Bryant, 22, was arrested after the 19-year-old woman reported the assault at 2 p.m. Monday in the 900 block of Railroad Street in the Peninsular Place apartments, Ypsilanti Police Detective Sgt. Tom Eberts said Thursday. Bryant was arraigned on a felony charge of assault by strangulation and a misdemeanor charge of aggravated domestic violence, Eberts said.

The 19-year-old woman called police and met investigators at the Peninsular Place manager’s office Monday afternoon after the alleged assault. Eberts said the woman told police the argument was about “nothing in particular” and the couple, who had been dating for one year, argues frequently.

“During the argument, the victim claims the suspect choked her,” Eberts said.

Bryant has bonded out of the Washtenaw County Jail, records show. There was no information in court records about what bond he received…

Eberts said police met with the victim and got her statement before she was transported to a local hospital for treatment.

After the woman was taken to the hospital, officers met with Bryant and arrested him, Eberts said.

Bryant will return to court at 8:30 a.m. May 7 for a preliminary examination, court records show.

The charge of aggravated domestic violence requires that the victim have received serious or aggravated injuries requiring medical attention. A first conviction is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine. There’s also a lesser charge of domestic violence for cases where the injury requirement is not met; the maximum penalty is 93 days in jail and/or a $500 fine.

Assault by strangulation means “intentionally impeding normal breathing or circulation of the blood by applying pressure on the throat or neck or by blocking the nose or mouth of another person”, and is a felony charge punishable by up to 10 years in jail and/or a $5,000 fine.

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According to the Echo, Bryant was arrested Monday afternoon on the 1000 block of Huron River Drive (Peninsular Place Apartments). They state that he is charged with felony assault and domestic violence. Following EMU’s Student-Athlete Discipline Policy — apparently interim Athletic Director Melody Reifel-Werner is more familiar with that than Derrick Gragg was — Bryant has been automatically suspended, “until the charges are dropped, dismissed or otherwise resolved.”

Bryant averaged 10.6 points per game (second on the team, producing 19% of the points), as well as 4.5 rebounds per game. If he’s found or pleads guilty, he’ll be automatically off the team (subject to any possible appeal). Though the team would certainly miss him, perhaps a bigger blow is yet another hit to the image of the program.

Keep in mind that Ray Lee wound up at EMU after bigger programs dropped his recruitment due to an alleged sexual assault (charges were dropped days later). James Still was perplexingly recruited to EMU with felony assault charges pending against him, and he was (eventually) dismissed from the team after pleading guilty. Not that long ago two former EMU football players were charged with felony assault with intent to rob while unarmed and unarmed robbery, though both pleaded down to aggravated assault, a misdemeanor.

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But this being “spring” — at least, according to the calendar — in Michigan, the lack of an actual opponent for this “game” wasn’t the only issue. Apparently the team can play in 20 degrees and snow, but 40 degrees and flurries mixed with a little sleet is too much, because today’s “game” was moved into the Bubble due to the “inclement” weather. (If you weren’t paying attention, by about 4:30 it had turned into a beautiful afternoon!)

By the end of the afternoon, the first-team offense had scored 10 points on the second-string defense, while the second-string offense only managed 3 against the first-string defense (again, no surprise in the “outcome”). The touchdown came on a 7-yard run by Ryan Brumfield, while Kody Fulkerson and Dylan Mulder traded field goals. There was at least one other “scoring” play, but no points were given since the third- and fourth-string teams were on the field at the time.

For other coverage, here’s the official EMU “game” write-up, with links to interviews with Ron English and Tyler Benz. Here’s the photo gallery from the athletic department, here are photos from the unofficial Facebook page, and here’s one from soon-to-be EMU quarterback Brogan Roback posing with #3 Dustin Creel and #71 Darien Terrell.

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If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last several years of covering EMU football, it’s that there’s very little we will learn about the team from the spring game. Sure the offense might look great, but are they really that great…or is the defense once again among the worst in the country? Of if the defense does well, are we really just seeing continued offensive ineptitude? And how will things change once the team mixes in the few freshmen who might see playing time? These are the questions we’ve struggled with during the spring games over the past few years.

This year, I decided to take the easy way out. I just can’t bring myself to watch the spring game that way any more.

Here’s how I’m looking at the spring game this year, and how I hope you will also: it’s just a fun day to go watch the team practice, to spend a (hopefully nice) cold, rainy sleeting spring afternoon outside in Rynearson Stadium, a free afternoon of entertainment. Nothing less; nothing more.

