One more for four: Mott outlasts Lakeland for birth in national title game

Posted: March 24, 2012 by Jared Field in JUCO
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Mott freshman Ralph Eason poured in 26 points with seven steals against Lakeland in the national semifinals in Danville.

DANVILLE, Illinois — At some point, conventional wisdom directed, the Bears’ lack of size on the frontline would catch up with them. The antagonists have been waiting for it and, for now, they’ll keep waiting.

Mott (34-1) took down a much bigger Lakeland squad in the national semifinals tonight in Danville, 84-73.

As much as Lakeland’s team is all about quality big men, Mott’s attack is led by a stable of tireless guards that make life miserable for the opposition. The Bears lost the rebounding battle, but it was close; they lost the battle of points in the paint, but it was close; they won the battle of the backcourt, and that wasn’t even a contest.

The lead horse, sophomore John Taylor, scored 28 points to earn game-high honors by two points over freshman Ralph Eason, who added seven steals, five rebounds and three assists to his 26 points.

Mott, stymied a bit by a pretty impressive defensive performance by Lakeland on Taylor early on, led by only three at the half. At the outset of the second half, Lakeland sprinted out on an 8-1 run and actually led by six at the 14-minute mark of the half.

Two other stablemates, sophomore Darryl “Boo” Marshall and freshman Jakob Perry, hit several clutch shots in crunch time to take a little wind out of Lakeland’s sails. Marshall, Mott’s point guard, finished with 14 points, four assists and only one turnover.

A couple hard-earned baskets by freshman forward Kory Billups coupled with an outstanding performance by Ralph Eason on Mott’s press put the game on ice. Mott led by as many as 15 and Lakeland never got closer than six in the game’s final five minutes.

For Mott head coach Steve Schmidt, tomorrow night’s game against Rhode Island CC will mark his seventh appearance in the championship finale. For Schmidt, a win would earn him his fourth national championship ring.

The game will be broadcast starting at 8:30 p.m. eastern on IHigh.com.

Game notes

– Mott fans have come to expect great performances from Taylor and Eason. Those two guys are serious players. Not to diminish their performances tonight, but I think many people in attendance were most impressed by the poise and clutch play by “Boo” Marshall. His effort on the defensive end was tremendous and he stepped up in a big way on the offensive end, connecting on four huge triples.

– I’m not basing this prediction purely on emotion, as I’ve seen Ralph Eason play 25 or more times this season: I think Eason will be one of the top 10 players to ever play at Mott by the time he’s done. He’s a ferocious competitor, and tremendous athlete and is a high-level finisher. A year from now, he is going to make some D-1 coach a happy man.

– The drive for 35 ends tomorrow night. With a win, Mott will have won 35 games for only the third time in school history. The last two times the Bears have hit 35, they’ve left Danville with the title (2007, 2008).

– Coach Schmidt always talk about how his program is actually more like a family. I saw evidence of that tonight, just five minutes after the team arrived back at the hotel after the game. Schmidt had his whole team gather in one room to light candles and sing Happy Birthday to one of Mott’s young fans.

Bears get ready to face off against Lakeland, a team with a few common opponents

Posted: March 23, 2012 by Jared Field in JUCO
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DANVILLE, Illinois — No. 1-ranked Mott Community College will take on Lakeland (Ohio) tonight at 9 p.m. eastern in the Final Four of the National Tournament in Danville, Illinois.

Lakeland was not ranked in the top 10 in the final national poll, but they are certainly not living above their means in the Final Four. Lakeland made it to Danville by defeating two teams that had gotten the best of them earlier in the season — Columbus State and Owens. The latter is coached by Dave Clark, an assistant coach at Mott last season who helped lead the Bears to the title game.

Very often game analysts will look immediately for common opponents; in the case of these two teams, there’s a precious  little to be gleaned. Mott beat Owens twice while Lakeland beat them two out of three; Mott beat Oakland three times, while Lakeland defeated the Raiders in their only meeting; Mott has wins over Jackson, Schoolcraft and Delta — and so does Lakeland.

The majority of their respective victories were convincing, as one would expect from championship-caliber teams.

Mott’s advantage in this game is clearly on the defensive end. I don’t think you’d hear anyone argue against the statement that the Bears go harder defensively than any team in this tournament. Since the bulk of Lakeland’s scoring comes from the frontline, Mott will need big minutes out of 6-4 forward Walter Davis, 6-3 forward Kory Billups and 6-8 forward Robert Littlejohn. Those three have to limit Lakeland’s opportunities around the basket, rebound and hit their outlets. Mott’s forwards did a great job of hitting their guards to start the break against Louisburg Thursday night.

