BLOG 34: Two point guard system has worked for Ferris

By Sandy Gholston

Ferris State has been starting both Dontae Molden (top) and Darien Gay (bottom) in the lineup recently

BIG RAPIDS – It seemed to be a little bit of a risky situation for Ferris head men’s basketball coach Bill Sall when he went to a starting lineup that includes two point guards.

But, sophomore Darien Gay and freshman Dontae Molden have worked excellently together throughout the season when paired together on the floor. That is quite a testament considering Gay and Molden are both point guards who are less than six feet in height.

So, what has been the ticket to the success of Gay and Molden as a duo? The Detroit natives complement each other on the hardwood together. Both have the ability to run the team. Molden may have a little more of a pure point guard mentality while Gay has the ability to heat things up with his scoring ability. But, Molden can score and Gay can distribute the ball.

Moreover, the two guards play selflessly together and feed off each other. Molden, a freshman who prepped at Pershing High School, and Gay, who played for Henry Ford High School, have been able to pressure opponents at both ends of the floor and negate advantages teams with bigger guards oftentimes believe they have with matchups.

Entering Thursday’s home game against Wayne State, Gay was the team’s third-leading scorer at 11.7 points per contest while ranking second on the squad with 65 assists. Molden is averaging 6.3 points and claims a team-best 74 assists.

Head coach Bill Sall has had to do some shuffling with an injury suffered by normal starter Bryan Pasciak, who played in and started the first seven games of the season at one of the guard spots. Since both players can score and dish, and can use speed and quickness to create matchup challenges for opponents it has been advantage Bulldogs with Gay and Molden paired in the lineup.

If you have any questions, ideas or comments feel free to contact Sandy Gholston at sgholston2@netzero.com