2011-2012 Morgan State Golden Bears Basketball Preview

Morgan State Golden Bears - Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC)

2010-11: 17-14, 10-6

2010-11 postseason: none

Coach: Todd Bozeman (102-65 at Morgan State, 165-100 overall)  

By Morgan State’s standards, the 2010-2011 season was disappointing. The team finished fourth in the MEAC and fell to Hampton in the conference tournament finals. However, there is good reason to be optimistic. DeWayne Jackson had the breakout campaign that many expected and tallied 14.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per contest. The 6-8 wing has great size for a small forward, especially in the MEAC, and proved to be a superb athlete who can score in bunches. His outside shooting was the only disappointing part of his game, but he still led the Bears with 1.5 three-pointers per game. With a little more consistency, Jackson will easily put up 20 points per game.

Who’s Out:

The depth of the frontcourt takes a big hit with the departure of Rodney Stokes and Gene Johnson. Stokes started 20 games during his senior season and having his 6-10 frame under the basket created space for the rest of the team. Stokes’ 5.3 points and 3.5 rebounds per game do not do him justice and he will be missed. Losing Johnson, who started nine games but rarely played more than ten minutes a game, just compounds the depth issues the frontcourt will run into this season.

Who’s In:

Shaquille Duncan will help fill the void in the frontcourt off of the bench. Duncan is not a bruiser under the basket and is not much of a scorer with his back to the basket, but he can get up and down the floor and has a nice wing span to grab some rebounds and block some shots. With enough talent in the starting lineup to pick up the scoring slack, Coach Todd Bozeman will just need Duncan to help out on the glass and play solid defense for as many minutes as possible. It is the group on the perimeter that struggled for the most part last year. The team lacked a shooter. Jeremy Canty may solve that problem. Sean Thomas will not help in the shooting area, but he is expected to return this season after being suspended for the entire 2010-2011 campaign and will give the Golden Bears plenty of depth at the point guard position.

Final Projection:

What has made Morgan State so dominate in the MEAC is their interior play. Kevin Thompson and Aric Brooks have formed a superb interior duo and will be even better this year. Thompson was a double-double machine last year, averaging 13.1 points and 9.1 rebounds. He is an efficient interior scorer who can play some solid defense as well. If he started hitting his free-throws, Thompson would be even more dangerous than he already has been. Brooks is often overlooked due to the star power of Jackson and Thompson, but he is a great power forward in this system. He can score inside and out and is even a pretty good passer for a 6-6 forward. Those two will have to play a lot if Morgan State cannot find some depth in the frontcourt. Ian Chiles, a 7-2 center, saw limited action last year, but could play a much bigger role this time around. The good news is even if nobody is ready to fill in off of the bench, Jackson has the size to play the four and Ali and Black can easily play the three. The depth is there, but moving Jackson to the power forward spot could negate his offensive advantage over smaller defenders.

Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA

Projected Starting Five:

• Larry Bastfield, Senior, Guard, 5.1 points per game

• Ameer Ali, Senior, Guard, 6.1 points per game

• DeWayne Jackson, Junior, Forward, 14.5 points per game

• Aric Brooks, Senior, Forward, 10.2 points per game

• Kevin Thompson, Senior, Forward, 13.1 points per game

By Joel Welser
CollegeSports-fans.com Senior Basketball Writer

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