Great Lakes Hoops

Mott sophomore John Taylor became Steve Schmidt's 16th All-American on Tuesday. Taylor averaged 25 points per game and led Mott to the school's fourth national championship.

Mott Community College sophomore John Taylor is now a member of an elite class of Bears honored with the title of All-American. Taylor joins several of Schmidt’s champions of the past, including Kevin Tiggs and Jeremie Simmons, on the NJCAA’s first team.

Taylor, a 6-1 guard from the west side of Chicago, came to Mott with the promise that the right program could make the most of his immense talent.

“John and I put together a plan when he signed with us, an ambitious plan,” said Mott head coach Steve Schmidt. “I told him that he could be one of the best players in the country. He has the talent and Mott has the program and coaches to make it happen.”

Schmidt happened.

At the beginning of the season, Taylor told his new coach that he was “back.” The program had lit a fire under Taylor and he was poised to make a run at a national championship.

Taylor set the JUCO world on fire this season with three 40+ point performances en route to a 25 points per game average. His stunning display of scoring prompted one opposing coach to call him the best junior college player he’d ever seen.

Taylor led Mott to its fourth national championship and for his hard work he was named national tournament MVP. He will also be among the finalists for the National Player of the Year award. If Taylor wins it, he will become the fourth player during Schmidt’s tenure to receive the award.

Taylor is probably the most electrifying scoring guard at Mott since Rashi Johnson. He has the ball on a string and attacks the basket with reckless abandon. As stars go, Taylor was a coach’s dream.

“I’ve loved coaching John and he can be sure that I’ll always be there for him,” Schmidt said.

ESPN.com is reporting that Central Michigan University has hired the former coach of Providence College, Keno Davis, as the successor to recently-fired head coach Ernie Zeigler.

Many basketball fans in Michigan thought this was CMU’s opportunity to do what should have been done in 2006 when Mott Community College head coach Steve Schmidt was a finalist for the job that ultimately went to Zeigler. Since he was last a finalist, Schmidt has won three (four total) national championships at the JUCO level and has turned Mott into one of the winningest programs in the history of junior college basketball.

Davis worked as analyst for the Big Ten Network this past season one year removed from being dismissed by Providence College after several mediocre seasons, including a .333 winning percentage in the Big East. Davis’ claim to fame is his 2008 Missouri Valley Conference championship and entry into the NCAA tournament. He caught lightning in a bottle for one season and has now parlayed that magical season into two head coaching jobs.

I’m not going to beat around the bush on the hire, though I cannot pretend to know all the factors that led to CMU once again passing over one of their most successful alums. That being said, on the surface this wreaks of a total lack of creativity on the part of Central Michigan Athletic Director Dave Heeke. Did Heeke really need to secure the services of a search firm in order to hire the biggest-name unemployed coach?

Why not get a coach who wants the CMU job, not the coach who wants ANY  job? CMU’s basketball program has been mired in mediocrity for decades; I’m not sure Keno Davis backing in to their top job is the answer. In my opinion CMU needed to make a statement this time around. Sadly, this hire just screams status quo; and at CMU the status quo is mediocrity.

The Mott Bears have made basketball history, and Mott Community College is inviting the entire community to a public celebration in honor of the champions.

On Saturday, March 25, 2012, the Mott Community College Men’s Basketball Team clinched a record fourth national title at the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II (NJCAA) Men’s Basketball Championship. MCC now holds more national championships than any other NJCAA Division II men’s basketball program.

MCC’s National Championship Community Celebration is scheduled for 5:30 to 7 pm, Wednesday, April 4, 2012 at Ballenger Field House on the main campus of Mott Community College, 1401 East Court St. in Flint. This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be provided.

Free commemorative national championship posters will be available. Championship T-shirts and hats will be available for purchase or to order. In addition, coaches and members of the team will be on hand to greet fans.

“We are excited to be able to honor our team,” said MCC Men’s Basketball Coach Steve Schmidt. “We have tremendous support from our entire college staff and unbelievable support from our community. This event will give us the opportunity to share our championship with everyone who has supported us. The Mott Bears are proud to be National Champions!”

