The Stan Heath Era Begins Tuesday, Nov. 9, at Indiana

Men's Basketball at Indiana
Date	Tuesday, Nov. 9 \| 6 p.m. ET
Venue	Bloomington, Ind. \| Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall
Preview Info	EMU Notes \| Indiana Notes \| Season Preview Video.
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	Big Ten Network
Listen	WEMU (89.1 WEMU-FM) \| The Varsity Network App \| Eastern Insider Podcast
Twitter	@EMU_MBB \| @EMUAthletics

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team will begin the Stan Heath era of basketball on the road at Indiana University Tuesday, Nov. 9. The opening-night contest will start at 6 p.m. inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
   The contest will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network, where Brandon Gaudin (play-by-play) and Shon Morris (analyst) will have the call. The game will also be aired on WEMU (89.1 FM) and The Varsity Network app with veteran broadcaster Tom Helmer behind the microphone.

OPENING WITH A BANG: Eastern Michigan is 73-50 in season-opening games over its 123 seasons. Last season the Eagles lost a hard-fought battle at No. 13/12 Michigan State, 67-83, Nov. 25, 2020. Prior to last season, the Green and White had won three-straight season openers.

NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN: A three-year letterwinner from 1985-87 and 17-year head coaching veteran, Stan Heath returned to Ypsilanti to become the program's 30th head coach.
   Heath has accumulated 13 years of collegiate head coaching experience with four NCAA tournament appearances and one NIT appearance. Highlighted by an Elite Eight appearance in 2002 at Mid-American Conference foe Kent State University, he has also guided the University of Arkansas (2006 and 2007) and the University of South Florida (2010 and 2012) to the postseason. Furthermore, Heath is a three-time Coach of the Year winner (MAC - 2003; Big East - 2012; NBA G League - 2021).
   As a player, Heath played in 65 games for the Green and White as a backup point guard from 1985-87.

BUSY, BUSY DAY: Tuesday will be a busy day for EMU Athletics, both the men's and women's basketball teams begin their seasons that day. The men take on Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind. while the women are set to host Youngstown State. Additionally, the EMU football team hosts Ohio at 8 p.m. on ESPN2 as part of the phenomenon known as #MACtion.

RETURN OF AN ALUMNUS: For the first time in 3,899 days an Eastern Michigan alumnus will coach the men's basketball team, as Stan Heath leads the Eagles against Indiana, Nov. 9. The last EMU graduate to lead the program was Charles E. Ramsey, who spent six seasons at the program's leader from 2005-11. Ramsey's final game was March 8, 2011, in the MAC Tournament at Akron.

PICKING IT BACK UP: Coincidentally, Stan Heath's last opponent as a Mid-American Conference head coach is the same as his first game back in the league – Indiana.
   Heath's 2002 Kent State club faced the Hoosiers in the Elite Eight match in Lexington, Ky. for a bid to the National Semifinals, March 23. Making their first eight long-range shots and close to 80 percent overall, the Hoosiers rolled past upstart Kent State 81-69. The loss snapped the Golden Flashes' 21-game winning streak, as it attempted to become the first No. 10-seeded team to reach the Final Four.

COACHING DEBUTS: Stan Heath will attempt to become the fourth EMU head coach since 1986 to win their inaugural game as head coach at the school. Rob Murphy defeated UIC, 68-57, Nov. 11, 2011, while Charles E. Ramsey upset California, 67-65, in games at the Convocation Center. Milton Barnes also won his first game against Oakland, 94-76, Nov. 23, 1996. Meanwhile, both Ben Braun (L, 83-99 at Michigan State - Nov. 28, 1996) and Jim Boone(L, 71-73 vs. Hampton - Nov. 20, 2001) came up short in their debut contests.

HITTING THE ROAD EARLY: Eastern Michigan has tallied a 14-29 record when opening a season on the road. The Eagles have lost its last two road openers: at Michigan State (67-83), Nov. 25, 2020, and Pittsburgh, Nov. 11, 2016, 93-90, in double overtime.

REPLACING PRODUCTION: Eastern Michigan will have to replace 74.1 percent of its rebounding total (401-of-541) and 69.7 percent (883-of-1267) of the scoring production from last year's team. Furthermore, just 34.6 percent of the total minutes played are back for the 2021-22 campaign.

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE HOOSIERS: Tuesday will mark the fifth time that Eastern Michigan has traveled to Bloomington, Ind. to take on the Hoosiers. EMU opened the 1970-71 campaign with a 99-82 setback and did not return to campus again until 1982-83 when the then-Hurons fell 85-48. More recently, EMU dropped a 79-63 contest in 2005-06 before coming up short 87-67 during the 2017-18 campaign.

LAST TIME AGAINST INDIANA: The last time the Eagles clashed with the Hoosiers was a 67-87 loss in Bloomington, Nov. 24, 2017.
   Trailing by just five at the break, EMU could not contain the IU offensive onslaught, as the Hoosiers shot a blistering 59 percent from the field and 72 percent from beyond the three-point line in the second half. After shooting 64 percent from downtown in the first half, the Eagles were held to just 20 percent in the second stanza. Eastern was led by three former Eagles. Elijah Minnie led all scorers with 20 points in the game. Paul Jackson added 12 points and a game-high five rebounds, while James Thompson IV added 10 points and eight boards.

