#HLWBB Preview: Detroit Mercy
Joey Yashinsky
Detroit Mercy Titans
Last year: 18-14 overall, 12-6 Horizon League
Coach: Bernard Scott (3rd year)
Team Preview
By Joey Yashinsky, Horizon League Contributor
If your squad is making the trek to Calihan Hall this season to battle Bernard Scott’s Titans, you better bring your A-game. And even that might not be good enough.
In 2016-17, Detroit Mercy was a flawless 9-0 at home in Horizon League play, with several of the victories coming in runaway fashion. Scott’s team always plays with great energy and pace, but that intensity gets dialed up even higher on their home floor.
Last year’s runner-up at Motor City Madness will have plenty of talent coming back to try and finish the job in 2018.
Leading the way will be star forward Brianne Cohen, a preseason first team All-Horizon League selection. When Cohen establishes position on the low block and is faced with beating a single defender, you might as well just add two to the Titan tally. Last season, she averaged better than 15 points per game while also shooting over 60% from the field. In a conference stocked with talent in the frontcourt, Cohen could make a valid case for being the best of the bunch.
While Cohen holds down the fort inside, fellow senior Nicole Urbanick will be bombing away from long distance. Urbanick has been one of the Horizon League’s most accurate shooters throughout her career and she’ll take on an even bigger offensive load this season with the graduation of Titan legend Rosanna Reynolds (now playing professionally in Scotland).
Anja Marinkovic is coming off an All-Freshman team selection a year ago, and Scott would like to see her arsenal expand even more in the coming year. Last season, Marinkovic was constantly hoisting from downtown. On the year, she attempted 135 3-pointers as compared to just 68 from inside the arc.
“We’re hoping Anya can take over for some of what Rosanna used to do,” Scott said. “We’re asking her to put the ball on the floor more and not just rely on the 3-pointer. In my mind, she can be an all-conference player.”
With Coach Scott always looking to push the ball and get easy opportunities, quality ball-handlers will always be welcome on his roster.
Brittney Jackson is a 5-foot-5 blur in basketball shorts that gives the Titans a sudden burst of energy whenever she’s in the game. Another point guard that could make an impact in 2017-18 is true freshman Kayla Brown. It could take Brown a little bit of time to get adjusted to the speed of the college game, but Scott might find that she’s simply too gifted to keep out of the starting lineup for long.
Detroit Mercy took a giant step forward at Motor City Madness this past March, riding the vocal home crowd all the way to the title game. And while they couldn’t quite dethrone Horizon heavyweight Green Bay, the Titans were courageous in their effort, whittling a 17-point second half deficit to just five with less than three minutes to play.
Spend a little time in Titan territory and you realize that runner-up status is not the end goal. This year’s club will have a mountain of production to make up for with the loss of Reynolds, but it’s not being tossed around as an excuse. Cohen and Urbanick are experts in their craft and the supporting cast looks to pack a healthy punch, too.
At league media day at the sparkling new Little Caesars Arena, the ever-optimistic Bernard Scott made his intentions clear for the 2017-18 Titan journey.
“We were picked fifth, which looks about right on paper. But we don’t plan on finishing there. We made it to the championship game. If we get back this year...we plan on finishing the job.”
Motor City Madness
Support the Titans at the 2018 Little Caesars Horizon League Basketball Championships March 2-6 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. Tickets can be purchased at campus box offices now and online starting December 15. For more information, click here.
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