Men's BB Notes: St. Joseph's (Nov. 21)
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* The Game: The Ferris State University men’s
basketball team continues its season opening three-game road swing
with a non-conference outing on Saturday, Nov. 21, at St.
Joseph’s (Ind.). Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. (CT) in the Richard
F. Scharf Alumni Fieldhouse in Rensselaer, Ind.
* Free Admission: St. Joseph’s will offer
free admission to this Saturday’s contest in exchange for
donating a non-perishable food item at the door. The same offer
will also apply to the Pumas women’s basketball contest
versus St. Francis (Ind.), which tips off prior to the men’s
outing at 1 p.m.
* Media Coverage: There will be no local radio or
internet coverage available for Saturday’s outing. St.
Joseph’s is slated to provide free live internet statistics
for the game. Please visit FSU’s Athletics Website at
www.ferrisstatebulldogs.com to find links for all
available coverage in the “upcoming events” tab.
* Follow On Twitter: Bulldog basketball fans can
follow all FSU games this year via Twitter. To access the service,
please visit www.twitter.com/ferrisathletics
to follow the tweet-by-tweet coverage with periodic scoring
updates.
* This Past Week: Ferris State opened the 2009-10
season with a pair of non-conference road setbacks this past week.
The Bulldogs suffered a narrow 65-60 loss at regional foe Lewis
(Ill.) in Sunday’s (Nov. 15) season opener at Romeoville,
Ill. FSU then dropped a 82-69 decision at NCAA Division I Central
Michigan on Monday (Nov. 16) evening in CMU’s Rose Center at
Mount Pleasant, Mich. Ferris had the ball with the score tied and
only one minute to play at Lewis in a contest that went back and
forth the entire night. Senior guard Austin Randel
paced the Bulldogs with 19 points and junior forward/center Justin
Keenan chipped in 15 as two Bulldog players reached double-figure
scoring. Senior guard Jon Yeazel narrowly missed
reaching double-digits with nine points. In the game at CMU, Ferris
built a nine-point first half lead before the Chippewas battled
back. Junior guard Darien Gay kept the Bulldogs in
the contest for much of the night as he tallied a game-high 26
points and hit eight-of-nine three-point tries in the outing. The
Bulldogs also received 15 points from Keenan, who was doubled and
tripled most of the game by the bigger Chippewa lineup. A former
CMU transifer, Yeazel had a double-double effort against his former
team with 13 points and a game-best 15 rebounds, including 12
defensive boards.
* Coming Up Next: The Bulldogs are idle after
Saturday’s game until Monday, Nov. 30, when archrival Grand
Valley State comes to town for the GLIAC and home opener at Wink
Arena. Tipoff is at 8 p.m. (ET).
* The Records: Ferris State (0-2, 0-0 GLIAC)
recorded a 14-14 overall record during the 2008-09 season and
placed third in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
(GLIAC) North Division with a 12-10 league mark. St. Joseph’s finished
the 2008-09 season with a 15-13 overall record and was 8-10 in
Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) action, placing fifth in the
league’s East Division.
* The Coaches: Ferris State – Bill Sall
(Calvin, 1994), 8th season, 106-110 (.491) – (1-6-0 vs. St.
Joseph’s). Sall was a two-time NCAA Division III All-American
at Calvin College from 1985-90 and previously held assistant
coaching positions at Calvin (1992-95), Ferris State (1995-98) and
Hillsdale (1998-02). He served as FSU’s interim coach for a
brief portion of the 1995-96 season.
St. Joseph’s
– Richard Davis (Ashland, 2001), 4th season, 51-37
(.580). A former three-year starter and assistant coach at Ashland,
Davis was promoted to the St. Joseph’s helm after two years
as the program’s assistant coach in 2006. He led the Pumas to
the NCAA-II Tournament in 2007-08 and the squad has made three
consecutive GLVC Tourney bids under his watch.
