MAC, Ray Mernagh, Teams

2015 STUD COREY REDMAN BIG GET FOR KENO DAVIS AND CMU

In college basketball there’s always something to be said for locking down your backyard recruiting-wise.

And when you’re the new coach at Central Michigan University at a time when Northern Michigan is producing a steady stream of D-1 talent that’s so close to you, it behooves you to try and get in on some of that action.

In recent years it’s been the big boys like Michigan State landing the prime talent (Dwaun Anderson, a kid who ended up transferring to Wagner and who just might make — along with his teammates — Bobby Hurley regret passing on the Wagner head job) while the mid-majors out East have feasted.

The Lake Michigan Conference has sent players to Lehigh (Holden Greiner from Traverse City St Francis) Brown (Scott Friske from Charlevoix) William & Mary (Sean Sheldon –another St Francis kid) and Bucknell (Cory Starkey from Petoskey and Chris Hass from Pelliston). Not too shabby for a Class C league (Michigan goes A, B, C AND D from largest to smallest). Keno Davis noticed the exodus and, with an environment that suits any Northern Michigan kid in Mt Pleasant, instantly started trying to hit his local area hard.

That’s paid off with the earliest MAC verbal we can remember in Redman. I had heard of Redman some because I keep up with some folks back in Michigan (where I spent a good deal of my younger years) so I instantly knew the man to check in with regarding Redman’s game — Parallel 45′s AAU coach and Michigan HS Hoop’s go-to-guy Steve Bell. For those of you wanting the latest scuttlebutt on the scene in Michigan you need to check out his message board and site at Bankhoops.com. Bell shared a little bit about Redman and why he thinks this is a fantastic development for CMU’s future.

“He’s got that long, sinewy, athletic body that’s built for basketball,” says Bell. He’s a legit 6-4 who can shoot it with a quick release and does so with supreme confidence.” Bell mentioned that Redman has to improve on his strength and explosion around the hoop but what soon-to-be-sophomore in high school doesn’t?

Redman averaged 12 points a game as a 9th grader for a varsity team that featured three other kids that will play at the college level. The kid has always played up in AAU competition and had big games at both Spiece and the King James event playing for THE ACB/BANKHOOPS 16U TEAM. Redman is Boyne City’s first D-1 kid since Jason Rozycki did his thing for Oakland from 1998-2002. Redman managed to impress the CMU staff early during their team camp with a couple of major throwdowns that started their wheels spinning. And Redman isn’t the only talented youngster in the area. Shae Somers of Bellaire and Gage Kreski of St Ignace are both talents that will be heard from in the 2016 class according to Bell.

Who knows, maybe Corey Redman is the start of a pipeline of Northern Michigan kids to CMU? The pied piper if you will. Chippewa fans would love nothing more to see their glory days return with the help of some Michiganders.

Keno Davis will spend the next few years mining that same area for new talent…and babysitting the one who’s pledged already.

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