COACHES
Ben Braun, Head Coach
Braun left EMU in the summer of 1996 for the head coaching job at the University of California, a job he held until 2008. He moved on Rice University from 2009-2014. In the years since, Braun has been a college basketball television analyst, primarily for PAC-12 men's basketball games. He remains invested in the game as an AAU coach in Oakland, Calif.
He won 615 games at Siena Heights (148), Eastern Michigan (185), Cal (219) and Rice (63), earning 18 postseason berths (8 NCAA), the 1999 National Invitational Tournament title and three Mid-American Conference titles in 37 seasons of coaching.
Braun was inducted into the EMU E-Club Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005. He lives in Berkeley, Calif. with his wife, Jessica, and two children, Julius and Eliza.
Gary Waters, Asst. Head Coach
A week before Braun left for California in the summer of 1996, Waters accepted the head coaching jobs at Kent State. He was offered the EMU position a week after Braun left, but honored the first commitment he made at Kent State, a position he held from 1996-2001.
Waters moved on to Rutgers (2001-2006), and Cleveland State (2006-2017), where he retired as the winningest coach in school history. In 43 years of coaching, including 21 as a head coach, Waters won 365 games, 12 postseason berths (three NCAA bids) and a title in the Mid-American and Horizon Conference.
Now retired, Waters writes coaching books and lives in Tampa, Fla. with his wife Bernadette.
Brian Miller, Asst. Coach
Miller stayed at EMU until 1997, leaving to become athletic director and head basketball coach at University of Detroit-Jesuit High School for seven years, and St. John's Catholic in Toledo, for another six years.
Today, Miller is a sales rep at a company that builds indoor and outdoor tennis courts, primarily in Michigan and Ohio, He stays connected to basketball as an MHSAA and OHSAA referee.
Miller also an EMU graduate, having earned his master's degree in 1988. He lives in the Toledo, Ohio with his wife, Suzie, and two kids.
Craig Rasmuson, Graduate Asst. Coach
Rasmuson left EMU after the Sweet 16 season for an assistant coach opening at Lincoln Memorial University, an NAIA school transitioning to a Division-II program. While an assistant basketball coach, he also served as the school's head soccer coach. He was named Lincoln's head basketball coach at 25 years old, and after five years, was hired as head coach at University of Northern Colorado. During that span, UNC transitioned from Division II to Division I.
Out of coaching since 2005, Rasmuson is President at Fortress Development Solutions, a civil development construction company that merged Atlas Energy Services and Gusher Oilfield Services into one, multi-faceted brand.
He has two children, aged 24 and 19, and lives in Greeley, Colo.
Charles Ramsey, Volunteer Asst. Coach
Ramsey left EMU after the 1993 season for one year at Tennessee State and two seasons at Drake. He reunited with Braun in April 1996 at EMU, then spent the next five seasons under Braun at California. From 2001-2005, he was under Tommy Amaker at Michigan.
Ramsey returned home as EMU's head coach in 2005, a position he held through 2011. His first game was against Braun and the California Bears at the Convocation Center. Braun was celebrated before the game for being inducted into EMU's Hall of Fame, but the Eagles scored the last 11 points in the game's final, frantic minutes to win, 67-65.
"Charles treated me to a dose of what our EMU teams did to so many other schools," Braun said.
Ramsey, an EMU graduate (1992), went 68-118 as EMU's head coach, and is currently the boys' basketball coach at Ypsilanti Community High School.
THE STARTERS
No. 15: Lorenzo Neely, 1987-1991
Neely played 124 games as a Huron, notching 1,528 points, 521 assists, 317 rebounds and 245 steals.
Since leaving EMU as a player, Neely has spent 25 years in coaching. He's currently at Wayne State, an appointment spanning 17 years over two separate stints. Neely also coached at Eastern Michigan, Michigan, Western Michigan, and California.
Neely also owns a unique distinction in EMU basketball lore: he's a four-time MAC champion, with two MAC titles as a player (1987, 1991) and two as a coach (1996, 1998). He was inducted into the EMU E-Club Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014.
