COLUMN: Progress over wins
The Mid-American Conference season hasn't gotten off to the start Keno Davis and his team would've liked.
The men's basketball team is 7-10 overall and 0-5 in the MAC and it's looking at a five-game stretch where the team plays at Ohio and Western Michigan and hosts Akron, Kent State and Buffalo. The talent of all five teams points to a 0-10 start to conference play.
So what is going wrong?
Well, it's no secret the Chippewas lack size. It has been a problem for the program for a long time and it has been the problem since Davis took over.
The team ranks 280th in the nation in rebounding. To put it in perspective, there are 349 teams in Division I men's basketball. Keeping that in mind, CMU is a respectable 113th in total offense.
The same discrepancy is found in the MAC standings. The Chippewas are at the bottom of the conference in average points allowed (10th), rebounding margin (9th) and shooting percentage against (12th). Offensively, they are second in points per game and third in shooting percentage.
It could come as a surprise, but one thing the team can fix comes from the offensive side of the court.
CMU is ranked third in the conference in defensive rebounds, but it's No. 11 in offensive rebounds, which is what causes the low totals.
Obviously, the Chippewas have to crash the boards offensively and one player that can do that is sophomore guard/forward Austin Stewart. After Wednesday's 86-80 loss at Miami (Ohio), Davis said Stewart is beginning to reach his potential.
"He is just starting to scratch the surface," Davis said following the loss. "It's exciting to see and he'll continue to improve as we move our program forward."
Perhaps that is what fans need to do now with this season: look forward to next year.
Sophomore forwards Blake Hibbitts and John Simons have both added size and are growing into their game, while 7-foot center Milos Cabarkapa is sitting on the bench being redshirted and hopefully catching up with the pace on the practice floor.
After the game, Davis also said CMU has a commit in 6-foot-10 forward Luke Meyers and Davis isn't stopping there when it comes to recruiting size.
"We have to continue to add players that will improve our weaknesses and Meyers is one of those guys to look for in the future," Davis said.
Davis might be looking to the future of Chippewas basketball as bright, but so is the rest of the MAC. Only four teams in the conference have losing records overall and the MAC has proven to be a tough competitor in the NCAA Tournament.
The fact of the matter is that it looks like the MAC is passing CMU right now, and that's not to put Davis on the hot seat. I believe in the process, and fixing the program will take time – especially given Davis only had a handful of guys on his roster when he came to Mount Pleasant.
This season is looking to be another long one, despite the fact it will probably be shorter than any other in the MAC in terms of games played. The season may be a lost cause, but the Chippewas are still making strides toward gaining valuable experience.
