# 2009–10 Toledo Rockets men's basketball team

The 2009–10 Toledo Rockets men's basketball team represented the University of Toledo in the college basketball season of 2009–10. The team, coached by Gene Cross, are members of the Mid-American Conference and played their homes game in Savage Arena. They finished the season 4–28, 1–15 in MAC play and lost in the first round of the 2010 MAC men's basketball tournament. Head coach Gene Cross resigned at the end of the season.

## Before the season
### Roster changes

The Rockets only return two starters from last year's team, Justin Anyijong and Larry Bastfield. The other three starters from last season, Tyrone Kent, Jonathan Amos, and Anthony Byrd, were high contributors from that year. Kent and Amos both had over 13 points per game, and combined for 9.9 rebounds per game, while Byrd had 5.2 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. Kent found professional play with French team L'Hermine de Nantes. The team also lost senior Ridley Johnson to graduation.
To replace these seniors, the University of Toledo recruited eight new players, all freshmen, for the 2009–10 season.

### Recruiting

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jake Barnett PG | Wauwatosa, WI | East/Notre Dame (MA) | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Mar 18, 2009 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| Jordan Dressler PF | Columbia, MO | Rock Bridge SHS | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 245 lb (111 kg) | Oct 13, 2008 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 85 ||||||
| Josh Freelove PG | North Lauderdale, FL | North Broward Prep | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Apr 22, 2009 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 78 ||||||
| Malcolm Griffin SG | Chicago, IL | Hyde Park HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Apr 15, 2009 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 82 ||||||
| Hayden Humes SF | Valparaiso, IN | Valparaiso HS | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Oct 28, 2008 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 86 ||||||
| Kevin Rohner | Rochester Hills, MI | Rochester Adams HS | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Devin Russell PF | Toledo, OH | Start HS | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Jul 3, 2008 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 78 ||||||
| Neil Watson PG | Kansas City, KS | Sumner Academy | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Jan 16, 2009 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 85 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Toledo Commit List for 2009". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 26, 2009. "Scout.com: Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved October 26, 2009. "Toledo Basketball Recruiting 2009". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 26, 2009. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved October 26, 2009. "2009 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 26, 2009. ||||||

## Roster

Roster current as of August 27, when their summer prospectus was published.
| Name | Number | Position | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown |
| Stephen Albrecht | 15 | G | 6–3 | 175 | Freshman | Crown Point, Indiana |
| Justin Anyijong | 1 | F/C | 6–9 | 205 | Junior | East Grand Rapids, Michigan |
| Jake Barnett | 30 | G | 6–5 | 190 | Freshman | Wauwatosa, Wisconsin |
| Larry Bastfield | 11 | G | 5–11 | 190 | Sophomore | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Jordan Dressler | 42 | F/C | 6–8 | 245 | Freshman | Columbia, Missouri |
| Josh Freelove | 10 | G | 6–1 | 175 | Freshman | North Lauderdale, Florida |
| Malcolm Griffin | 23 | G | 6–4 | 205 | Freshman | Chicago, Illinois |
| Hayden Humes | 4 | F | 6–8 | 210 | Freshman | Valparaiso, Indiana |
| Mouhamed Lo | 33 | F | 6–8 | 225 | Junior | New York, New York |
| Drew Rodriguez | 20 | G | 6–0 | 175 | Sophomore | Dearborn, Michigan |
| Kevin Rohner | 21 | G | 6–1 | 165 | Freshman | Rochester Hills, Michigan |
| Devin Russell | 35 | F/C | 6–9 | 210 | Freshman | Toledo, Ohio |
| Ian Salter | 45 | F/C | 6–10 | 215 | Sophomore | Fairfax, California |
| Jay Shunnar | 22 | G | 6–1 | 170 | Sophomore | Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| Neil Watson | 31 | G | 5–10 | 165 | Freshman | Kansas City, Kansas |

## Coaching staff

| Name | Position | College | Graduating year |
| Gene Cross | Head coach | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | 1994 |
| Brian Loyd | Assistant coach | University of Tulsa | 1991 |
| Bob Sundvold | Assistant coach | South Dakota State University | 1977 |
| Nate Tuori | Assistant coach | Rochester College | 1999 |
| Brad Konerman | Director of Basketball Operations | Xavier University | 2007 |
| Brian Jones | Head Athletic Trainer | Ball State University | 1995 |
| Steve Murray | Strength and conditioning Coach | Penn State University | 1987 |

