Bowling Green is loaded with veterans in the frontcourt for the upcoming men’s basketball season.
We’ve got some points we’ve got to make up and we’ve got to do it by committee,” BG head coach Louis Orr
said, adding that he is expecting good things from the veteran trio— Otis Polk, Erik Marschall and Marc
Larson — inside.
“My challenge to Otis, Marc and Erik is that they have to be big and physical, be a presence at both ends
and rebound the basketball,” Orr added.
Polk, 6-feet-9, is down to about 275 pounds after playing in the low 290-pound range last season.
“Otis has dropped some weight,” BG head coach Louis Orr said. “He’s got a little more diversity in his
offense. We need Otis’ presence … My hope and prayer for him is that he is the dominant big guy in the
MAC (Mid-American Conference) at both ends of the floor.
“We want to be able to go to him when he’s in position to score, we want him to take advantage of that,
he’s 6-9, 275, and he’s gotten better with his skill level.”
Marschall, 6-7, 235 pounds, is back for his fifth season.
“Erik is about staying healthy and his body holding up,” Orr said.
Larson, 6-9, 230, is back at 100 percent after having knee surgery last season. He played in 18 games
before the injury ended his season.
“Marc is our best defender at times; he’s a very good help-defender. He’s just got to play with
confidence,” Orr said. “He’s another guy who came in about 10 or 12 pounds lighter.”
Larson said it took about four months for him to recover from the surgery, but he is ready to go.
“I had to work through a lot of scar tissue that had built up from surgery. Now everything is good,”
Larson said.
After his injury watching the Falcons, who ended up wining the MAC regular-season title, was difficult
for Larson.
“Sitting on the sidelines, not being able to play, knowing that you could have made a difference out
there on the court … It’s frustrating knowing that you could help them,” Larson said.
Larson thinks the trio is ready for the challenge of making a difference inside.
“We’ve put in a ton of work in the off-season — weight lifting, playing open gyms, conditioning, working
out, getting extra shots in the gym. It’s been a long and tiring process, but we put the work in so we
would be ready for the season,” Larson said.
Also expected to see action inside is 6-8 freshman Danny McElroy and 6-7 freshman A’uston Calhoun.
HOPSON: Dennis Hopson is fitting right in on BG’s coaching staff.
“Dennis has fresh eyes … and he has a fresh voice, a fresh look at things,” Orr said. “Don’t underrate
that. He’s knowledgeable, experienced as a player and a coach. He has instant credibility, especially
with our guys, because he played at the highest level.”
A former high school standout in Toledo, Hopson scored 2,096 points in his career at Ohio State before
playing 13 seasons of professional basketball. He was a member of the Chicago Bulls National Basketball
Association championship team in 1990-91.
He was an assistant coach at Northwood University on Florida before taking a position on Orr’s staff.
“He fits in. He’s mature enough that he can blend in with the rest of the coaching staff,” Orr said.
SCRIMMAGES: Orr said the Falcons are having at least two closed door scrimmages, but there could be an
intra-squad scrimmage or an open practice for the public.