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Men's Mid-Con Notebook - TW (11-3-2005)


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Men's Mid-Con Notebook

By MIKE BROWN World Sports Writer

11/3/2005

Top team: Coaches agreed that Oral Roberts University deserves to be favored for another Mid-Continent Conference men's basketball title. But what about the Mid-Con's other teams?

Coaches discussed their squads and what they consider to be a growing parity in the league during Wednesday's preseason teleconference.

No breathers: "It's amazing the depth and balance we have in the conference. I think that goes back to the outstanding coaches we have," said Valparaiso coach Homer Drew.

"People need to respect our league to where they have to start looking to give us multiple (NCAA Tournament) bids," said Western Illinois coach Derek Thomas. "I think two or three of our teams could go into the (Missouri Valley) or (Horizon League) and do serious damage."

Power potential: Valparaiso, picked second in the league, may have landed the top recruiting prize in 6-foot-11, 270-pound junior Mohamed Kone.

He was rated the nation's No. 1 junior college center by Mullins Roundball Review after leading College of Southern Idaho to an NJCAA third-place finish in 2005.

"He's no secret, because he's an outstanding athlete. He really runs

and jumps and plays above the rim," Drew said.

"Our biggest concern was blending him with the other players, and our three co-captains (Dan Oppland, Ron Howard, Seth Colcasure) have done a wonderful job of helping Mo make the transition. What excites us about him is that we see him improving every day."

Feeling better: Drew said senior guard Miguel Ali Berdiel has shown no recurrence of planta fasciitis, a painful inflammation of the heel which caused him to miss last season.

Berdiel was one of the league's best in 2003, averaging 11.6 points and 6.0 assists per game.

Quick fix: Angelo Smith and Brandon Cameron, who transferred from Xavier and Penn State, are eligible at IUPUI after sitting out last season.

"They made us a better team instantly," said coach Ron Hunter. "Last year, we did not win any scrimmages in practice because they won every one."

Getting to know you: Oakland (Mich.) coach Greg Kampe brought in eight new players to help him forget Rawle Marshall and Cortney Scott, who carried the Grizzlies to the NCAA Tournament last year.

"It's the first time we've put names on the back of our practice jerseys. People thought it was cool, but it was really the only way I could remember our kids' names," Kampe said.

Good riddance: Chicago State coach Kevin Jones said he won't miss the seven players gone from last year's team. Senior guard Kevin Franklin and Tony Weeden ran out of eligibility, 7-foot center Deji Akindele opted for the NBA draft and four others transferred.

"We lost numbers, but we had no chemistry, there was constant bickering and it was one of the worst teams I've ever been associated with," Jones said.

The Cougars are largely newcomers, but Jones doesn't agree with the preseason poll that has Chicago State eighth in the nine-team league.

"Nobody knows anything about my kids, but that's OK," he said. "Preseason means absolutely nothing. People are pretty excited around here. It's going to be a rude awakening because I haven't seen this much athleticism on any Mid-Con team."

Spread it around: WIU's fifth-place finish was its best in six years, and the Leathernecks are expected to make another jump this season.

"If we jump as much as we did last year, I'd be ecstatic," Johnson said.

To replace the scoring of departed senior Eulis Baez, Johnson brought in six new players. The best is possibly 6-7 Marlon Mahorn, nephew of former Detroit Piston standout Rick Mahorn.

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