A familiar face will take a shot at spearheading a Titan turnaround
Since winning the Horizon League conference tournament title in 2012 and battling second-seeded Kansas in the NCAA tournament that same year, Detroit Mercy basketball hasn’t had much to brag about team-wise since, except an at-large bid to the NIT in 2013, the last year with Ray McCallum, Jr. running the show on the court. That was a contest in which they fell to Arizona State by double digits in the first round.
In the 11 seasons since, the Titans have not advanced passed the HL tournament quarterfinals, culminating in 0 trips to Indianapolis in the leagues current bracket format. Nevertheless, the Titans (the only remaining original member in the league) still lead the league among active members in NCAA appearances (6), all time conference tournament wins (33) and is tied for second in conference tournament titles (3).
To have a decade-plus long lull in post season play and still lead or be near the top of your conference in these categories is absurd. Stats like this go to show just how historic Titan basketball is, not only in league but all across the country.
The Titans will start their 117th season in about a month against Cleary U at home, but the red, white and blue faithful will see a new head man pacing the Titans bench. Coach Mark Montgomery is the Titans 23rd head coach and will look to be the first of three coaches to bring the team back to post season glory.
Bacari Alexander was fired by the university in 2018 after a short but unsuccessful tenure plagued by scandal to replace Ray McCallum, Sr. Mike Davis on the other hand, was shown the same door this past spring after a tumultuous 1-31 season.
However the situations are hardly the same, and Davis deserves a lot more credit than Alexander, as he along with his son Antoine’s generational scoring ability helped keep the Titans somewhat relevant. Bringing a good brand of basketball to Calihan Hall which will never see Davis’s #0 worn again.
Good story or not though, you’ve got to win to keep your program above water, something the university just did not trust the 63-year-old Davis with one final year on his contract to continue to be able to do.
Davis, however, did give Montgomery the ability to get firsthand experience in the league, bringing him on for the second half of the 2020-2021 season after being let go by NIU.
Reflecting back on what he learned through that short stint Montgomery said “That helped me with scouting the league and getting to visit different places in the conference. Being in the MAC for 10 years I have a good feel for how the Horizon League plays and the scheming differences between the two leagues but being here for those three months helped a lot in terms of experiencing the day to day of practice, film study and the Horizon League Tournament.”
This experience will prove crucial to an always wide-open league, but this program needs someone to also build it back up into the best overall version of itself. Detroit Mercy struggles with fan support, so this means someone who is connected locally and familiar with the area, but most importantly someone who wants to use this unique knowledge to feed their ambition to succeed.
Montgomery fits this bill perfectly, he is a Metro Detroit native, played at Michigan State in addition to serving 10+ years as an assistant under Tom Izzo in East Lansing.
The mitten connection is already showing strong in year one with seven players hailing from either the 313 or Metro Detroit, the most since 2015-2016.
Now, what Titans fans should really be excited about is the hunger aspect. Montgomery’s best team during his 10-year head coaching stint at Northern Illinois had their season cancelled right at the start of the conference tournament due to COVID 19.
“I felt I had the best player in the league in Eugene German, I thought we had a very good team because we had seniors on that team” said Montgomery in his office, adding “Things happen for a reason though, it got me here.”
For most coaches, a team like that can change your career, but COVID stunted that opportunity for Montgomery, one that he is ready to capitalize on in Detroit through development.
NIU is a historically bad basketball program in a football league. Specifically, the worst, only posting a mere .400 winning % since their first season in the league in 1976. From year three to year nine of the Montgomery era in De Kalb however (2013-2020), the huskies went .500 in over 200 games, reaching levels of consistency the program is not accustomed to, including three winning seasons. Titan’s fans would kill for a winning season period, and one just might be on the docket in the future.
Detroit Mercy hasn’t had football since 1964 and won’t be strapping the chinstraps up anytime soon. With the school’s main athletic focus on basketball and a reinvigorated recruiting ground being right in Coach Monty’s back yard, the sky is the limit for this program if it’s built the right way. This year will be about getting back in the win column and developing the foundations for the program to grow, but that doesn’t mean the Titans have any ideas of laying down and waiting for greener pastures this year.
The lineup
Mak Manciel – The 6-4 shooting guard had a rough start to the season last year (14.2% shooting in first 12 games) but finished well finding his footing and shooting 40% over the last 19. He’s another year removed from an ACL tear that caused him to leave Arkansas state in 2023, which could see him gain an advantage on the defensive end, where he struggled with post-surgery last season. A native of Detroit, Manciel hasn’t let the downs of last year discourage him and said, “I’m excited to be back for another year, it (1-31) lit a fire in the returners, we’re coming in knowing what happened last year but knowing we’re going to be way different this year.” Montgomery is just as confident in Manciel’s ability to run it back better this year, but he prefaced that Mak “has to begin the year like he ended it, our ball screen offense can free him up to show he can score it from multiple ways.’
