WSU VERSUS DETROIT PREDICTIONS AND PREGAME DISCUSSIONS

[DUShock]

Its a trifecta baby with a capitol T

Baby!

[molly jabali]

Hey Shocker fans. Next to you, we Titan fans were probably most disappointed by the Utah game - we were hoping to welcome unbeaten, top 10 Wichita State to Detroit. But we're pretty happy with 11th ranked, once beaten Wichita State.

If you have the ability to get to the game, note that the UD campus and vicinity, in the far northwest corner of the city, is perfectly safe. Parking is easy, seats in the 8500 seat Calihan Hall are plentiful and inexpensive (last year we topped 5000 attendance just once - my guess is 4K to 5K on Saturday). "Historic Calihan Hall," as it's always called, was opened in 1952 when the Titans were members of the Valley, and doesn't have much in the way of bells and whistles of modern arenas - no luxury boxes, cramped halls, sparse concessions - but it is a great place to watch a game and Detroit fans love the old building. Come on out if you can make the road trip or live in the area.

There are two Titan fan boards, if you want to see what we're saying. Most discussion takes place at http://detroittitanhoops.com/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=2. There is a second board at http://udtitanbasketball.freeforums.net/ (long story as to why there are two boards, which are totally friendly and basically populated by the same fan communities - you don't need to know). I do game previews for all our games, with the Wichita State preview here: http://udtitanbasketball.freeforums.net/post/3544.

Since my previews mainly are to cover opposing teams for Titan fans, here are a few quick notes for you:
- Detroit's best player is Juwan Howard, Jr., son of the Univ. of Michigan Fab 5 member 20+ years ago. Howard was All Horizon Conference a year ago and is averaging about 19 points a game this year. Unless your guys do a totally lockdown job on him, he'll top 1000 points in his Titan career early in the game (the 39th Titan to do so) which may draw some attention. He currently has 996.
- Other key players:
--Anton Wilson averages 12.7 ppg, is a 3 point shooter (54.3% on the year).
--Paris Bass is a RS freshman averaging 12.3 ppg. He's also the team's leading rebounder. Bass was being recruited by schools such as UConn and Arkansas, but it was assumed he would spend a year in prep school for academic reasons. The Titans signed him out from under the big guys and redshirted him last year as he got his academics in order. He's a 6-8 G/F/C - he can play all 5 positions. Whether he's ready for the likes of the Shockers, we'll see. But he's fun to watch, and quite a talent.
--The Titans have 9 players averaging 15 or more minutes. Guards Brandan Kearney and Carlton Brundidge are transfers from Michigan State and Michigan, respectively. 6-10 Pat Ackerman, a Penn State transfer, is tall but soft. Sophomore guards Matthew Grant and Jarod Williams were pushed into unexpected starting roles last year as true freshman after Ray McCallum, Jr. turned pro and Jason Calliste transferred to Oregon. Jaleel Hogan, a freshman forward, was first team all-state in Michigan last year. He'll be good, but now he's a freshman and will make freshman mistakes.
-- Chris Jenkins, a transfer from Colorado, becomes eligible on Saturday. Like fellow transfers Kearney and Brundidge, he's a Detroit native originally recruited by Detroit while in high school. 6-9 Yousoupha Kane, a juco transfer, also becomes eligible on Saturday. We'll see how much they play.

Like Wichita, the Titans have been a guard oriented team. That's not entirely what was expected, but the team's best returning inside player, forward Patrick Onwenu, was injured 5 minutes into the season opener; the 6-9 juco Kane has been sitting out waiting for NCAA clearance, which finally came this week; and the Titans have been forced to redshirt our prize freshman recruit, Aaron Foster-Smith, who was the other first team All-State forward (along with Hogan) in Michigan last year. The Titans are more athletic than your typical mid-major, and Coach Ray McCallum Sr. likes to let 'em play.

The Titans are 6-3, having won 5 of 6. They played both Oregon and Michigan even for a half on the road, but faded late against each. They also lost a one point decision at home to Bowling Green, excellently coached by Chris Jans. The general consensus, even among BG fans and writers, seems to be that Detroit got jobbed by a series of bad calls by the refs in the final 3 seconds of that game, but whether that is true or not, credit BG with a great play, and a better team -say Wichita - wouldn't have let BG be in a position to win on their home court. The Titans' best wins are a 10 point victory last Saturday over South Florida, and a road win over preseason Mid-America Conference favorite Toledo. That snapped an 18 game home winning streak for Toledo.

