About two decades ago, Mott Community College men’s basketball coach Steve Schmidt introduced a slogan and graphic that had a simple message for his teams: No Excuses.
It included an up and down arrow, meaning if you don’t make excuses, the potential of what you can accomplish goes up. If you do, it goes down. Ballenger Fieldhouse and Steve Schmidt Gymnasium are full of old photos of past championship teams and All-American players at Mott wearing those shirts. Schmidt said a couple of his returning players this season had asked him to bring the logo out of retirement and make new gear featuring the slogan.
“I created that design probably 20 years ago, no excuses,” Schmidt said. “And what it signifies is when the arrow points up, guys that work hard and outwork their opponents can reach their goals. But if you make an excuse every time you get knocked down or lose a game, the arrow points down towards failure. I still think it’s a great message, and I try to live by it.”
It is an appropriate time to unretire that message and logo. Schmidt himself is facing something he hasn’t in 35 seasons as Mott’s coach. The state of Michigan has had some great and long-tenured college basketball coaches. None have won more games than Schmidt – his 844 wins at Mott is the most in the history of the state. More than Tom Izzo’s 764 at Michigan State. More than Greg Kampe’s 731 at Oakland University. More than Kim Elders’ 800 at Cornerstone. He’s won three national championships, made multiple halls of fame, and coached dozens of players who have gone on to outstanding collegiate careers at 4-year schools and professional careers.
But last year, for the first time in his career at Mott, he had a losing season. Mott finished 10-18 and 3-11 in the Eastern Conference of the Michigan Community College Athletic Association (MCCAA). There were certainly excuses to be had out there – Mott plays in one of the toughest conferences in the country; their star player, Mike Phillips, missed much of the season with an injury; while other junior college programs are routinely recruiting older players as the college sports landscape has changed, Schmidt still largely focused on recruiting and developing players right out of high school.
Part of leading, though, is rejecting low-hanging explanations for why things didn’t work out as intended. And if Schmidt wanted a team that was going to buy into a ‘No Excuses’ offseason, that was going to start with him.
“We had a tough year, the first losing year of my coaching career, but I embraced it,” Schmidt said. “I decided to keep plugging away, and then I think I got lucky with a few kids (this offseason). Recruiting’s not an exact science. We have 13 guys coming in and more than half of them are local. But what I like about the group is it’s truly a team. In the last five years, I’ve had some pretty good players, but this group reminds me of the Mott teams from the past. And that doesn’t mean we’re gonna win a national championship, but I’m really impressed with how together they are.”
Starting With Leadership
Last season may have been disappointing by Mott standards, but it wasn’t a failure. First and foremost, that team was competitive even with Phillips out for much of the season – including pulling off an impressive upset over the top team in the conference, Henry Ford College.
“Losing sometimes brings out your worst qualities,” Schmidt said. “But it didn’t do that for that group. Mike, our point guard, we thought he sprained his ankle but it turned out it was a stress fracture. We couldn’t replace him, but even without our best player and point guard, we battled. It didn’t show record-wise, but we were undermanned and still competed and never really quit.”
Taking stock of that group, there were three players Schmidt thought could be building blocks in a bounce-back season this year, starting with Phillips – with some caveats. Phillips arrived at Mott last season after playing his freshman season at Glen Oaks Community College. He also has a Mott pedigree as his high school coach, Myles Busby, was a former captain at Mott who played from 2012-2014. That connection got Phillips to Mott, but he and Schmidt had to form a deeper understanding for him to play another season after receiving a medical redshirt.
As any injured player can attest, sitting out and not being able to help your team were frustrating experiences for Phillips. Schmidt never questioned his talent, but challenged him to think about his goals and re-focus on basketball and maturing in the offseason, and Phillips took that message to heart, not only for himself but also for his teammates.
Phillips has been integral in organizing extra workouts and pushing his teammates, especially the team’s freshmen, to join him for extra work at all hours of the day … literally.
“A few of those guys, they’re on a first name basis with custodians now because they’re over here trying to get in the gym at 4 a.m., 5 a.m., most mornings,” Schmidt said.
“It feels great just getting back on the court, it’s a blessing honestly,” Phillips said. “They (his teammates) probably don’t all see it right now. They probably hate me, but I just try to push them to their limits. I try to push those guys to go at, like, 4 a.m. We go to the gym, I text a group chat, if anybody in the house wants to get in work, I’m willing to go. Or if the guys ask me for advice, I’m just here for whatever. I just wanna see everybody succeed, and us as a team just go up.”
