The Cleveland Stater's Robert Fenbers and Abraham Farraj talk CSU men's and women's basketball and hear from women's head coach Chris Kielsmeier on the team's success in 2020-21 and his hopes for this season.

Cleveland State introduced its fans to the 2021-2022 basketball teams during the VIKEtober Basketball Showcase at the Wolstein Center Friday evening.

The three-hour long event featured games, on-court activities, a 3-point shootout and concluded with a scrimmage from the men’s team. Fans were greeted with free food, activities, prizes and a complimentary jersey or shirt. One lucky student won free tuition for the 2022 spring semester. 

Though tickets were not required for the event, CSU athletics estimates nearly 1,000 fans were in attendance. 

^{Photo Credit: Robert Fenbers} 

The women stole the opening act as senior Isabelle Gradwell defeated senior transfer Nathanael Jack in the championship round of the 3-point shootout. Jack tallied 15 in the first round while Gradwell led the women with 20. Jack scored 10 in the final round, but was surpassed by the hot hand of Gradwell, who notched 16.  

After being stormed by her teammates, Gradwell thanked all the fans in attendance and said she was excited to play in front of them once again for the upcoming season.

^{Photo Credit: Abraham Farraj}

Her coach, Chris Kielsmeier, echoed those sentiments, revealing how jarring it was to be performing in front of fans once again. 

“It’s emotional,” he said. “You take this for granted, I mean, why would you not? I have coached 22 years and there has always been people in the stands. And then you go through what you went through last year, and it’s just an emotional night for me.”

The women’s team ended the 2020-21 season on a high note, capturing the Women’s Basketball Invitational championship after defeating Portland. Kielsmeier knows the grass could have been greener, but notes that the championship they won paved the way for something, he believes, could be special.

“Well, we won a postseason championship, and very few years you have the opportunity to do that,” Kielsmeier said. “It wasn’t necessarily the championship that we want, but it's still a championship that gave us a tremendous amount of experience. And the players that went through that run learned a lot from it. I know it will make us a lot stronger basketball team this year.” 

After a topsy-turvy regular season, the women rallied behind each other to end the season with a WBI championship run while the men were embarking on their own March Madness journey as Cleveland State basketball reached a fever pitch last spring. 

On the men's side, back-to-back Horizon League Coach of the Year Dennis Gates has his squad focused and ready to write another memorable chapter at Cleveland State. 

Senior Deante “Spida” Johnson says the team is just as locked in as they were during their sensational run last season. And that Gates continues to steer from the helm, pushing them to even higher heights.  

“What he preached this year is to be better than last year,” Johnson said. “We did the things we accomplished, but we have to do better. We aren’t team two anymore, we are team three. Team two was in the Hall of Fame, and team three has to be bigger and better than what team two did.”

The Vikings were known for their defense and grind-it-out style last season. That atmosphere remains the same. 

“It’s the same exact style,” Johnson said. “Defense won us our last championship, it’s going to win us our next one. The first thing we learned this summer was defense. That’s what we are going to pride ourselves on.” 

Johnson took home All-Horizon League Defensive Team honors last season, along with Tre Gomillion who was named Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year.  

The chemistry of the team was a defining trait last season. With a handful of new additions, that component could come into question, but the integration of the five new faces has led to a seamless transition. 

“The five new faces mixed in perfectly,” Johnson said. “We have team bonding activities and everything. They just meshed so well and they are going to help us win another championship.”

The men showcased their skills in a 10-minute scrimmage that saw last year’s starting five of Gomillion, Johnson, Craig Beaudion, Torrey Patton and D’Moi Hodge. The exchange also saw a few flashes from Jack and senior Chris Greene. 

Promising sophomore Demetrius Terry and Cleveland native Yahel Hill looked comfortable in the open court. Senior Aria Eskandari had the smoothest stroke on the perimeter while 6-foot-8, 305-pound junior transfer Anderson Mirambeaux knocked down a 3-pointer.

After the showcase, fans met the players from both teams in the main hallway near the entrance for an autograph signing to conclude the evening.

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^{Photo Credit: Robert Fenbers}

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