TURN THE TIDES: EMU is 12-72 against Big Ten Conference opponents all-time, and 0-4 versus Indiana. The Eagles will look to turn the tides, Nov. 12 at IU. The last time Eastern bested a Big Ten team was Dec. 9, 2014, with a win in the Crisler Center over Michigan, 45-42.

EXHIBITION RECAP: Eastern Michigan wraps up the preseason with a 2-0 exhibition record, having defeated Oakland on the road Oct. 28, 74-69, and Goshen at home Nov. 5, 94-66.
   The Eagles charity exhibition at Oakland saw three players score in double-digits; freshman Noah Farrakhan dropped 27, senior Monty Scott scored 16, and freshman Colin Golson Jr. added 10. The Green and White shot 49.2 percent (29-59) from the floor, and 70.6 percent (12-17) from the charity stripe.
   Opening the Convocation Center to the fans against Goshen, Eastern did not disappoint, taking care of business in a 94-66 win over the Maple Leafs. Four players scored in double figures, led by Farrakhan and Golson Jr. who both had 18. Senior Darion Spottsville had himself a game, totaling 16 points, four rebounds, four assists, four steals, and two blocks in 27 minutes of play. Senior Thomas Binelli flirted with a double-double, scoring 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting from three, and grabbing eight rebounds. Eastern shot 48.7 (37-76) percent from the field, and forced GC into 20 turnovers.

RUN IT BACK: Eastern has six returning players for the 2020-21 season. Junior Bryce McBride started 15-of-18 games and is the squad's leading returning scorer, averaging 13.7 last season. McBride led last year's team with 46 assists and was second with an 83.7 free throw percentage. Senior Darion Spottsville is back after a season that saw him dish out 23 assists and grab 20 steals in 17 games played. Both McBride and Spottsville were named captains of the 2021-22 team.
   After not seeing action last season due to injury, senior Thomas Binelli returns to the court for his third season at Eastern Michigan. Binelli played in 25 games during the 2019-20 season, averaging 31.3 percent from beyond-the-arc and scored a career-high 26 points against Northern Illinois, Feb. 25, 2020, on 7-of-15 shooting from deep.
   Also coming back this season is senior Axel Okongo and redshirt junior Derek Ballard Jr. Okongo played in 10 games last year, and finished second on the team with seven blocks. Participating in 15 games, averaging 11.6 minutes per game, Ballard Jr. finished the season with 42 rebounds, 2.8 per game.
   Freshman walk-on Andrew Wells also returns after seeing action in seven games in 2020-21. Wells totaled seven points, six rebounds, two steals, and an assist in 40 minutes of play.

NEW IN THE CREW: The Eagles have 11 new players for the 2021-22 season, five transfers, three true freshmen, and two walk ons. True freshman guard Luka Savicevic comes from North Macedonia, while Mo Njie joins the Green and White from DME Sports Academy. Classmate Javantae Randle is a native from Frederick Douglas in Detroit.
   The Eagles added senior Monty Scott by way of Portland State where he led the Vikings in scoring with 13.7 points per game. The second Scott on the team, Nate Scott is a senior transfer from in-conference opponent Northern Illinois. N. Scott made 10 starts for the Huskies a season ago, averaging 5.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 17.8 minutes per game.
   Eastern has three freshmen transfers, thanks to the blanket COVID year granted by the NCAA, in Kevin-David Rice from Delta College, Colin Golson Jr. from Siena, and Noah Farrakhan from East Carolina. Yusuf Jihad arrives as a redshirt-freshman transfer from Oakland.

WELCOME BACK BINELLI: It may only be an exhibition but senior Thomas Binelli is finding his stroke from three once again. Binelli, missing last season due to injury, has seen his first basketball action in over a year, in two exhibition contests versus Oakland (Oct. 28) and Goshen (Nov. 3). Most recently, the senior shot 4-of-9 (.444) against the Maple Leafs.

FAMILY MATTERS: Senior Monty Scott and freshman Noah Farrakhan have more in common than both being EMU transfers. Scott (Portland State) and Farrakhan (East Carolina) are stepbrothers who chose to join forces and come to Eastern to play under Head Coach Stan Heath.

FARRAKHAN GOING FAR: In the two exhibition games that Eastern has played, freshman transfer Noah Farrakhan has shown he is a player to watch. Farrakhan had 27 points at Oakland, Oct. 28, to lead all scorers in a 74-69 win over the Grizzlies. The freshman then tied for a game high 18 points against Goshen, Nov. 5. Shooting a combined 60 percent (21-of-35) from the floor in the two contests, the transfer is starting the regular season, Nov. 9 at Indiana.

OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: Senior Darion Spottsville and junior Bryce McBride were voted team captains for the 2021-22 season. Both Spottsville and McBride are returning guards from last season and account for 39.3 percent of the team's assists, as well as 26.3 percent of the offense a year ago.

