Western Michigan Broncos Basketball Season Preview
How do you top a Mid-American Conference Championship and a NCAA tournament berth that no one really saw coming? Well, that is the task for the Western Michigan Broncos Basketball team this season.
When the season starts the Broncos will be missing one big piece from last years team; Shayne Whittington. A senior leader last season Whittington has graduated and is now playing with the Indiana Pacers of the NBA. Whittington averaged 16.1 points last season along with 6.5 rebounds and around 1 block a game.
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Now the senior leader roll falls on 6-year senior David Brown and senior Austin Richie. Brown decided to come back for one more year. Brown averaged 34.0 points a game last season and was a prolific 3 point shooter for the Broncos. Brown hit 80 3 pointers last season and will more than likely fill that role again this season.
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Brown was named to the Preseason All MAC West team and was the only Bronco named to do so.
The seniors will be backed up by a supporting cast including sophomore Tucker Haymond who will have many eyes on him this season. Haymond was ranked 21st on the 2014 MAC Basketball Top 24 Players to watch this season. Haymond will also hopefully stay healthy, something he didn’t do last season; though he did managed to average 23.9. Juniors Connar Tava and Jared Klein will also be returning starters that will be apart of the supporting cast.
What the predictions say
The Broncos are predicted to only finish 2nd in the west this season and only received one vote for winning the MAC Championship. Toledo got the most votes overall, which is how the standing were predicted last season. If Haymond can stay healthy and Brown and Richie can be senior leaders the Broncos could repeat as MAC Champions this upcoming season.
The Western Michigan Broncos basketball team opens up the regular season Sunday November 16 against Aquinas at home.