As an aside, Detroit will do its Hall of Fame inductions for the year at halftime, including Perry Watson, Coach of Titan teams that won 95 games in 4 years in the late 1990s, including NCAA wins over UCLA and St. John's, and Lee Knorek, an early NBA player who starred for the 1943 Titans, which led the nation in defense.

For you guys this game is just about seeding for the post-season. For the Titans, this is an important game in Coach McCallum's effort to return the Titans to national relevance. The Titans reached the NCAA in 2012 and appeared in the NIT in 2013, but slumped to 13-19 last year after the early departures of McCallum Jr. and Calliste. This year's team was picked for third in the Horizon and is probably a year away from being really good. You'll deservedly be double digit favorites but you'll have to come ready to play.

See you Saturday.

Echo the Play Angry sentiments! Thanks and AFTER this game, best of luck! I'm anxious to see if Howard conjures up memories of his dad!

[im4wsu]

Comparison from StatSheet

http://

[Jamar Howard 4 President]

Detroit has only topped 80 twice this season in 9 games, and one of those was against a non-D1 team. Their 2 toughest tests (@Oregon, @Michigan... both road games, but not dominant defenses) they lost and scored in the 60s.

Being at home may help them out, but I see a fairly standard score as most likely in this one... probably not anything crazy high.

Shox - 75
Dick Vitale - 61

[Fozzy]

I see WSU having a double digit lead through most of the game but then the playing time for non-starters and missed free throws late in the 2nd half make the final score closer.

Detroit - 80
WSU - 86

[1972Shocker]

Detroit has only topped 80 twice this season in 9 games, and one of those was against a non-D1 team. Their 2 toughest tests (@Oregon, @Michigan... both road games, but not dominant defenses) they lost and scored in the 60s.

Being at home may help them out, but I see a fairly standard score as most likely in this one... probably not anything crazy high.

Shox - 75
Dick Vitale - 61

Shouldn't that be:

Gus Grebe - 75
Dick Vitale - 61

[ShockerPhi]

Still hoping this game will be similar to the one a few years ago. High flying, high scoring fun!

Shockers - 88
Detroit - 76

[another shocker]

trap game?

hey, coulmbia traded blows with uk in lexington last night- nebraska got embarrassed by immacualte heart WHO last night. michigan got embarrassed twice in one week by the step-sisters of the poor. i want to see the shockers bring their a+ game is all i'm saying.

[kstarheel]

Hey Shocker fans. Next to you, we Titan fans were probably most disappointed by the Utah game - we were hoping to welcome unbeaten, top 10 Wichita State to Detroit. But we're pretty happy with 11th ranked, once beaten Wichita State.

If you have the ability to get to the game, note that the UD campus and vicinity, in the far northwest corner of the city, is perfectly safe. Parking is easy, seats in the 8500 seat Calihan Hall are plentiful and inexpensive (last year we topped 5000 attendance just once - my guess is 4K to 5K on Saturday). "Historic Calihan Hall," as it's always called, was opened in 1952 when the Titans were members of the Valley, and doesn't have much in the way of bells and whistles of modern arenas - no luxury boxes, cramped halls, sparse concessions - but it is a great place to watch a game and Detroit fans love the old building. Come on out if you can make the road trip or live in the area.

There are two Titan fan boards, if you want to see what we're saying. Most discussion takes place at http://detroittitanhoops.com/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=2. There is a second board at http://udtitanbasketball.freeforums.net/ (long story as to why there are two boards, which are totally friendly and basically populated by the same fan communities - you don't need to know). I do game previews for all our games, with the Wichita State preview here: http://udtitanbasketball.freeforums.net/post/3544.

Since my previews mainly are to cover opposing teams for Titan fans, here are a few quick notes for you:
- Detroit's best player is Juwan Howard, Jr., son of the Univ. of Michigan Fab 5 member 20+ years ago. Howard was All Horizon Conference a year ago and is averaging about 19 points a game this year. Unless your guys do a totally lockdown job on him, he'll top 1000 points in his Titan career early in the game (the 39th Titan to do so) which may draw some attention. He currently has 996.
- Other key players:
--Anton Wilson averages 12.7 ppg, is a 3 point shooter (54.3% on the year).
--Paris Bass is a RS freshman averaging 12.3 ppg. He's also the team's leading rebounder. Bass was being recruited by schools such as UConn and Arkansas, but it was assumed he would spend a year in prep school for academic reasons. The Titans signed him out from under the big guys and redshirted him last year as he got his academics in order. He's a 6-8 G/F/C - he can play all 5 positions. Whether he's ready for the likes of the Shockers, we'll see. But he's fun to watch, and quite a talent.
--The Titans have 9 players averaging 15 or more minutes. Guards Brandan Kearney and Carlton Brundidge are transfers from Michigan State and Michigan, respectively. 6-10 Pat Ackerman, a Penn State transfer, is tall but soft. Sophomore guards Matthew Grant and Jarod Williams were pushed into unexpected starting roles last year as true freshman after Ray McCallum, Jr. turned pro and Jason Calliste transferred to Oregon. Jaleel Hogan, a freshman forward, was first team all-state in Michigan last year. He'll be good, but now he's a freshman and will make freshman mistakes.
-- Chris Jenkins, a transfer from Colorado, becomes eligible on Saturday. Like fellow transfers Kearney and Brundidge, he's a Detroit native originally recruited by Detroit while in high school. 6-9 Yousoupha Kane, a juco transfer, also becomes eligible on Saturday. We'll see how much they play.

