11/8/2019 basketball Edit

Scouting Detroit Mercy

Jacey Zembal • TheWolfpackCentral

Writer

NC State will face a second-straight opponent that isn’t eligible for the NCAA Tournament this season.

NCSU opened the season with a 82-81 loss at Georgia Tech on Tuesday, and return to action against second-year head coach Mike Davis and Detroit Mercy at 4 p.m. Sunday at PNC Arena. Davis has previously coached at Indiana, Alabama-Birmingham and Texas Southern, and is now coaching his son, sophomore star Antoine Davis. Mike Davis was known for his defense while playing for Alabama, but Antoine is a prolific scorer who was third in the country last year at 26.1 points per game.

The Titans won’t be eligible for the postseason this year due to past APR issues, while Georgia Tech was on NCAA probation. Here is a scouting report on Detroit Mercy.

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Detroit Mercy coach Mike Davis talks to his son, Antoine Davis, who is sophomore guard for the Titans. (The Associated Press)

Season Overview

Detroit Mercy didn’t open up the season this past week, so Sunday will be the Titans’ season opener. Detroit Mercy, which Blue Ribbon Basketball Yearbook picked eighth in the Horizon League, has an ambitious early-season schedule. The Titans have eight road games on their non-conference slate, including trips to NC State, Clemson, Wyoming, Notre Dame and Gonzaga.

Rankings

KenPom.com has Detroit Mercy at No. 252 in the country this season, and ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Titans at No. 186 in the country (and No. 270 last year).

The Titans were ranked No. 254 last year in the old RPI formula used by the NCAA — according to RealTimeRPI.com. In the newly established NET rankings done by the NCAA, Detroit Mercy finished No. 233 in the country last year.

Shooting

Davis will carry the outside shooting, and his 132 made three-pointers last year eclipsed the freshman record of 122 set by Steph Curry at Davidson in 2006-07. The question is whether Davis will get a little help from his teammates on the perimeter.

The most likely source will be senior B.J. Maxwell, who was dismissed from Abilene Christian after Feb. 16, 2019. The 6-4, 200-pounder started 19 out of 24 games he played in, and went 34 of 84 on three-point shots for 40.5 percent. He averaged 9.2 points per game and shot 49.1 percent from the field and 85.3 percent on the free-throw line. Reserve sophomore forward Willy Isiana went 20 of 52 for 38.5 percent on three-pointers for Detroit Mercy last year.

Rebounding

The undersized Titans will heavily rely on wide-body Justin Miller on the boards. The 6-6, 268-pounder averaged 7.4 rebounds per game his junior year at Louisiana, which was formerly Louisiana-Lafayette. The transfer reached double digits in rebounds in 10 games, including a season-high 15 rebounds (plus 16 points) in a 90-87 overtime win at Arkansas State on March 9.

Sophomore post player Chris Brandon averaged 3.8 rebounds in 16.9 minutes per game last year, and is being counted on for a bigger role. The nephew of former NBA and Maryland star John Lucas had 11 games where he grabbed at least five rebounds last year. Junior college transfer Alonde LeGrand, who is 6-7 and 205 pounds, started his college career at Fairfield, where he didn’t play. He averaged 4.3 points and 2.7 rebounds at State Fair Community College last year. Sophomore Boe Nguidjol and freshman Sam Hofman round out the post players.

Defense

Detroit Mercy ranked last in the Horizon League last year in allowing 47.3 percent from opponents.

Brandon had three games last year with at least two blocks, but the Titans won’t be relying too much on shot-blocking on defense. Brandon had 17 blocks in 28 games last year.

Depth

The aforementioned Isiana should provide a boost off the bench. The 6-8, 230-pounder from the country of Georgia averaged 7.7 points and 1.7 rebounds in 16.7 minutes last year, missing the first semester. He had six three-pointers and 20 points in a 80-65 loss to IUPUI on Jan. 26, 2019, and reached double figures in four contests.

Two players with well-known last names could also provide some bench punch. Kentucky graduate transfer Brad Calipari, who is 6-0 and 179 pounds, is the son of UK coach John Calipari. He scored 11 points in two years for the Wildcats. Junior college transfer Dwayne Rose Jr., who is a 6-4 wing, is the nephew of Detroit Pistons guard Derrick Rose. He averaged 7.6 points per game at Southwestern Illinois College, and originally played at Toledo. Freshman Jamail Pink is the nephew of former Houston and NBA star Clyde Drexler.

