Central Michigan University Athletics
Zeigler Signs Post Player
4/30/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MOUNT PLEASANT Central Michigan University men’s basketball coach Ernie Zeigler has announced the signing of 6-7, 220-pound post player Marcus Van (Chicago, Ill./Curie HS/Wabash Valley CC) to a National Letter of Intent.
“Rebounding was an area of concern for us with the loss of last season’s top rebounder (Sefton Barrett) to graduation,” Zeigler said. “We need more depth in the front court and an athletic rebounder was what we were looking for and found in Marcus.
“He’s a tenacious rebounder with a great nose for the ball. Marcus plays with high energy and he’s a very athletic post player. We feel he will fit in well with our program and make us a better rebounding team.”
Van played the last two seasons at Wabash Valley Community College in Mt. Carmel, Ill. There he averaged 12 points and seven rebounds last season. As a freshman with the Warriors he averaged seven points and seven rebounds per game.
Van was named the team MVP in 2007 and he also received NJCAA All-Region 24 honors.
He is the fifth signee to sign with the Chippewas for next season. The others include 6-4 guard Jeremy Allen (Detroit, Mich./Cass Tech HS), 6-2 guard William Eddie III (Detroit, Mich./Cass Tech HS), 6-3 guard/forward Nate Minnoy (Chicago, Ill./Hales Franciscan HS/Schoolcraft CC) and 6-5 guard Chase Simon (Detroit, Mich./Community HS).
CMU was 13-18 last season and 7-9 in the Mid-American Conference, good for third place in the MAC West Division. The Chippewas’ 7.5-game improvement from the previous year tied for 17th nationally as CMU was 4-24 in 2005-06.