MAC PRESEASON POLL: EMU landed in the No. 11 spot on the Mid-American Conference preseason coaches' poll, the league announced, Nov. 3. Buffalo emerged as this year's favorite to win the conference, earning 143 total points in the poll, including 11 first-place votes. Ohio, the MAC's 2021 tournament champion and representative in the NCAA Tournament, was picked second with 126 total points. The Bulls earned more recognition as they were also selected as the favorite to win the MAC Tournament, which will take place in Cleveland, Ohio, March 10-12.

48TH MAC SEASON: The 2021-22 season will be the 48th for the Eagles in the Mid-American Conference. The first year of MAC play for EMU was 1974-75 when the then-Hurons went 12-14 and 4-9 in league play. Eastern has added three Mid-American Conference championships to its shelf: 1987-88, 1990-91, and 1995-96. Additionally EMU captured the tournament title in 1997-98.

GERVIN NAMED TO NBA 75TH ANNIVERSARY TEAM: Former EMU men's basketball and National Basketball Association (NBA) legend George Gervin was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, the league announced, Oct. 19.
   The list features 76 players who have helped shape, define, and redefine the game of basketball. A total of 158 NBA championships and 730 NBA All-Star selections. A combined 110 NBA Most Valuable Player Awards and NBA Finals MVP Awards, and more than 1.5 million points scored.
       "The Iceman", a two-year letterwinner, led EMU to the 1971-72 Final Four in the NCAA College Division Tournament. He averaged 29.5 points and 15.3 rebounds during that season as his points-per-game average still ranks first in the EMU record books for a single season.
   The four-time All-American finished his two-year career with 1,044 points and hauled down 562 rebounds. Gervin's career points ranks 28th in program history, while his 26.8 career points per game leads all EMU players. Gervin was the first men's basketball jersey (No. 24) to be retired in school history on Jan. 17, 1986.
   The Detroit, Mich. native went on to star in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the NBA. The shooting guard played the majority of his professional career with the San Antonio Spurs and was named to the NBA Hall of Fame in 1996. Additionally, he was selected as one of the top-50 players in NBA history in 1996.
   Gervin scored more than 25,000 points during his NBA career and was named a First-Team NBA All-Star six times in his career. Additionally, the 6-foot-7 guard was inducted into the E-Club Hall of Fame in 1993.

THE EAGLES ON TV: Eastern Michigan has at least two nationally televised games during the 2021-22 season, playing on Big Ten Network (at Indiana) and FS1 (at DePaul) during the campaign.
Continuing the partnership with ESPN, the Eagles will be on ESPN+ or ESPN3 for nearly every EMU men's and women's basketball home game.
   ESPN+ has thousands of exclusive live events, original studio shows, and acclaimed series that aren't on the ESPN networks. ESPN+ allows subscribers to purchase UFC PPV events and access an extensive archive of on-demand content (including the entire 30 For 30 library, select ESPN Films, game replays, and more). ESPN+ content is available to stream in HD through the ESPN App on your favorite connected devices (living room devices, phone, tablet, computer, smart TV) and on ESPN.com.
   An ESPN+ subscription does not give you access to stream ESPN's traditional TV networks or the content on them. To stream those networks, you need a television subscription through a cable, satellite or digital provider.

GOLDEN TICKET GIVEAWAY: Basketball is back, and the EMU men's team will debut at home for the first time during the 2021-22 season when it hosts Illinois State University Friday, Nov. 12, at 6 p.m.
   To celebrate the return of basketball and help welcome Coach Heath back to campus, the EMU Department of Athletics announced a series of giveaways that will only be available to those in attendance for the Nov. 12 home game.
   In addition to the in-game amenities and entertainment that fans are accustomed to, 1,000 attendees will also leave the game with a special gift; A commemorative, specially wrapped "Stan Heath Bar," will be given away upon exiting the Convocation Center. Still the fan-favorite toffee that everyone knows, this bar will be wrapped in a custom EMU-themed wrapper, which also includes special offers for upcoming games.
   The treats do not end there. A total of 10 bars will contain special "golden tickets," that entitle the recipient to unique and exclusive Eastern Michigan experiences.
The prizes will include the following:
   -Two lucky winners will have the chance to join Heath for a private dinner.
   -Three additional winners will be invited to join Heath, his staff, and the 2021-22 team at one of their upcoming practices (typically closed to all outside individuals). There, they will have the chance to meet with and interact with members of the program.
   If the chance to win great prizes is not enough, EMU is also offering the first 1,000 attendees the chance to take home a commemorative ticket to honor Coach Heath's first home game. These will not be available to those not in attendance at the game.

ON THE HORIZON: The Eagles look to celebrate Head Coach Stan Heath's first game inside the Convocation Center, Nov. 12, as they welcome Illinois State to Ypsilanti. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m., and fans can watch the contest on ESPN+/ESPN3.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Derek Ballard Jr.

Thomas Binelli

Noah Farrakhan

Colin Golson Jr.

Yusuf Jihad

Bryce McBride

Mo Njie

Axel Okongo

Javantae Randle

Kevin-David Rice

Luka Savicevic

Monty Scott

Nate Scott

Darion Spottsville

Andrew Wells

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