For better or worse, Saturday Steve Schmidt will turn in his final draft. Mott’s head coach told MRSN radio after Wednesday night’s 67-60 loss to Schoolcraft that Mott’s game versus Delta on Saturday will finally bring to a close a season full of uncertainty. The drafts, to this point, have been rough. Very rough.
“The next time you see this team, you’ll see what our team will be from here on out,” Schmidt said.
This, with little doubt, will go down as the veteran coach’s most physically and emotionally draining season of his distinguished caeer. Fortunately, there’s still time to turn it around.
Mott started the season with only 11 players and, due to issues off the court and in the classroom, have dressed between seven and nine players most nights. That’s about to change.
The Bears will add former Davison (MI) High School standout forward Andrew Miller to the roster this week and may round out the roster with a member of the school’s baseball team. The 6-foot-6 Miller scored double figures in 15 of his 21 games with the Cardinals as a senior.
Schmidt added that he hopes his star point guard, Justice Green, will handle his business in the classroom and return to the team this week. The Bears need him desperately if they are going to circle the wagons.
Against Schoolcraft, Mott played a miserable first half. For long stretches, the Bears simply couldn’t buy a basket and trailed by 13 at the half.
A different team came out of the locker room in the second, as the Bears shot 56 percent as a team and actually cut the Ocelets’ lead to four midway through the half. The Bears failed to get stops on a consistent basis in the game’s final minutes and finally succumbed to a better team.
“That’s a really good team, a tough team to play on the road,” Schmidt said. “But we competed. I’m proud of the way our guys competed, especially in the second half.”
The Ocelets (16-3) currently hold the best record in the MCCAA.
Mott (11-5) was led by Daryl Bigham’s 21 points and four rebounds. Darryl LeVert added 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Bears will return to action at 3 p.m. on Saturday against a Delta squad fresh off a one-point loss against Oakland.