If you have any thoughts on what you see in the game, feel free to share them here, but please, let’s not put too much meaning into today.

The post Spring game today appeared first on Eagle Totem.

Departures

It began immediately after the Northern Illinois game, when Ron English — giving voice to a criticism fans have had for several years — indicated his dissatisfaction with the offense, laying the blame on the coaches. To no one’s surprise, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Ken Karcher was shown the door within about a week.

After that, and once it became clear that 1) Ron English would be back at EMU in 2013, but 2) he would not get a contract extension before the season, meaning 3) English’s contract, and the contracts of all his assistants, will end on 12/31/2013, barring a single-season performance impressive enough to garner an extension, it was like rats fleeing a sinking ship; anyone who could get out was going to get out while the getting was good. Linebackers coach Randy Stewart headed to Cal, to be the defensive backs coach.¹ Phil Snow, who had been the highest-paid assistant coach in the MAC as EMU’s defensive coordinator (and secondary coach), took the same job at Temple, a move the Owl faithful at Temple Football Forever were understandably underwhelmed by. The final departure was offensive line coach and running game coordinator Kurt Anderson, who left to be the offensive quality control coach for the Buffalo Bills.

That left the returning coaches as Ron English, Tom Burpee (tight ends and special teams), Ken Delgado (defensive line), Doug Downing (wide receivers and recruiting coordinator), and Mike Hart (running backs).

Arrivals

The first vacancy created was the first one filled, with English tapping Stan Parrish as the new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. The early fan consensus on Parrish was that he was not great nor terrible, but probably the best OC English was going to bring in given the overall situation. The other new faces are KiJuan Ware, who despite his experience coaching offense, will work with EMU’s secondary, and a pair of young assistants, Ryan Oshnock and Brad Wilson.

Oshnock is a 2006 graduate of Wayne State who has spent three years as an assistant high school football coach and a year each as graduate assistant at Central Michigan, graduate assistant at Cincinnati,² and defensive coordinator at Ferris State.³ He’s listed as EMU’s new special teams coach.

Wilson is a 2006 graduate of Ball State, following which he remained in Muncie as a graduate assistantant. Like Oshnock, when his head coach left for bigger things, Wilson followed, in this case going with Brady Hoke to San Diego State for another year as a graduate assistant. Wilson spent the last three years as offensive line coach and running game coordinator at Fort Lewis College, during which time the Skyhawks posted a 6-25 overall record, and 5-22 in the Division II Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, including five games in the last two years in which they were held scoreless. Wilson will coach EMU’s offensive line.

Grading the hires

Of the newcomers, Parrish certainly has the credentials for the job — although he’s struggled in several go-rounds as a head coach, he’s generally done well as an offensive coordinator — and I’d grade the hire as a solid B. Ware also has some legitimate experience, and although most of his coaching has come on the other side of the ball, as a defensive coaching hire, he’s probably a B- (would be an A if he were going to be coaching offense). Oshnock and Wilson, on the other hand, come in with no experience to speak of. I have to think that either they absolutely wowed English in person, or they were among very few interested coaches. They may turn out to be great coaches, and I may eat my words, but it’s hard to give those two hires anything better than a D.

Unanswered questions

If you’re keeping track at home, you may have noticed a few oddities about the coaching assignments. Both Tom Burpee and Ryan Oshnock are listed as special teams coach, and that’s Oshnock’s only listed assignment. No one is listed as coaching the linebackers. Normally I’d guess that the defensive coordinator would take on the missing position coach assignment, but…there’s no defensive coordinator listed. I can only guess that Ron English is planning on running the defense himself, but then…linebackers?

1. Prior to his one year in Ypsilanti, Stewart spent his entire career out west, so there’s a geographical fit.
2. He followed head coach Butch Jones from Mount Pleasant to Cincinnati.
3. During his year with the Division II Bulldogs, Ferris State went 7-4 overall, and 6-4 in the GLIAC.

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The team hung in there nicely in the first half, and even bounced out to a 29-23 lead.  This was done mostly on the back of junior Daylen Harrison and his fellow junior Da’Shonte Riley, who continued his stellar post-season play with a solid performance against the Broncos.  But it wasn’t enough, as J.R. Sims and Derek Thompson combined to shoot a dismal 5-23 from the field and an inexplicable 1-6 from the free throw line.  Western, on fresh legs and led by junior center Shayne Whittington (who finished with 23 points and 8 boards) looked like a rested and loose team.  They also played like it.

