BLOG 2: Early look at tough Ferris men’s basketball schedule

By Sandy Gholston

Ferris State’s Lou Williams goes up for a shot during a home game last season against Lake Superior State. (FSU Photographic Services)

BIG RAPIDS – Ferris men’s basketball head coach Bill Sall has never really been one to shy away from scheduling tough non-conference opponents.

This fall is no different for Sall with the unveiling of the team’s tentative 2008-09 schedule. Plus, the fact that the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference schedule now features a double round-robin format means Ferris will see a lot more of the customary strong league opponents. As a result of this new format, Ferris’ non-league schedule consists of a trip to Northern Kentucky (Nov. 15 to open the season), at home against St. Joseph’s (Nov. 20), home against Olivet (Nov. 25) and finally playing host to Grace Bible (Jan. 3).

The schedule’s start is particularly challenging with trips to NKU, Grand Valley (Dec. 1), Ashland (Dec. 4) and Tiffin (Dec. 6) among their first six games.

Ferris has to hope the experience gained last season begins to pay off.

Sall sent a young team to the floor last season that featured talented freshman Justin Keenan, a 6-foot-6 power player inside, who matured into one of the better big men in the GLIAC. Keenan averaged a team-best 15.9 points and a squad-leading 6.9 rebounds as a rookie. Led by Keenan, and several other sophomores who gained experience as freshmen, the Bulldogs (10-19 overall last season and 5-13 in the GLIAC) hope to be a factor in this season’s conference race.

Other key dates on the schedule for Ferris include the big rematch with Grand Valley on Jan. 12 in Big Rapids and the annual big two-game road trip to the Upper Peninsula to face Northern Michigan on Jan. 29 and Michigan Tech on Jan. 31.

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