By BUTCH HARMON
With a number of players from the Saginaw Bay region leading the way, the Northwood University men’s basketball team has its sights set on a big season this winter.
Last year, Northwood turned in a 12-10 record in the GLIAC and finished 13-19 overall. Plenty of talent returns from that squad, and the Timberwolves look to move up in the league standings.
“We have the potential to be a real good team,” coach Jeff Rekeweg said. “Our front court, I think, is one of the best in the league. We have a lot of experience with it. Our top three leading scorers back are all our three front court guys.”
While the Timberwolves know what they have returning up front, the backcourt is more of an unknown. “Our question mark is our guards,” Rekeweg said. “That is the X-factor.”
Up front, a local player will be playing a key role. Senior forward Darvin Ham is a 6’6″, 205-pound forward from Bridgeport High School, who played a key role last season. He averaged 9.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.
“I’ve never had a player work harder or have more passion for the game than Darvin,” Rekeweg said. “He has really developed his perimeter game, and he is a threat from beyond the arc as well as by the basket. He was our third-leading scorer last year, and he did that off the bench most of the time. We had five seniors last year, and Darvin was usually the first player off the bench. He is one of our co-captains this year, and he will do a real good job for us as a leader.”
“Darvin scored 17 points in our first game,” Rekeweg said. “He has been a little inconsistent in the past, but I look for him to have a more consistent numbers from game to game.”
Ham is part of a front line that includes 6’8″ senior Wes Wilcox and 6’7″ junior Will Bowles.
Another area player up front, junior Tony Johnson, is a 6’3″ forward from Midland who is looking to contribute off the bench this season.
“Tony is in our top eight rotation this year,” Rekeweg said. “He has played some significant minutes for us so far this season. He works real hard at it and is an intelligent player. He is also a lot stronger this year. He has changed his body in the off-season and is bigger and stronger, and because of that, he is a lot better able to compete at this level. He will be seeing significant minutes this year.”
Another local player is looking to answer the question in the backcourt. Junior Joe Ruhlman from Freeland has been handling the majority of the point guard duties so far this season. “Joe started our first two exhibition games and our first two games of the season,” Rekeweg said. “He is a real tough kid. The biggest factor with him is his toughness.”
Ruhlman is providing answers at the point and can also play some at the two guard. “Joe will definitely play point guard most of the time,” Rekeweg said. “He is a real good shooter from the perimeter, but his role for us will be primarily as a point guard.”
Northwood was expecting another local product to make a huge impact this season, but that may not happen until next year. Maurice Jones, the former Saginaw Arthur Hill standout, transferred to Northwood but has not been cleared to play this year by the NCAA.
“As of right now, Maurice has not been cleared by the NCAA,” Rekeweg said. “He practices with us, but unfortunately, that is all he can do right now. He will be good to go next year. We have exhausted everything we can do this year to try and get him on the court.”
When he becomes eligible next year, Jones will have two years remaining to play for the Timberwolves.
“Maurice is an elite basketball player,” Rekeweg said. “There are not too many programs in the country that would not like to have Maurice Jones on their team, and I’m talking Big Ten, Big 12, and Pacific 12, schools like that. He will have a major impact once he becomes eligible.”