The real issue with the Western game was the pace, and how it strongly favored the Broncos.  Eastern can run with other high scoring teams for a while, but to win they need to put together one of their famous defensive spurts where they completely shut down the opposition.  This didn’t happen against WMU.  And when Eastern inevitably went cold, the margin got away from them.

That isn’t to say this team rolled over, when Jamell Harris put back an offensive rebound for a dunk with eight minutes to go, Eastern closed the gap to 50-49 and was ready to grab the reigns and take the game over from the Broncs.  But the defensive stand never happened — Western went on a 15-4 run, and it was, as Jim Morrison sang, The End.

In the short term, the lesson that Coach Rob Murphy needs to impart to his players is that losses during the regular season to Ball State, Bowling Green, and Central Michigan were what kept Eastern from landing the higher seed and early round byes.  Murphy recognized this during the post-game press conference.  But, in the meantime, the team as well as fans of EMU hoops can be satisfied with the effort put forth during the MAC Tournament.

I wrote in a post a while back that Eastern needed to make a tournament run to have the season qualify as a success, or at least as much of a success as a team that will not be winning the conference title can accomplish.  This meant winning a couple games and not getting embarrassed when they do lose.  I would say that this is precisely what the Eastern basketball team did.  The avenged last year’s loss to NIU, then proceeded to beat a Miami team that was undermanned against Eastern before succumbing to WMU in a game that was for the most part a tight, competitive match.  This year’s team can go home with their heads held high.  The cause of advancing EMU hoops back to its glory years has been pushed further along.

In the coming weeks there will be final grades for this team, and a look ahead to next year.  From where I have sat, it certainly qualified as an interesting year to cover Eastern hoops.  I know some out there in MAC land don’t appreciate Eastern’s defensive style, but it produced competitive games and, as the adage goes, defense wins championships.   I love the 2-3 zone and the frustration it imparts on the opposition.  Covering the Eagles this season was never dull, but then again, MAC hoops rarely is.  I certainly hope the MAC representative in the NCAA Tournament does the conference proud.

Game Notes 

• Even though Shayne Whittington had a strong game, I felt that the new-and-improved Da’Shonte Riley was in effect.  Riley finished with 8 points and 10 rebounds.  The absence of blocked shots by Riley was due to the scheme Western was running and not a lack of effort on Da’Shonte’s part.
• Glenn Bryant got in foul trouble early and was unable to get into the flow of the game until the second half.  This is part of the reason why Bronco freshman Darius Paul was able to put together such a strong game.
• Speaking of foul trouble, Rob Murphy was correct to point out after the game that the officiating was not balanced.  Western is not a team that shies away from contact, yet Eastern was on the line for eleven free throw attmepts while Western had twenty-nine.  I hate to use officiating as an excuse but sometimes the numbers do not lie.
• Eastern had ten assists in the first half, and just one in the second.  The offensive prowess on display by the first half Eagles was marked by unselfishness by the team as a whole (especially solid interior passing) and determination by Daylen Harrison.  Western was able to frustrate the Eagles in the second half, but I also can’t help but believe that the tank was empty for Sims and Thompson.
• This was the final game for Harris, Thompson, and Matt Balkema.  I already wrote about Harris’s dunk, but Matt Balkema had a nice turnaround jump hook for a bucket in the first half.  In the last minute of the game, when it was already decided, Balk put up a three and almost knocked it down.  This marked the one time all year that from my reporter’s seat I cheered for a player.  I yelled, “Please go in” while the ball was in the air.  Alas, it did not, but kudos to Balk for all he gave to Eastern over the years.  Same goes for Thompson and Harris.  Best of luck to all three of them in the future.

The post The End. appeared first on Eagle Totem.

For now here are some notes from last night’s win over Miami.

• I wrote in my post after the first round game that Eastern had to learn to put their boots on the neck of an opponent when they are down.  Last night, up eleven points, EMU proceeded to go on an almost seven minute scoring drought.  The lead did not evaporate, however, as the defense provided the pain to the Red Hawks.  There were possessions last night when I felt that Miami had zero chance to score.  The offensive ineffectiveness was troubling, but the defense completely demoralized the Red Hawks.
• A big part of the defensive vice-grip applied by Eastern was the continued inspired play of Da’Shonte Riley.  Riley was a beast in the middle, grabbing boards, blocking shots, altering shots, and adding 10 points on offense.  Western actually has a player who can compete down low, so Riley will have his work cut out for him tonight.  He certainly appears to be up to the challenge.
• Daylen Harrison provided the offensive spark the Eagles needed after Derek Thompson cooled off, and before Bryant heated up in the second half.  He seemed to sense when he was needed to score.  He will have to ratchet up the offense as the tournament progresses if Eastern is to advance.
• Jamell Harris didn’t get a ton of minutes last night, but boy did he ever have a crucial two minute stretch in the second half.  At the nine minute mark, Harris grabbed a big offensive board, and he followed that up with a steal on the defensive end and another huge offensive rebound, this time at the eight minute mark.  Nice work by the senior.
• Thompson’s three heading into halftime managed to deflate Miami after a big three of their own.  Earl Boykins used to be the master of the deflating three before half.  After 8 points in the first round, Thompson had 14 points last night.  Who wants to see 20 versus WMU? 