Like Wichita, the Titans have been a guard oriented team. That's not entirely what was expected, but the team's best returning inside player, forward Patrick Onwenu, was injured 5 minutes into the season opener; the 6-9 juco Kane has been sitting out waiting for NCAA clearance, which finally came this week; and the Titans have been forced to redshirt our prize freshman recruit, Aaron Foster-Smith, who was the other first team All-State forward (along with Hogan) in Michigan last year. The Titans are more athletic than your typical mid-major, and Coach Ray McCallum Sr. likes to let 'em play.

The Titans are 6-3, having won 5 of 6. They played both Oregon and Michigan even for a half on the road, but faded late against each. They also lost a one point decision at home to Bowling Green, excellently coached by Chris Jans. The general consensus, even among BG fans and writers, seems to be that Detroit got jobbed by a series of bad calls by the refs in the final 3 seconds of that game, but whether that is true or not, credit BG with a great play, and a better team -say Wichita - wouldn't have let BG be in a position to win on their home court. The Titans' best wins are a 10 point victory last Saturday over South Florida, and a road win over preseason Mid-America Conference favorite Toledo. That snapped an 18 game home winning streak for Toledo.

As an aside, Detroit will do its Hall of Fame inductions for the year at halftime, including Perry Watson, Coach of Titan teams that won 95 games in 4 years in the late 1990s, including NCAA wins over UCLA and St. John's, and Lee Knorek, an early NBA player who starred for the 1943 Titans, which led the nation in defense.

For you guys this game is just about seeding for the post-season. For the Titans, this is an important game in Coach McCallum's effort to return the Titans to national relevance. The Titans reached the NCAA in 2012 and appeared in the NIT in 2013, but slumped to 13-19 last year after the early departures of McCallum Jr. and Calliste. This year's team was picked for third in the Horizon and is probably a year away from being really good. You'll deservedly be double digit favorites but you'll have to come ready to play.

See you Saturday.

Good luck. Hope the Shox win by 90, but that's just being a fan. :-)

[kstarheel]

81
65

[AZ Shocker]

trap game?

Yeah I'm agreeing it could be the "proverbial" trap game.

Bankrupted - 71
In the BLACK - 75

[AZ Shocker]

trap game?

Yeah I'm agreeing it could be the "proverbial" trap game.

Bankrupted - 71
In the BLACK - 75

[another shocker]

Yeah I'm agreeing it could be the "proverbial" trap game.

Bankrupted - 71
In the BLACK - 75

i really would look for detroit to start off the game hot and bothered. fired up, jack. revenge on their minds.

'shockers must weather it early and steady counter-punch with experienced guard play. our bigs must throw some body shots (offensive rebounds) to deflate their early enthusiasm (juwan howard jr. sounds like a load).

'can't take anything for granted in there.

[forevershockerfan]

When I was knee-high-to-a-grasshoppa, I remember watching on the tube, Rocky Colavito with the Detroit Tigers smash 4 homers in one game. This does not happen all the time. Then there were NBA games I watched with the Detroit Pistons led by Dave Bing. Last but not least, Alex Karras was fun to watch as he played smash-mouth football for the Detroit Lions.

[1972Shocker]

When I was knee-high-to-a-grasshoppa, I remember watching on the tube, Rocky Colavito with the Detroit Tigers smash 4 homers in one game. This does not happen all the time. Then there were NBA games I watched with the Detroit Pistons led by Dave Bing. Last but not least, Alex Karras was fun to watch as he played smash-mouth football for the Detroit Lions.

Good memories except Rocky Colavito had his 4 home run game as a member of the Cleveland Indians. The best memories of Detroit for us Wichitans, of course, was the incomparable Barry Sanders, who would score and actually act like he had been there and done that and it wasn't any big deal. No to mention that I'm sure he understood he had a lot of help from his teammates.