodd and Nenad Benjanin were pressed into action but were frequently manhandled by the MAC's premier post players.
For the Eagles to make a further move up in the MAC next season, they will need to quickly develop some depth and talent in the post and the anticipated return of Brandon Bowdry has to have Dobbins breathing a sigh of relief.
QUOTE TO NOTE "Our goal is to raise the bar. Every year we do something that has not been done in quite a long time. Finishing second in the MAC West has not been done in 10 or 12 years. Now we have to keep on climbing the mountain. We're going to stay patient and we are going to stay on course and look at it as a marathon and not a sprint." -- Eastern Michigan head coach Charles Ramsey, discussing the future of the EMU program.
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