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MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- Former Central Michigan University basketball standout Leonard Drake wasn’t much of a “SportsCenter Player” when he helped lead the Chippewas to a pair of Mid-American Conference championships in the 1970s.
SportsCenter Players are the high-flying dunkers and the flashy scorers that fans see during the nightly highlights on ESPN’s SportsCenter show.
Instead, he was better known for the fundamentals and the little things, like free throws and defensive charges.
In fact, it was that combination that allowed Drake to be the hero in CMU’s first-ever NCAA Tournament victory, a 77-75 win over Georgetown in 1975.
It was a close game throughout and CMU held a 75-73 lead with just under a minute and a half left. But, Georgetown’s Larry Long tied the game with a tip-in. The Hoyas then had the last possession of the game when Jonathan Smith tried getting a game-winning leaning shot off. However, Drake stepped in and took a charge at the buzzer sending the Chippewa shooting guard to the line with no time left on the clock. The 6-1 sophomore from Niles, Mich. calmly hit both shots to send CMU into a second-round matchup with No. 5-ranked Kentucky. He finished with only six points in the game and those were the only two free throws he attempted.
“John Thompson was upset about that call but it was an obvious charge,” coach Dick Parfitt recalls. “There was nobody better at taking charges than Leonard. In fact, we had a play we called the ‘sting’ play where after a made basket and a timeout, Ben Poquette would inbound the ball and he would run the baseline and Leonard would slip in and take a charge against the defender. During their senior year we had a must-win game at home against Bowling Green near the end of the season and they worked the play to perfection and we went on to win the MAC title.”
In that game, Dave Sutton hit a layup with four seconds left to give the Falcons a 56-55 lead. But, after the timeout, Drake took the charge and hit both free throws with two seconds left to give CMU a one-point victory.
Drake earned second team All-MAC honors in his final season in 1977 and was co-MVP in 1976. A four-year contributor, he ranked third in career scoring at the time of graduation with 1,338 points, a mark that still ranks seventh.
He shot .878 (101-for-115) from the line in 1976, a mark that ranked third nationally, and he finished his career with an .807 mark (226-for-280) which ranked second at the completion of his career and currently ranks seventh.
“Leonard played a lot of minutes in his career, as both he and Ben Poquette played together for us as freshmen,” Parfitt said. “Leonard was very fast and could get up and down the court well. He had a high release on his jump shot and we were lucky to get him to come to CMU. Leonard was a great pressure player who was a part of some of the best teams in school history.
“He also had a big heart, when we played Kentucky in the second round of the NCAAs, he was probably the smallest guy on the court but he finished with a game-high 12 rebounds.”
The Chippewas won two MAC titles, had three winning seasons and posted a record of 66-42 (.611) during Drake’s career.
During that span, he also tallied 126 steals which currently rank eighth in CMU history. The shooting guard led CMU in scoring during two seasons with 18.2 points per game in 1976 and 16.9 in 1977.
For his efforts on the hardwood, Drake is being inducted into the CMU Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday, Oct. 12, in a ceremony at the Comfort Inn Conference Center. He will also be honored at halftime of the CMU-Army football game on Saturday.
Drake joins four former teammates in CMU’s Hall of Fame — Dan Roundfield (Class of 1985), Ben Poquette (1987), James McElroy (1989) and Dave Grauzer (2002)
Also being inducted next weekend as the Class of 2007 are Brock Gutierrez (football; 1992-95), Angie (Henderson) Montroy (volleyball; 1982-85), Dick Kirchner (wrestling coach; 1957-64), Bill Taylor (men’s track and field/cross country; 1987-89) and Betsy Yonkman (women’s basketball; 1983-86).