* Welcome Back: Ferris State welcomes back eight
letterwinners this season from a year ago. Included in the total
are two All-GLIAC picks in junior forward/center Justin
Keenan (first team) and junior guard Darien
Gay (second team). They helped form one of the
nation’s youngest teams as part of a nine-member freshmen
class two years ago.
* Preseason All-American: Ferris State junior
center Justin Keenan has been named a NCAA
Division II Preseason All-America selection by three different
sources, including being tabbed to the Division II Bulletin
“Super 16” Preseason squad. He also claimed acclaim
from both The Sporting News and Basketball Times. Keenan was
honored last season as a National Association of Basketball Coaches
(NABC) Division II All-Midwest District Second Team pick along with
a Daktronics All-Midwest Region Second Team and All-GLIAC North
Division First Team selection.
* Keenan Tops Mark: FSU’s Justin
Keenan became the 26th player in school history to notch
his 1,000th career point in the season opener at Lewis. He also
grabbed his 400th career board in the game and presently owns
career totals of 1,015 points along with 401 rebounds in 57
outings. He’s the fifth FSU player in the eight-year enture
of head coach Bill Sall to top the 1,000 career points mark.
* Looking At St. Joseph’s: The Pumas
inished the 2008-09 season with a 15-13 overall record and was 8-10
in Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) action, placing fifth in
the league’s East Division. Fourth-year head coach Richard
Davis’ squad opened the 2009-10 campaign with a pair of wins
this past week (Nov. 15-16) as the Pumas topped Point Park (125-98)
and host Lake Erie (93-67) to win the Lake Erie College Tipoff
Tournament. Phillip Collins scored a team-high 23 points in the win
over Point Park while Mark Lake netted 17 points versus Lake Erie
as both were chosen as All-Tournament Team selections. SJC was
picked to finish third in the GLVC North Division this
campaign.
* Series Information: The Pumas own a 10-2
series’ edge over FSU entering Saturday’s game and beat
the Bulldogs 78-63 last season (11/20/08) at Big Rapids, Mich.
FSU’s Bill Sall is 1-6 versus SJC to date in
his head coaching career. In the most recent meeting at the Scharf
Alumni Fieldhouse, St. Joseph’s earned a 90-74 triumph over
FSU in the 2007-08 campaign (12/17/07). The Bulldogs also lost a
74-69 decision to Saint Joseph’s in the 2005-06 NCAA-II Great
Lakes Regional Tournament Quarterfinals (3/11/06) hosted by the
Pumas in Rensselaer.
* FSU Picked Second: Ferris was picked to finish
second in the 2009-10 GLIAC North Division Preseason Media Poll in
conjunction with the league’s annual media day
teleconference. The Bulldogs totaled 107 points in the balloting
and picked up two first-place votes while finishing second in the
North Division. Grand Valley State earned 17 of a possible 24
first-place votes and led the division with 130 points. Defending
NCAA Division II National Champion Findlay earned 22 first-place
votes in being selected the South Division favorite by a group of
24 media members.
* Preseason Honorees: Ferris had two of the five
players named to the 2009-10 GLIAC North Division Preseason
All-Conference Team as chosen by the league’s head coaches.
Both Justin Keenan and Darien Gay
were on the five-member team. Keenan was a first-team all-league
pick last season while Gay claimed All-GLIAC North Division Second
Team kudos.
* Last Season: FSU finished 14-14 overall and
placed third (12-10) in the GLIAC North Division last season. In
2008-09, Ferris also made its 10th GLIAC Postseason Tournament
appearance and fourth in the last five years. Last year represented
the seventh consecutive year the Bulldogs had won 10 or more games
under head coach Bill Sall after the program had
not done so in the four years prior to his arrival.
* The Bulldog Roster: Ferris’ current
2009-10 roster includes three seniors, four juniors, two sophomores
and four freshmen. Eight of the 13 players are guards while the
remaining five are frontcourt players. All 13 players on the
Bulldogs’ roster hail from Michigan.