That team success will rely in part on keeping Phillips healthy. Last season, he played in just nine games, but in addition to his leadership and organizing abilities at point guard, he’s potentially one of the best three-point shooters Mott has ever had. He averaged 18 points per game in limited action, and made nearly 50 percent of his threes in those games.
Phillips also credits his dad for instilling a “work around the clock” sort of mentality in him when it comes to developing his game.
“My dad taught me just work the hardest on anybody and you’ll stick out like a sore thumb,” Phillips said. “I’m always trying to just work the hardest and get to the gym the earliest and leave last.”
Two other returning players will add to that experience, Saginaw graduate Tray Buford and Carman-Ainsworth graduate R.J. Murphy. Schmidt respected the way both players brought effort and played bigger than their size last season. They’ve also been key parts of creating good cohesion and chemistry with new teammates this offseason.
“I really appreciate the effort that these guys have put in,” Schmidt said. “Mike and Tray and R.J. are the three we brought back. Mike was injured, but I thought Tray and R.J. really improved last year, and we’ve added some great pieces around them.”
Buford is the latest in a tradition at Mott of having undersized guards from Saginaw who play bigger than they are, reminiscent of players like Bobby Lewis. Like Lewis, Buford is a tough and willing defender who can also fight for rebounds against bigger players. His mentality was on display in the team’s upset win over Henry Ford. Henry Ford has multiple talented players who are 6-foot-5 or taller, and whenever Mott’s coaching staff needed a player to take on a tough defensive assignment, the 6-foot-0 Buford never hesitated.
“I’ve never seen a guy his size be able to take on bigger players the way he does,” Schmidt said. “That team without Mike last year went to Henry Ford, who was by far the most talented team, and somehow we beat them, and Tray hit a three at the end of the game.”
Buford enjoys the physicality of basketball, something that also stems from his Saginaw roots.
“I feel like I have to go out and just play hard every time because that’s what Saginaw is about,” Buford said. “It’s about toughness, because everybody knows about the struggles Saginaw goes through, so I want to come here and show toughness in a positive way.”
He’s also learned that when he plays with energy and physicality, it gets him and the entire team playing in a different gear.
“My senior year, I had to figure out a way to get on the court, because I wasn’t the best at scoring or I wasn’t the tallest, so I had to figure out what could separate me from other players,” Buford said. “So that’s when I started playing aggressive, guarding the best players on every team, and I feel like that made me different. I went at everybody and it was like, ‘He’s so little,’ but I just played fearless. It’s something about just diving on the floor that gives me a boost. And then the team gets energized when they see somebody running and diving all over the floor.”
As much as their trio of sophomore leaders have worked on their individual games, though, they’ve also committed to helping their new teammates improve too.
“We’ve just been taking on that role, seeing the freshmen come in, figuring out how we can make them better, and just be better teammates,” Buford said. “Coming in early, getting early work in the morning, and just hanging outside of practice too, just building our relationships with each other.”
Getting Physically Stronger
Mott’s program has always had some weight training as a component of getting players ready for the season, but they’ve stepped it up this offseason. That’s in part to help the players in the program get better, but it’s also a necessity. As college sports transfer rules have changed over the years, so have the rosters of community college basketball teams. Notably, many now have older players who are physically bigger and stronger.
Schmidt refers to himself as proudly “old school,” so a major part of his focus at Mott will always be on recruiting and developing players right out of high school and helping them go on to other levels of college and professional basketball. But in order to prepare them, he hired a new strength and conditioning coach, Jermaine Shumpert.
Shumpert is a Beecher native who was a member of state championship-winning basketball teams in 2012 and 2016. He played college football at Siena Heights, and then started his own sports strength and conditioning company where he trains athletes in a wide range of sports in areas like explosiveness, speed, mobility, recovery, and strength.
Shumpert has brought a training program to Mott with the team three days per week, tailoring workouts and programs to each player on the roster and pushing them to get stronger.
“He’s really helped us,” Schmidt said. “He’s passionate about what he does.”
But his presence alone isn’t the important part. A strength coach and program is only as effective as the players using it, and Schmidt said the players have really bought in and compete and push each other in the weight room like they do on the court.
“I thought it was just time for us to take this (the team’s weight training regimen) to a new level,” Schmidt said.