No. 31: Carl Thomas, 1987-1991
Thomas played in 113 games for EMU, amassing 1,179 points — including 185 3's — plus 452 rebounds and 249 assists.
After leaving Eastern, he played 63 NBA games over three seasons with the Sacramento Kings (1991-92), Cleveland Cavaliers (1996-98), Golden State Warriors (1997-98) and Orlando Magic (1997-98). He also played in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) for Fort Wayne and Grand Rapids from 1992-99.
Currently, Thomas is an assistant at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh under Keith Dambrot. He was previously head coach at Jackson (Mich.) Community College for four seasons. He was also an EMU assistant under Charles Ramsey, and an assistant at Owens Community College in Ohio and the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore (UMES).
No. 23: Charles Thomas, 1987-1991
Thomas played 109 games at EMU, scoring 710 points — 340 in the 90-91 season — plus 347 rebounds and 241 rebounds as a Huron. His profession career lasted 15 years, joining the Detroit Pistons in 1991-92, six years in the CBA (Grand Rapids, Ft. Wayne, Connecticut between 1993-1999), and from 2000-06, in Australia and Sweden.
For the last four seasons, he's been an assistant at Duquesne University with his brother, Carl. He's also served as an assistant at the University of Akron, Northwood University and Radford University.
He currently lives in the Pittsburgh area and has six kids.
No. 32: Kory Hallas, 1988-1992
In 122 games at EMU, Hallas scored 1,464 points on the strength of 567 field goals, and hauled down 743 rebounds in four seasons.
There's no update available for Hallas. A Facebook profile matching his name showed a librarian in Ontario, but hasn't been updated since 2013. A search of LinkedIn and other Internet mediums were unsuccessful.
No. 54: Marcus Kennedy, 1991
Kennedy's one season in Division I was outstanding, scoring 659 points on 240 field goals and hauling down 266 rebounds in 33 games. He was also a solid free throw shooter as a big man, making 179 of 250 chances (.716).
Drafted in the second round of the 1991 NBA Draft (54th overall) by Portland, Kennedy signed with the Grand Rapids Hoops of the now-defunct Continental Basketball Association (CBA) when he failed to make the Trailblazers' roster. In the CBA, then the NBA's version of the current G-League, Kennedy averaged over 22 points and 10 rebounds per game as a First Team All-League selection. He was also the CBA's Rookie of the Year.
After four years in the CBA, Kennedy played a number of additional seasons abroad, but his recent whereabouts are unknown. A Facebook profile matching his name and school history hasn't been updated since 2011.
THE BENCH
No. 41: Roger Lewis, 1989-91
Lewis played in 65 games as a Huron, scoring 283 points, grabbing 116 rebounds and dishing out 65 assists as EMU's do-it-all Sixth Man for two seasons. He graduated from EMU with a degree in communications and a minor in social work, and is a court officer in Middlesex, Mass., a suburb of Boston.
Married to his wife, Michelle, for over 20 years, the couple have four children. Lewis stays connected to basketball as a referee and youth coach.
No. 51: Mike Boykin, 1990-92
Boykin played in 60 games, including 29 in 90-91. He scored 245 points — including 101 field goals — and grabbed 190 rebounds, but his role as a replacement in the overtime period against Penn State is the most remarkable part of his EMU legacy.
There was no update found for Mike Boykin, on Facebook, LinkedIn or other Internet mediums.
No. 52: Pete Pangas, 1989-1992
Pangas played in 64 games for EMU, including 18 in the 90-91 season. He scored 201 points and grabbed 143 rebounds.
Since 2003, Pangas has worked his through the building trades industry, starting as a supervisor, then rising to Field Manager. Today, Pangas is owner and operator of Pangas Construction, LLC in Akron, Ohio, specializing in commercial and residential remodeling and construction.
