During one of the program’s finest moments, nobody has overshadowed CMU’s trio of hard-working seniors. Not dominating center Chris Kaman, the MAC Player of the Year. Not even Head Coach Jay Smith..

Point guard Whitney Robinson, shooting guard J.R. Wallace and forward Mike Manciel stole the show during the team’s net-cutting celebration. The trio represents three different men with three different stories, all culminating in one final moment of glory.

“I am happy for our three seniors more than anything,” Smith said. “They have been through a lot, and deserve this moment.”

It is quite possible that CMU’s seniors were three of the most overlooked players in the conference heading into the season. In the MAC Preseason Poll, a place where senior leadership is rewarded, the Chippewas were tabbed to finish sixth out of seven teams in the MAC West. Manciel was said to be too injury-prone. Robinson was thought to be unable to take care of the ball. Wallace’s critics said that he was too small to be a legitimate threat.

Manciel, Robinson and Wallace cast more than an intersted glance at this prognostication. They used it as motivation, and in the end, it was these three players who got the last laugh.

“That’s great motivation for us,” Wallace said. “We’d rather take that, than the year before, when we were picked to finish at the top.”

For the first time in his extensive career at CMU, Manciel has found consistency. The steady rock in CMU’s high-powered offense, Manciel averaged 17 points and five rebounds during the regular season.

Manciel’s list of season accomplishments are lengthy, including scoring a season-high 28 points in a victory at Michigan Dec. 2. Central’s No. 7 all-time leading scorer (1,306 points), An All-MAC second-teamer, Manciel is one of just 13 Chippewas to be a part of the 1,000 point-400 rebound club.

Despite these impressive accomplishments, things have not been smooth for Manciel, whose two best seasons were sandwiched between three injury-prone ones. After being named MAC Freshman of the Year in 1999, Manciel spent much of the next three seasons battling injuries, including a knee injury which wiped out the entire 2000 season.

While he was a key component of CMU’s MAC Championship team of 2001, Manciel only averaged 9.3 points, because of lingering injuries. During the squad’s 2002 season, Manciel again struggled.

Robinson’s road to the championship has been just as rocky. A Detroit native who played on the same AAU team as Manciel, Robinson spent his first two collegiate seasons playing at Eastern Kentucky. As a freshman, Robinson was a standout for the Colonels, averaging 18 points a game. After struggling his sophomore season, however, Robinson decided he needed a change of scenery.

In his first season at Central after tranferring, Robinson assumed the role of starting point guard, and had mixed results. He averaged 9 points a game, but struggled taking care of the ball. This season, Robinson has taken on the role of sixth man, without any fuss. Robinson took so well to his new position, that he was named the inaugural MAC “Sixth Man of the Year.”

“I adjusted well to the role,” Robinson said. “Fitting into this was a new thing for me, but I accepted it and have made the best of it.”

Wallace has enjoyed a breakout senior season. Having served a role player throughout his first three seasons, the 6-foot senior has burst onto the scene, averaging 14 points a game. Wallace’s athleticism, clutch shooting and defensive pressure rank him among the MAC’s best.

It came as no surprise as to who made the final cuts on Rose Arena’s nets. Each senior protruded a ear-to-ear grin, seeming to signify the amount of pressure that was lifted from each players shoulder. Wallace snipped the final piece, and threw the net around his neck, as if he had just won a gold medal.

The lesson to be learned is to never doubt an old group of wiley veterans. So when they say that they have not yet reached the final step on their ladder to success, that better things are lying ahead, everyone now knows that they had better listen up.

“The team has followed me, Mike and Whit,” Wallace said. “They know what we’ve been through. We can tell them a couple of war stories.”