Men's basketball hosts Grand Canyon, Chippewas hoops legend on Saturday
While many students spent Thanksgiving eating turkey and visiting with family on Thursday morning, the Central Michigan University men’s basketball team was practicing at McGuirk Arena, preparing for a 6 p.m. showdown on Saturday against Grand Canyon University.
Hanging in the rafters at the arena is the name of Grand Canyon’s head coach, CMU basketball legend Dan Majerle.
“I’m glad that we were able to do this,” Majerle said. “It’s going to definitely be one of the highlights of my young coaching career.”
Majerle was the first Chippewa to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft when the Phoenix Suns selected him 14th overall in 1988.
He played 14 seasons in the NBA, was a two-time All-Star and a member of the 1988 USA Olympic team, leading the team in scoring and earning a bronze medal in Seoul.
In Majerle’s first season as a college basketball head coach, he led Grand Canyon to a 15-15 record (10-6 in the Western Athletic Conference) in the team’s first season in Division I.
CMU Head coach Keno Davis met Majerle while playing golf in Phoenix. After a few rounds on the green, the two coaches thought playing each other would benefit both programs.
The Chippewas will play at Grand Canyon in 2015.
“Grand Canyon had a pretty successful year last year,” Davis said. “They’re a little bit further advanced than some of the other teams that we’ve seen and will pose different challenges for us. They’re different, yet we understand we’re going to have our hands full to get another victory.”
The Chippewas enter the game undefeated through four games. The Antelopes are 2-3 in 2014.
Majerle said his team is still enduring the growing pains from the transition to Division I status.
“It’s a struggle this year right now,” Majerle said. “We’re not nearly where we need to be. I didn’t expect that we would be. We’re trying to build a program, trying to build a culture and right now we’re not playing very good, but I expect it to turn around here soon.”
CMU freshman forward DaRohn Scott is familiar with the Majerle basketball culture. Dan’s brother Steve was Scott’s head coach at Grand Rapids Christian High School.
“I’m planning on seeing out of their team what Coach Majerle’s brother put into my high school team,” Scott said. “I’ve heard a lot about him being coached under Steve Majerle and of course coming to Central Michigan.”
While Scott said many things are different between high school and college sports, he’s used to being busy during the holidays.
Scott also played football in high school. His team won the Division III State Championship in 2012 at Ford Field two days after Thanksgiving.
“It’s going to be very exciting having Thanksgiving with my new family here at Central Michigan,” Scott said. “It’s sad because I don’t get to see my Grandmother like I do at every Thanksgiving, but I have new family here and I’m very excited to have Thanksgiving with them.”
Most of the Chippewas will not get to see their families until the semester break.
“There’s going to be a place for everybody to be able to enjoy Thanksgiving,” Davis said. “That’s important, whether you’re able to go home or whether you don’t, that you’ve got a place that you belong during the holidays.”