There’s no team in this tournament that the Bears are afraid to run on, and I think we’ll see that tonight.

To put it simply: if this game is about guards, Mott wins. Lakeland’s guards are young and will have their hands full with sophomore John Taylor. The 6-1 combo guard has scored 64 combined points in his first two games. The other poison to pick from is freshman guard Ralph Eason, a player who is far better than I think anyone imagined at the start of the season. He’s an absolute thoroughbred slashing to the basket.

Mott head coach Steve Schmidt will look to increase his national tournament record to 25-4 — currently the highest winning percentage in tournament history.

Click here to watch the game live starting at 9 p.m.

Dominate with defense: Mott back in the Final Four after blowout of Louisburg

Posted: March 22, 2012 by Jared Field in JUCO
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Mott head coach Steve Schmidt has made seven trips to the national tournament in Danville, Illinois and never once missed out on the Final Four. That incredible streak is intact after the Bears’ 72-57 win over Louisburg College Thursday night.

Mott (33-1) led by 23 points midway through the second half and cruised to the victory with a dominant defensive performance. They held Louisburg to 33 percent shooting from the field and forced 21 turnovers. Only one player scored in double figures (12) for Louisburg.

“When you play defense like that, you’re not going to lose very many games,” Schmidt said in a post-game interview with WDAN radio.

The Bears trailed by four in the early going before putting together a run similar to one they had on Tuesday night in the opening round. Mott scored 21 of the game’s next 25 points, led by sophomore combo guard John Taylor. With Mott’s former national player of the year Jeremie Simmons in the stands, Taylor put on a show for his Windy City brethren. He made 38 points look easy, slicing and dicing his way through a much bigger Louisburg lineup.

“I think he’s the best (JUCO) player in the country,” Schimidt said. “And I think there are a lot of people who would agree with me.”

A lot of those people live in Danville, Illinois.

Through two games, Taylor has the tournament record for points with a 32-point average. Taylor wasn’t alone, however. Sophomore forward Walter Davis scored 10 points with 10 rebounds including a couple impressive dunks. Freshman Ralph Eason added 13 points with seven rebounds, five steals and three assists.

Mott will play tomorrow night against the winner of the Lakeland and South Mountain game.

Editor’s note: I will be leaving for Danville in the morning. Check back tomorrow for more news on Mott’s run to another title.

Beecher’s Monte Morris should be leading candidate for next year’s Mr. Basketball Award

Posted: March 21, 2012 by Patrick Hayes in High School
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Monte Morris (photo via UM Hoops)

By Patrick Hayes

As a freshman at Flint Beecher, Monte Morris could think his way through a basketball game better than most seniors could.

My last season covering basketball for the Flint Journal happened to coincide with Morris’ freshman season. The first time I watched him, he played so under control and intelligently that if not for his wiry frame and boyish face, I would’ve never suspected he was an underclassman. Morris had 14 points for Beecher in an early-season game against Southfield Lathrup that year, keeping the Bucs close most of the way against a team that featured current Iowa Hawkeye Roy Devyn Marble and current Wayne State player Bryan Coleman. Marble and Coleman, both wing players, were 6-foot-6. Beecher’s starting center in that game, D’Marius Houston, was generously listed at 6-foot-1.

On top of the size disadvantage, Beecher also was really inexperienced. That season, they started the freshman Morris and sophomores Antuan Burks and Cortez Robinson. They only had three seniors who played significant minutes and their best player from the previous season, Javontae Hawkins (at the time considered the top basketball prospect in the Flint area in years) had transferred to Powers.

All of that is a long-winded way of saying that the game really shouldn’t have been very competitive. Yet somehow, it was for most of the way, and that would become a theme of Beecher’s season. The Bucs started 0-5 that year, with  close losses against experienced teams that appeared more talented. But by the time Beecher picked up its first win, beating Flint Southwestern, it was becoming more and more obvious that people should stop questioning the talent of the team. The Bucs were young, yes, but Morris very quickly established himself as one of the best players in the Flint area and one of the top prospects in the state regardless of class year.

A few really unique things stood out about Morris from the beginning.  First, his efficiency was off the charts, not just for a freshman, but for a high school guard in general. There are plenty of big-time scorers in high school, but there’s also a reason most people don’t mention the field goal percentage of high school guards: even the good ones usually have ugly percentages. Morris, though, was different. After a close loss to Saginaw Buena Vista that season when Morris scored 29 points on (by my count) 18 shots, here is what Beecher coach Mike Williams said to me when I asked him about those 29 points after the game:

“He had 29? Jesus. And we got on him for passing up shots. He’s the most unselfish kid that I’ve ever coached. He likes to share the ball. He’s capable of scoring 30, 40 points any night, when he’s shooting the ball, but he’s gotta put the shots up.”

