Point guard’s transfer leaves Bobcats to create new look
Antonio Campbell is gone after his senior season at Ohio, and point guard Jaaron Simmons left for Michigan as a graduate transfer. Now, fourth-year Bobcats coach Saul Phillips confronts a nonconference schedule that includes three 2017 NCAA Tournament teams — Maryland, Iona and Mount St. Mary’s — plus Clemson and Marshall, among others.
And, oh, by the way, as many as four players could play the point.
So why is this man upbeat?
“We threw ourselves into the fire a little bit with the schedule, thinking we had a returning senior point guard in Jaaron,” Phillips said. “But I’m not bashful, and I’m comfortable with this. It’s good for the fans, it’s good for the players, and it’s good for our development. My entire goal at this university is to get into the NCAA Tournament. I’m over the ego thing of winning 22 or 23 games.”
The Bobcats, who were 20-11 overall and 11-7 in the Mid-American Conference East last season, have a foundation in forward Jason Carter of Johnstown (9.9), guard Jordan Dartis of Newark (11.2) and swingman Gavin Block (6.3 in 2015-16). The latter two will share point guard with freshmen Zach Butler and Teyvion Kirk.
Conference coaches have picked Buffalo to win the MAC East, followed by Kent State, Ohio, Akron, Bowling Green and Miami. Western Michigan is the choice to win the West and the conference championship, with Toledo polling third in the division.
Dartis, a junior, is bullish on the Bobcats.
“I can see us playing really competitive on both sides of the ball, and we’ll have more balance,” he said. “We’re going to be fine — just fine. You are going to see a young team that brings a different vibe to the gym. Antonio is gone, but we have big Doug Taylor (Northland) and Kevin Mickle on the block. That’s a 6-foot-8 presence down there. I will have a bigger role this year. I want to be the player that opens it up a lot for people.”
Simmons declared for the NBA draft but did not hire an agent, retaining his eligibility. Then he hooked on with Michigan, the third college of his career; he had started it at Houston.
“Antonio’s loss was felt last January (when he suffered a broken foot), but we made those adjustments,” Phillips said. “The big adjustment is at the point-guard position. We absolutely look different, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Jordan looks comfortable there, and Gavin probably is our best passer. That position will evolve.”
Buffalo is the only team in the MAC East with a lot of continuity.
Kent State is coming off a MAC tournament championship and its fourth 20-win season in six seasons under Rob Senderoff, but only guard Jaylin Walker (15.8) returns from its top three scorers.
Akron hired John Groce as coach after Keith Dambrot pulled a shocker, leaving for Duquesne after 13 seasons. Basketball fans in Columbus remember Groce as an assistant and recruiting coordinator under Thad Matta at Ohio State, and later his five seasons as coach at Illinois, but he won MAC championships in 2010 and ‘12 in four seasons as coach at Ohio.
Third-year Bowling Green coach Michael Huger has building blocks in 6-10 Demajeo Wiggins (10.9 points) and guard Dylan Frye (8.9) to lead six freshmen and three sophomores from a team that finished 13-19.
Miami’s rebuilding project has been handed to Jack Owens. He was at Purdue the previous nine seasons, the last six as associate head coach. Previous coach John Cooper lost 21, 20, 19, 22 and 22 games in five years.
Toledo, which was 17-17 last season, is led by guard Steve Taylor (15.3) and 6-8 Nate Navigato (8.9).