Leelanau Sports Guy’s World

Although he’s most famous for being a great college basketball player, I’ll always remember Jeff Tropf as my biology teacher and freshmen basketball coach at Suttons Bay. He also knows how to catch great tasting fish! Along with teaching at Suttons Bay, Tropf now coaches varsity basketball at Northport.

His college career got off to an interesting start to say the least, but it ended up being quite successful after his transfer to Central Michigan.

Tropf, who played 2 1/2 seasons for the Chippewas, was a first-team all-Mid American Conference (MAC) selection in 1978, finishing second in the Player of the Year voting. He averaged 17.3 points — shooting 60 percent from the field — and a MAC-high 11.1 rebounds per game that season.

Congrats to Mr. Tropf and his family!

Read Tropf to be inducted into CMU Hall of Fame in the Record Eagle

Central Michigan found someone very familiar with CMU football and the state of Michigan to take over it’s football program after Brian Kelly stepped down at the end of the regular season. Former CMU assistant Butch Jones will take over, after coaching the last two seasons at West Virginia and helping the Mountaineers gain national attention.

“Growing up in Michigan, going to school in the state, and now being the head coach at Central Michigan, it’s obviously very exciting,” Jones said. “The last two years working for Rich Rodriguez at West Virginia have completely prepared me for this position.”

Jones coached at CMU from 1998 to 2004, most recently serving as the runningbacks coach.

Read Central Michigan hires Butch Jones as head coach at ESPN.com

Former Glen Lake star Dana Westover played 16 minutes, grabbed 3 rebounds and scored 1 point in helping the Central Michigan Chippewas to a come-from-behind 59-58 Mid-American Conference win over Ball State. The Chips are now 15-10, 6-8 in the MAC. For the season Westover, a sophomore, is averaging 9 minutes per game, 1.5 rebounds and 1.4 points.

Women’s Basketball Tallies Comeback Victory Over Ball State, 59-58

Traverse City Central is set to honor one of it’s best basketball stars with a banner ceremony before the game with Traverse City West. Former Trojan Dan Majerle will be the center of attention with a pregame ceremony at 7:30 PM. A banner will be raised to the rafters and Majerle will be signing autographs at halftime and after the game. Majerle starred at Central Michigan and went on to play in the NBA and the Olympics.

Read Central to honor Majerle in the Record Eagle

With MSU vs. Michigan dominating the headlines, Central vs. Western has taken a back seat. Both teams are struggling this season, but this is one of the great rivalries in college football. I got to experience it a couple of times and it’s a day (and night) full of fun. If you’ve never experienced it, check it out sometime.

Free Press article: CMU, WMU ready for showdown

Free Press College Hoops Primer
Breakdowns of the state’s top college teams: Michigan, MSU, Central Michigan, Detroit Mercy, Oakland, Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan.

Michigan State has it all - Size, depth might bring hardware
Free Press article about Paul Davis and the experience MSU is bringing back for this season.

Don’t forget to check out the College Basketball Blog for some great stuff!