That was the beauty of watching Morris. From a young age, he instinctively knew the difference between a bad shot and a good shot. He knew how to finish in traffic. He knew how to draw contact and get to the free throw line. I don’t think I have to tell any coach or person who has worked with or watched extensive amounts of high school basketball how rare it is to find those traits in a freshman guard.

Morris also has a firm understanding of the work necessary to get better. In the summer before his sophomore season, coming off of Beecher getting blown out in the state Class C semifinals against Melvindale ABT, here is what Morris said about that experience:

The work ethic and drive was apparent in Morris during the offseason. In the state semifinals last season, Beecher was soundly defeated by Melvindale ABT, featuring a huge game from Melvindale guard and Mr. Basketball candidate Michael Talley III, who scored 34 points and single-handedly broke Beecher’s vaunted press.

“I take like two days a week to re-watch that game just to take stuff out of his (Talley’s) game,” Morris said. “Just how he reads the court, scores and how aggressive he is. That’s really what I’m trying to add into my game.”

Most impressive about Morris, however, is that he has been committed to not only his teammates and school, but helping restore the ‘District of Champions’ tradition that Beecher was at one time known for. This is an era of high school basketball where top prospects transfer (sometimes multiple times), where people with bad intentions give kids bad advice and, without getting into specific names or circumstances that are irrelevant now, Beecher has been vultured and lost good players to those kinds of situations over the years. There is a flawed line of thinking that in order to get the exposure necessary to be a highly sought-after prospect in high school sports, athletes have to be at huge schools that churn out those types of prospects every year.

The great thing about Morris is he represents just how flawed that thinking is. He’s become an elite player at Beecher for two very simple reasons, aside from his own individual talents: He is playing for a great coach in Mike Williams (maybe the best high school coach in the state, in my opinion) who pushes him to get better; and, to put it as simple as possible, Morris wins. He wins every year.

What better time is there to show off things like your basketball IQ, toughness and competitiveness than the high school basketball playoffs? What better stage is there than the Breslin Center during the state semis and finals to get the chance to perform in front of college scouts and coaches? What better exposure is there for an individual player or team than perennially getting the opportunity to play for a state title?

Morris, now a junior, just won his second consecutive Associated Press Class C Player of the Year Award. Tomorrow, he leads his undefeated team to the state semifinals at the Breslin Center for the third time in his three-year varsity career. Morris is a testament to the fact that overwhelming TEAM success is a great way to open doors for individual achievements as well. He’s exactly the type of player and prospect that high major college coaches interested in winning should be pursuing and he’s exactly the type of player, both for his talent and character, that the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan should be looking to recognize when they hand out next year’s Mr. Basketball award to the best senior in the state.

No. 1 Mott wins national tournament opener against Danville, 76-59

Posted: March 20, 2012 by Jared Field in JUCO
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No. 1-ranked Mott Community College (32-1) played the most miserable 20 minutes of basketball I’ve seen in quite some time. Luckily the Bears have a hall of fame coach who knows all the right buttons to push in between the first and second acts.

Steve Schmidt’s team, down nine at the half, ran over and around Danville CC to win going away, 76-59. It was sweet redemption for Schmidt, who certainly had some reservations about playing the host team in round one in front of a sellout crowd.

Mott sophomore John Taylor put on a show early in the second half, hushing the crowd with a pair of deep 3-pointers to help his team wrestle away the lead just six minutes into the half. Taylor had 26 points to lead all scorers and was dubbed “Superman” by one of the courtside television analysts.

From that point it was all about Mott’s trademark intensity on both ends of the floor; and, as always, that charge was led by Ralph Eason. The freshman guard was as close to perfect as any one player can be.  Eason scored 21 points (10-for-10 from the floor) with five rebounds, five assists and two steals.

In an interview after the game, Schmidt used Eason’s performance as evidence that these Bears aren’t a one-man team. Need more proof? The Bears, as a team, shot better than 80 percent from the floor in the second half. In all the years I’ve covered basketball, I cannot recall ever seeing a team reach that number.

Mott will take on Louisburg College on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. (eastern) in the Elite Eight.

Is Steve Schmidt the man to ‘fire up’ Central Michigan’s basketball program?

Posted: March 15, 2012 by Jared Field in JUCO
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Mott's Steve Schmidt was a finalist for the head coaching vacancy at CMU in 2006. Will his alma mater give him a fresh look in 2012?

The e-mails and texts came in like a flood on Wednesday afternoon. The word of Ernie Zeigler’s ouster as head coach at Central Michigan University was received in Flint with both fear and excitement — fear of losing an institution in the city and excitement about the possibility of Steve Schmidt building a mid-major powerhouse at his alma mater.

