Eastern Kentucky’s McHale promises changed culture, lots of Mayo in Year 2

Last season the Eastern Kentucky men’s basketball team stumbled down the stretch, dropping five of its last six games to finish 15-16 on the year. But at Tuesday’s annual Media Day, second-year head coach Dan McHale said the Colonels are ready to turn the corner.

“The culture in this program has now been established, I can finally say that,” he said. “The guys in this program care about one thing and one thing only and that’s winning.”

In his first season at the helm, McHale delivered on his pledge that EKU fans would witness an exciting, high-flying offense. The Colonels ranked 18th in the nation in scoring at 80.5 points per game and first in the Ohio Valley Conference in three-point percentage at 39.5.

The Colonels will be relying on a lot of new faces as they embark on a quest for the program’s ninth NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2014. They added nine newcomers this year including six freshmen and three transfers. Former Lafayette star and Kentucky Mr. Basketball finalist Jackson Davis transferred from Butler after averaging 2.5 points and 1.6 rebounds as a sophomore and will have to sit out this season under the NCAA transfer rule. But Lafayette’s all-time leading scorer will play a crucial role in preparing the Colonels to navigate a difficult non-conference schedule as he battles retuning big-man Nick Mayo in practice.

Mayo, a 6-foot-9, 235-pound power forward, was named OVC Freshman of the Year and earned first-team All-OVC honors last year after averaging 14.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. McHale said Mayo will be the centerpiece of the Colonels’ half-court offense and didn’t mince words when asked how often he’ll touch the ball.

“A lot, he’s a tremendous weapon … the ball will go inside almost every time,” McHale said.

Davis, who got an up-close look at many of the nation’s best post players in his two seasons at Butler, had heavy praise for Mayo.

“He’s just as good as anybody in the Big East and any of those bigger conferences. He was definitely under-recruited,” Davis said. “We’re blessed to have him here.”

Mayo will get help from EKU’s only other returning starter, senior Isaac McGlone, who shot 40.6 percent from behind the arc and dished out 57 assists to just 10 turnovers. McGlone spent much of last season at point guard but this year will return to his more natural shooting guard role.

He said he’s happy for the change, but that his experience at point will give the Colonels versatility in the backcourt this year.

“I’m pretty excited to get back to playing the 2, I think it’ll be easier for me to find my shots and fulfill my role,” he said. “But now I can also slide over and play the 1 when we need it.”

Freshman Asante Gist, who played in the New York regional of the Jordan Brand Classic, will assume starting point guard duties. McHale said he’s confident “handing him the keys.”

“He’s as good as any guard in this league,” McHale said. “He’s got that ‘it’ factor … he knows he’s the best player on the floor when he’s out there.”

EKU opens the season with an exhibition game against Georgetown College on Sunday before embarking on a non-conference schedule that includes trips to Auburn, Texas Tech and Louisville. McHale said he purposefully engineered the difficult slate to prepare the Colonels to make a run at the OVC title despite being picked to finish fourth in the league’s Eastern Division by the media.

“My goal with this schedule is two seasons. My freshmen need to become sophomores come OVC play,” he said. “ And they’re going to do that by playing this rigorous schedule out of the gate.”

This story was originally published November 1, 2016 at 8:12 PM with the headline "Eastern Kentucky’s McHale promises changed culture, lots of Mayo in Year 2."