CMU pushing ahead, hosts Miami Thursday

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Senior forward Will McClure walked off the floor at the conclusion of Tuesday’s practice at McGuirk Arena and began to utter the semblance of a song.

He playfully heightened his voice into a microphone he poached from a member of the CMU athletics department. Teammates laughed at the seemingly unrecognizable tune.

The Central Michigan men’s basketball team has appeared to keep it loose, even after a season-low 23-percent shooting performance Sunday against Eastern Michigan that resulted in a 41-38 loss.

In the meantime, coach Ernie Zeigler’s strategy has remained status quo.

“You just keep teaching. You just keep pushing; you keep holding guys accountable,” he said, in preparation for the 7 p.m. Thursday cross-divisional conference game against Miami University at McGuirk Arena.

Former CMU great Robbie Harman added to the atmosphere, shooting around with players after practice. And as Zeigler jokingly said, “If you see a new guy out there with a wig on and little darker tan, it could be Robbie in disguise.”

The Chippewas (5-13, 2-3 MAC) could use the extra help, even if senior forward Jalin Thomas is cleared to play from a Grade-2 ankle sprain that has kept him out the past two games — a 66-64 win against Northern Illinois and the loss to EMU. Thomas, the team’s second-leading scorer at 15.1 points per game, did not practice Monday or Tuesday, though he’s begun to participate in light running and agility drills.

He would be a welcome addition against the RedHawks, as CMU has finished 2-4 each of the past two seasons against Mid-American Conference East Division foes.

Miami (8-11, 3-2 MAC) poses a balanced, formidable threat. The RedHawks have three players who average more than 12 points per game, and the same three average more than six rebounds per game.

Forwards Nick Winbush and Julian Mavunga lead the Miami front court. Small forward Antonio Ballard, at 6-foot-4, 208 pounds, rounds out the trio.
“I think when they’ve been good is when Mavunga has been really dominant, because he’s an inside-out threat,” Zeigler said.

Zeigler called the Chippewas’ offense “almost abysmal” at times this year, most recently against EMU.

But Thomas’ injury has allowed for a third scorer to emerge, Zeigler said, in the form of 6-9, 222-pound junior forward Andre Coimbra, who has started in the front court during Thomas’ absence.

The Brazil native recorded his first career double-double on Sunday, finishing with 10 points and 12 rebounds and proving to be one of CMU’s few bright spots in Ypsilanti.

“That silver lining (to Thomas’ injury) has been the emergence of Andre having back-to-back good offensive and defensive games,” Zeigler said.

As for Coimbra, he has soaked in the tutelage he has received from Zeigler. He also has learned from Thomas, who he called the team’s best player, and the way the 6-4, 200-pound forward carries himself.

“(Jalin’s) so focused,” said Coimbra, using his typical choppy English and strong accent. “His expression when he plays is always the same.”

As for Thursday’s game at McGuirk Arena, where CMU is 2-0 against MAC opponents, Coimbra has embraced his coach’s philosophy.

“We need to save the home floor,” he said. “We can’t lose a game at home.”

Miami is 1-8 on the road, but that’s not the entire story.

The RedHawks have played elite competition away from Oxford, Ohio — a list including No. 1 Ohio State, No. 3 Duke and No. 6 Kansas.

But for CMU, it may be more about moving on than anything else, especially in regards to its performance against EMU.

“That game’s over; it’s done,” Zeigler said. “Everyone, sometime or another, (has) bad games, either offensively or defensively. And we couldn’t have had a worse game down in Ypsilanti, offensively.”