Featured photo by Calvin White
Story by Calvin White
Murfreesboro, TENN- After finishing fourth in Conference USA in scoring defense last season, Middle Tennessee State University men’s basketball is poised to have another great defense this season despite losing Eli Lawrence, DeAndre Dishman and Teafale Lenard. Jr.
The Blue Raiders only sacrificed 67.8 points per game on average to opponents, ranked second in CUSA in blocks per game at 4.82 and fifth in steals per game at 7.55. With the style of pressure defense that head coach Nick McDevitt likes to play, the Blue Raiders have multiple players that can help MTSU’s defense remain elite.
“It all starts with guys that can pressure the ball,” McDevitt said. “You’ve got to have guys out front that can start that pressure and we’ve got more size at the basket than we’ve had in the past. This team will have its own identity and we just have to make sure that what we’re doing with our defensive scheme fits what these guys are capable of doing physically.”
Although Dishman was the anchor of the Blue Raider defense last season, the 6-foot-6-inch center often gave up a lot of size to opponents. With Dishman gone, 6-foot-10-inch junior Jared Coleman-Jones assumes the starting center spot and provides much more reliable rim protection for the Blue Raiders.
Dishman is still making an impact on the MTSU defense despite not being on the roster. He was extremely good in ball screen defense and Coleman-Jones has been watching film of Dishman to become a better ball screen defender.
“I watch a lot of his film,” Coleman-Jones said. “Especially in ball screen coverage. I make sure I’m low and covering the ball so it makes it harder for the guard to penetrate. I just try to pick up whatever bits of knowledge that I can.”
Behind Coleman-Jones on the depth chart are freshman Chris Loofe and Iowa transfer Josh Ogundele. Replacing Dishman with Coleman-Jones improved the defense but with a trifecta of big men at his disposal, McDevitt will make a lot of opponents question attacking the rim.
“Our three-headed monster at center gives us a lot of size around the basket,” McDevitt said. “The ability to protect the rim on the defensive end is there as well as the ability to throw the ball on the block and score. Hopefully, with a little more girth and size from those three guys, we can sustain foul trouble a little bit easier or if someone’s feeling sick, we know the guy coming in is just as big.”
Enhanced rim protection gives MTSU’s guards the chance to apply more pressure on their opponent because even if the guards get beat off the dribble, they know that the big man is behind them to deter most opposing shot attempts.
McDevitt’s signature diamond press involves full-court pressure and sideline traps, especially in the backcourt. MTSU has so much depth and versatile players that will make it hard for almost any team to advance the ball across halfcourt, much less score on the Blue Raiders.
“You’ve got to have a deep enough bench where you feel comfortable playing that deep and it’s hard to have a pace to your offense and ask guys to pressure defensively while playing them 38 minutes a game,” McDevitt said. “To do that you have to have a group where you can play nine, 10 or 11 people deep night in and night out.”
Entering a season where it is picked to win Conference USA, MTSU’s depth and diversity will help it remain one of the conference’s best defenses. MTSU is searching for its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2017 and the defense might be good enough to get it there.
Calvin White is the sports editor for MTSU Sidelines. If you have information for a story, you can contact him at wcw3f@mtmail.mtsu.edu. For more news, visit www.mtsusidelines.com. Also, follow us on Facebook and Instagram @mtsusidelines, or on X @MTSUSidelines.