* Home Opener: The Bulldogs’ 2009-10 home
opener at FSU’s Jim Wink Arena in Big Rapids will be on
Monday, Nov. 30, when archrival Grand Valley State comes to town
for an 8 p.m. (ET) tilt. The contest will also mark Ferris’
initial GLIAC encounter.
* Two Make Debut: The Bulldogs have utilized only
two new players in the three exhibition games and two
regular-season contests thus far, which include freshman forward
Daniel Sutherlin (Detroit/Renaissance) and senior
guard/forward Jon Yeazel
(Middleville/Thornapple-Kellogg). Yeazel is a former Division I
transfer from CMU, who redshirted at FSU last season.
* Head Coach Bill Sall: A 1994 Calvin graduate,
eighth-year FSU head coach Bill Sall previously
held assistant coaching positions at Calvin (1992-95), Ferris State
(1995-98) and Hillsdale (1998-02) prior to being named Ferris
State’s 11th head coach. Before joining the coaching ranks,
Sall was a standout player at Calvin from 1985-90. He twice
(1989-90) received second-team National Association of Basketball
Coaches Division III All-America honors and led Calvin to three
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAA) championships,
four NCAA-III Tournament bids and the 1990 NCAA-III Final Four.
* FSU History: Ferris State’s impressive
basketball tradition includes 11 GLIAC titles, eight NCAA Division
II Tournament appearances and a berth in the 1988 NCAA-II Elite
Eight. Ferris, which last won the GLIAC Tournament championship
during the 1997-98 campaign, captured a league record four
consecutive conference titles from 1986-90.
* Great Run: Ferris won back-to-back GLIAC North
Division crowns under Bill Sall in 2003-04 and
2004-05 while reaching the NCAA-II Tournament in both 2004-05 and
2005-06. FSU advanced to the NCAA-II “Sweet Sixteen”
during the 2004-05 season, which was Sall’s third season at
the helm.
* Turnaround Time: The Bulldogs had posted only a
21-82 (.204) mark in the four seasons prior to head coach
Bill Sall's arrival, but have since went 101-102
(.498) and claimed two divisional titles while making two NCAA-II
Tournament appearances in his seven previous seasons at the helm.
FSU won only four games (4-22) the year before Sall arrived in
2001-02.
* Career Milestones: Senior guard Josh
Young notched his 400th career point at CMU after ranking
second among the squad’s scoring leaders at 14.2 points per
game last year ....... Senior guard Austin Randel
needs a single point to notch his 200th point. He averaged 20.7
points per game in 2007-08 at NCAA-II North Greenville (S.C.)
before transferring to FSU. Randel tallied 19 points in the opener
at Lewis, but was injured and did not play at Central Michigan.
* Tough Openers: The Bulldogs dropped to 40-42
all-time on opening day with the loss at Lewis and have now lost 10
of their last 14 season openers to date. In 2000-01, Ferris toppled
NCAA-I Oakland (11/21/00) 75-70 on opening day for its first
opening day road victory since the 1987-88 campaign and one of only
two FSU season-opening road wins in the last 20 years along with
‘02-03.
* Notes From CMU Game: Central Michigan improved
to 65-21 all-time versus FSU by beating the Bulldogs for the fifth
time in the last 11 meetings ........ Bulldog junior guard
Matt DeHart came off the bench to score six points
and grab six rebounds in 19 minutes of action while helping fill
Austin Randel’s void ...... FSU utilized
nine different players in the contest ......... The announced
attendance was 1,705 with a good contingent of Bulldog fans on hand
at the Rose Center ....... The lead changed hands seven times in
the game ...... Darien Gay hit four three-pointers
in each half for Ferris and was nine-of-11 overall from the floor
........ Monday’s meeting represented the first
regular-season matchup between the two teams since Dec. 3, 1990. It
was also only the third official contest between the two schools
since 1976 ..... Sophomore guard Dontae Molden saw
his first action of the regular-season after missing the season
opener due to injury.
