As Tim O’Shea looks at the Mid-American Conference going into next season, he can’t help but predict another year of unpredictability.
With the Bobcats losing two of their best offensive players from last season, one might forecast a down season for the team. But with so many MAC teams losing important players, O’Shea is not about to write his team off.
“The MAC is probably going to be like it is everywhere — it’s going to be topsy-turvy and incredibly competitive. It remains to be seen who emerges as the dominant team.”
Ohio is not the only team in the MAC that will have to replace many of its key players.
Defending champion Kent State returns Player of the Year Al Fisher, but loses top players Mike Scott and Haminn Quaintance. Akron loses leading scorer Jeremiah Wood as well as contributors Nick Dials and Cedrick Middleton.
Composed of three recruits (Frankie Dobbs, Stacey Waters and Steven Coleman), two redshirt freshmen (Zach Nagtzaam and Maurice Pearson) and Iona transfer Mike Harris, Ohio will have six new players on its roster this upcoming season.
“We have a very interesting team,” O’Shea said. “I spend a lot of time contemplating the style of play for this group.”
“We might press a little bit more than we have in the past because I think we’re deeper, and we’re very athletic.”
Leading the team for Ohio will be its three seniors, Michael Allen, Jerome Tillman and Justin Orr. The Bobcats will have big shoes to fill with the departure of Leon Williams and Bubba Walther, so O’Shea said he will look to Allen to serve in a key leadership role.
“A lot of junior college players make a big jump from year one to year two,” O’Shea said. “If Mike is able to do that, I think he will be one of the better point guards in the league.”
“He’s just a really good leader.”
Offensively, Tillman is the Bobcats’ top returning scorer, and O’Shea expects that to continue in the forward’s senior campaign.
“Jerome has been a rock and a cornerstone of this program for three years,” O’Shea said. “I think he’s ready to step up.”
Orr, the team’s starting small forward from last season, was an offensive cog for Ohio in non-conference play but was maligned in a shooting slump throughout MAC play.
“I’ve challenged Justin to step up on a more consistent basis,” O’Shea said. “My biggest frustration with Justin was probably the fact that I think he can be one of the better players at his position in the league, and he wasn’t.”
O’Shea also mentioned guard Tommy Freeman and forward Asown Sayles as two wing players who could see significant playing time for the team next season.
Forward Kenneth van Kempen also will see an increased role as he will help alleviate the inside presence that Williams consistently gave the team for four years.
The Netherlands native also trimmed off his long hair, which O’Shea said he was very pleased to see.
“He looks like he could be a doctor now,” O’Shea joked. “I think he would have scared people out of the waiting room with his crazy hairstyle.
“He’s better groomed, but I think that’s not the only part that’s improving — his game along with his hairstyle.”
Once again this off-season, O’Shea was rumored for a number of coaching jobs, including a reported interviewing with Providence, but the coach said these rumors have not affected recruiting.
“The fact of the matter is when you have success, and you are of a certain age, people will call,” O’Shea said. “The Athens rumor mill is funny — on the contrary, I really like it here. After a while, it becomes background noise, and you try to ignore it.”
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