‘Going Out On Top’

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The turnaround for the Chippewa men’s basketball program began soon after last season’s last place finish in the Mid-American Conference and a 6-23 record.

Head Coach Jay Smith told returning players they would meet for a six-week summer workout to build team chemistry.

It had a telling affect on the team’s seniors, including guard Jon Borovich.

“When he (Smith) first said it, I cringed when I heard it because I didn’t want to give up my summer knowing I was going to work my tail off,” Borovich said.

“There’s no question in my mind now that we’re reaping the benefits
of being together during the summer.”

Borovich was one of Smith’s first four recruits in a rebuilding effort.
He and the others – Tim Kisner, Luke Johnson and Todd Schrotenboer – are one
reason the team streaked to a 20-8 record and the regular season MAC title.

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The season was a streaky one for the Chippewas.

The game against Purdue at West Lafayette in front of 13,554 Boilermaker fans
was the key.

The Chippewas pulled off the upset as Schrotenboer hit the game-winning layup
at the buzzer to win 67-66.

“It was heartwarming to see those players in the locker room with tears in
their eyes,” Smith said. “They’ve paid the price and they deserved
that win. Seeing the tears, players hugging; those are the things you can’t
put a price tag on.”

“Those are the things that make a team special. It was special when Todd
laid the ball in at the buzzer, but it wasn’t just Todd shooting that shot,
it was the team shooting that shot. It was a special moment,” he said.

The Purdue win propelled the Chippewas to a 4-0 start for the first time since
1980-81.

The seniors helped the team grow and to an 11-game winning streak (second-best
in school history) in MAC play.

“I think it’s definitely a product of the close games we’ve had
in the past and it’s been a definite learning experience,” Kisner said.
“Success is sometimes harder to deal with than failure. When you lose, it
drives you to work harder, where as winning doesn’t necessarily do that,
especially for the younger guys. You have to stay on an even keel.”

Kisner, who was Smith’s first recruit, became the first Chippewa to garner
1,000 points and 400 assists.

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Success came when Johnson, Kisner and Borovich made the transition from high school
to Division I college basketball.

All three players came to Central from high schools where they were option one
and their teammates looked to them for guidance and leadership.

“Your role is that you kind of find out on your own when you first get here,”
Borovich said. “Coming from high school, you were the man and everything
went through you, but when you come to a university like Central and play for
Coach Smith, you’re going to have to accept the role you’re given.”

With the NCAA deciding whether or not to accept a class he took during high school,
Kisner missed the first five games of the season.

Once the NCAA cleared him to play, Kisner made an immediate impact and scored
12 points in his first game against Robert Morris.

Once the season was underway, the players learned something about the game that
they never faced before.

“Everyone jokes that you don’t have to play defense in high school,”
Johnson said. “But when you come here, you have to play defense. Everyone
can handle the ball and score.”

Beyond playing defense, Schrotenboer said, “You don’t realize how much
bigger, faster and stronger players are at the college level.”

With players bigger and stronger than they were as freshmen, the Chippewas learned
something about themselves and what they had to do to get better.

“The one thing that I found out is that I wasn’t in good enough condition,”
Borovich said. “It was a wake up call my freshman year in that I needed to
get in the weight room and rededicate myself to the game of basketball."

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The four seniors played together for the first time in 1999-2000, but the Chippewas were dealt a blow before the campaign began. Mike Manciel would miss the season with a broken foot.

Johnson, whose grandfather (Jim Mongeau) was a 1955 Chippewas basketball letter-winner, would also miss approximately a third of the season with a wrist injury, suffered in the team’s 10th game.

As upperclassmen, Kisner, Johnson, Schrotenboer and Borovich provided the leadership, but found themselves undersized and out-manned despite playing hard and competing in close losses.

The close games helped the Chippewas grow as they ended the year by beating
Akron in the first round of the MAC Tournament and gave Marshall everything
they could handle in the second round.

Only a miracle shot by the Thundering Herd sent the Chippewas home, but the momentum had begun, despite falling backward to a 6-23 record and last in the MAC.

“With the injuries we had last year, it was a setback,” Smith said. “At the end of the year last year, we righted the ship. They (seniors) gave their heart and soul to it.”

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“You recruit character,” Smith said, describing what he looks for in his players. “I have to have a guy who sits up, pays attention and listens to what I have to say. I’m the one giving you a scholarship. If you’re not paying attention to what I’m saying before coming here, you’re not going to pay attention on the court, or in the classroom.”

With a year behind them, Borovich, Johnson, and Kisner welcomed the fourth senior in the group in Schrotenboer.

Transferring from GVSU, Schrotenboer had to sit out the 1998-1999 season due to NCAA transfer guidelines, but he still made an immediate contribution.

“My role was to be a All-American scout and mirror the current opponents’ best player in practice,” Schrotenboer said.

Although Schrotenboer sat out, David Webber and Manciel came in to help rebuild.

The trio of Johnson, Kisner and Borovich helped the Chippewas double their win total from their freshman year to finish at 10-16; the first double-digit win season in seven years.

Smith’s recipe of hard work and attention to detail were becoming evident on the court.

“He’s a great motivator,” Borovich said. “Somehow he gets us to come out every single day to practice and play 100 percent, giving it our all, even on the days where you feel you don’t have that much.”

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“They (seniors) have meant everything to our program,” Smith said. “They have gone beyond the call of duty and just have been a terrific group to coach and be around. I will be indebted dearly because they took a chance on Jay Smith and Central Michigan and I can’t say enough for a young man to do that. To believe in me, the staff and the university is just a great thing.”

Although the Chippewas earned the title of MAC champions, the group wants to be remembered as hard workers, good people and as winners.

“The big thing for me is that winning the MAC championship, the seniors will be remembered as the ones who were part of turning the program around,” Kisner said.