* More On Keenan: A preseason All-America pick,
Justin Keenan led the GLIAC in scoring (20.2 ppg.)
while ranking second in offensive rebounds (3.4 rpg.), fourth in
rebounding (7.3 rpg.) and fourth in field goal percentage (.546)
last year. He also made and attempted more free throws (180-237)
than any other player in the league last season. Keenan reached
double-figure scoring in 24 of his 25 games and totaled 20 points
or more in 14 outings a year ago, including a career-high 33 points
versus Olivet (Nov. 25), en route to earning team MVP honors for
the second-straight year. In 57 career contests to date, Keenan has
recorded 1,015 points and 401 rebounds while starting 54 games. His
357 made free throws (357-464) currently ranks sixth on the
school's career leaders list.
* A Familiar Foe: FSU senior guard Jon
Yeazel faced a familiar foe in Central Michigan. The 6-2
Yeazel spent both the 2005-06 and 2007-08 campaigns at CMU before
transferring to FSU. He appeared in all 28 games and made two
starts for the Chippewas as a freshman in 2005-06, but did not see
game action in ‘07-08. He averaged 2.3 points and 1.2
rebounds in his initial year with CMU, including two double-figure
scoring efforts. The Thornapple-Kellogg High School product also
competed at Schoolcraft Community College the year between his two
stints at Central Michigan (2006-07) and redshirted for the
Bulldogs last year.
* Notes On Darien Gay: FSU junior guard
Darien Gay was an All-GLIAC North Division Second
Team pick last year and one of five players named to this
year’s preseason all-conference team. The 5-10 Gay was the
team's third-leading scorer (11.1 ppg.) and had 17 double-figure
scoring performances in 28 games last year. Gay's 47 percent
(54-115) shooting effort behind the three-point stripe ranked as
the seventh-best seasonal mark in FSU history. He ranked second in
the league behind teammate Donte Molden in assists (4.4 apg.). He
was also second in steals (1.8 spg.) and fourth in three-point
percentage (.470) among the GLIAC leaders. Gay placed first in the
conference in assist to turnover ratio (2:1).
* Molden Paced GLIAC: Ferris sophomore guard
Dontae Molden led the GLIAC with 132 assists (4.7
apg.) last year, which represented the 11th-best figure in school
single-season history. The 2008-09 team Defensive MVP also had 177
(6.3 ppg.) points and added 76 rebounds (2.7 rpg.) in 28
appearances his rookie year, including 23 starts. The Detroit
Pershing prep product compiled seven double-figure scoring contests
and tallied six assists or more in 12 games. Molden was seventh in
steals (1.7 spg.) in the GLIAC.
* The Coaching Staff: The Bulldog coaching staff
includes top assistant coach Cory Anderson, who
played for Ferris from 1996-98, and is in his 11th season as a
full-time assistant. Volunteer Assistant Coach Bill
Killian also returns for his eighth season on Sall’s
staff. Former Cornerstone University standout Andy
Bronkema, who teaches at Big Rapids’ Crossroads
Charter Academy, is in his third season as a volunteer assistant at
FSU while longtime collegiate head coach Ed Douma
joins the staff for the first time this year as a volunteer after
former volunteer assistant coach Dave Schlump departed to become
the head coach at Muskegon CC.
* Douma Joins Staff: Longtime college basketball
coach Ed Douma has joined the Bulldog staff for
the 2009-10 season. Douma most recently served as head coach at
GLIAC-member Hillsdale for nine years until 2007. His experience
includes 33 years as a head coach at the collegiate level,
including at his alma mater, Calvin College (NCAA-III), where he
guided the Knights to the NCAA-III National Championship in
1991-92. He has also served as head coach at Alma College
(NCAA-III), fellow GLIAC member Lake Superior State (NAIA), Kent
State (NCAA-I) and the University of North Carolina-Greensboro
(NCAA-III). Douma owns a career mark of 561-295 and also won two
MHSAA Class C State Championships at Shelby High School. FSU head
coach Bill Sall played for Douma at Calvin and
also served as one of his assistant coaches at both Calvin and
Hillsdale.