Star Watch

Detroit Mercy sophomore guard Antoine Davis averaged 26.1 points per game last year. (The Associated Press)

Sophomore guard Antoine Davis wasn’t originally planning to play for his father Mike Davis. The original plan was for the younger Davis to play at Houston and coach Kelvin Sampson while his father was the head coach at Texas Southern.

Mike Davis got hired during the summer at Detroit Mercy, and arrived with his other son, assistant Mike Davis Jr. Antoine Davis got his release from Houston and joined his family members with the Titans on June 16, 2018. Houston ended up going 33-4 without Davis, who had an electric first year with Detroit Mercy and far exceeded his Rivals.com three-star rating.

Davis finished third in the country with 26.1 points per game, to go along with 3.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists. He shot a solid 38 percent from three-point land. The better teams on the Detroit Mercy schedule slowed him down. He went 8 of 24 for 19 points in a loss at Xavier, and was 6 of 23 for 18 points in a loss at Dayton. David did have 30 points and six three-pointer’s in a loss against Temple.

Davis had a career-high 48 points against Wright State on Jan. 3, 2019, which ranks second all-time in school history and most by a freshman. He started to join the Detroit Mercy record books with the likes of future NBA players Spencer Haywood, Dave DeBusschere and Willie Green. He finished with 23 games of at least 20 points, and crossed 30 points in nine contests.

Davis was nominated for the Wooden Award preseason top 50 list, and Sports Illustrated ranked him No. 50 in the country and CBSSports.com had him at No. 54.

Likely Starters

NC State

PG — 10 Braxton Beverly (6-0, 180, Jr., 11.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 5.0 apg) or 11 Markell Johnson (6-1, 175, Sr., 12.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.1 spg in 2018-19)

SG — 13 C.J. Bryce (6-5, 210, 5th-Sr., 24.0 ppg, 11.0 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.0 spg, 1.0 bpg)

G — 24 Devon Daniels (6-5, 205, R-Jr., 12.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 5.0 apg, 3.0 spg)

PF — 31 Pat Andree (6-8, 220, Sr., 12.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.0 spg)

C — 15 Manny Bates (6-11, 230, R-Fr., 2.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 0.0 apg, 5.0 bpg)

Detroit Mercy

PG — 0 Antoine Davis (6-1, 170, Soph., 26.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.6 apg in 2018-19)

SG — 11 B.J. Maxwell (6-4, 200, Sr., 9.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.7 apg at Abilene Christian)

SF — 1 Marquis Moore (6-6, 200, Soph., 3.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 0.8 apg)

PF — 21 Chris Brandon (6-7, 215, Soph., 2.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 0.3 apg)

C — 2 Justin Miller (6-6, 268, Sr., 9.0 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.7 apg at Louisiana)

Numbers To Watch

9: Trips to the NCAA Tournament by head coach Mike Davis since 2000 between his coaching stops at Indiana, UAB and Texas Southern. He also went to the NIT five times.

11.5: Turnovers per game last year for Detroit Mercy, which led the Horizon League and was 49th in Division I. The statistic proved especially impressive considering Detroit Mercy had 15 different starting lineups.

9,980: Miles on the road for the first seven road games this season, starting with a trip to Raleigh on Sunday. Detroit Mercy plays its first home game against Eastern Michigan on Dec. 7.

Game Within The Game: NC State’s Pat Andree Versus Detroit Mercy’s Justin Miller

Detroit Mercy senior post player Justin Miller played for Louisiana last year. (The Associated Press)

Detroit Mercy needed a waiver to get senior power forward Justin Miller eligible this season. He started 59 games and played in 97 at Louisiana, averaging 9.1 points and 5.4 rebounds for his career.

Miller won’t be intimidated playing against NC State. He faced at the time No. 6-ranked Tennessee, where he had 10 points and four rebounds, and at No. 2-ranked Kansas in back-to-back games last year. He torched the Jayhawks frontcourt for 22 points and seven rebounds, hitting four of 12 on three-pointers before fouling out in just 22 minutes.

Miller has also played against Mississippi, Iowa, Clemson, Minnesota, Georgia and LSU (in the NIT) during his college career. He also can stretch the defense and went 20 of 70 from three-point land last year for 28.6 percent, but is 30.8 percent for his career from beyond the arc.

NC State senior graduate transfer Pat Andree drained three three-pointers in his debut against Georgia Tech en route to 12 points, and the Wolfpack will likely try to get him more looks moving forward, since he only shot six shots.