This morning, I had a meeting in downtown Flint and once again heard talk about CMU’s search and how Flint’s guy might just be the right guy (he was born in Lansing, but we claim him now). A friend of mine and acquaintance of Coach Schmidt heard the news and reacted in the same way many others have: It’s time to take it to the next level.

The “it” is the basketball tradition at Mott that folks around here believe can be replicated just about anywhere.

Over the course of the last six years, I’ve had the closest view possible of Schmidt’s basketball program at Mott without actually putting on a jersey. I know the program inside and out, I’ve seen the blueprint and I know why he wins. This man’s world isn’t bounded by lines of latitude and longitude, just laces. His life has been devoted to the game we all love and, for this devotion, he’s earned the respect and admiration of fans, fellow coaches and an entire city that identifies with the game perhaps more than any other.

The man I spoke to early this morning put it best: “Coach Schmidt is married to the game.”

In the summer of 2007, I was working as a reporter for the Flint Journal and I was with the team in the locker room after they secured Schmidt’s second national championship. That summer, Schmidt was a finalist for the Central Michigan job that ultimately went to Zeigler, a promising assistant who coached with Ben Howland at UCLA. It was very clear at that time that Schmidt had struggled over the course of the summer with the idea of leaving Mott, and he told his team as much. He was never comfortable with the prospect of saying goodbye to a team he knew was destined for greatness. The Bears won the title and nine of those players, kids from Detroit, Chicago, Brooklyn and Flint, went on to play D-1 basketball.

Coach Schmidt is a great recruiter who has had a tremendous amount of success in the Midwest and has even branched out to find players in the South. He has graduated players to high-major conferences including the Big Ten, Big East, SEC and ACC. Many of his players have found success at the mid-major level over the years including in the MAC.

During his career he has coached 15 All-Americans and three National Player of the Year Award winners. Sophomore John Taylor, a guard from the west side of Chicago, has a great chance to be his fourth.

I could tell you a lot of stories that would outline the above mentioned blueprint in words, knowing that the mark of a great coach is more than just about wins and losses; but, I also know that coaching at a high level is a bottom-line business and winning championships is the difference between good and great.

Here’s what Schmidt has done since his last interview with CMU:

  • 2012 — Conference, State, Regional, National Champions (35-1)
  • 2011 — Conference, State, Regional, National Runner-up (33-3)
  • 2010 — Conference, State Champions (26-4)
  • 2009 — Conference Champions (29-5)
  • 2008 — Conference, Regional, State and National Champions (35-2)
  • 2007 — Conference, Regional and National Champions (35-3)

That’s 19 championship trophies.

There’s nothing more he can do at this level. A couple years back I remember hearing his longtime assistant respond to a question about when Schmidt would get his opportunity at the D-1 level.

“When some program gets tired of losing,” he said.

It takes a winner to make a winner, and the boldness demonstrated by CMU earlier this month tells me the Chips are tired of losing.

Steve Schmidt, John Taylor and Ralph Eason honored with awards from MCCAA

Posted: March 12, 2012 by Jared Field in JUCO
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Ralph Eason was named MCCAA Freshman of the Year. He averaged 13 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals per game for Mott.

The MCCAA just announced its awards for the 2011-12 season; three Mott Community College Bears received top honors.

Mott head coach Steve Schmidt was named Coach of the Year, John Taylor Player of the Year and Ralph Eason Freshman of the Year.  Eason probably etched his name into the award over the last few weeks, leading Mott in several big games including wins over Lansing and Oakland.

The rest of the MCCAA Awards can be viewed here.

It’s no surprise that Taylor won the award for the top player after scoring 40+ points in two of his last three outings. He is on track to be named a first team All-American as well. I’ve covered basketball for quite a few years and I can count on one hand the number of players I’ve seen up close that can score like Taylor.

Eason hasn’t really gotten the credit he deserves up until this point. He is Mott’s most important player, in my mind, because he has such a well-rounded game. Add to that the fact that no one outworks him.

As for Coach Schmidt, what can more be said? The numbers are gaudy.

  • Career record:  569-124
  • MCCAA Eastern Conference Championships: 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.
  • MCCAA State Championships: 1995, 1996, 2000, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2012.
  • District/Regional Championships: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2011 and 2012.
  • National Championships: 2003, 2007 and  2008.
  • National Runner-ups: 2001, 2004, and 2011.
  • Final Four appearances: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2011.

Mott (31-1) will return to the National Tournament in Danville, Illinois on March 21 to make a run at the school’s fourth national championship. Mott will, with little doubt, be the no. 1 seed in the tournament. The bracket will be made known to participants on Monday night.

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