Before the season, men’s basketball head coach Andy Bronkema raved about his teams’ bench and claimed their depth was the biggest strength on the roster.
So far, the reserves have lived up to that praise by helping the Bulldogs to a 20-5 start.
The scoring outbursts have made the unit effective in Ferris’ start to the season. They account for 48 of the Bulldogs’ average of 84 points per game and had at least one player in double digits off the bench in 10 out of the last 12 games.
Junior guard Tyler Hamilton is the leading scorer off the bench and second in total scoring. Hamilton, in his first year with the Bulldogs, is a transfer from St. Clair County Community College, and has embraced his role on the team and has maximized it.
“I really just come in and do what they ask me to do,” Hamilton said. “It’s my job as a sparkplug off the bench to score, when I come in the game, I’m looking to put points up.”
The depth that was so key for Ferris earlier in the season has taken a hit in the last month. Junior forward Donovan Brown-Boyd, who appeared in 16 games off the bench and averaged 8.5 points per game, has not played since Jan. 9 with an injury.
Senior center Kenny Turner has also missed time for the Bulldogs, he has not played since Jan. 16. When Turner was healthy, he was a key part of Ferris’ rotation. He averaged 5.6 points and four rebounds per game, serving as the backup center.
Without the help from Brown-Boyd and Turner, the Bulldogs have been forced to run an eight-man rotation instead of the usual ten-man that Bronkema would prefer to run.
The injuries have affected the team but have not changed the goal according to freshman guard Jaxson Whitaker.
“The injuries have hurt us but it has also prepared us in a lot of ways,” Whitaker said. “It has some guys ready to play different positions and allows us to exceed in different roles.”
One of the players who has taken a big leap for the bench has been Whitaker.
Whitaker has averaged 7.3 points per game and is third on the team in three-point percentage, with 42.5% from beyond the long line.
Whitaker says the biggest thing for his progression has been confidence.
“My teammates give me so much confidence,” Whitaker said. “They don’t get mad at me for taking shots and actually get mad when I don’t shoot enough. I just give them all I can to help the team, I am always ready to go when my name is called.”
During the last five games, Whitaker has seen an uptick in minutes. He is averaging 22.2 minutes per contest, in which he has averaged 11.3 points, including a career-high 19 points on six made threes in a loss versus Michigan Tech.
Bronkema has loved the development from his sharpshooting freshman.
“He comes in every day and works extremely hard,” Bronkema said. “It’s encouraging to see him do what we ask from him and I know he is going to have a ton of big games for us the rest of the year.”
The Bulldogs will be looking to get fully healthy as they pursue a GLIAC championship to close out the season. The bench will certainly be a key piece in pursuit of that goal on both sides of the ball.
Ferris has six games remaining, all of which are against conference opponents. The Bulldogs are currently tied for third in the GLIAC alongside Northern Michigan.
Ferris will return to action versus the first-placed Michigan Tech Huskies on Thursday, Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m. on the road.