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 10* 7:00 p.m. | Central State | L 49–56 Stats | | Savage Arena Toledo, Ohio |
| Regular Season ||||||
| November 14* 7:00 p.m. | Eastern Illinois | L 62–72 Stats | 0–1 | Savage Arena (4,127) Toledo, Ohio |
| November 18* 7:30 p.m. | at Cincinnati | L 68–92 Stats | 0–2 | Fifth Third Arena (7,010) Cincinnati, Ohio |
| November 20* 6:30 p.m. | at No. 2 Michigan State | L 62–75 Stats | 0–3 | Breslin Student Events Center (14,759) East Lansing, Michigan |
| November 27* 2:00 p.m. | vs. Cornell Legends Classic | L 60–78 Stats | 0–4 | Daskalakis Athletic Center Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| November 28* 4:30 p.m. | at Drexel Legends Classic | L 59–69 | 0–5 | Daskalakis Athletic Center (1,206) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| November 29* 12:00 p.m. | vs. Vermont Legends Classic | L 49–82 Stats | 0–6 | Daskalakis Athletic Center Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| December 2* 7:00 p.m. | Rochester | W 65–46 Stats | 1–6 | Savage Arena (3,592) Toledo, Ohio |
| December 5* 2:00 p.m. | UMBC | W 76–67 Stats | 2–6 | Savage Arena (3,657) Toledo, Ohio |
| December 8* 7:00 p.m. | Wright State | L 56–66 Stats | 2–7 | Savage Arena (4,295) Toledo, Ohio |
| December 10* 7:00 p.m. | IPFW | W 73–72 Stats | 3–7 | Savage Arena (3,983) Toledo, Ohio |
| December 12* 3:00 p.m. | at Valparaiso | L 49–81 Stats | 3–8 | Athletics-Recreation Center (3,278) Valparaiso, Indiana |
| December 19* 7:00 p.m. | Indiana State | L 54–55 | 3–9 | Savage Arena (3,687) Toledo, Ohio |
| December 29* 8:00 p.m. | at UIC | L 52–66 | 3–10 | UIC Pavilion (2,406) Chicago, Illinois |
| January 4* 7:00 p.m. | Alabama | L 50–67 | 3–11 | Savage Arena (4,023) Toledo, Ohio |
| January 9 2:30 p.m., FSN Ohio | Central Michigan | L 48–59 | 3–12 (0–1) | Savage Arena (5,199) Toledo, Ohio |
| January 13 7:00 p.m. | at Eastern Michigan | L 59–74 | 3–13 (0–2) | Convocation Center (1,182) Ypsilanti, Michigan |
| January 17 1:00 p.m., FSN Ohio | at Ball State | L 43–71 | 3–14 (0–3) | John E. Worthen Arena (3,295) Muncie, Indiana |
| January 20 7:00 p.m. | Northern Illinois | L 54–58 | 3–15 (0–4) | Savage Arena (3,556) Toledo, Ohio |
| January 23 2:00 p.m. | at Western Michigan | L 41–73 | 3–16 (0–5) | Alumni Arena (3,521) Kalamazoo, Michigan |
| January 26 7:00 p.m. | Kent State | L 49–69 | 3–17 (0–6) | Savage Arena (4,358) Toledo, Ohio |
| January 30 7:00 p.m. | at Akron | L 45–59 | 3–18 (0–7) | James A. Rhodes Arena (3,634) Akron, Ohio |
| February 1 7:00 p.m. | at Bowling Green | L 47–58 | 3–19 (0–8) | Anderson Arena (2,042) Bowling Green, Ohio |
| February 4 7:00 p.m. | Ohio | L 58–65 $^{OT}$ | 3–20 (0–9) | Savage Arena (3,408) Toledo, Ohio |
| February 6 7:00 p.m. | Buffalo | L 59–65 | 3–21 (0–10) | Savage Arena (4,565) Toledo, Ohio |
| February 10 7:00 p.m. | at Miami (OH) | L 47–55 | 3–22 (0–11) | Millett Hall (1,143) Oxford, Ohio |
| February 14 4:30 p.m. | at Central Michigan | L 46–63 | 3–23 (0–12) | Daniel P. Rose Center (2,074) Mount Pleasant, Michigan |
| February 17 7:00 p.m. | Eastern Michigan | L 42–58 | 3–24 (0–13) | Savage Arena (3,558) Toledo, Ohio |
| February 20* 6:00 p.m. | at Cleveland State | L 63–87 | 3–25 | Wolstein Center (2,503) Cleveland, Ohio |
| February 24 7:00 p.m. | Western Michigan | L 41–61 | 3–26 (0–14) | Savage Arena (3,398) Toledo, Ohio |
| February 27 7:00 p.m. | Ball State | W 42–45 | 4–26 (1–14) | Savage Arena (3,892) Toledo, Ohio |
| March 4 8:00 p.m. | at Northern Illinois | L 58–60 | 4–27 (1–15) | Convocation Center (1,233) DeKalb, Illinois |
| 2010 MAC men's basketball tournament ||||||
| March 7 2:00 p.m. | at Buffalo First Round | L 54–72 | 4–28 | Alumni Arena (859) Buffalo, New York |
| *Non-Conference Game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Eastern Time Zone. ||||||