Orlando Lovejoy – Also a Detroit native, the 6-3 Lovejoy had the best season in 23-24 of anyone on the roster, averaging 10,3,3 for Eastern Michigan last year. Extremely skilled and experienced guard, who Coach Monty wants to get going by “pushing the ball and getting downhill,” something they didn’t do at Eastern. He’s a great setup guy that can score in the paint as well as dish it out but can also cause havoc on defense to get out and run in transition, somewhere the staff thinks he can be successful in. Detroit means everything to him, who rocks a 313 tattoo on his right bicep and described this stating, “Detroit is my pride Detroit is my heart, I’m ready to play for them its why I came back. “
Emmanuel Kuac – Kuac is the most athletic Titan to tote a jersey in any sport since Doug Anderson won the college dunk contest over a decade ago. The sixth-year swingman is listed at 6-7 but plays way above the rim. An additional year removed from a torn patellar tendon with more frontcourt depth to make him more expendable outside of the paint, Kuac looks to break out this year with his NBA prototype frame and be a great defensive asset and pick and pop player. He only averaged 4 points a game last season but 18 of his 26 field goals came from behind the arc (40%eFG) and it was also difficult for him to log significant minutes without pain until the end of the season. The staff would love to see him put a premium on the mindset of being more of a go to guy, something he showed he can be at Milwaukee last year with a 27-point outburst.
Legend Geeter – After starting his career at Providence, Geeter teamed up with fellow Titan Lovejoy at EMU the last two seasons. He has a big frame listed at 6-8 230 and averaged 5.5 points and 4 rebounds for the Eagles last year. Montgomery described Geeter as an
“Inside out player that can score the ball. We want to use him in pick and pops, ball screens and in isolation in the post.” The move to Detroit Mercy should allow him to break into double figures, something the Titans are going to need. With 40 stars under his belt Legend expects to see the floor a lot early.
Nate Johnson – It’s harder than ever to evaluate your typical college freshman in modern college basketball, but there’s something about Johnson that answers all those concerns after watching him play a few possessions. The Grand Rapids, Michigan native can score the ball in a plethora of ways, but it’s his demeanor and work ethic that’s impressive. There’s no hesitation in his eyes, he is not here to take a redshirt in any way. Coach Montgomery spoke his praise as well describing how he can play the 1-4, but also added that “he’s shown to be more of a slasher but has really been shooting the ball well as of late.” What the specific role will be for him is hard to tell but expect to see him on the court and to make the most of the time he gets early.
Key Reserves
Alex Tchikou- The 6-11 Frenchman was the talk of the town for Titans fans last season, but the former top 40 high school prospect had a variety of eligibility and visa issues that plagued his ability to make his Titan debut. Originally at Alabama with Nate Oats, he is the only player on the team who has been to the NCAA tournament. Frenchy is eligible to suit up for the first time since his stint with Rhode Island in 2022-23 averaging 4 points and 4 rebounds with 14 starts. He’s an imposing physical specimen with a filled-out body type, but he’s got to be able to be an inside out player for UDM that can not only do dirty work inside and offensive rebound/defend the interior but get out in transition and get easy buckets. His career has been anything but consistent, so expect him to take a little while to knock the rust off, but the physical gifts are unteachable, and he could be a huge piece and consistent starter for this squad if the staff finds him the right role.
Jared Lary – Another Grand Rapids native who had Cleveland State interested when he was in high school, he comes over by way of NAIA Aquinas college where he averaged 12 points 5 rebounds and 2 assists a game. Also spent 2 years at D2 Lincoln Memorial averaging 4 points and 2 rebounds. Lary is listed at 6-6 and he plays like it consistently putting his athleticism and size on display and getting to the cup. He can shoot it as well and will play a huge role for the Titans which could grow as the season unfolds due to his reliability and unique basketball experience.
Grant Gondrezick II – He spent last season at Elon as a redshirt, comes from a talented basketball family across the board. Extremely skilled 6-0 guard that can heat up in spurts and shoot the lights out. I averaged 25 points a game in high school. Will have to lock in on the defensive end while getting his feet wet in his first college basketball action but Gondrezick can go, simple as that.
Ryan Hurst – The last recruit of the Mike Davis era got a chance to see some action last winter on a depleted roster, he averaged 12.5 points and 4 rebounds in 5 games. A broken bone in his foot caused him to be shut down to surgery, but the 6-3 230 guard got some great experience starting four of those games and getting a chance to play heavy D1 minutes. He’s got a big guard frame and is skilled with the ball in his hand, able to light it up from 3 or get-tough buckets inside. Finding his role will be harder than last year, but if Ryan can stay healthy and take care of business on defense his minutes and production will only grow.
Miles Mitchell – A 6-10 freshman and one of three freshman frontcourt incomers, Mitchell has the chance to stand out and contribute immediately because of his athleticism. He’s been on campus all of a month, but the Warren Lincoln grad is ready to show he can belong in this league by contributing as a rim protector, offensive rebounder and lob threat. Fellow freshman Stephen Okoro has been tenacious on defense in early practice and Ryan Kalambay has a great feel for the game, but Mitchell’s athleticism and length make him an intriguing rotation piece early.
TJ Nadeau – The 6-5 Detroit Catholic Central grad is an extremely intriguing player. Averaged 18 8 and 5 for DCC last season while shooting over 40% from 3. He’s got the build and the ability of a typical knock down shooter and it’s going to be essential for this team to be able to make them at a high rate so I would expect to see UDM attempt to get his looks off screens.
Outlook
No matter what your roster looks like, when you went 1-31 the year before you must earn respect back on the court before you can start complaining that things are different now. That’s what this team will have to do before anything has really changed, but the program is already starting to feel revitalized. If they defend and rebound in the top 5 of the conference, they’ll have the chance to be successful, but just getting some wins on the board will feel monumental.
As for Montgomery, getting better every day is key for his program in Year 1. “If we excel academically in the classroom, put a good product on the floor fight and compete, while getting the team out in the community, I think we’ll have been successful.”