By
Joel Welser
The Broncos have proven
that they are a MAC power with a trip to the NCAA Tournament two
years ago and a nice run in the NIT last season. The bad news is
that
Western Michigan once again loses a lot of talent. The good news is head
coach Steve Hawkins is bringing in a stellar recruiting class
and a tradition of victory.
Who’s Out:
Three starters will be greatly missed in Ben Reed, Levi Rost and
Rickey Willis. Reed averaged 17.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per
game, Rost added another 16.5 points per contest and grabbed 6.1
boards. A couple more go to guys will have to emerge for the
Broncos to repeat their success. It doesn’t help that point
guard Rickey Willis is also gone. Willis averaged 6.8 points and
4.8 assists per game. Forward Jeff Bronson was a solid big man
off the bench, averaging 2.6 points and 2.2 rebounds per game.
Little used center Steve Green has left the program.
Who’s In:
It doesn’t get much better
than this in Kalamazoo with four quality freshmen coming into
the program. Shawntes Gary will battle returnee Silver Laku for
the starting shooting guard spot. Point guard Andre Ricks, a
5-9, Detroit native will add immediate depth to the backcourt
and be the number two ballhandler behind Brian Snider. Forward
Derek Drews is expected to contribute immediately. The 6-6, 200
pound Elkhart, Indiana product has a nice outside stroke and
should be starting sooner than later. Donald Cloutier, a product
of Lawrence North High School, will add more depth to the
frontcourt. Junior College transfer Patrick Alston averaged 13.5
points per game last year at Wabash Valley (Ill) Community
College. Alston will compete with Laku and Gary to replace Ben
Reed at the two guard.
Who to Watch:
Three quality players are
returning including returning starters Brian Snider and Joe
Reitz, but the key to the Broncos success is Stane’s Bufford.
The 6-5 wing is an incredible athlete with amazing hops. Bufford
played in all 33 games, starting nine for WMU, scoring 7.3
points per game. His numbers should vastly increase given more
playing time. It took a while for the junior to adjust to his
new surroundings at WMU after transferring from Fullerton (CA)
College, but he showed signs of greatness including a 21 point
and ten rebound effort at Southern California.
Projected Conference Rank:
It will be
disappointing for Bronco fans to finish 7th place in the MAC,
but the conference once again will be very competitive. Brian
Snider and Stane’s Bufford must emerge as big time scorers for
their senior campaigns, just as Ben Reed and Levi Rost did a
year earlier. The most intriguing battle for a starting job is
at power forward. Sophomores Andrew Hershberger and Dan Hess
have lots of potential. Wes DeVries has yet to play up to his
abilities and a couple freshmen could eventually be in the mix.
If the newcomers progress quickly, the Broncos could make
another run for the postseason.
Projected Post-season
Tournament: none
Projected Starting Five:
Brian Snider, Senior, Guard,
7.3 points per game
Shawntes Gary, Freshman,
Guard
Stane’s Bufford, Junior,
Forward, 7.3 points per game
Andrew Hershberger, Junior,
Forward, 1.6 points per game
Joe Reitz, Sophomore, Center,
9.4 points per game