Mott sophomore Darryl "Boo" Marshall led the NJCAA Division II National Tournament in assist-to-turnover ratio. Marshall, Mott's starting point guard, turned the ball over twice in four games en route to being selected to the all-tournament team.

Mott Community College sophomores Darryl “Boo” Marshall and Walter Davis led the national tournament in assist-to-turnover ratio and blocked shots, respectively.

Marshall averaged 30 minutes per game and surrendered only two turnovers in four games for an astounding 6-to-1 ratio. Davis, for his part, spearheaded Mott’s defensive attack with 16 blocks in four games. In those games, Mott held opponents to a lackluster 38 percent shooting thanks, in part, to Davis’ ability to protect the rim.

Marshall and Davis are two of three players Steve Schmidt recruited out of Memphis, Tennessee two years ago.

Mott players waited patiently for their coach to return to the locker room after cutting down the nets on Saturday night following the school’s record fourth national championship was in the books. Then, the trap was sprung:

DANVILLE, Michigan — Mott head coach Steve Schmidt, drenched from head to toe after an all-too-familiar post-national-title Gatorade baptism Saturday night, told a room full of newly-crowned champions how much he loved them.

“This has probably been the most enjoyable season in my coaching career,” Schmidt said, just minutes after winning his fourth National Coach of the Year award.

This iteration of Mott basketball is special; the others, well they were special too; but, what connects every player who has ever been coached by Schmidt is an unquenchable thirst for championships — and that comes directly from the hall of fame coach.

In the locker room after clinching the school’s fourth national title, I overheard one player say to another, “man, I’ve never been a part of anything like this.”

At this level, no player outside of Mott ever has. Mott now holds the division II junior college record for national championships (4) and national tournament victories (27). Only two other programs at any level of JUCO basketball have won four national titles.

Mott capped of an unbelievable 35-1 season with a 70-60 victory of Community College of Rhode Island Saturday night. The Bears won 35 games after replacing all five starters from last season.

Led by a trio of all-tournament performers (John Taylor, Ralph Eason and Darryl Marshall), Mott took a six-point advantage to the locker room. Mott started the second half on a 7-1 run and put Rhode Island’s star Desmond Williams on the bench with dehydration.

With Williams out of the game, Mott extended its lead to 13 points and coasted to the 70-60 victory. Once again, the dynamic duo of Ralph Eason and national tournament MVP John Taylor led Mott in nearly every category. Taylor scored 23 points with six assists. Eason added 22 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals.

As a program under Schmidt’s direction, Mott has gone to the national tournament eight out of the last 12 seasons. In those visits to Danville, Mott has never missed out on the final four. They have finished third once, runner-up three times and champions four times.

Mott owns this town.

Game Notes

– Ralph Eason capped off an unbelievable tournament run with style against Rhode Island. Eason had three dunks in transition to get the overwhelmingly Mott crowd on its feet. He also did the heavy lifting against Williams, whose older brother plays for the New Jersey Nets. He’s a serious player, but he ran into a serious defender in Eason. His numbers during this tournament are just sinful. Eason averaged 21 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals per game. He shot a staggering 68 percent from the floor.

– John Taylor finished the tournament with an average of 29 points per game. I’d be surprised if he didn’t become Schmidt’s fourth National Player of the Year (Jay Youngblood, Kevin Tiggs and Jeremie Simmons). When he graduates from Mott, he’ll have a number of opportunities to play at the next level.

– Mott’s sophomore point guard Darryl “Boo” Marshall was on his job the entire tournament. Boo had a grand total of two turnovers in four games and averaged nearly 30 minutes of floor time. Don’t be surprised if he played his way into a D-1 scholarship.

– Mott’s sophomore forward Walter Davis deserves a ton of credit for a season in which Mott depended on him too do the bulk of the work in the paint. At barely 6-4, Davis boxed well above his weight throughout the season; he stayed healthy and became a major difference-maker on the defensive end.