Murphy, who also worked out with Shumpert over the summer, said that lifting weights and training should help prepare players, especially the freshmen, for the physicality they’ll face when the season starts.
“It’s definitely a big jump (from high school),” Murphy said. “It’s bigger, stronger guys and all that. This freshman class, I feel like they bought into the weight room and just being in the gym like way more than what you would expect. So I feel like they are prepared for that. It’s gonna work this year. I feel like we are a physical team. We’re gonna outwork everybody and have a great season this year.”
The team is hoping that work can help them play the attacking, physical style that Mott basketball has been known for at its best, featuring versatile players who can finish through contact on offense and switch and guard multiple positions on defense.
“I feel like the weight room is a big part of our game,” Murphy said. “Going to the basket, taking bumps and stuff like that. And just size, anybody can guard any position that we want to. We want to be more physical than any team.”
Program Legacy Boosts Recruiting
Mott basketball’s reputation precedes it, and even after a down season, Schmidt still has recruiting pull outside of Michigan. While he can’t offer things like covering costs for flights, dorms to live in, or other amenities that coaches recruiting for programs with more resources can, he does provide players the chance to play in a proven environment.
For Andrew Ikpekhia, a sophomore forward from Ontario Prep Academy in Toronto, his introduction to Mott started when a coach he worked with emailed Schmidt out of the blue and asked him to take a look at him.
“I’ve been playing basketball around the states for a while, I’ve been to over 10 different states,” Ikpekhia said. “After my season, coach Schmidt said he liked my game and he was very interested. I ended up coming here because of not only who he was, but the history of the school. I felt I belonged here and like I felt more at home here than any other colleges in the states.”
Ikpekhia was an attractive recruit to Mott first and foremost because of his height at 6-foot-6. But it was also because of the style he plays.
“He’s 6-6, but he’s thin,” Schmidt said. “And a lot of guys built like that want to play like Kevin Durant and be on the perimeter. But this kid has a motor, he’s tough, and he wants to play inside. He embraces the post and he’s going to be one of the best post players I’ve had in a long time.”
Ikpekhia might be new to the program, but he already talks like a veteran in Mott’s program – especially with his love for physicality and playing defense.
“We love to pressure guys, that’s going to be our big thing,” Ikpekhia said. “We’re pretty undersized, so defense is top priority and we take pride in effort, the little stuff, like getting rebounds, talking, communicating. I’ve been playing as an undersized big man my whole life. I just like being able to go on the court and show people even though I’m small, I can still hoop. It’s just about not playing scared. That’s how I enter the court when I see bigger guys. They’re big, they’re strong, but heart matters. If you have the heart, if you have the will, the effort, then anything’s possible.”
The rest of the recruiting class includes a mix of local and non-local talent. Kendreyas White from Carman Ainsworth, Ray Neither and Tayler Watts from Flushing, Bryson Evans and Lucas Groulx from Kearsley, and Sean Guinn from Powers Catholic are all from Flint area schools. Joining Ikpekhia from outside of the area are Maksym Miner from Chandler Park Academy, D.J. Moody from Auburn Hills Avondale, and Prince Cash from Carl Hayden High School in Phoenix, Arizona.
While Mott’s national reputation was a draw for players like Ikpekhia, restoring the tradition of Mott basketball after a down season is a major motivating factor for players from Genesee County.
“I like the dedication that coach Schmidt has,” Murphy said. “He never gave up on us at all, even through the times where we were losing last year. I know that probably was one of his worst years ever as a head coach. But he never gave up. He never gave up on me personally either. That’s what made me want to come back, because I want to help him get back on the winning side. Loyalty is everything to me. So him not giving up and still believing in us, that really made me want to come back and win.”
For Schmidt, he’s simply excited about what he sees from the group off the court. His most successful teams at Mott have been ones that have strong work ethics, get along well with each other, and play unselfishly, understanding that team success is the biggest factor in reaching individual successes and goals.
He’s also opening the season in a spot he hopes the team can finish: Danville, Illinois. Danville is the host annually for the NJCAA Division II basketball championship. Mott opens the season there on October 30 and 31.
“I was told by our custodian today, who gets in at 4 a.m., that there were eight of these guys in the gym,” Schmidt said. “I said, ‘You gotta be kidding me.’ Eight were here this morning at 6, and that’s on their own. I’ve never had that happen … I’m not gonna call that a problem. If those are problems, I wanna have a lot more of them. That’s what excites me about this group right now.”
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