With seven freshman and five transfers, the Colorado Mesa University (CMU) Men’s Basketball Team has a new-look squad that could be one of the best in recent history.
With three of their top four scorers from 2018 gone, the Mavericks will need to have someone step into those roles of carrying the scoring load game in and game out. That role is looking more and more like Tommy Nuno’s to take. Nuno was a top-three scorer on last year’s team and with an improved jump shot, he will be a go-to guy for the Mavericks.
“We really wanted to bring a transfer group in that we felt could help us stay competitive, and we were pleased with the progress that we made last year,” CMU Head Coach Mike DeGeorge said. “The team had more success than we have had the last few years had, so we felt like we had some positive momentum and obviously you want to build to a conference championship-level program.”
Jared Small, David Rico and George Dancer came from Fresno Community College to CMU, so the chemistry built at FCC should carry over into this season, but they will still need to mesh with the rest of the team. It will take a couple of games for everyone to be comfortable on the floor together, but with each practice and exhibition game, the Mavericks are building the chemistry that will be necessary to compete for a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championship.
That isn’t all the transfer though, the Mavericks have junior guard Jordan Windley who transferred from Columbia College and junior center Clay Verk from Stetson University. Verk averaged 2.2 points per game and 1.4 rebounds per game, and he is looking to make a much larger impact on this Mavericks team. Verk is also one of two centers on CMU’s roster so he will get plenty of opportunities to make a big impact on this team.
The seven freshmen may not make a big impact on the team immediately other than Ethan Menzies because he took a post-graduate year and is a year older than the other freshman. Menzies is a little bit ahead of where most freshmen are at coming into college, and he is primed to get a decent role in the rotation. Menzies averaged 8.5 points per game and six rebounds per game at Cushing Academy.
“We were one of the leading assists team in the country last year, so that was really good, and we are really unselfish with the ball and we are trying to get this group back to where that group was last year,” DeGeorge said. “The ball really moved for that group last year and we are proud of how they did that, and we are trying to replicate that effort.”
“We do run a ball screen offense which tends to be a higher turnover rate particularly early in the year, and so we are a little turnover prone right now and it really just a matter of emphasis and you just have to keep working on it.”
The Mavericks were among some of the best teams in the assists per game with 14.7, but they also averaged 13.6 turnovers per game. The Mavericks like to run on-ball pick and rolls which gets them into turnover trouble sometimes because the opportunities to be doubled are increased with pick and rolls.
The defense that CMU runs allows them to create turnovers as well as they averaged eight steals per game, and with the number of versatile athletes on this team, the Mavericks are in a good position to either increase or match their steals output from last year. With CMU performing well on defense, it allows them to play the pack it in style of defense they like to while they put themselves in the right position to get steals.
“This year we are way more multi-dimensional at every spot, so it won’t be so simple to say that guy can’t shoot, that guy can’t drive, they are really going to have to be able to guard everybody straight up, and I think that gives us an inherent advantage,” DeGeorge said. “I also think this team is more athletic, so I do think in time we have a chance to be better defensively than we were a year ago.”
