Miami junior guard Michael Bramos was called upon to be a leader on the Miami University men's basketball team this season. While sitting on the bench for three games nursing an ankle injury, Bramos found a new way to lead the RedHawks.

"It's never good sitting on the bench but it allows me to see stuff I don't see on the court, (such as) when our energy is bad," Bramos said. "It's just tough to realize when you're on the court playing-you're in the heat of the battle but you notice a lot of things on the court so I think that when I get back it'll help me pick things up a little bit quicker."

With his return to the lineup Feb. 2, Bramos could once again lead both on and off the court.

Setting the stage

As the final buzzer sounded in Spokane, Wash., last March, sending the Miami University RedHawks home for the duration of the NCAA Tournament, then-sophomore Bramos was about to see his role on the team expand greatly.

In a season marking his entrance into the starting lineup, a MAC Championship and an unlikely appearance in the NCAA Tournament, 2006-07 was a season to remember for Bramos.

However, May 2007 marked the graduation of three prominent members of the RedHawk roster: second-leading scorer Nathan Peavy, MAC Tournament hero Doug Penno and veteran leader Monty St. Clair. With two starters lost and five total letter winners no longer on the team for 2007-08, the stage was set for Bramos to take over as a team leader.

Following a season in which Bramos finished third on the team in scoring with 11.2 points per game, won his team's Defensive Player of the Year award and was named to the 2007 MAC All-Tournament team as a sophomore, expectations were high for 2007-08 and Bramos quickly relished the opportunity to lead.

The RedHawks opened the season coming back from a 32-21 deficit against Xavier University with 15 points from Bramos and some last-second heroics. With just six seconds left, Bramos was fouled as he was attempting a 3-pointer to win the game. He made three free throws to preserve a 59-57 victory at home as fans rushed the court in celebration of the final buzzer. He only got better from there, scoring 28 against the University of South Alabama on the way to averaging 20.4 points through his team's first seven games in a difficult early season schedule. Nov. 28 against Dayton, Bramos exploded for a career-high 36 points.

"I think when he first came (as a freshman), I would have rated him a slasher, a hustler," Miami Assistant Coach Jermaine Henderson said. "When Mike came back (for his sophomore year) he was more defined as a player and he became a better shooter and a better offensive player ... Now I think you can just about pick the kind of baskets he's gonna get and that's when you know you got a pretty good player. One of the biggest jumps is being able to move outside, use that size and strength to become a better shooter."

Pushing for leadership

Beside his on-court improvement, what Henderson said the coaching staff was really looking for from Bramos this season was more than scoring points, they sought an increased leadership role on the team.

Bramos' ankle injury Dec. 15 against Wright State University might have been just what he needed to become a true leader, Henderson said. Now Bramos was able to observe the game and see it a lot differently.

"We knew he could play, he could shoot the ball, he could get hot and guard and defend," Henderson said. "What (the coaching staff) really had in mind was more the leadership role, and I think Mike's come along with that. We needed him to be more vocal. Mike's kind of a quiet guy but he's come out of his shell. You watch him on the bench, he's starting to talk and get more emotion and things like that, so that was one of the goals (for this season)."

Twelfth-year Head Coach Charlie Coles echoed Henderson's sentiment for Bramos to assume a greater leadership role, saying that although he loves Bramos' play, he'd like to see a little more of an edge to him.

"I think to be one of the better players, you gotta be a guy who is constantly pushing for it," Coles said. "I think the guys love him, I would rather they wouldn't love him so much. When I think of a leader, the best leader I know of now in all of sports is Brett Favre because I think he is always pushing for it. He doesn't criticize his teammates but he lets them know that anything less than 100 percent isn't acceptable."

However, Coles said he doesn't believe Bramos has stepped into this role yet.

"I don't think Mike is ready to do that, and I wish that he would do it because that's what good leaders do. It's hard though for a college man. Let's face it, if you're in college, it's much better to get along with everyone," Coles said, with a laugh. "It might be unfair of me to ask, but that's my opinion."

Bramos also noted that other players were getting chances to play more and build their confidence, something he and others saw being able to help the team down the road. Senior forward Tim Pollitz, who has led the 'Hawks in scoring the past two seasons, agreed with Bramos.

"This gives guys on our team chances to come in and build their confidence a little bit on the offensive side of things, knowing the fact that if they're open they gotta shoot the ball," Pollitz said.

Pollitz continued to say that when he graduates this year, Bramos knows the team will be his.

"He knows in the back of his mind that next year it'll be his team," Pollitz said. "Not just his team, but five other seniors too. It's going to be different from this year. Next year Mike's going to have to take a bigger role, but he's also got a lot of sidekicks too along the way."

When asked to compare the stamp Bramos will leave on Miami basketball after next year to those left by RedHawk immortals who have gone onto the NBA such as Wally Szczerbiak and Ron Harper, Henderson hesitated to make any comparisons, but he said he definitely saw a future playing career beyond Miami for Bramos.

"Wally's a lot bigger," Henderson said as a former teammate of Szczerbiak. "Also, I don't know how to say it, but Wally was a lot more cocky. Make no mistake, I played with Wally for two years, and it's not disrespect, but Wally knew it was his team. Wally had a little more exact to him. But certainly Mike has that ability to leave his own stamp or mark on Miami basketball."