For those who haven’t followed the NMU basketball team up to this point, there’s still plenty of time to jump on the bandwagon. In the spirit of making the strange familiar, here is a guide comparing some of Northern’s key players to their professional basketball counterparts.

Raymont McElroy-
Chauncey Billups

Billups is the George S. Patton of floor generals, albeit with a lot less shouting. A savvy court leader who can take it to the rim or hit the clutch jumper, NMU’s McElroy should put up big numbers this year, assuming the team doesn’t trade him to the Nuggets. McElroy took a redshirt his first year with the Wildcats, much like Billups should have when he was drafted by the then horrid Boston Celtics.
Kyle Greene-
Dwight Howard

Howard turned heads by winning the 2008 Dunk Contest, but he is a complete player. The same could be said of Greene, who will provide a scoring presence on the inside. With Howard coming straight from high school, there were some questions as to how much of an impact he would make immediately; Greene was a junior college transfer, and in his first season, he showed he belonged. There’s also an outside chance Greene could throw down a triple-somersault dunk from the three-point line, NBA Jam style.
Jared Benson-
Arvydas Sabonis

Sabonis didn’t join the NBA till his best years were past him, but even in his old age the big Lithuanian could pass, shoot and rebound with the best of them. Benson has a similar skill set and fortunately won’t have to wait till he’s in his thirties to show what he can do. And believe it or not, there was a time when Sabonis, like Benson, could dunk a basketball. Add in the fact that Benson comes to NMU after a great prep career at Carney-Nadeau, like that of Sabonis’ glory days in Lithuania, and it’s a match.
Austin Rowe-
Leandro Barbosa

Although Barbosa’s overshadowed by teammates like Steve Nash and Shaquille O’Neal, he won the Sixth Man Award as one of the Suns’ most important players. Rowe fills a similar role for Northern, playing big minutes off the bench. Yet another case of not knowing what to expect, Barbosa came to the Phoenix Suns by way of Brazil; Rowe’s previous experience was with Alpena Community College. In Rowe’s limited time with the Wildcats, he’s shown the quickness that has earned his NBA counterpart the nickname “The Brazilian Blur.”
Tyler Kazmierkoski-
Peja Stojakovic

When he’s on his game, Stojakovic is as deadly a shooter as you’ll find. The Wildcats will count on Kazmierkoski to hit some big shots this year and at 6’5″ he could provide some help on the glass as well. Plus if Kazmierkoski provides any resistance at all on defensive he’ll be 10 times the defender Stojakovic is.

Chris Warner-
Dwyane Wade

Wade has had to overcome some injuries lately, but looks to be returning to the player he was in 2006. Warner, a point guard that can drive and play solid defense, is Northern’s version of Flash. No word on whether or not he’s in Charles Barkley’s Five.