Chippewa Men Re-Tool, Adjust As Season Opener Beckons

Junior Matt Beachler returns to the CMU men's basketball lineup after redshirting during the 2019-20 season.

Photo by: Mary Lewandowski

11/24/2020 12:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Lane, Broadway, Beachler veteran core surrounded by new faces

By: Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com

Note: Due to the recent State of Michigan Health Department order, no fans are allowed to attend games in McGuirk Arena. If the order is lifted, CMU Athletics will then allow guests of student-athletes and coaches to attend games.

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Same chef. A whole lot of new ingredients.

Keno Davis is beginning his ninth season as coach of the Central Michigan men's basketball program. Rarely has he had to deal with the variables, unknowns and flat out uncertainty that he does today as the Chippewas head into their season opener on Wednesday (5:30 p.m.) at McGuirk Arena against Trine.

The Chippewas graduated four starters and the 15-player roster includes just two players, Devontae Lane and Travon Broadway Jr., who logged significant playing time last season. Two others – both of whom are expected to contribute this season – redshirted a year ago; seven more are newcomers, either freshmen or the transfer route.

The team togetherness made necessary by COVID-19 may actually benefit the getting-to-know-one-another Chippewas in the long run.

"In the world that we live in right now, they're just trying to focus on their academics, focus on their basketball," Davis said. "There's not the opportunity to have a social life in what we live in right now. Their teammates are the ones that they're around in our basketball bubble so to speak. They're getting to know their teammates probably better than they have in the past."

Lane, the point guard, is the lone returning full-time starter, while Broadway made 14 starts averaged almost 21 minutes per game in 2019-20.

One of those players who redshirted last season, Matt Beachler, is no stranger to the program. The 6-foot-4 junior averaged 10-plus minutes per game and showed signs of long-range shooting potential during his first two seasons at CMU.

Redshirting helped Beachler develop a more-rounded game, Davis said, adding that he proved in practice that he could effectively and consistently drive to the basket, defend, and rebound while often mimicking an opponent's best player on the Chippewa scout team.

"It gave him an opportunity to try to do different things on the court and do them in a five-on-five setting and I think he found some things that he can do that can really add to his game," Davis said. "And it gave him some confidence. Now I think you're going to see him make a nice jump this season."

Lane averaged 9.1 points and 3.4 assists per game last season, his first at CMU after transferring from Indian Hills (Iowa) CC. Last season, the lanky 6-5 Broadway averaged 7.1 points and 2.8 rebounds while flexing his defensive muscle with 35 steals.

Both join Beachler in having made improvements to their respective games, Davis said. For Lane, it was in developing stamina and his leadership abilities; for Broadway, it was in his overall offensive skill set.

"I think you're looking at somebody who can be a real scorer for us and yet the best part of his game might be his defense on the ball," Davis said of Broadway.

It's in the frontcourt where the majority of the newcomers reside, led by 6-9, 235-pound Malik Muhammad, a junior transfer from East Los Angeles College. In Muhammad's two years at ELAC, the Huskies finished a combined 53-6. He averaged 9.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game and registered 56 blocks in 30 games in 2019-20.

The frontcourt also features 6-10 redshirt freshman Caleb Hodgson; 6-10 freshman Aundre Polk; 7-foot graduate student Braden Burke, who played the last two seasons at Michigan State; 6-9 Tyler Hankins, who has been a member of the CMU baseball team for the past three years; and 6-7 Ralph Bissainthe, a junior transfer from Florida Southwestern State.

Frontcourt depth is a luxury the Chippewas have lacked in the recent past.

"It's going to be really important to see how we can develop some of those roles as we go through the nonconference part of the schedule knowing that the conference isn't that far away," Davis said.

Among those expected to contribute in the backcourt are redshirt sophomore PJ Mitchell, 6-4 shooting guard Caleb Huffman, and 6-6 junior Meikkel Murray.

Murray is a transfer from Coffeyville (Kan.) CC, where he earned National Junior College All-America Second Team honors and was named the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Player of the Year after averaging 16.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game and leading the Ravens to the Region IV championship, the NJCAA National Tournament and a 26-8 record.

Huffman averaged 16.1 points and 4.5 rebounds last year at Iowa Western CC and has the potential to be a solid defender, Davis said, while Mitchell backs up Lane at the point.

"Having the depth, probably this year more than any other, is going to be essential," Davis said. "The expectations are a lot higher for us this season. This team, on paper, is arguably as talented a group as you have seen in some time and that's because of the presence that we will have defensively, the inside presence, the athleticism.

"Obviously we need to stay healthy and we need to do a lot of teaching and learning with this group. We're far from a finished product. I'm looking forward to seeing what this team can accomplish."