For the first time in their six-year history as a member of the NBA Development League, the Mad Ants not only had a winning regular season record (27-23), but also qualified for the playoffs as the No. 6 seed.FORT WAYNE – When: 7:30 p.m. today
Where: Memorial Coliseum
2011-12 records: Mad Ants 14-36, Erie 28-22
Web:
2011-12 Mad Ants leaders: Ron Howard (17.5 ppg), Howard (4.1 rpg), Walker Russell Jr. (9.9 apg)
2011-12 Erie leaders: Kyle Spain (12.2 ppg), Marvin Phillips (5.5 rpg), Keith McLeod (5.5 apg)
Key matchup: Phillips, the former Mad Ants forward, is a physical presence, and he’ll be going against a refortified front line that includes Warsaw native Miles Plumlee. Erie has a reputation for being a strong, aggressive team, and the Ants will have to find a way to counteract that. Sean Sonderleiter and JaJuan Johnson will be asked to carry much of the rebounding load.
The skinny: It’s the beginning of the Duane Ticknor era with the Ants. It’s a team with backcourt experience in Howard and Russell, and with youth in the middle led by former Boiler Johnson. … The Ants got some help when the Pacers assigned ex-Duke star Plumlee and guard Orlando Johnson to Fort Wayne for the first two games. … Sonderleiter will have to help until 6-10 Tommy Smith joins the team. Smith has been dealing with family issues and is expected to arrive in Fort Wayne soon.