No. 35: Joe Frasor, 1989-1992
Frasor managed to play in 74 games at Eastern, including 17 in the 90-91 season. He notched 168 points, 101 rebounds and 91 assists in his career.
He graduated with a degree in Business Marketing & Mass Communication. After a year at Chicago's ABC affiliate, and another two years at WGN, Frasor spent 11 years as a newspaper reporter, covering prep sports in Chicago Heights and Tinley Park. He pivoted out of media and now works as a Senior Vice President for AdvaCare, a durable medical equipment sales company.
No. 10: Kahlil Felder, 1990-92
Felder played in 59 games at EMU, including 28 games in 90-91, knocking down nine field goals, 26 points and 37 assists, on a senior-laden MAC champion.
The next season, Felder saw a considerable uptick in playing time, dishing out 129 assists in 31 games. The 1991-92 season was Felder's last at EMU. His son was a standout at Oakland University from 2013-16.
No. 13: Lawrence Hill, 1989-91
After playing for the Hurons in 1989-1991, Hill left the program and went back to the Chicago area. He eventually transferred to Howard University in Washington, D.C., and graduated with a degree in civil engineering. He never played college basketball again.
Today, Hill is a civil engineer for the city of Fort Worth, Texas. Married for 13 years, Hill and his wife have two sons. He remains close friends with Fenorris Pearson.
"Sometimes, you recruit a kid, and he meets all the specs, but it doesn't work out because it's the wrong school at the wrong time," Miller said. "Lawrence was a good player and nice kid, and I'll always believe he might have had a better outcome somewhere else."
No. 55: Tony King, 1990-95
Redshirted in 90-91 season, King played in 107 games for EMU over the next four seasons as a spot starter and bench player. He scored 343 points and pulled down 403 rebounds for Eastern, while helping the 1994-95 team reach the first of four consecutive MAC tournament title games.
Attempts to find an update on King's recent exploits were unsuccessful.
No. 44: Von Nickleberry, 1989-1992
Nickleberry played three years at EMU, appearing in 48 games from 1989-1992, including 17 in the Sweet 16 season. He scored 59 points in his career.
Since 2004, Nickleberry has been the CEO of a consulting firm, Win Big Play Hard, LLC, leading a team of entrepreneurs and sales professionals within the travel industry's direct sales business sector.
No. 45: Fenorris Pearson, 1990-1993
After appearing in 33 games in two seasons at Central Michigan in 1988-1990, Pearson transferred to EMU in the middle of the 1989-90 season. After sitting out the final semester of the 1989-90 season and the first semester of 1990-91, he played in 23 games for the 1990-91 Hurons. He appeared in 83 games for EMU — scoring 196 points and pulling down 198 rebounds — as a spot starter and role player, and 116 for his career.
Today Pearson is CEO & Chairman of Pursuit of Hope, an organization dedicated to affecting substance abuse disorders. A former Sr. Executive for Motorola & Dell, Pearson lives in Houston, and referees high school varsity basketball. He has two sons.
No. 34: Chris Pipkin
After appearing in 32 games during the 1989-90 season, Pipkin was redshirted in the Sweet 16 season. He played in 31 games in 1991-92, but just 14 games the following year, and transferred to Talladega College, an NAIA program in Alabama, for his senior year.
His EMU career consisted of 77 games, 757 points, and 278 rebounds. He also played professionally in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
Pipkin lives in Cranberry Township, Pa. as a police officer in Lancaster Township. He's also a detective for the Butler County Drug Task Force. In 2019, Pipken was inducted into the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into the Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.
No. 43: Jeff Wendt
Redshirted during the 1990-91 season, he played just 13 games in the 91-92 season, his only season at EMU. His college basketball career, at least in Division I, is marked by seven points, six rebounds, and a MAC champion/NCAA Sweet 16 ring.
— T.C. Cameron is the author of Miracle Maples (2019) and Navy Football: Return to Glory (2017). A 1995 graduate of EMU, he's lived in Annapolis, MD since 2009. Follow him on Twitter: @ByTCCameron.
