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HORIZON LEAGUE
Three Horizon League teams participated in three different postseason tournaments last season, and two of them came very close to cutting down the nets. The Green Bay Phoenix, who won four games in four days to capture the league’s automatic bid, were not one of those teams, as they got handled fairly easily as a 14 seed by 3 seed Texas A&M in the Round of 64. Valparaiso, the regular season champions, played in the NIT and advanced all the way to the championship game, falling there to George Washington. Oakland, behind star guard Kay Felder, advanced to the championship game of the inaugural Vegas 16 tournament, losing by one point to Old Dominion. Milwaukee and Wright State also put up 20 win seasons, but neither team played in a postseason event.
This year, the theme in the Horizon League may be more about what they lost than what they gained. Green Bay will be without two of their top three scorers from last year. Valpo will be without head coach Bryce Drew, who took the Vanderbilt job. Oakland lost Kay Felder, who declared for the NBA Draft instead of returning for his senior season. Below those top three, who are the most likely to contend for the title despite their losses, other teams felt attrition as well, such as Detroit losing star Paris Bass and head coach Ray McCallum, and both Wright State and Milwaukee having made their own somewhat controversial changes at the head coach position. There is certainly room for someone to make a surprise run at the top of the league standings, and in that regard we are not overlooking Youngstown State as the team with just the right mix of size, talent and veterans to possibly surprise.
Predicted Order of Finish
1. Valparaiso – Bryce Drew may be in Nashville this season, but star player Alec Peters is back in the fold. Combining him with guards Tevonn Walker and Shane Hammink could be enough to put the Crusaders right back on top under new head coach Matt Lottich.
2. Oakland – Even without Kay Felder’s amazing skills, the Golden Grizzlies will be tough to beat with guys like forward Jalen Hayes leading the way. Keep an eye on junior college transfer Stevie Clark who has a chance to pick up a lot of Felder’s scoring load.
3. Green Bay – The Phoenix made a run from fourth place to the NCAA tournament automatic bid, but then promptly lost two of their three best players in the offseason. Guard Charles Cooper will likely be the team’s top player this season, but a return to the Big Dance will be tough.
4. Youngstown State – Admittedly a longshot pick in this league (some publications have predicted the Penguins to finish dead last), but Cameron Morse averaged over 20 points per game from the backcourt, and the combination of Matt Donlan and 7 foot tall center Jordan Kaufman up front could make this team, with a roster full of juniors and seniors, a lot tougher to beat than most people expect.
5. Detroit – Paris Bass left the team after last season giving new head coach Bacari Alexander a more difficult rebuilding project, but having Chris Jenkins and Jaleel Hogan back will help.
6. Wright State – Regardless of whether Billy Donlon deserved a pink slip after last season, the Raiders have brought in a head coach that has proven he can win in Scott Nagy from South Dakota State. Nagy only has two starters returning, but one of them is guard Mark Alstork who has a real chance to star. He also has an intriguing freshman recruit in 6-9, 300 pound Loudon Love.
7. Illinois-Chicago – Despite only winning five games last year, the Flames return four starters led by defending Horizon League Freshman of the Year Dikembe Dixson, who averaged almost 20 points per game and is a double-double threat each time he steps on the court. If the rest of the team develops and grows talent around him, UIC should be vastly improved this time around.
8. Northern Kentucky – One of the few teams in the Horizon League to actually gain something in the offseason, the Norse have gained postseason eligibility as they enter their first full year of Division I membership and place the long four year transitional period behind them. Head coach John Brannen’s team returns three double-digit scorers and brings in one of the higher rated mid-major recruiting classes in the nation. The future is looking bright for the Norse, though probably not this season.
9. Cleveland State – The Vikings lost 23 games last season. The good news is that they only return one significant senior contributor and add in six newcomers, so the program is headed in the right direction.
10. Milwaukee – Despite winning 20 games last season, head coach Rob Jeter was fired and the three starting players that should have been returning all promptly transferred out. This looks like a very long first season at the helm for LaVall Jordan.