As for tonight, Western has weapons and is rested.  I don’t think, however, that fatigue will be a factor as Eastern is on three games in four days.  I do worry about tomorrow night if it comes to that, but if it does the Ohio game is best described as what I call a “gravy game.”  Or  “icing on the cake” if your food metaphors lend to the sweet side.   I prefer savory, so gravy it is.  Either way, if Eastern manages to get past the Broncos tonight, they can let it all hang out on Friday.

As for predictions, I can’t help but like the all-out defensive effort I’m seeing out of Rob Murphy’s team.  Let’s say it continues one more night, with Riley, Bryant, and Thompson leading the way.  Eastern Michigan 53, Western Michigan 49.

The post Surviving and Advancing appeared first on Eagle Totem.

This time, however, a statement game from Da’Shonte Riley and a clutch three by Jalen Ross allowed Eastern to eek out a one point victory over the 5-24 Huskies.  Survive and advance.  Eastern did just that, albeit on a razor’s edge.

Much like the Toledo game, things started out very promising for EMU, and early buckets by Glenn Bryant and a pair of threes from Derek Thompson and J.R. Sims got Eastern rolling early.  Northern Illinois was determined to make it close, and played with defensive intensity and a chip on their shoulder in the first half.  The Huskies did a nice job containing Thompson and Bryant, but they had no answer for Da’Shonte Riley, who scored 11 points in the first half and carried the Eagles on his back for most of this night.  Riley finished the game with 13 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 blocks.

I call it a statement game by Riley because it can only be a complete confidence booster for the junior center.  Big time players show up in big games, and the MAC Conference Tournament certainly qualifies as big.  Riley was his usual disruptive self on defense, more so on this night as he enjoyed a significant height (and skill) advantage over NIU’s big men.  But offensively, and specifically on the offensive glass, was where Riley stood out the most.  Riley had three offensive tip-ins off teammate misses.  The Eagles won by one point.  Do the math.  Without this contribution from Riley EMU is upset by an inferior team for the second straight year.  It would have been devastating.

Once the second half was underway Eastern had a good run, when buckets by Bryant, Daylen Harrison, and a couple free throws added by Bryant gave them a ten point lead.  After a few minutes of back and forth, Bryant hit another jumper and Eastern was up 40-29 with eight minutes left in the game.  Things began to unravel over the next six minutes, however, and NIU would go on a 15-2 run.

The final five points for Eastern would be scored by an unlikely hero, Jalen Ross, and EMU exorcised the demons of last year and punched their ticket to Cleveland.

This doesn’t belie the fact that this group has yet to learn how to put a team away.  When teams that understand how to do this are up by eleven with eight minutes to go, they turn on the gas and dig their heels into the neck of the opponent  (not literally).  What happened to Eastern against Missouri State — and almost happened last night — is that the team starts playing scared, afraid to lose.  It takes leadership to snap out of that kind of mentality.  The fact that they were able to do just that (by the thinnest of margins) is a credit to the team.

Next up in the survive and advance-a-thon known as post-season college hoops is the Miami Red Hawks, the 11^th seed in the tournament and a team Eastern dispatched on their home floor earlier this season.  Miami has improved as the year went on, and did have some success trapping EMU in the first meeting.  Clearly Miami thinks they can pressure EMU point guards into turnovers.  In theory it is a plausible strategy, but as Rob Murphy said, when they put two guys on the ball, someone is open.  How well Eastern’s guards deal with the trap will determine whether or not they get a crack at Western on Thursday.

I know we as die-hard Eastern basketball fans shouldn’t be giddy after a win over a 5-24 team that had their leading scorer on the bench the whole game.  But given last year’s tournament result, and the breakout game by Riley, we will allow ourselves a day of giddiness.

For now it is on to Cleveland, and the possibilities are wide open.  It’s what we love about March Madness.

