Saturday, February 13, 1999
'Psycho' goes nuts as RedHawks' super sub
'Gotta love' Ensminger, Coles says
BY JOHN FAY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Mike Ensminger has not scored a point in seven games.
His minutes over that stretch have been relatively minimal.
But if Ensminger, seems to be enjoying himself as much as anyone on the Miami University roster, it's because he is.
“Definitely,” he said. “I'm loving this year.”
E. MICHIGAN at MIAMI
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• When: 3 p.m. today
• Where: Millett Hall (9,200), Oxford.
• Records: MU 18-4 (13-1 in MAC), EMU (3-18, 3-11
• TV: None
• Radio: WCKY-AM (1360), WMOH-AM (1450), WFMG-FM (101.3)
BY THE NUMBERS
• 24: Number of points Miami beat EMU by when they played Jan.5 in Ypsilanti.
• .194: Percentage Damon Frierson is shooting from three-point range. Frierson entered the year shooting .351 percent from three.
• 5: Number of regular-season MAC titles Miami the last eight years, if the RedHawks clinch today.
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That says something about Ensminger, because Miami is winning more and he's playing less than last year.
“Mike is old school,” Miami coach Charlie Coles said. “He takes pride in winning. He takes pride in setting screens and rebounding. He played 15 minutes against Ball State the other night, and it was a great 15 minutes.”
So if Miami clinches the Mid-American Conference title today by beating Eastern Michigan (3 p.m. tipoff), don't look for what Ensminger contributed in the box score.
His playing time has been severely reduced this year. As a freshman last year, he started 18 games and played an average of 23.5 minutes a game, averaging 2.3 points and 4.4 rebounds.
This year, he has started five games and played an average of 10.4 minutes, averaging 0.8 points and 2.4 rebounds.
“Everyone would like to play more,” Ensminger said. “But I have no qualms about the way I've been used. When Coach Coles puts me in there, he wants me to give the team a spark, pick up the intensity.”
Miami's success has made it easier for Ensminger to live with less playing time. Miami is 18-4 this year and likely headed to the NCAA Tournament. The RedHawks finished 17-12 last year and went nowhere.
“Mike knew that was going to happen,” Coles said, “because of the players we had coming in.”
The new talent made Ensminger a role player — a basketball version of an offensive lineman. He opens the holes that stars Wally Szczerbiak and Damon Frierson free themselves through to score.
Football as an analogy is apropos on two levels:
His style of play, which is rugged: “I like to hit people.”
His attitude, which is intense: “I'm not blessed with great athletic ability. You've got to find your niche. My demeanor and frame of mind are never to show fear. If you show fear in your eyes to an opponent, you're defeated.”
Ensminger shows fire in his eyes. He is the guy most likely to hurt someone high-fiving or chest-bumping in warmups.
“You've got to love that guy,” Coles said.
While Ensminger can never be accused of being subtle on the court, the difference he makes can be. Take the Tennessee game, which may be Miami's most important win come tournament seeding day.
C.J. Black, UT's 6-foot-8 center, was lighting Miami up inside. Coles sent Ensminger in to stop Black, and he and Black went to the floor chasing a rebound on the first possession Ensminger wasin the game.
A foul was called on Ensminger. But Black got a technical for a right cross to Ensminger while he was on the floor.
It changed the game.
That's why the fans at Millett love Ensminger, who they affectionately call “Psycho.”
“Mike goes one way: All out,” Coles said.
Ensminger, a 6-6, 249-pound sophomore, has seamlessly made the transition from high school star to role player. He was the Division I Enquirer Player of the Year his senior year at Oak Hills, averaging 22.7 points and 11 rebounds a game.
“We've got other guys who can score,” Ensminger said. “If I've got an open jump shot, I'm going to take it. But my job is to do the dirty work.”
Ensminger is a blue-collar player, but he is headed for a big-window office someday.
He is the best student on the Miami team, carrying a 3.74 GPA in political science. (He's more disappointed in that than his scoring average. “I'd like to be doing better.)
He plans on going to law school. He hopes to be a sports agent eventually. It would be fitting if he ended up setting legal picks for Szczerbiak.
“I talk to him about it all the time,” Ensminger said. “I tell him to put up some numbers in the NBA, then I'll take care of him.”
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