As MAC men’s basketball teams slowly receive bad news, NIU has been graced with the opposite.

Three underclassmen players from MAC teams have been declared for the NBA Draft.

Central Michigan’s 7-foot center Chris Kaman, Ball State’s 6-foot-8 power forward Theron Smith and Marshall’s 6-foot-4 shooting guard Ronald Blackshear all have entered their names in the draft. Two of the three are from NIU’s West division.

All three have one year of eligibility remaining and have until a week before the June 25 draft to remove their name and return back to school. However, word is that both Smith and Blackshear have not continued with their classes and the coaches are looking for recruits to replace them already.

While quality-wise this will hurt the MAC’s overall competitive level, it does open a path for the Huskies to the MAC title.

NIU graduates only two players in point guard Jay Bates and center Mike Morrison, but returns four of its top five players: power forward Marcus Smallwood, shooting guard Perry Smith and small forwards Todd Peterson and Jamel Staten.

Will soon-to-be sophomore Anthony Maestranzi be able to handle the pressure as the main point guard? How quickly will the incoming freshmen be able to produce at the point guard spot? Is it true that Todd Peterson is still growing – a la Mike Dunleavy Jr. at Duke – and could be a blooming star in the MAC?

Soon-to-be sophomore, 6-foot-10 Bryson McKenzie, has looked great in team workouts and is twice as good as Mike Morrison ever was athletically. A physical guy, McKenzie should be able to beat any big man in the MAC down the floor and has no problem finishing around the hoop. But, the fact remains that he just recently has gotten serious about basketball and is very raw fundamentally.

While Western Michigan has to cope with a coaching change, NIU’s coach Rob Judson is staying put after not getting the University of Illinois job. Former WMU head man Robert McCullum, who was an assistant with Judson with the Illini in the late ’90s, took off for South Florida.

Judson and McCullum had their share of battles both being in the MAC West together the past two years (McCullum was at WMU three years total), but they aren’t expected to end. South Florida has been on NIU’s schedule the past two years.

Regardless if NIU plays USF again, the MAC schedule should hold enough surprises, battles and potentially a season at the top for the Huskies.