Game Notes 

• Along with knocking down the game winning three, Jalen Ross provided a steady hand at the point.  It is a lot of pressure to put on a freshman, but Ross will have to continue to handle the ball well and minimize turnovers if Eastern is to continue to advance.
• Glenn Bryant played well last night, but still needs to aggressively take the ball to the hoop more often.  Bryant did put forth a strong defensive effort, including a crucial blocked shot with two seconds left.
• Speaking of Bryant, the junior forward was named All-MAC Honorable Mention.  Congratulations to Glenn, those of us who follow the team closely know that Bryant has all the tools to dominate in this conference.
• I was a little surprised that senior guard Derek Thompson didn’t end up on the Honorable Mention list as well.  Perhaps a strong tournament run and a place on the All-Tourney team would be a nice consolation prize.
• On Riley’s career night, Rob Murphy pointed out that the Eagle center played 36 minutes, whereas his usual number is in the mid-twenties.  After the game Riley talked about stepping up and leading the team.  I hope the team takes inspiration from his gutsy performance, and that Riley continues to be assertive around the hoop.
• One last thing — attendance was 302.  I think there were more people at my son’s 3^rd grade music concert.  EMU Marketing is a complete disaster.  More on that after the season.

The post Eastern Michigan 45, Northern Illinois 44 appeared first on Eagle Totem.

I will say one thing, I’m glad that I did not have to post a picture like last years.

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EMU has had limited (and by limited I mean none) success in the MAC Tournament in recent years.  And by recent years, I mean since 1998.  Carlos Medlock tried his best to end that hapless record by dropping 45 on the Akron Zips a few years ago, but unfortunately EMU has advanced no further than the quarterfinals since Earl Boykins and Derrick Dial donned the green and white.

Last year, in Rob Murphy’s inaugural season, EMU put a memorable regular season together by winning a MAC West title.  Sadly, this was followed by a first round flop against Northern Illinois.  Still, as I noted in my award-winning post from last year, “Losing Ugly”, the team had much to be proud of and the loss didn’t reduce the pride felt by those of us who have been following this program for a long time.  Eastern was playing with the house’s money by the time the tourney rolled around.

This year, I’m not sure what to think.  A full post-mortem on the season will take place after it is over, but for now I can’t help but wonder if Eastern is destined for another early exit.  Hopefully not tomorrow night, another home loss to NIU would be hard to swallow, especially after the clamp down they put on the Huskies the last time NIU visited the Convo.  It would also be nice to see Jamell Harris, Matt Balkema, and Derek Thompson rewarded with a trip to Cleveland.  (This is why they call it March Madness, when a trip to Cleveland is considered a reward.)

I’m not going to spend a whole lot of time bemoaning EMU’s point guard travails.  It is a simple fact that quality point guard play wins in March.  This is why Akron Zip nation is dyspeptic over the loss of senior point guard Alex Abreu.  (Moment of irony: Dyspepsia is a condition that can be treated by medical marijuana).  The MAC title was supposed to have Akron as a slight favorite over Ohio.  Now, Ohio’s stud point guard D.J. Cooper will be facing a freshman, Carmelo Betancourt, if the two happen to face off in the championship game.

What is needed more than anything else from the Eagles’ point guard trio of J.R. Sims, Austin Harper, and Jalen Ross is to PROTECT THE BASKETBALL!!!  Keep the turnovers to a minimum.  Don’t try to do too much, let the defense and the shooting of Derek Thompson carry the day.  If they can accomplish this, and Glenn Bryant can play at a high level for an entire game, Eastern can cause problems.  But for now, I’ll channel my inner Crash Davis and say EMU needs to just take things one game at a time.

What to Watch on Monday 

• NIU can’t hang with Eastern in the middle.  Look for a big performance out of Harris, Da’Shonte Riley, or hopefully both if Eastern is to win.
• Daylen Harrison is capable of putting a nice tournament run together.  If the one of the Thompson/Bryant duo can’t get it done, look for Harrison to pick up the offensive slack.
• A stingy EMU defensive effort is often inspired by the pesky J.R. Sims.  Sims is one player that I have confidence will play well.
• NIU Head Coach Mark Montgomery is always fun to watch.  Montgomery tries to make up for his team’s lack of talent by exerting maximum effort on the sideline.  It worked last year…
• Also, watch the St. Mary’s vs. Gonzaga game.  To call this a “Mid-major” game is a joke.  These are two big time programs, and I’ll be rooting for one of them to make the Final Four.

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