CLICK HERE for All of Hoops HD’s Continued and Extensive Preseason Content
MISSOURI VALLEY MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
- Drake
- Northern Iowa
- Bradley
- Indiana State
- Belmont
- Missouri State
- Murray State
- Illinois State
- Southern Illinois
- UIC
- Evansville
- Valparaiso
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-MVC 1ST TEAM:
-Bowen Born – JR, G – Northern Iowa
-Donovan Clay – SR, G/F – Missouri State
-Tucker DeVries – JR, G/F – Drake
-Malevy Leons – SR, F – Bradley
-Cade Tyson – SO, G/F – Belmont
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-MVC 2ND TEAM:
-Tytan Anderson – JR, G/F – Northern Iowa
-Robbie Avila – SO, C – Indiana State
-Darnell Brodie – SR, F – Drake
-Julian Larry – JR, G – Indiana State
-Rob Perry – SR, G – Murray State
-Kenny Strawbridge Jr. – SR, G – Evansville
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-MVC 3RD TEAM:
-Darius Burford – SR, G – Illinois State
-Duke Deen – SR, G – Bradley
-Xavier Johnson – SR, G – Southern Illinois
-Chance Moore – JR, G – Missouri State
-Isaiah Swope – JR, G – Indiana State
COMMENTS FROM DAVID GRIGGS:
-Drake had a good year last year. It is hard to say that a team that won 27 games underachieved, but…I kind of think they did! This was a team that, at the start of the year, I thought we would see in the top-25 and solidly inside the bubble by the end of the year, and while they had a good year and did make the NCAA Tournament it felt like it should have been even better. Expectations are high again this year, and if history is any indicator this will be a very good defensive team with very balanced scoring. Only two starters are back but one of them is Tucker DeVries, who averaged 19ppg last year and was the best player in the conference. They have two transfers who should be big contributors this year (Ethan Roberts from Army/Atin Wright from Cal State Northridge), and this once again looks like a team that can not just finish at or near the top of The Valley, but who can make some noise on a national level as well.
-I am a little surprised to see Northern Iowa picked this high. Don’t get me wrong: I actually AGREE with having them this high! I am just surprised that a team that finished just 14-18 last year would have high expectations this year. But, this is a good team! Four starters are back, and while they completely crash landed in the second half of conference play going (1-7 in their final eight games), injuries had a lot to do with that, and when they were healthy they were one of the better teams in the conference. Bowen Born is a phenomenal guard, and Trey Campbell/Michael Duax, who both started as freshmen last year, are both experienced and should improve quite a bit this year. UNI was going to be my dark horse, but I guess you cannot call a team that was picked to finish 2nd a dark horse. I also really like Ben Jacobson as a coach and think he can help lead them to an outstanding season.
-Bradley was last year’s first-place team, which was a mild surprise (at least to me), but Coach Brian Wardle had what was perhaps his best season since taking over the Braves, and with three starters back from that team they appear to be in position to have another big year this year. They lost to Drake in the conference championship game so they missed out on the NCAA Tournament last year, but it was still an outstanding season overall. Depth could be a bit of an issue for them this year, but the three returning starters give them experience and talent in both the frontcourt and the backcourt.
-Outside of a horrible stretch early on in conference play where they lost four straight games, Indiana State had a very good season last year. The 23 total wins was a huge improvement from anything they had done recently, and while just two starters are back, the expectations are now higher as Coach Matthew Graves enters his third season with The Trees. They did get four players out of the transfer portal who should be able to step up and contribute. While I do not think they are a contender to win the league, another 20+ win season is not out of the question.
-Belmont had a decent year in their first year in the MVC last year winning 21 total games and finishing in a 3rd place tie in the conference. This is a team that can definitely hold its own, but with just two starters back saying they will compete for a spot at or near the top of the standings may be a bit of a stretch. They do have some decent looking freshmen coming in, and that could pay off in future years, but this year I would look for them to finish in the middle.
-Missouri State’s season was sort of ‘meh’ when you looked at it as a whole, but they played pretty well in the last few weeks and with three starters back they could be a bit of a dark horse this year if they are able to start off playing the way they ended last year. Injuries also plagued the Bears a year ago, so if they can stay healthy then they should see more wins this year. I kind of like the Bears! I do not think they will win the league, but I think they will exceed their preseason expectations and surprise some people.
-Two years ago Murray State won 31 games, finished the regular season ranked in the top-25, and advanced to the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament after earning a #7 seed. Last year they digressed quite a bit, but considering how much their roster and coaching staff turned over they were still a respectable 17-15 on the year and finished above .500 in the conference. They have a good looking core of players returning including Rob Perry, who is one of the better guards in the conference. They also have some transfers coming in who should be able to give them some quality minutes. While the Racers are not poised to have the success they experienced two years ago, I do think we will see them be better than they were a year ago.
-Illinois State has had four straight losing seasons, and it is not looking like the expectations are all that high this year either. Three starters are back including Darius Burford, who gives them some experience out on the perimeter, but for a team that won just 11 D1 games a year ago and did not look all that good down the stretch, it is easy to think that this year will be yet another long season for the Redbirds.
-Southern Illinois did lose their top two players, and those were two REALLY good players, but the other three starters are back so I am a little surprised to see them picked this low. I do not think they will be as good as they were a year ago, but I do not think they will finish as low as 9th either. Xavier Johnson is a good PG who can both slash and shoot well from the outside. Depth will likely be an issue, but this is a team that has at least a few pieces and should be able to hold their own with the bottom half of the conference.
-UIC has three starters back, but this was not a good team a year ago, and they do not appear to be that much better this year. Projecting them to finish 10th seems about right: I do not see them finishing any higher.
-Evansville returns four starters!! That is the good news. The bad news is that they won just five total games a year ago, and while we may see some improvement simply based on their experience, they are probably going to end up finishing much closer to the bottom of the league than the top.
-Valparaiso seems to be steadily getting worse and worse as each season goes by, and with no starters back from a year ago and with a lot of young and inexperienced players on the roster this year, we could see that steady decline continue. Roger Powell takes over as head coach this year and he has his work cut out for him.