It is the Anti-Wisconsin, where (virtually all) players are home grown and installed into a system. They come from places like Appleton, Oshkosh, Glendale and Milwaukee, and during their years in Madison they are kneaded, molded and ingrained with the ways of their coach, Bo Ryan.
That is hardly how it works at No. 14 seed Cal State Fullerton (24-8), third-seeded Wisconsin’s opening opponent in their NCAA tournament Midwest regional Thursday night at the Qwest Center.
Its leading scorer, junior guard Josh Akognon, is a transfer from Washington State, where two seasons ago he was the Cougars’ leading scorer. Its leading rebounder, senior forward Scott Cutley, is a transfer from Kent State and that’s true too of guard Marcus Crenshaw, who averages nearly 20 minutes off the bench.
Its second-leading scorer, senior forward Frank Robinson, is already 23 and a transfer from East Carolina. Senior Ray Reed, their hyperkinetic point guard, is already 24 and a transfer from Georgetown.
None of the 11 Titans, in fact, enrolled at Fullerton straight out of high school and their hometown addresses stretch from Detroit to Lee’s Summit, Mo., to Recife, Brazil, where sub Eddie Lima has played on the national team. But fifth-year coach Bob Burton somehow has mixed it into a palatable stew and led it to the tourney for the first time in 30 years.
“That is pretty amazing,” Badgers guard Jason Bohannon exclaimed when informed of the Titans’ unusual back story. “You don’t see too many teams like that. But it shows you they have a lot of experience in different programs and we’ll have to be ready for that. They have that much more variety and stuff.”
They are certainly impressive scorers, averaging 82.6 points per game, and impressive shooters as well, dropping 38.6 percent of their three-point attempts. Just last March at the United Center, the Badgers were undone by just this kind of team when UNLV hit 10 of 20 shots from behind the arc in its stunning second-round upset.
That is a dangerous precedent for Wisconsin (29-4), and dangerous too is Akognon, who two years ago was playing in Pullman for former Badgers coach Dick Bennett. He transferred out of frustration with Bennett’s deliberate system.
“He knows how to use his teammates,” Wisconsin defensive stopper Michael Flowers said of Akognon. “He knows how to create on his own. He’s going to be a handful for all five of us.
“We’re going to have to be able to contain him and force him into bad shots. If we’re able to get him to have an awful game, that’s going to put us in a great position to come out with a ‘W.’ We’re just going to try to discourage him, take charges on him and get a hand in his face when he pulls up for a jumper. I know he’s key for them. He’s the heart of the team.”
It’s a team, in addition, that likes to push it after made baskets. That makes it similar to Michigan State. It also likes to pressure the ball defensively. This makes it similar to Purdue. Then there is its diminutive front line, which starts no one taller than 6 feet 5 inches.
“Kind of like Penn State with [Jamelle] Cornley and [Geary] Claxton,” 6-11 Badgers center Greg Stiemsma says for comparison.
But Ryan himself, when asked what he saw when he looked at his anti-team, pointed to something else altogether.
“They are another one of those teams that has won recently. They won their tournament (Big West),” he said, adding one last reason these Titans can be a threat. “They’re confident … and they’re doing it together. I think they understand what’s expected and any time you’re playing a team in that position, you know they’re going to be pretty good.”
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smyslenski@tribune.com
